࿓ 🌻  ໋ ⁎  ✺  𓆞
" chapter one : the pilot ! ,,

AUGUST 2020

It was hot and sticky summer on The Cut. The redhead, also known as Summer O'Malley sported a slight sunburn on the bridge of her nose paired with freckles all along her shoulders and knees. Her fiery red hair was thrown up into a messy ponytail, strands pulled out haphazardly in Summer fashion. "Hey J Bird! How about we don't go breakin' our necks this summer, huh?" She shouted from where she lay across the wooden floorboards, nursing a beer like the rest of the Pogues. Above her she saw John B over the top of her orange sunglasses. He was standing on the ledge of a triangular roof, dangling his dusty white converse over it. The idiot was always playing with fate, but they all were, they needed that rush. The band of teenagers had returned to their newest hang out spot. An older home, still lavish as it was on the water in the Figure Eight. It was under construction which made it easy for them to break into.

"That's what, a three story fall to the deck?" Pope questioned the boy on the roof, holding a drill in his hand, "I give you about a one-in-three chance of survival." John B hummed in acknowledgement and licked his finger, lifting it into the sky to feel the slight breeze. Summer smiled at Pope's words, pushing her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Should I do it?" John B teased with a chuckle, he leaned forward and looked down at Summer, shooting her a toothy grin.

"Yeah you should do it, I'll shoot you on the way down—"

"—they're going to have Japanese towel warmers. This used to be a turtle habitat but who cares about the turtles, I guess," Kiara strolled out of the house that John B was currently residing on top of. She joined their little group not too long ago, around the end of their sophomore year in high school. The boys absolutely loved her, Summer however did not feel as warm and fuzzy. Kiara was best friends with Sarah Cameron for fucks sake, of course she didn't trust her. That and the girl wouldn't shut the hell up. "Can you not you please not kill yourself?" Summer chuckled at Kiara's request and glanced between the two.

"Don't spill your beer!" JJ yelled from where he sat, "I'm not giving you another one." As if on cue John B drops the beer, splashing most of it on the wooden floor, narrowly missing where Summer was enjoying the sun.

"Dude you almost took me out!" She yelled up at him, sitting up and pulling off her sunglasses. Groans and teasing came from the other three Pogues.

"Hey, uh, security is here," Pope called from his spot on the railing. Summer glanced to where the boy was looking. Sure enough the van had just pulled up in the driveway, the door slowly opening. 'Can't I just have a single moment of peace?' Summer thought to herself.

"They're early today, let's roll," John B chimed in as he and JJ climbed their way down from the rooftop. Kiara watched them with endearing eyes as Summer still watched where Gary, their favorite Humpty Dumpty security guard was. The blonde boy leapt down from the ladder and came to a stop in front of where Summer had been sitting, giving major golden retriever energy might I add.

"Cmon Summy," JJ pulled her out of her thoughts, standing in front of her with open hands. Summer glanced between his blue eyes and calloused hands before placing her smaller ones in his. As she took them as he yanked her up and into the air and before she knew it he was pulling her through the glass sliding doors of the home. No matter how many times she and JJ held hands, Summer would absolutely never get over it.

"Let's go boys! And Summer." Kiara called out into the empty house, her words echoing off the walls. Whoops, yells, and giggles streamed through the home as the group of four ran through it, swiftly dodging the construction tools. As they made it down the stairs, JJ's hand slipped from Summers as he and Pope went one way while the two girls and John B turned the other corner. JJ's hand was replaced with John B's as he pulled Summer along. She had always needed an extra bit of direction from her best friend. The split was a distraction tactic, of course, this wasn't their first rodeo. The redhead pulled the keys to the Twinkie out of her pocket and as they made it to the front door she chucked John B the keys to The Twinkie, his old and rusted up Volkswagen van. As they ran through the front door, he hopped in the drivers side as Summer did the passengers side. Kiara hopped in the back and pulled open the large sliding van door. As if on cue the two final Pogues made it over the fence and threw themselves quickly into the back of the van. The engine of the Twinkie crackles as she pushes forward. The wind whipped through the open windows, cries of anger coming from Mr. Humpty Dumpty. Summers blue eyes watched JJ in the rear view mirror as he took hold of the side of the van and leaned out of the side of it. The boy held out a beer for poor, old, Gary who was running behind the van.

