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CHAPTER TEN:
It's always gonna be Kooks vs Pogues.
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          Kennedy sat at her kitchen counter, sipping on an iced latte whilst her oatmeal sat untouched in front of her, "Aren't you going to eat, pumpkin?" Her mother asked her in passing. It was barely 12pm and her mother already had a glass of wine between her manicured fingers. Caroline wasn't an alcoholic by any means—nor was she a bad drunk, but it was beginning to concern Kennedy how often her mother had a glass in her hands.

           Kennedy shook her head, "I'm not really all that hungry." She said, glancing across the kitchen counter to where her brother sat, stuffing his face with a sandwich packed in proteins.

            Topper scoffed, "What Kennedy means to say is, she'd rather sit here and glare at me than eat her food." He said, looking upwards to catch sight of the glare she had, in fact, been giving him.

             "Maybe if you weren't such an asshole I wouldn't feel the need to glare at you." She retorted, giving him a sickeningly sweet smile before shoving her oatmeal around in the bowl aggressively.

             Topper threw his hands up, "Mom, will you check your brainwashed daughter, please?" He pleaded in exasperation.

           Kennedy's glare deepened, "I'm brainwashed? For what, thinking that almost drowning a kid is fucked up?" She demanded, her oatmeal and coffee long forgotten.

            Caroline perked up, turning from where she had been pouring herself another glass of wine, "Drowning? Hold on, what are you two talking about?" She questioned her children, having no clue about what had happened at the Boneyard the night before.

            Kennedy pulled a face, looking directly at Topper, "Should I tell her, Top? I mean, she can be the judge of which one of us is truly brainwashed. Me for having at least a shred of moral conduct and you, the asshole that tried to drown a kid simply for being a Pogue—oops, guess I just told her." Kennedy gasped theatrically, as if her words had been an accident—though they hadn't been.

            Topper leaned across the table, his nostrils flaring, "You are such a little bitch—"

            "Whoa, everyone hold their horses," Caroline spoke over them, settling her wine glass down onto the kitchen counter. She placed one hand on her hip and gestured between them with the other. "Cristopher, what is your sister talking about?" She demanded, her gaze turning towards her son.

            Topper sighed, throwing his hands up, "It's nothing deep, mom. Just some stupid fight at the—"

           "Fight?" Caroline exclaimed. "You were in a fight? Christopher Thornton, have we not raised you better than that?" Caroline was horrified, having no clue that her children had been in plenty of fights in their lifetime—though, that was because of the imaginary idea that her children were perfect, that she had well and truly raised them right. But perhaps not.

             Kennedy scoffed, "Apparently not well enough," She chimed in. "Your perfect son almost drowned another kid last night just because of where he was born—not very prim and proper is it?" She rhetorically asked, looking at her mother innocently, batting her lashes.

            Topper banged his fist on the table, his eyes glaring at his younger twin, "God, you are such a conniving, shit-stirring little—"

           "Christopher, you finish that sentence so help me God." Caroline drawled, giving her son a look of warning. She looked between her children.

            Topper threw his hands up, "Can't yous see how much she's enjoying this?" He asked in disbelief, looking towards Kennedy who had a sheepish smile on her lips. "One of those Pogues put a freaking gun to my head, mom! And somehow I'm the bad guy." He exclaimed, making a gun gesture with his fingers, pointing it to his head.

          Kennedy shrugged, "It was deserved."

         "Kennedy," Caroline sighed, rubbing her temple. "We'll talk more about this later, alright? But Kennedy, pumpkin, can you please go down to the beach and help with clean-up duty? Ward was asking for some extra hands earlier." She asked, trying to separate her children before a full on brawl ensued.

           "Why can't I go?" Topper demanded.

           "Oh, you can go," Caroline said, turning to her son with a stern look. "Once you and I have a little conversation." She added, making Topper glare at his sister for opening her mouth in the first place.

           Kennedy smiled, "Sucks to suck, Top."

