002. ╱ 𖦹⠀⠀ ❝ rules are rules. ❞

AS THEY SUSPECTED, THEY WERE COMPLETELY IGNORED AT THE COAST GUARD STATION.

⠀⠀Perhaps they took with them the disappointment of not being listened to, but the group was still at the motel indicated by the keys found a few hours ago.

⠀⠀They weren't quite sure if they should do that, or at least that was the uncertainty conveyed by Amelie and Pope, as the rest of them seemed quite excited about what they were going to do. In short, break into a stranger's home.

⠀⠀"I thought the Château looked bad," murmured JJ after wandering his eyes around the wrecked place.

⠀⠀"This place is a shitshow," Pope now noted, just as lost as JJ was.

⠀⠀"It looks better than the Châteu," added Amelie, drawing the annoying attention of two boys, who always slept there. "What? You should clean up where you sleep."

⠀⠀"Motel or meth lab?" Questioned Kie rhetorically, not expecting any answer from her friends, as there was none.

⠀⠀"I prefer the second option," replied Amelie, so that she and JJ laughed without waiting for other complaints and answers.

⠀⠀"Doesn't look like a place somebody with a Grady-White stays," spoke John B, who was in command of the boat.

⠀⠀"No. Looks like a place someone with a Grady-White would get killed," ironised Pope after a few seconds of silence, anxiously waiting to get out of there.

⠀⠀"Alright, here we go. This is your captain speaking. HMS Pogue coming in for landing," joked JJ as John B pulled the boat ashore.

⠀⠀JJ jumped down from the boat with a little hop and an amused shout, and then tied the boat down tightly enough to keep it in place.

⠀⠀"We good?" Asked John B turning away from the remote, to also approach the edge of the boat, directly towards JJ outside.

⠀⠀"Yeah, we good," said JJ, finishing his work, and then getting back to his feet.

⠀⠀"All right. Here goes nothing," accelerated John B away from his three friends still on the boat, not realising that Amelie was following at his heels.

⠀⠀"Hey," Pope got his attention. "Don't let him do anything stupid," he ordered, now pointing at JJ a few inches away, who looked at him offended.

⠀⠀"Oh, we will," JJ replied with amusement, but without showing any trace of happiness or smile.

⠀⠀"I'm not making promises," said John B turning back to Pope, not quite sure about that.

⠀⠀"Yeah, I know," Pope said, not really wanting to try to get JJ not to do anything he didn't want to do.

⠀⠀"Uh, be careful," spoke Kie, handing the hotel keys to John B. "I mean it."

⠀⠀"Yeah," confirmed John B with an amused smile as he walked away.

⠀⠀Not realising that someone was also going to join them. Obviously Amelie, who was already getting off the boat as well, or so she was before she was stopped.

⠀⠀"Hey, where do you think you're going?" John B caught her eye, grabbing her arm.

⠀⠀"I'll go with you," replied Amelie, making it seem very obvious and confident with her answer.

⠀⠀"No way," denied JJ and John B in sync. Still, Amelie was walking away to get out of the boat.

⠀⠀"No discussion," said Amelie with an amused smile as she was completely out of the boat. "Are you coming?" She asked, turning to her friends.

⠀⠀After arguing about what they would do with Amelie and her intentions to get off the boat and go with them for a long time, John B and JJ were already on the first floor of the place. Walking down the corridors and passing every door, looking for the one they had come through. Obviously Amelie was with them too, just a few metres ahead.

⠀⠀"Just be so careful, John," spoke JJ from behind, pretending to imitate a woman's voice, which would be Kiara.

⠀⠀"God, you're so weird," complained John B, releasing his grip, causing laughter from JJ and Amelie in front of the two of them.

⠀⠀"What was that about?" JJ questioned this time, referring to Kiara's strange act of concern.

⠀⠀"I don't know. Maybe she wants us to be careful," said John B, obvious with his answer. Amelie just kept quiet, listening intently.

⠀⠀"Since she heard you're being threatened with exile, she's just been, like, 'Oh! Be so careful, John B. Oh, give me that John D already'. When are you gonna swoop on that, man?" JJ asked again, faking Kiara's voice again.