"Check out Gary, gunnin' for a race," Pope said from the seat behind John B. Laughter fills the car at his comment.

"Come on Gary!" JJ hollered, hanging out of the van. The security guard yelled weak profanities at them. "You're so close. You can do it!"

"Stop guys, you're going to give him a heart attack!" Kiara chides.

"They don't pay you enough bro," The blonde was pulled back into the car by Kiara who was parenting him like a little kid, which sometimes he needed, "Oh come on, that sort of initiative is just begging to be punished." Summer just rolled her eyes at the two arguing in the back and glanced over to John B who was already looking her way. He endearingly put a hand around the back of her neck, squeezing gently with the biggest, goofiest, smile. The chatter continued in the van as they drive over the long bridge, making the perfectly rehearsed escape.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

You see, this gang of teens was one hundred percent not from the 'nice' side of town, also called the Figure Eight. It's paradise on Earth, if you can afford it. The Outer Banks is the sort of place where you either have two jobs or two houses. And guess which one these kids are apart of. And if you can't, don't worry, I'll tell you.

The South Side or what the Pogues call, The Cut, is where they reside. It's made up of rundown shacks, trailers, the working class. And you, yourself, might be wondering, what's a Pogue? Well, Pogues, Poueys, they're throwaway fish, the lowest member of the food chain. Ignored and neglected. Some would hate it, these kids however, do whatever they want, whenever they want.

That's JJ, John J Maybank. Summer met him, and John B, in the 4th grade. The three had the same walk home and both boys caught her stealing Swedish fish. The kid wouldn't shut up until Summer shared some with him. He's about as local as they come. Latest in a long line of fishing, drinking, smuggling, vendetta-holing salt-lifers who made their living off the water. He's the best surfer Summer knows, but she'll never admit it. Honestly, a mild kleptomaniac with anger issues, and a future tax cheat.

That's Kiara but everyone calls her Ki. She's super big on turtles and the environment, which gets slightly annoying. Summer had known her as a Kook for as long as she can remember, until she joined their crew in their sophomore year of high school. Her parents own The Wreck, a tourist trap restaurant. The boys are absolutely infatuated with her and Summer doesn't get it. She's a hippie chick with money, so no one's really sure why she hangs out with them.

That's Pope, the brains of the operation, finalist for the Lucas T. Vanderhorst Merit Scholarship. Aka the smartest of the bunch, or of anyone in Summers humble opinion. That doesn't stop him from being a little bit of a weirdo, but they all love him. He'd joined the gang in middle school and hasn't left since. Although he's focused on school, he's the most loyal guy anyone would have ever met.

Finally, John B or John Booker Routledge. The final part of the 4th grade best friends. While JJ talked Summers ear off for some of the Swedish fish, John B schemed with her to snag other candies from the gas station. He lives alone after his Dad vanished at sea and lets Summer and JJ steal his couch whenever they can. John B is the proud owner of the crew's van The Twinkie as well as their boat and kind of takes a leadership role, or fatherly role, of the gang.

