In the early morning, the gravel roads of the neighborhoods in The Cut were quiet, almost peaceful. After deciding to crash on John B's pullout couch with Kie once they'd come back inside from the dock at nearly three in the morning, Dylan's next mission was getting back in her bedroom before her mother woke up, as if she had never snuck out the night before at all.

However, as John B turned the corner and the house was in view of the Twinkie, Dylan's heart dropped into her stomach at the sight of the blonde woman sitting in her pajamas on the front steps leading up to the screened in porch, a cup of coffee in her hands as she stared at the road ahead. "Oh, shit," Dylan sighed as John B pulled into the driveway, and Linda Bates rose to her feet, holding the mug tightly as she tried to catch sight of who was in the vehicle.

While Dylan could count on one hand the number of times in her life she'd seen Linda with so much as a hair out of place, she could hardly recognize her mother that morning as she sat on the steps with disheveled hair, and a fluffy bathrobe that her satin pajamas peeked out of. From inside the van, Dylan could see the bags under her mother's eyes, as if she hadn't slept in a week, a feeling Dylan herself knew all too well. She'd never seen her mother like this before, and she felt a sharp feeling of guilt that she was likely the culprit.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Bates," John B said, bidding the girl goodbye.

"If I'm still alive by then," she said, pulling herself up from the backseat and sliding open the back door of the car. "Bye guys,"

"Bye, have fun!" JJ exclaimed. "Make sure you tell Kelce hi from us!"

Dylan shook her head at his words as she climbed out of the Twinkie, a wave of relief washing over Linda's features as she took in the sight of her daughter, and Dylan slammed the van door shut behind her, slowly walking towards the front steps of the house. "Hi, Mom," she said, her face falling at the look of disappointment coming from her mother.

"Where the hell have you been?" Linda asked.

"It's our fault, Mrs. Bates," Kie's voice joined the mix, and Dylan turned back around to see the passenger side window of the Twinkie rolled down. "We decided to throw a bonfire late last night at John B's house and wanted to invite Dylan, give her a warm welcome to this side of the island."

"Oh," Linda's expression softened a bit towards Kiara. "Well, that's very thoughtful of you, Kie. You should get back home, your parents are probably worried about you, too."

"Yes, ma'am," she said. "We'll see you later, Dylan."

"Bye," Dylan said, reaching a hand up to wave, and John B honked the horn a couple of times before backing the Twinkie out of the driveway, and heading back into town.

Dylan looked back over at her mother, feeling grateful for Kie's explanation, as her mother had always been fond of the Carreras, but as she met Linda's eyes again, her mother's face had turned back to a stern expression. "Dylan Ellery Bates, do you have any idea how worried I've been?" her mother asked once the others were gone.

"Mom, I'm sorry," Dylan said as Linda turned back to the front door, following her mother into the house. "I didn't want to wake you on the way out and I figured I'd be back last night, but then it was just so late so we decided to just sleep there."

"Do you realize that if the phones had been working, I would have called the police?" Linda continued. "I've been worried sick about you. Another twenty minutes and I would've gone down to find Peterkin and file a report."

"And if the phones had been working then I would have texted you." Dylan pointed out. I'm sorry, Mom, really I am."

"Dylan, this isn't like you." her mother insisted. "Is this about your father? Is that why you're sneaking out of the house all night and coming back with your new friends? I hear from Mike and Anna they're not too fond of those boys, I don't want them rubbing off on you, too."

Dylan's heart skipped a beat at the mention of her father, but she took a deep breath, willing herself to stay calm. "This has nothing to do with Dad." she assured her mom. "Kie just wanted to give me a chance to get to meet her friends, hang out with them since I'll be seeing them more at my new school. It was nice, just to hang out for a bit and pretend things are normal."

Linda was silent for a moment, but then put a hand reassuringly on her daughter's shoulder. "I know things must be really hard for you right now." she said. "And I'm so sorry this is all coming down on you. I'm glad you had a nice time with Kie and her friends last night, honey, but next time, let me know so I know you're safe. Okay?"

"Okay," Dylan said, nodding. "I'm sorry,"

"Come here," Linda said, pulling Dylan into a tight hug. "We're going to be okay, you and me. You know that, right?"

"Yeah," Dylan said, hugging her back. "I know."

A horn honking from outside forced the two Bates women to spring apart, and Dylan looked out the window to see the familiar black car sitting in the driveway. "Shi- shoot," Dylan quickly corrected herself. "That's Kelce. We're volunteering with some of the others at the beach cleanup down at Masonborough today. I need to go get changed,"

"Go change," Linda said. "I'll go say hi to Kelce, let him know you'll be out in a bit."