         Kennedy had listened to her mother and went to the beach for clean-up duty. Truthfully, she had never really minded the whole thing. She got to spend the majority of her day on the beach, sipping on secret drinks, talking shit with her friends and saving animals that had taken refuge after the storm. The only downside was her brother, who after showing up had rained on her parade. He was on a warpath after she had thrown him in the deep end with their mother—she hadn't really cared, but his frowning face was such a downer.

            Not too long after finishing up, Kennedy sat by the shoreline, her converse sitting beside her, the waves washing up and touching her toes every few seconds, "I dunno what else I can do to impress him. It's like nothing I ever do is good enough," Rafe was saying from beside her, laying down with his arms behind his head. "Whereas with Sarah—she just floats around all day and gets praised for doing nothing." He was complaining about his dad being on his case—something that happened pretty often. Rafe had a strained relationship with his father that Kennedy knew a lot about.

          She turned to him, tucking her hair out of her face in the small wind, "Maybe you shouldn't have bought that motorcycle with the generator money," She scorned him, earning a groan on his behalf. "I'm not taking your dad'ss side, Rafe—but you could've been a little more responsible." She told him, giving his leg a nudge with her own.

           He looked up at her, squinting in the sunlight, "That's rich coming from you," He said, though there was no bitterness to his tone and Kennedy knew that. She scoffed. "If it were you, you probably would have spent it on weed or some shit." He waved his hand in the air, a small smile on his face.

            Kennedy laughed, "Lifetime supply of weed," She wistfully said, staring off into the ocean. "Next time your dad gives you that much money wanna slide me some? A never ending stash of weed sounds like a great idea." She joked, once again nudging him with her leg.

            Rafe chuckled, "I'll keep it in mind," He told her, earning a smile. "Top told me you told your mom about what happened at the Boneyeard last night—what happened to no snitches amongst Kooks?" He asked her, changing the subject.

            Kennedy groaned, "I didn't snitch—not exactly. Okay, maybe I did—but he deserved it!" She exclaimed, making Rafe chuckle. She turned to face him, a more serious expression on her face. "Look, I don't really give a shit about the whole Kooks vs Pogues thing, alright? It's just stupid at this point. And I certainly don't agree with JJ pulling a gun on Top. But he started that fight, Rafe—for literally no reason at all. He deserved to at least have a telling off." She explained as Rafe watched her speak, carefully listening to her words.

            "Does it even matter, though?" Rafe questioned, making her look at him with a confused stare. "Shit on this island ain't ever gonna change, Kennedy. It's always gonna be Kooks vs Pogues. Might as well get used to it." He said with a nonchalant shrug.

            "I am used to it," She assured him. "I just don't see why it has to matter so much. If Top were any other ordinary person, he would have been in serious trouble for what he did. I just think it's stupid that there's absolutely no consequences for the things that we do." She said with a shrug, turning to look out into the ocean, watching the waves crash against each other and the seagulls swarming for fish.

            "That's a good thing, Kennedy," Rafe reminded her. Sitting up to wrap his arm around her. She sighed heavily, leaning into him. "People like you and me don't have to worry about the consequences of our actions—we should consider ourselves lucky." He told her, placing a kiss to the top of her head.

          Kennedy pursed her lips together, "Alright," She agreed, her gaze drifting to the cliffs in the distance. "Hey, you wanna go jump from Widows Peak? We haven't done it this year. I'm wearing my bikini and everything." She suggested, her eyes lingering on the tall cliff that overlooked the ocean.

           Windows Peak was what they called that particular cliff, known for thrill-seekers jumping of of it. The thrilling part was the jagged rocks beneath the water and the treacherous waves that smashed against the cliff—not landing the jump right could result in serious consequence.

            Rafe glanced across at the cliff, "Fuck it." He agreed, making her grin widely.    

            "Fuck it." She repeated.

( authors note )

          i wish i could randomly time skip to the other seasons bc i have sm planned , help🥹

          — taylor x