And that's Summer's crew. She's the youngest of the bunch and considered the cool younger sister, always needing to be saved from trouble. She moved to the Cut from sunny California in the 4th grade. Her mom and two siblings live over in Figure Eight with her stepfather while she stayed on the south side with her Dad. She also might totally be in love with JJ Maybank, but that's beside the point.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

Summer found herself lying face down on Big John's couch— or John B's couch, now, she guessed. The old, once beige now green, sofa was one she spent many nights on during the summer. Beside her was JJ, also asleep. You'd think they were more than just best friends with how many nights they spent sleeping in the same bed, but nope, nothing had ever happened. Summer heard a toilet flush and shuffling footsteps but still refused to open her eyes. It was almost as if they were cemented shut. Her head pounded and her stomach was turning, she was definitely hungover. The girl felt a cold hang on her ankle, tugging on it, "Rise and shine Sum." The redhead peaked her blue eyes open at the culprit, John B, who made his way to the other side of the couch to slap JJ on his bare back. The blonde was in a similar state to Summer, lying face down with his mouth hanging open, "Yo, JJ, you been outside?"

"I have polio, bro. I can't walk." Was the sleepy response John B got. Summer pulled herself out of the warm spot she was laying in and looked at herself. They had gotten home late from a surf trip and Summer had fallen asleep in her bikini top and jean shorts. She quickly found a shirt on the ground, one of many in the messy cottage, and tugged it over her head. The girl turned and looked at JJ who was basically dead to the world, and shirtless, Summer had definitely noticed the fact that he was shirtless. That made her ears tinge a slight shade of red.

"Hey Jay, wake up," she nudged him with her foot. He stirred slightly and groaned. Summer looked around the room and spotted their cooler, pulling out a can. "We have beeeeerrrr~" At this, the boy perked up, sitting up to grab it from her hand with sleepy eyes. "Greedy asshole."

"Nice shirt, idiot," JJ shot back. Summer looked down at the one she had unintentionally chosen. Of course it belonged to JJ himself, shocker. It was a soft grey with a graphic of some rock band he liked in middle school. She rolled her eyes sassily to hide the warm blush that coated her cheeks.

"Let's go, Maybank," The two walked out onto John B's porch. To say the yard was a mess would be an understatement, the hurricane that had passed through the night before had pushed down trees and caused quite a bit of damage.

"Agatha did some work, huh?" JJ leaned against the porch, Summer beside him.

"Yes she did," John B replied from where he was pulling branches out of the dingy, also shirtless with his necktie. Summer made her way down the yard to help John B clean out the boat.

"Whatcha thinking?" She asked him, her eyes darting to the boy who jumped into the boat.

"I'm thinkin' that storm surge pushed all the crabs out on the marsh maze. All those drum are gonna chase the crab." JJ and Summer stared a look at John B's words. It was almost telepathic.

"What about the DCS?," JJ pushed gently, "Wasn't that today?"

"Nah, they're not getting on a ferry," John B glanced over at Summer who was giving him a pointed look, "Come on, think about it. It's God telling us to fish!" The three all laughed and began pulling the branches out of the boat. DCS was a sensitive topic with the boy and when he brushed it off the way he just did, you didn't want to push any harder.

"Well, you guys can keep doing this, you know for God or whatever, but I definitely need to stop by home and check the damage Miss Agatha did," The redhead chuckled and made her way back to the porch.

"You just don't want to clean!" JJ yelled playfully to her from the top of the boat. She shrugged with a mischievous giggle and ran back into the cottage.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

Summer road up to her house on the baby blue beach bike, still wearing JJ's shirt but now it was tied at the waist. As she came to a stop her blue eyes glanced around the marsh and dock in front of her house. A few trees had blown over and some branches scattered around the lawn, nothing too bad. The water was overflowing into the dingy that was roped to the dock. She parked the bike on the open porch and pulled the house keys decorated with the surfboard charm, from JJ, out of her patchwork satchel. Her dad was probably at the bar, getting updates on the hurricane and drinking, as per usual. Summer unlocked the door and went inside, slipping off her sandals and walking to her room. The girl had a little while before the boys would be making their way to her dock which meant she could clean up a bit. She pulled off JJ's shirt, not forgetting to smell it, and folded it neatly before she put it on top of the dresser. Stacks of sweaters, shirts, and other miscellaneous items that belonged to JJ and John B took over the surface of her dresser. They shared the same trait of forgetfulness. She smiled at one of the Polaroids of the three of them she had taped to the wall. She quickly freshened up and changed her bikini and shorts, slipping a muscle tank over her head, another one she had kept from the boys. Before she knew it, there was honking at the dock. The girl quickly grabbed her bag, slipped on her sandals, and was out the door. "Hey losers!" She yelled with a wave.