⠀⠀"Bro, you know the rule. No pogue-on-pogue making," recalled John B while looking at him offended. "Besides, you're the one always hitting on her."

⠀⠀"Dude, try sleeping with her. She's a super-hot, rich, hippie chick slumming with us. Why? I can't figure it out either, but who cares, bro? I know that door's locked because I've tried it," indicated JJ obviously, despite this, sounding insecure.

⠀⠀Amelie, for her part, couldn't help but let out a muffled groan, lowering her gaze. She'd be lying if she said it didn't hurt. If he thought that of Kiara, what would he think of her?

⠀⠀"There's also Amelie," said John B, pointing one of his fingers at her, who didn't give a glance.

⠀⠀"Are you kidding me? You know I would never sleep with Ames, she's our best friend. That would be... disgusting," replied JJ with difficulty, as he himself didn't know what to say, even though he didn't believe a word of what he was saying.

⠀⠀"Not much," replied John B with an amused and lustful smile.

⠀⠀"Wait a second, you slept with Amelie?" Asked JJ with seriousness and surprise, adding to that the anger and perhaps sadness he felt.

⠀⠀"John!" Amelie called out in a shout, turning to him quickly.

⠀⠀"Why didn't you tell me? What happened with the rule?" JJ questioned incredulously.

⠀⠀He didn't care that John B had slept with a stranger, he cared that John B had slept with Amelie.

⠀⠀"We're not together, and it was only one night," reported Amelie as she came to his side with an amused smile. JJ looked at her with disappointment, which Amelie didn't quite understand why.

⠀⠀"Great," murmured JJ hiding his gaze in surrender.

⠀⠀"Rules are rules," murmured Amelie now, moving closer to JJ, so that only he could hear her.

⠀⠀"Rules are stupid," JJ muttered back, moving even closer to Amelie, who was looking at him amused and flirtatious, just as he was looking at her.

⠀⠀"Alright, this is it," spoke John B, drawing the attention of those two who had stopped the staring war when they heard him.

⠀⠀"This one?" Questioned JJ. "Housekeeping," he indicated, in his feminine voice, or at least an attempt at it.

⠀⠀"Should we try?" Asked Amelie, taking the keys from John B's hands, leaving them in the door lock.

⠀⠀"Yeah," confirmed the two boys in sync. Despite their confidence, Amelie looked at them uncertainly.

⠀⠀"No power, no security cameras. No one's gonna know," assured JJ earnestly, making Amelie more agreeable.

⠀⠀As Amelie finished picking the lock, JJ moved ahead of her to open the door, clearly doing so with a slight push, revealing the small room behind it.

⠀⠀"How exciting," spoke Amelie with a grimace on her face as she saw the room before her eyes.

⠀⠀"Check the bag. See if there's a name or there somewhere," said John B entering the room behind Amelie, closing the door behind her.

⠀⠀"Got a jacket..."

⠀⠀Amelie for her part, not having a bag to check, moved away from her two friends to investigate another area of the room. In the bathroom she found nothing of interest, just things that were normally found in bathrooms.

⠀⠀"Ames!" Called JJ from the main room, with an excited shout.

⠀⠀Amelie stopped investigating the bathroom corner by corner, turning quickly at the audible scream. She exited the bathroom just as fast, at the same pace to get to JJ, who was holding a... Shit.

⠀⠀"Easy, princess. Rafe Cameron won't bully you now," JJ added with amusement, while feigning gunshots. Despite being annoyed by that, Amelie couldn't help but express a small sideways smile.

⠀⠀"Wait, what was that?" Questioned John B, approaching the window of the room.

⠀⠀John B looked out to see, then pulled away from the window and climbed onto the bed and ran to the window by the door, without saying a word.

⠀⠀"What's going on?" JJ finally asked, just as confused as Amelie.

⠀⠀"Cops," said John B as he looked outside the corridor through the window.

⠀⠀Amelie and JJ shared quick glances with concern before John B pulled Amelie's hand, running with her to the other window.

⠀⠀As John B opened it quickly, Amelie and JJ waited for him to finish with great anxiety. And by the time he had finished opening it, John B passed through, standing on the small roof below the window itself, still holding Amelie's hand, helping her across.