Dylan smiled gratefully at her mom before ducking into her bedroom and closing the door. Linda, along with Dylan's father Dustin, had always been fond of Kelce, fond of the family he came from and the opportunity he had to give their daughter a life as grand as their own. She quickly changed into a new tank top and denim shorts, lacing her sneakers back up and tying her hair into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. She quickly applied a coat of mascara before giving herself a final once over in the mirror, and then grabbed her purse before rushing outside to meet Kelce.

Outside, she found her mom chatting with her boyfriend, Kelce laughing at something Linda must've said as Dylan shut the front door behind her. She quickly bid her mother goodbye before climbing into the passenger seat of Kelce's car.

"Hey," she said, leaning over to kiss him swiftly on the cheek, and the two of them waved goodbye to Linda as Kelce backed out of the driveway. "Sorry I took so long, got a late start this morning."

"That's okay," he said, navigating his way through the streets of The Cut on the way to the marina, where Kelce's family kept their boat docked, and he kept one hand on the wheel as the other snaked around Dylan's shoulders, pulling her close against him. "I've missed you, feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

Dylan smiled, inhaling his familiar scent, and a sense of comfort, of home, washed over her. "Yeah, it's been a crazy couple of days, that's for sure."

The two reached the end of The Cut as the marina came into view, and Kelce parked his car in the lot, turning the key and killing the engine. As Dylan hopped out of the passenger seat, Kelce reached into the backseat, picking up a small cooler and hoisting the strap over his shoulder before shutting the door behind him.

"Whatcha got there?" Dylan asked, nodding towards the cooler as Kelce grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers as they began to walk towards the boats.

"Oh, you know, just a little sustenance," he said, shrugging with a sly smirk. "Fuel for the volunteers. It's good to stay hydrated on a hot day, everybody knows that."

Dylan smiled as they reached his boat, and she climbed onboard, helping Kelce untether it from the dock and ready to go on the water. As soon as it was free from its anchoring, Kelce followed her onboard, getting the motor running as he began to steer it away from the marina, and into the open channel to get them to Masonborough.

"So," Dylan said, leaning down to unzip the cooler now sitting on the floor next to where Kelce steered the boat and pulling out a large clear water bottle filled with a light yellow liquid. "What is this fuel you brought for us today, Kelce?"

"That right there is the Kelce specialty, babe," he said as she unscrewed the lid and sniffed its contents, her nose wrinkling at the strong aroma of the alcohol inside. "Vodka and Crystal Light,"

"Mhm," Dylan agreed, nodding as she tried to get the smell and burning sensation out of her nose, but it was to no avail. With a shrug, she took a drink from the bottle, the strong burn filling her throat as she forced it down. "Holy shit, that's not natural."

Kelce smirked as Dylan closed the bottle, setting it back in the bag and zipping it shut, and she sprawled out on the bench against the side of the boat, laying back with a yawn. "You okay?" He asked, eyebrows furrowing together as he glanced back at her.

"Yeah," she said, readjusting her sunglasses and squinting at the bright sunlight. "Yeah, I just... didn't get a lot of sleep last night, that's all."

"I know," he said reassuringly, nodding.

"You..." she trailed off hesitantly, looking back over at him with a confused look. "You know?"

Dylan's heart leapt into her throat at the thought of Kelce learning what she was up to yesterday, as she knew any part of it would send her boyfriend into a frenzy. Finding Ms. Lana after those men ransacked her house, to having to hide out in John B's chicken coop and running through graveyards in the middle of the night to get away from the men with guns, or even the late night drinking out on the dock and talking about the Royal Merchant gold, she had a strong feeling that there was no way Kelce was okay about any of it.

"Yeah," he explained, as if it were obvious. "It's your new place. That shack's about one more hurricane from biting the dust, and the place is creaky as hell. No wonder you couldn't sleep."

"Oh," she mused, hiding her sigh of relief. "That's... exactly right. You know me so well," she said, shooting her boyfriend a sickeningly sweet smile.

"So it's settled then," he said. "Come stay at my place after Margot's party tonight. You'll get a much better night's sleep there."

Dylan tried not to sound surprised at the casual mention of her best friend throwing a party she knew nothing about, before thinking back to the conversation she'd had with her mother earlier that morning and wincing slightly at how worried Linda had been about Dylan staying out all night now that they were living in a much less safe part of town. Although, as long as she could get her old friends to cover for her, she was pretty sure she'd be able to make it work.