"Hurry up! We don't have all day!" JJ yelled from the boat, waving her over. She ran quickly and leapt onto the side of the boat, falling into John B's arms as it rocked from side to side.

"Hey." John B said, looking down at her with a small smile as his hands held her upright by the waist. Summer didn't miss the feeling of him squeezing her sides in greeting.

"Hi," She squeaked out, embarrassingly, before pulling away and turning around. She grabbed a beer out of JJ's offering hand and cracked it, throwing back the can with a long swing. The blonde across from her made questioning eye contact with a raised eyebrow. Suddenly, the boat lurched forward as the engine roared to life. Summer glanced to see John B behind the wheel with Kiara standing beside him, chatting away. They were off to a long day of drinking and sun.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

As the dingy cuts through the marsh, the wind is blowing and the sun is beaming down onto Pogues. Pope is stationed being the wheel, Kiara and Summer are sunbathing having ditched their coverups and shorts, John B is typing a fishing fly, and JJ is standing on the prow with a beer in hand, trying to pour it all into his mouth.

"God, you're getting beer in my hair!" Kiara complains as the wind flings the beer across the sunbathing duo. Suddenly the boat comes to a stop, throwing JJ completely off the prow of the boat and into the water, a humorous sight. The other three fly forwards and narrowly stay on the boat. Ever the father of the group, John B quickly gets up and checks on the group.

"I think the heels touched the back of my head," JJ complains with a groan as he swims back towards the boat. Summer stands up, rubbing the back of her head, and walks towards the edge of the prow. She reaches a hand towards JJ to pull him back up. "What the fuck did you do, Pope?" Pope looks off the stern, by the outboard, which has been wrenched up. JJ shoots Summer a thankful smile and climbs onto the boat beside her.

"Sandbar. The channels changed, " Pope answers.

"The storm must have been huge back here," John B chimes in.

"I saved the beer though guys!" JJ says, standing back up on the boat.

"Congrats JJ—"

"Guys, there's a boat down there," Pope says as he crouches on his knees, looking into the murky water. Sure enough, completely submerged beneath the surface was a white boat. The rest of the Pogues groan, not believing him. "No, guys, I'm serious there's a boat." The four come up beside him, looking down into the depths.

"Oh shit," Kiara rubs her eyes to take a better look, "He's right, let's go!" All of them back up, pulling off their shorts and shirts before jumping into the water. Summer was the last to dive after her friends, JJ calling to tell her to hurry up. The five dove under the water and into the ship. Summer swims around the outskirts of the ship, watching as John B swims out of sight. As she felt her lungs running out of air, she pushed off the top of the boat and to the surface, taking a large gasp of air as the rest of them turn up too. They all smile at each other and climb back onto their own boat.

"That's a Grady-White, primo rig. New one of those is 500 G's, easy," JJ says with a laugh as he yanks Summer back up.

"I saw that boat yesterday when I was surfing the surge," John B says as he pulls up Kiara, "It must've hit the jetty."

"You've served the surge?" Kiara asks, with a concerned look on her face.

"Fucking A! Pogue style," JJ has a toothy grin as he pays John B on the back. Kiara is still looking at John B with the same judgement and concern.

"What the fuck," She says.

"Do you know who's boat it is?" Pope questions. He watches as John B pulls open the secret latch on the floor of their boat and pulls out the anchor.

"No," John B holds the anchor and stands back up, "But we're about to find out."

"It's too deep," Summer says, worry lacing her tone. Her eyebrows were knitted together and her arms were crossed in front of her.

"For the weak and feeble."