⠀⠀When JJ got out, he closed the window again just as quickly. Noticing how John B was trying to hide Amelie with him, for some reason, JJ tugged on her hand, pulling her to him so that she was right in front of him, his chest pressed against Amelie's back.

⠀⠀Amelie swore she didn't want to think about anything else, but feeling JJ's breath ruffle her every hair made an electric shiver run from the tips of her toes to her head. JJ seemed very much at ease at this, noticing how nervous Amelie had become at the mere proximity.

⠀⠀When John B was sure that the officers had left the room, it didn't take him a second to jump very carefully —carelessly— off the small roof. JJ followed, and once they were both on the ground, they helped Amelie down.

"WELL, THAT WAS FUN," JJ pointed out with his amused smile. "Could've warned us sooner."

⠀⠀Amelie was standing next to John B, between him and Pope, who seemed to be getting more and more nervous. This was not entirely new.

⠀⠀"We would have, except Pope was on the math team," replied Kie, giving Pope a murderous look, who shrugged.

⠀⠀"You were on the math team?" JJ questioned with irony, and perhaps a bit of a desire to make fun of it. A new tool.

⠀⠀"What? Are you serious?" Amelie asked again this time. Pope nodded his head. "Very intellectual."

⠀⠀"The cops took everything like it was a crime scene," spoke John B beside him, remembering what they had experienced only several minutes before.

⠀⠀"Do you think they should have taken it? I mean, they're cops, but...," began Amelie, being interrupted.

⠀⠀"Who cares?" JJ asked seriously, which surprised Amelie a little —quite a lot— and she looked at him in confusion.

⠀⠀"Did you guys find anything?" Pope questioned, returning to the previous topic, ignoring the awkward silence that JJ's comment had generated.

⠀⠀"Did we find anything? No, I don't think so," spoke JJ sarcastically, as he pulled the gun and a small pile of cash out of his two back pockets. "Oh, yeah, we did," everyone in the group gasped in astonishment.

⠀⠀"What the hell?" Pope asked as quickly as he could, standing up and approaching JJ.

⠀⠀"Dude, what?" Said Kie in a whisper, unable to believe what she was seeing. Everyone ignored her.

⠀⠀"Dude, chill. Come on," JJ reassured, approaching Pope as he also stood up. Pope looked at him annoyed, very annoyed.

⠀⠀"Why would you take that from a crime scene?" Questioned Pope again, not too comfortable with the situation.

⠀⠀"The police took a lot more," said Amelie after letting out a heavy sigh and rolling her eyes, which she little noticed, but didn't mention.

⠀⠀"Better than the cops having it," said JJ, pointing one of his hands at Amelie, agreeing with her.

⠀⠀"Are you serious?" Questioned Kiara with her murderous gaze on John B, who stopped laughing instantly. "Amelie?" She named, catching her attention.

⠀⠀"I tried to stop them," she defended herself, shrugging as she averted her gaze and looked down at her hands nervously. She knew she wasn't good at lying.

⠀⠀"Bullshit. You could talk them out of doing anything stupid, even JJ. I'm sure it was your idea," Pope contradicted her, pointing his qualifying finger.

⠀⠀"What? And why should it be mine?" Reproached Amelie, raising her voice, offended by the remark itself.

⠀⠀"Now I'm really gonna lose my merit scholarship," Pope lamented with what little desire and unremarkable hope he had left.

⠀⠀"Hey, hey, hey," JJ called out quickly while shushing him with the gun to his lips. "At least you have us, right?" He joked, causing more anger in Pope.

⠀⠀"I'm living a nightmare," Pope muttered again, as he grasped the arch of his nose in nervous fear of his friends' follies.

⠀⠀"You need to relax," Amelie said, leaning back to lie completely flat on the floor of the boat, covering her face with both hands, shielding herself from the sun.

⠀⠀JJ looked away quickly and nervously.

⠀⠀"Do you think so?" Pope questioned wryly, sitting back down next to her. Amelie sat up again, with an idea running through her head.

⠀⠀"Do you want to come to the jacuzzi?" Questioned Amelie with an amused and friendly smile. Pope laughed instantly.