"I could just tell Mom I'm crashing at Sarah's tonight," Dylan suggested, sitting up, and Kelce gave her a satisfied smile, leaning over to kiss her.

By the time they reached Masonborough, the beach cleanup was starting to get into full swing, with a large number of volunteers carrying large bright orange plastic bags moving up and down the stretch of sand, picking up any garbage or large debris left over from Hurricane Agatha. Kelce parked the boat at the dock and grabbed the cooler, and together he and Dylan went to join the group, and get their assignment.

"Names?" the volunteer coordinator asked them as they reached the end of the dock.

"Kelce Smith and Dylan Bates," Kelce recited, and the woman checked off a couple of spots on her clipboard, before moving to hand each of them one of the bright orange bags, as well as a pair of rubber gloves.

"You and your friends are up top," she said, gesturing to a stretch of sand near the trees that was still covered in debris. "Go ahead,"

"Thank you," Dylan told the woman, pulling on the purple rubber gloves she'd been given and holding on tight to the bag. "C'mon, babe,"

Dylan led Kelce over to their stretch of the beach, and they got to work, picking up large pieces of driftwood and seaweed that had been displaced during the storm, as well as pieces of trash that had blown in from the high winds. Kelce paused after a few minutes to pull the bottle back out of the cooler, wiping the sweat that had begun to form on his brow and taking a drink from his concoction.

After taking a drink, he offered the bottle to Dylan, who took it from him and held it back up to her mouth to take another drink, the vodka once again going down like gasoline as she began to sputter, handing it back to him. She knew after a while she'd grow used to the taste, that the first few sips were always the worst, so she pushed through, eager for the fuel to reach her veins and for the burn to lighten up.

"There they are," Kelce said after a while, and Dylan looked over to see Topper and Sarah walking towards the two of them, in the middle of a conversation. Sarah looked visibly upset about something, and Topper kept shaking his head in agreement to whatever she was saying. Not far behind them stood Sarah's younger sister Wheezie, with Margot bringing up the end of the group. "Yo," Kelce said, wandering over to them and extending the bottle in their direction. "You look thirsty."

"Okay, what do we got here?" Topper asked, taking the bottle and examining it.

"Have some of that, baby," Kelce assured him.

Topper unscrewed the lid, leaning forward and sniffing it before his nose wrinkled, not unlike Dylan's back on the boat. "Oh my God," he sighed as Kelce began to laugh.

"Rookie mistake," Dylan chided. "I did the same thing, Top."

"Yeah!" Kelce cheered as Topper took a drink, his face screwing up as he forced the drink mix down. "That's how we do it, baby,"

"Oh, man," Topper said, passing the bottle to Sarah. "Come on, Sarah, Margot, you guys have to try this."

Sarah took the bottle, about to take a drink but pausing as the smell reached her nose. "What did you do to this?" she asked, laughing and looking at Kelce accusingly.

"That looks disgusting," Margot said, wrinkling her nose.

"He's not playin' around." Topper insisted.

"New rule," Sarah said, pointing at Kelce. "Dylan's now in charge of supervising you when you're on drink duty, okay?" She tipped the bottle back, taking a drink.

Before Sarah could finish her drink, the bottle was taken from her hands, and Dylan looked down to see Wheezie taking a long drink, causing the girl's eyes to widen. "Whoa," Topper said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,"

"Mm mm," Sarah chided, shaking her head as she took the bottle back from Wheezie. "Since when did you start drinking?" she demanded, looking down at her little sister.

"Since today," Wheezie shrugged, and Dylan and Kelce exchanged a glance, trying to hide their snickers.

"Great going, Kelce." Sarah said, rolling her eyes as she passed the bottle back to him.

"You guys got it under control?" another voice joined the mix, and Dylan looked up to see an older man, one of the volunteer leaders walking in their direction, causing her eyes to widen as she looked back at Kelce and the bottle.

"Yes sir!" Kelce exclaimed, turning quick on his heel and hiding the bottle in front of him as he walked away towards another piece of seaweed lying in the sand, quickly busying himself with cleaning it up.

"It's looking good, sir," Topper assured him, giving the man a thumbs up.

"Just clearing this stretch out," Kelce added.

"We're just hydrating!" Sarah exclaimed as Kelce finished with the seaweed, placing the bottle back in the cooler. "Almost finished!"

"Great job!" he gave them a thumbs up and a satisfied smile, nodding in their direction before moving onto another group, and they began to chorus their thank yous, waiting until he was safely out of earshot before they started to laugh.