"No way I'm resuscitating you. Just wanna make that clear upfront," JJ jokes, earning a slap on the arm from Summer. He pulls her into a headlock in retaliation which make Summer scream and laugh. John B grinned at them and walked backwards to the edge of the prow and facing the Pogues.

"John B," Kiara says with a warning tone.

"What?"

"Diver down, fool," Pope salutes him, not giving Kiara the opportunity to convince him otherwise.

"Diver down." John B salutes him back.

"Yeah he is," JJ says, unlatching himself from Summer as he pushes John B off the ledge of the prow. John B falls backwards into the water with a splash and sinks towards the submerged boat. The four above the water rush to the edge of the boat, looking down into the water. JJ watches, with a smile while Summer, on the other hand, sports a nervous look on her face. She is messing with the bracelet she wears, snapping it against her wrist, a nervous habit.

"It's been a few minutes. Should we go get him?" Pope asks the others. Suddenly John B breaks through the surface of the water, gasping for air. Summer lets out nervous sigh of relief.

"That took forever," Kiara complains, also somewhat relieved that John B made it back up to the surface.

"Any dead bodies?" Pope asks. John B shakes his head.

"Looting potential?" John B shakes his head again.

"Just this, a motel key," John B holds up a key with a green charm connected to it a number on it. The group look at him quizzically. He climbs his way back onto the boat.

"Told you I could do it," John B says to Summer, knocking shoulders with her. A grin breaks out onto her serious face.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

The Pogues pull their boat into the dock in front of a large two-story motel. It's the usual rundown motel you see in a tourist town, complete with a dingy sign and flickering lights. Only this time the trees were pushed over and branches covered most of the front lawn and parking lot. JJ hops off of the front of the boat first and ties it up.

"Motel or meth lab?" Kiara jokes. She looks at Summer with a mischievous grin and a chuckle.

"All signs are pointing towards a meth lab," The redhead jokes back, shooting her a wink. It was odd the moments that these two got along. Sometimes they went days without acknowledging each other's presence, the other days they were laughing together all day and night.

"Don't let him do anything stupid," Pope says, pointing towards JJ. It's always JJ.

"Oh we will," JJ says sneakily, as if it was basically a given.

"No promises," John B says with a shrug and a smile. Summer jumps off the front of the boat and stands beside JJ. John B turns around quickly, looking at her questioningly. "Absolutely not. You are not coming with us."

"Why not?" Summer asks, putting her hands on her hips and tilting her head. She never understood why John B would get like this. So overly protective of her. Whereas if Kiara was in her place, he would absolutely let her tag along.

"You cannot seriously be asking 'why not?' How about the fact that we have no idea what's going to be in the room? It could be dangerous. You could get hurt." He seemed almost exhausted as he said those words, rubbing the lines between his brows with a long sigh. Summer turns to look at JJ with pleading eyes.

"I'm with John B on this one, Sum," JJ gives her a pointed look, "Get back on the boat."

"No."

"God, you're so stubborn," JJ rolled his eyes at her and grabbed her by the waist, lifting her up and putting her back onto the dingy. Summer fought against his grasp, struggling to get out of his hold. JJ passes her to Pope easily, almost like a rag doll. Pope linked his arms around her as she struggled to get out of his hold.

"They're going to be fine. They're idiots, but they'll be fine," Pope said to Summer. She stared defiantly at John B and JJ, but stopped struggling. No one agreed with her and Kiara conveniently stayed silent. There was no way she would convince them otherwise.

"Fine, fine," Summer pushes Pope off of her, standing to the side of him and crossing her arms. She was staring daggers at the three boys who had teamed against her.

"Cmon don't look at me like that," JJ says to Summer, pouting and her playfully, "We'll be fine. We always get out of trouble!" He smiled at her before spinning around on his heels. The two boys start walking towards the motel.