⠀⠀"Wait a minute..." JJ wanted to say, with confusion, but neither of his two friends seemed to hear him, or to want to respond.

⠀⠀"Your father would never allow that," Pope denied sheepishly. Not that he didn't like the idea, but being in Amelie's big house could be uncomfortable.

⠀⠀"Let me correct you, Pope... Stepfather. And it's not his house," buffed Amelie quickly. She definitely didn't like being called father to that thing.

⠀⠀"Hey," JJ called back, this time much more distressed to see that his friends were still not paying attention to him. That Amelie wasn't paying attention to him.

⠀⠀"What?" Asked Amelie and Pope in unison at last, raising their voices in JJ's direction, who recoiled from the sudden shock.

⠀⠀"You invite Pope to the jacuzzi? Since when does that happen?" Asked JJ finally. He felt a little bad to hear himself sound a lot more curt and serious than he wanted to.

⠀⠀"Since... Now? There's always a first time for everything," said Amelie with a nervous smile, not understanding anything about JJ and his sudden anger.

⠀⠀"What's going on there?" Asked Kiara as they reached the boat area, noticing the large number of inhabitants.

⠀⠀"Let's go," commanded John B, turning off the boat's engine and getting off. His friends followed him.

⠀⠀Lastly, Amelie climbed out of the boat, walking as fast as her feet could carry her in order to reach her friends, who were further ahead. She frowned in confusion as she watched JJ back up to stand beside her.

⠀⠀"Are you really going to invite him to the jacuzzi?" JJ asked again seriously. Amelie couldn't help but let out a short laugh at that.

⠀⠀Since when did he care so much about what she did with Pope?

⠀⠀"I don't see a problem with it. Pope has never seen it," she reported in the same way. Knowing what would happen when she said that, she waited impatiently for JJ's answer.

⠀⠀"Neither do I," replied JJ obviously, with a grimace of displeasure on his face. He seemed to be talking too seriously for him.

⠀⠀"Well, I guess you can both come," Amelie said with a lingering sideways smile. JJ looked at her angrily. "What?"

⠀⠀"No," denied JJ quickly. Amelie turned to him just as quickly, confused.

⠀⠀"Why not? I said you can both come," asked Amelie when she saw that JJ was also confused. Did he not even know why he had refused so quickly?

⠀⠀"I don't want us both to go, Ames," JJ mumbled, stopping Amelie's pace as he held her by both shoulders, not breaking eye contact.

⠀⠀"I don't understand you," replied Amelie with a frown at JJ, who just let out a heavy sigh as he closed his eyes in frustration.

⠀⠀"Can't you see it?" JJ muttered in a whisper as he opened his eyes. She could have sworn his voice had even cracked with that question and the answer that didn't come from Amelie.

⠀⠀"Scooter Grubbs. He was out during the storm. Ckeck out this pic I got," pointed out the stranger as she held out her phone. "Dead body."

⠀⠀"Really?" Amelie challenged her, folding her arms. She didn't think it was right to spread a picture of someone who was dead while one of his relatives was there.

⠀⠀JJ gave a proud sideways smile, replacing it with a blush as he saw Amelie looking at him with a tender smile as she found him proud of it. He hid his gaze, wanting to hide the red in his cheeks as well.

⠀⠀"What kind of boat did he have?" JJ questioned with the intention of relaxing the tension he was feeling. He was betting it was caused by Amelie, in case you had any doubts.

⠀⠀"Somehow, that dirtbag copped a brand-new Grady-White. Everyone's out looking for it," the girl said again.

⠀⠀For their part, the group, except for the strangers, exchanged confused and complicit glances, as it had been exactly that boat that they had found a few hours before.

⠀⠀It had to be a joke. If anyone found out that they had been there, they would probably go to prison.

NOW THEY WERE AT THEIR MEETING PLACE, THE CHÂTEAU. In complete silence, as they waited or searched for ideas of what to do.

⠀⠀Amelie was too focused on finishing her cigarette that she didn't notice Pope's new presence until he spoke, almost as soon as he had arrived.

⠀⠀Here we go.