"Close one," Dylan chuckled, pulling the bottle back out of the cooler and taking a drink before passing it to Margot. "Come on, guys, this stretch is looking good."

Dylan busied herself with the cleanup as, slowly, the other girls followed her over to her spot, beginning to clean up the trash that had embedded itself in the sand during the storm. While they worked, the boys busied themselves with their own area, the bottle of vodka and Crystal Light being passed between the groups as the amount inside grew lower and lower, a buzz beginning to settle over each of them. While Margot stayed quiet for the most part, her gaze moving around to everything but Dylan, Sarah cleared her throat after a while, looking over at her friend.

"So, how are you?" Sarah asked finally. "Are you and your mom all settled in yet?"

Dylan nodded. "For the most part," she said. "I finished unpacking my room yesterday, and the house is almost done. It's just weird, being over there."

"It's weird not having you just down the street anymore." Sarah said thoughtfully. "That I can't just hop on my bike and you're right there."

"That'd be quite the ride down to The Cut," Margot said sarcastically, causing Dylan's eyebrows to furrow in confusion as she looked back at the girl she'd always considered to be one of her best friends.

"Yeah, but we manage," Dylan said, shrugging off her words.

"If you say so," she relented, before her eyes moved back over to Sarah. "Sarah, are you and Topper coming to my party tonight?"

"That's the plan," she said, nodding. "I just need to get Wheeze to cover for me tonight. Dylan, are you and Kelce going?"

Dylan nodded, trying to ignore the fact that everyone had already known about Margot's party before Kelce had finally brought it up to her on the boat that morning, but she knew there had to be another reason why, one that made sense. She told herself that the text was probably sitting unread on her phone, since she didn't have the power to charge the battery or the reception on The Cut for the message to go through, and she made herself a mental note to grab her phone when she went home to change before the party, so she could charge it while at Kelce's house.

At the thought, JJ's voice echoed in her head from back at the lighthouse, and an annoyance spread through her that she was worried about exactly the things he'd accused her of, but before she could think on it any further, she forced the thought of JJ Maybank from her brain. "We'll be there," Dylan said, glancing over at Margot to make sure the redhead also heard the confirmation. "I'll just tell my mom I'm staying at your place, she'll never know."

"That's a long drive," Margot retorted once more, rolling her eyes. "Hopefully we'll still be there when you guys arrive."

Dylan looked away from the redhead, instead seeing where Kelce and Topper were now walking closer to them, and she quickly took the bottle from her boyfriend's hands, taking another drink and letting Margot's words fade away with the alcohol in her veins. "Are you okay?" Kelce asked, catching the glassy look in her eyes, and she began to chuckle at his words as the buzz settled further over her body.

"Of course I am," she said, leaning forward and kissing his cheek as he took the last drink out of the bottle. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"If we could get everyone's attention over here!" a voice called out, and they turned to see the director, a tall man in a straw hat and a white long-sleeved shirt standing at the edge of the beach, beckoning over the volunteers. "We're going to take some time for our closing words, and then we'll send everyone off for the evening to celebrate a job well done today."

Kelce slung an arm around Dylan's shoulders, leading her and the rest of their friends over to where the large group of volunteers had gathered in a circle, holding the hands of those on either side of them. Dylan joined the circle between Kelce and Sarah, taking their hands as the director cleared his throat, beginning his speech.

"Just a moment, friends, to acknowledge our blessings." the man began, starting his prayer. "To the big Kahuna," he said, causing Sarah to snort slightly at his words.

"Shh," Topper whispered from her other side, and Dylan tried to hide the smirk threatening to turn up the corners of her mouth.

"Thank you for the opportunity to come out here and restore Masonborough to its virgin glory," he continued, and the teenagers all exchanged looks as they began to laugh, but Dylan quickly brought a hand up to her mouth to hide it. "Amen."

As the group began to cheer at the finished prayer, breaking up for the afternoon, Sarah's eyes widened as the director shot them a quick glare, and she quickly avoided his gaze. "He doesn't like us, that guy." Topper said, causing Kelce to chuckle.

"No he does not," Kelce agreed, looking down at his tipsy girlfriend with a smile. "Well guys, I should get this one home so we can get ready. But we'll see you all later at Mar's for the party?"

"We'll see you then," Topper said, waving goodbye.

"Yeah, sure," Margot said, mumbling something under her breath that Kelce seemed not to hear, but Dylan managed to catch the three words, her heart beginning to sink with each one, though she tried her best to hide it.

Bring the Pogue.