"John B, wait!" Kiara yell after the boy climbing off the boat and onto the shore. She takes the motel key out of her pocket and put it in his hand. "Be careful, okay?" The two hold eye contact for a long moment before John B smiles at her warmly and walks away, running to catch up to JJ. Summer didn't miss the way Kiara's eyes followed John B's figure as he walked off. She felt something swirl in her stomach, something similar to... jealousy? Disgust? She couldn't quite place the feeling. Summer moved to the back of the boat and sat down on the bench, her arms still crossed in front of her.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

The three Pogues are still waiting in the boat for John B and JJ. Pope and Kiara are chatting while Summer lays down with her eyes closed, tuning them out, sulking. The twos conversation is cut short when the noise of a truck comes down the path of the motel. The truck comes to a stop, more specifically the Sheriffs Deputy cruiser. The three of them jumped to their feet, alert.

"What if they're just coming for a check up?" Pope asks.

"Don't be an idiot," Kiara says, "They are literally pointing up to the room that the guys are in."

"Call them," Pope taps Kiara's arm.

"I can't. The towers are down," Kiara says matter-of-factly. Summer steps forward and jumps off the edge of the boat onto the land. The girl stays crouched down in order to avoid being seen by the deputy and his assistant.

"You guys coming?" Summer asks, waving her hand towards the motel. The two jump down and follow suit behind the redhead.

"If I loose my merit scholarship I'm going to kill somebody," Pope grumbles out. The trio make it to the side of the motel where the window of the room was. Pope looks around then bends down and picks up some pebbles. He throws them towards the window missing miserably.

"Didn't you ever play sports?" Summer rolls her eyes at Kiara's comment before picking up some pebbles of her own, throwing them towards the window. It hits it perfectly, the other two shut up as grins break out onto their faces. The celebration was hastily cut short. "Fuck. Look," Kiara points towards the stairs. They look toward the deputies and the motel manager walking towards the door with a key. "Should we peel?" She asks.

"You never leave a Pogue behind," Pope and Summer say in unison before snapping their heads towards one another and making eye contact. Summer shoots Pope a slight smile and he just nodes back at her. In the distance there is banging heard on the motel door.

"No, seriously guys, should we peel?"

"Look," Summer points towards the window. The two boys that were once inside the motel room were climbing out of the window, balancing narrowly on the ledge. They're like cats with nine lives how narrowly they escape authority. The three Pogues down below run back out to the boat and crouch behind the wheel in order to not be seen. They watch in fear as the boys press themselves up against each side of the window. Deputy Shoupe comes up to the window, takes a look out, turns back around, and vanishes from their sight. Suddenly the Sheriff walks out with bags in his hands. All of the Pogues take a breath they didn't realize they were holding in and relax. Their boys were safe.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

The five are back together again, but this time they're coasting on the water after making a swift escape. John B and Pope sit behind the wheel while JJ and Summer sit across from them. Kiara is in the middle on the bench. "The cops took everything like it was a crime scene. Did you guys find anything?" Pope asks.

"Did we find anything? No I don't think so," JJ pulls out a stack of cash in one hand and a gun in the other. "Oh yeah we did." Summer turns her head to look at JJ with her jaw dropped. He looks back at her with a giggle and runs the cash down the side of her face. Summer glares at him and pushes him away from her face.

"Are you an idiot? Actually don't answer that, I already know," Summer spits at him.

"What the fuck, JJ," Pope exclaims.

"Dude, what?" Kiara questions.

"Why would you take that from a crime scene?" Pope stands up and walks towards JJ. He does the same and walks towards Pope.

"Bro, it's better than the cops having it," JJ replies, still holding up both the cash and the gun. Kiara turns and looks at John B with a disapproving look. Summer just sits, once again in disbelief.

"Seriously?" The two girls say in unison towards John B. The boy just sits there with a dumbfounded look, glancing between both of the girls. Summer swears that if she rolls her eyes one more time today, they'll get stuck.

"I'm going to loose my merit scholarship," Pope cries out in worry. JJ just shushes him, pressing the gun to Pope's lips playfully as he wraps his arm around the other boys shoulder.