⠀⠀"Okay. So, um... we didn't see anything. We don't know anything. We need to have total and complete amnesia," Pope quickly indicated as he took his place on the sofa, next to Kie.

⠀⠀"Actually, Pope's right for once," replied JJ from the comfort of the single sofa. He pointed at Pope. "See, I agree with you sometimes. Deny, deny, deny," he finished as he stood up, giving Amelie an amused smile as soon as he walked in front of her.

⠀⠀"Guys, we can't keep that money," Kie now spoke from the sofa, her brow tinged with concern.

⠀⠀"Why not?" Amelie questioned with offence. Everyone looked at her in confusion, as she clearly didn't need the money.

⠀⠀"Okay. Not all of us can afford unlimited data plans, Kie," complained JJ, trying to ignore Amelie while looking only at Kiara.

⠀⠀"We have to pass that off to Lana Grubbs. Otherwise, is bad karma," continued Kie with her eyes on Pope, who seemed to consider that.

⠀⠀"Bad karma to be implicated in a felony, too," Pope said, he was always more concerned about his scholarship. They understood him. "We gotta go dark."

⠀⠀"If that means we get to keep the money, then I agree," JJ confirmed, approaching John B and Amelie.

⠀⠀Noticing that Amelie had finished her cigarette, he gave her a sideways smile, as minutes before they had been doing their typical race: whoever finished first had to do what the other wanted.

⠀⠀Amelie smiled sarcastically as she realised she had lost. That never happened.

⠀⠀"I don't agree," said John B, giving JJ a few friendly pats, and then walking away.

⠀⠀Amelie and JJ turned round to him directly and quickly.

⠀⠀"What? Why?" Asked JJ, somewhat offended by John B's prompt denial.

⠀⠀"Just think about it," John B started. "This is Scooter Grubbs we're talking about, right? Same dude that's buying individual cigarettes at the Porthole. Shit, one time I saw this dude begging for change in the Save-A-Lot parking lot because he needed gas. We're talking about a dirtbag marina rat who's never had more than 40 bucks in his pocket, and all of a sudden, he's got a Grady-White? Just saying..."

⠀⠀His friends were left sharing confused looks. Despite not understanding, John B had a great point, everything was slowly turning from grey to a bright white. Or a dark black, anything could be worse.

«"FOR THE RECORD, if that is a smuggling ship with illegal contraband on the inside of it, it probably belongs to someone else," Pope explained obviously, sharing glances with his friends.

⠀⠀"Minor details," Kie murmured with a small smile on her lips, looking away for a few seconds.

⠀⠀"They could come looking for it. Taking it would be catastrophically stupid," Pope continued, clearly not one hundred percent in agreement with his friends.

⠀⠀"Right. Well, stupid things have good outcomes all the time," JJ said, taking the money from Pope's hands. "All we need to do is figure out a way to get into the cargo hold of that wreck. Until then, we just lay low. Just act normal," he said as he played with the money in his hand.

⠀⠀"Right. And how exactly do we do that?" Pope questioned with obviousness, taking the money from JJ's hands again.

⠀⠀"Kegger?" Suggested Amelie with a victorious smile. Her friends laughed along with her, except for Pope.»

⠀⠀And that's how they ended up on the beach of the Cut. Obviously the tourists, kooks and beer were not lacking. Amelie hated the part about the kooks the most, even though she was almost one.

⠀⠀For some strange reason, she ended up sitting on a log, talking to Rafe Cameron. She'd never had anything with him, nor was it in her plans, but, perhaps there was something fleeting, too fleeting.

⠀⠀The rumours soon returned as soon as more than one of those present saw them together, was it so rare to see a girl and a boy talking quietly?

⠀⠀"Princess Ames!" Spoke JJ arriving near Amelie and Rafe, feigning a bow. He was clearly drunk. "What about you?" He questioned, this time pointing to Rafe with his glass of beer.

⠀⠀"We were talking... very quietly," Rafe replied with an amused smile. He knew that messing with JJ's friends was playing with fire.

⠀⠀"Well, I'll steal her from you for a second. Or rather, you'll give it back to me for a few seconds, minutes, hours... Who knows? Just... come here, Ames," said JJ without wiping off his smile as he extended his hand towards Amelie. He seemed annoyed by that.

⠀⠀Amelie accepted JJ's hand, standing beside him. Before walking away, she gave Rafe one last look, apologizing to him. Rafe just let out a snort. She would always be difficult to be with. For him, it was impossible for just a second to wait for her, he'd done it his whole life.

⠀⠀"Well... What were you talking about?" JJ questioned, slipping an arm around Amelie's shoulders. Even in his words she could hear the sound of alcohol.

⠀⠀"Nothing special," replied Amelie, accepting the glass from JJ with a smile. "Oh, look. What's she doing here?" She questioned, pointing with the glass to Sarah Cameron a few feet away.

⠀⠀JJ, not knowing why Amelie had tensed up at the mere sight of her in the distance, grabbed the glass of beer quickly. If Amelie was going to get into a fight with a kook, he wanted to experience it the way it was meant to be: with a nice glass of beer.

⠀⠀"Hey, John B!" saluted JJ, approaching his friend with Amelie. "I got this for you, want it?" He held out the glass. John B took it.

⠀⠀"For me? Yeah, I'll take a sip," said John B as he looked at the inside of the glass, almost about to drink it, when JJ broke away.

⠀⠀"Oh, wait. Hey, hey. Hey, Sarah!" JJ called out to the girl approaching with Topper. Amelie muttered too many curses to name. "Sarah, can I interest you in a tasty Milwaukee beverage?"

⠀⠀"No, thanks," denied Sarah quickly, but remaining firm and respectful. Typical Cameron façade.

⠀⠀"Oh, come on. Is it not fancy enough for you?" JJ insisted, bringing the glass back to Sarah, who stepped back again.

⠀⠀"Hey, you know what? I'll take it. I'll- Thank you, man. I appreciate it," spoke Topper with a friendly smile, taking the glass from JJ's hands.

⠀⠀"That's nice, Topper, but I didn't ask you. If you say pretty please, maybe, but you didn't," said JJ, pulling Topper apart and taking the glass from him after letting out a wry laugh.

⠀⠀"Oh, pretty please? Pretty please?" Repeated Topper wryly with a frown, watching stupidly as JJ nodded in confirmation.

⠀⠀"Say pretty please, Topp," smirked Amelie now with an open-mouthed grin from both sides. They shared quick glances with JJ, which ended in instant laughter.

⠀⠀"I don't want anything from you, bitch," said Topper quickly, picking up the red glass again and dropping the beer on Amelie's hair.

⠀⠀JJ was quick to push him back and approach him roughly and intimidatingly as he grabbed him by the shirt. They knew what he was capable of. And JJ would risk anything to defend his Ames.

⠀⠀And Pope, he was quick to run towards the two and push JJ away, preventing him from continuing to do or plan the stupid thing that would probably ruin their plans.

⠀⠀"No, no, no," denied John B as he helped Pope separate from Topper, the latter just laughing at the situation.

⠀⠀"Leave her alone! You're not funny, Topper!" Called JJ as he raised his voice and pointed at him from above, since he couldn't see him.

⠀⠀"Dirty pogues!" Shouted Topper behind his friends, drawing the attention of the four friends.

⠀⠀Topper knew exactly how that affected the pogues. Did it bother them? No. Did it offend them? Neither, but they knew they were cruel words coming from kooks. That's exactly why this time it was John B who circled back to Topper, pushing him hard and spitefully.

⠀⠀And again, Pope interrupted. Thank God for Pope.

⠀⠀"John B! We're supposed to be incognito, remember?" Pope indicated with concern, he seemed to be the only one who remembered that.

⠀⠀"Hey, John B! Don't make me drown you like your old man, alright?" Topper still threatened. John B was not going to retire now.

⠀⠀"Stop, you guys!" Kie interrupted, arriving at the party. Or at least trying to interrupt, as none of them made a big deal out of it.

⠀⠀"Kill him, John B!" Amelie now raised her voice, beginning to feel the chill running through her head and bare chest.

⠀⠀"Topper! Stop!" Sarah commanded, raising her voice. Her irritating voice.

⠀⠀"Come on, John B!" Encouraged Topper, beckoning John B to finally pounce on him.