"Come on. At least you have us, right?"

"I'm living a nightmare."

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

The five Pogues, all sit on a dock with a couple of other teens. In front of them is a dead body on a gurney being wheeled out. Paramedics, cops, and major pillars of the towns community swarm the dock. The body belonged to a man named Scooter, at least that's what Summer thinks the girl talking to John B said. She hugs her knees, chin rested on them and eyes closed as the body gets rolled away. "What kind of boat did he have?" JJ asks.

"Somehow that dirtbag copped a brand new Grady-White," The girl answers him. Summer perks up as all of the Pogues make eye contact with one another.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

They're finally all back on John B's porch now, as usual, their meeting place. Pope is pacing in front of them, JJ and John B are sitting on the fence, and the girls have made themselves comfortable on the beat up couch. "We need to have total incomplete amnesia," Pope says with a worried tone.

"Pope's right, for once," JJ says as he gets up, flickering a lighter. "See, I agree with you sometimes. Deny deny deny."

"We can't keep that money," Kiara chimes in.

"Not everyone can afford unlimited data plans, Kiara—"

"We have to pass it on to Lana Grubbs. Otherwise it's bad karma."

"Ki is right. Did you see how his wife looked? It was awful." Summer says, shooting a look at John B who broke eye contact guiltily as soon as he could.

"Bad karma to be implicated with a felon too. We got to go dark," Pope says.

"if that means we get to keep the money, then okay, I agree," JJ says, which earns an eye-roll from both girls. They all start to look at John B.

"I don't agree," John B says, "Scooter Grubbs bought individuals cigarettes at the Porthole. I once saw him at the Save-A-Lot begging for change for gas. He was a dirtbag marina rat who never had more than $40. And he suddenly has a brand new Grady white? Around here there's only one way at marina rat gets a Grady white. Square grouper, bro. Radar detection and aerial surveys aren't detected during storms. Everyone knows that. It's a free pass. As long as you survive."

"He was smuggling," JJ says.

"I'm thinking there's probably serious contraband in that wreck," John B replies.

"Fuck yeah!" JJ cheers, standing up.

"Shoot me now," Pope falls backwards onto the sofa, putting his face in his hands. Summer pats his shoulder comfortingly.

"It's our ticket," John B says, also standing up. He wraps his arm around JJ's shoulders, pulling him in close.

"If we can get what we thinks in there, we can pass some of it off to Lana Grubbs. We could get a lawyer for you, John B. We can fly Uncle T in and get you a guardian for your DCS meetings—" Kiara starts listing things in order to persuade Pope and Summer towards their side.

"So we can save John B's life, and be good friends, and help grieving widows— or we can be pussies with merit scholarships," JJ turns to Pope, "Your choice dude."

"Who's in?" John B looks between the three on the couch.

"I'm fucking in," JJ yells, thrusting his lighter towards the sky.

"Get up, stand up," Kiara says as she stands up from the couch. JJ and John B turn towards Summer who is flicking her bracelet, glancing between the two boys.

"I have nothing to loose," Summer stands up. "I'm in."

"There's only one person we haven't heard from yet," JJ says looking at Pope.

"For the record, if that's a smuggling ship with illegal contraband inside, it belongs to someone else. Taking it would be catastrophically stupid."

"Stupid things have good outcomes all the time. Look at the pop charts. Right now we just have to find a way to get into it until then, be cool and act normal."

"If we act too normal, then everyone will know some things up."

"Normal for us," John B says.

"Which is what, exactly?" Pope replies.

"Kegger?" Kiara suggests.

࿓ 🌊 ໋ ⁎ ✺ 𓆞

𓈒 ☆ ࣪ ࣭ ✦ 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎 —  so sorry for the long wait on this episode! hopefully more will be out soon! leave a comment and let me know what you all think!

© 𝖥𝟦𝖨𝖱𝖨𝖫𝖸 '24