⠀⠀John B obeyed, running back to him to first push him again and slam his fist hard and tight into his stomach, causing Topper to writhe in pain.

⠀⠀"That's what I'm talking about!" Encouraged JJ proudly as he saw that John B was looking forward to the fight. Pope and Kie thought otherwise.

⠀⠀"Yeah, you wanna go?" Topper asked wryly, moving closer to John B to give himself a better chance to strike first.

⠀⠀"Come on, Topper! Let's go!" Encouraged John B now, giving way to Topper to move forward.

⠀⠀Topper was much more obedient, pulling John B back, punching him several times on his stomach and back, causing him to pull away far enough that he was already on the water's edge. Topper didn't miss his chance, and gave him with his strong knee a punch in the pit of his stomach, earning John B's eventual fall.

⠀⠀Still, that was not enough for Topper, so he crouched down to John B's level, repeatedly dipping his head in and out of the water. He knew what he was going to do, and he didn't hesitate to pull back.

⠀⠀"He's drowning him," Kie indicated with concern, the air almost leaving her lungs as she was forced to witness such a thing.

⠀⠀And without thinking much more, Amelie ran to Topper. She couldn't let him hurt John B, not while he had spent years defending her. She tugged at the collar of his shirt hard enough to pull him back. Topper stood up quickly, grabbing his throat for the itch. Amelie took a few steps back as she felt the fear in Topper's angry gaze as he approached her.

⠀⠀Something stopped him. Amelie was surprised to see his angry, spiteful gaze quickly shift to one of fear and concern. When she wanted to look further, JJ was behind him, the gun just behind his neck.

⠀⠀"Yeah, you know what that is. Your move, broski," spoke JJ from behind his back. Topper didn't have to see him to know how smiling he was.

⠀⠀The group of young people who were there quickly left the area, or as fast as their feet would burn without the need of the sun.

⠀⠀"JJ! Put the gun down!" Sarah ordered in a new shout, raising her voice again. And again, it was in vain.

⠀⠀"Did you say something, princess?" Questioned JJ without even giving her a glance. Amelie didn't answer, he looked very angry.

⠀⠀"We're good. We're good. All right, man? Come on," tried to convince Topper, evidently nervous and scared. JJ didn't seem in the mood to listen.

⠀⠀"Amelie! Kie! Can you check your psycho friend, please?" Sarah demanded, pointing fiercely at the two friends. Kie and Amelie shared confused looks, as they clearly would not obey.

⠀⠀"Shut the fuck up, Sarah!" Commanded Amelie, already exhausted from having to listen to Sarah's complaints. Her presence alone could exhaust her.

⠀⠀And finally, JJ moved away from Topper, just as he pulled the gun away from his head, but this time it was perhaps worse than threatening Topper. He made a sharp turn that caused the few who were still there to quickly move away again.

⠀⠀"Okay, everyone listen up! Get the hell out of our side of the island!" JJ threatened angrily, then fired two blind shots into the air. The screams were audible to Amelie.

⠀⠀"Are you crazy? You idiot!" Pope challenged him as he was pushed by the shoulder along with Kie.

⠀⠀"Why would you do that?" Kie questioned with curiosity and fear. It wasn't a good time for JJ's craziness.

⠀⠀Despite wanting to keep an eye on the discussion between Kie, Pope and JJ, Amelie couldn't help but be a little more concerned when she saw that John B couldn't even get off the ground.

⠀⠀She quickened her pace until she was in front of him. She cupped both his cheeks, which were cold and pale, bending down to his level, feeling the cold liquid of the water beneath her dress.

⠀⠀"John, are you all right?" Asked Amelie with concern, she couldn't help the trembling voice that soon followed.

⠀⠀"Yes," confirmed John B in a whisper. Amelie knew it was a lie when she saw how John B could not formulate a response very well.

⠀⠀"Are you sure? You don't look..." Amelie tried to ask, but was interrupted by John B again.

⠀⠀Seconds later, he fell dryly back into the water. And this time, he was instantly knocked unconscious. Amelie went over to him, shaking his shoulders with the intention of waking him up, but obviously he did not.

⠀⠀"Shit," muttered the brunette.