★☆⋆⁎⋆✶★☆⋆⁎⋆✶

𝖍𝖔𝖜 𝖙𝖔: 𝖑𝖔𝖘𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖌𝖎𝖗𝖑

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐉𝐉

★☆⋆⁎⋆✶★☆⋆⁎⋆✶

Harvey Dunweather only had one child, but he raised three. Over the last eight years or so, he'd grown so accustomed to setting two more plates at the dinner table. He cleared out the backseat of his truck so it could fit two more hooligans on the way home from school. He worked more hours to buy extra food. He fought, tooth and nail, to protect those three kids like his life depended on it. But there were certain things nothing could mend―like death, something he had not yet learned to deal with himself after the loss of his best friend. Like abuse, and the laws which prevented justice from being served. Harvey knew how to fix a lot of things―cars, boats, a microwave, a fallen tree, a ten ton load of concrete―but there were certain things he couldn't fix.

His coffee mug was burning the side of his hand as he glanced up from it, his head tilted in the direction of the cracked door just down the hallway where his daughter's room was. Then, his footsteps were taking him down the short hall, smiling at the blue, little foam stickers that still held on for dear life from when Ronni 'decorated the house with them' back when she was little. The white house was silent, save for the now-working AC blowing through the house, and when Harvey cracked open the door to Ronni's bedroom, peaking his head inside, he felt a little piece of his heart mend.

The small bedroom was not large enough for five people, but the queen bed managed to fit three of them with only a small squeeze. Ronni was in the middle, her bun looking like it had a couple rounds with a bird, and to either side of her were JJ and Kie. The sight itself almost made him laugh, seeing Kie smothering Ronni with half of her body while Ronni laid right up against JJ's chest. It's a wonder the boy hadn't been pushed off the side of the bed by them, but the secured arm he had around Ronni's waist might have been the reason he hadn't broken Pope's face in just yet.

The other two boys were on the floor just below. Pillows and blankets were thrown haphazardly all over the carpet floor, Pope and John B laying in between her bed and her dresser opposite ways, JB's foot only an inch away from going into Pope's nose if he wasn't careful. One or both of the boys could have easily fit on the couch in the living room, there was plenty of space, but Harvey had seen them yesterday. Whatever happened, they all wanted to be close to one another. He assumed it must have had something to do with his ex-wife. He couldn't fix everything, but maybe they could fix each other.

Not even thirty minutes after Harvey left the house to go to work did all hell break loose. Ronni rolled over further into Kie, making the brunette grumble and shove her friend off her, inadvertently pushing JJ away from Ronni and sending him off the side of the bed. JJ landed directly on Pope, who shot up with a loud groan when his gut was smashed in, masked by JJ's yelp of pain at the impact of his shoulder clipping John B's knee. In an instant, all three boys were a heaping mess of distressed sounds on the ground as they all shoved one another.

"Shut the fuck up. I'm trying to sleep," Ronni grumbled, pulling a pillow out from under her and throwing it blindly down at the ground. She'd ended up hitting John B upside the back of the head, making him scowl and throw it back instantly, accidentally hitting Kie and sending her up real quick to glare at him.

Pope winced, finally free of JJ's legs and rolling his neck free of the pain. "What the hell happened?"

"Ronni pushed me off the fucking bed," JJ hissed, pushing himself up slightly to glare at the messy head of the girl in question.

Ronni's eyes shot open, meeting Kie's annoyed gaze. "You fell off, dipshit. Not my fault."

"He's just jealous I'm the one in bed with you," Kie scoffed out.

"It's fine. He has Pope now."

"C'mere baby," was heard from the ground and then the obnoxious sounds of kissing from JJ as he wrangled in Pope to land one on his cheek. "See, I can replace you too, V."

She stuck her middle finger off the side of the bed to be sure that he could see it, then she let out a loud groan and forced herself up. John B had gone back to sleep, which explained why he was unresponsive to their bickering. She threw her legs over past Pope, sliding in between his and JJ's bodies and shooting JJ a glare when he smirked and grabbed her calf, tugging gently to try and trip her. The only justifiable response she had was to keep walking, pulling on his weight enough to drag him a few centimeters with her.

"Where'reyougoin'?" slurred out of John B's mouth when she stepped past him and accidentally knocked into his arm.

She glanced down at him, JJ still latched to her leg like a child. "Gonna see if Dad left."

"He left thirty minutes ago," Pope groaned out, still clutching his ribs where JJ's knee hit on the way down. "I heard his truck start up."

Ronni sighed and twisted around, hopping on one leg for a moment when JJ kept hold of her. Then she landed back down on the bed, Kie letting out a sound when the mattress bounced on impact. For the next ten minutes, it was a waiting game to see which one of them was going to get up first. Unsurprisingly, John B let out a groan before yawning and pushing himself up. On his way, he shoved JJ, forcing him up next.

"Come on. We need to go test out the drone," John B said, wincing and rolling the kink out of his neck. "V, you need better carpet."

Ronni opened one eye to glare at JB. "Oh yeah. I'll add that to the list right after the hot tub and built-in seat warmers, JB."

"Thanks. I appreciate it. Pope, get up. We need your brain."

"That's all I'm good for to you guys," Pope grumbled, but he was up next, leaving the three boys to stare at the two girls laying in the bed half-asleep. Then they shared a glance, grinning to themselves, and John B glanced around the room to find what he was looking for. A water bottle sat off to the side JJ had grabbed last night, and he expertly grabbed it and opened the lid without crinkling the plastic.

JJ grinned and watched as John B flung the rest of the water at the two of them, both girls shooting up instantly with shrieks at the cold water attacking their skin. Then, they set their sights on the boys. Kie was scrambling out of the bed faster that Ronni, John B and Pope darting quickly out the door. Ronni launched herself up just as JJ tried to sprint out of the room, only getting so far before he felt a strong hand latch onto the tank top he wore, jerking him back.

"Oh no you don't―"

Ronni was taken by surprise when JJ quickly rounded back, her grip on his cut-off navy tank top being pulled away. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth in confusion just in time for JJ to grab a fistful of the baggy t-shirt she had on her, kissing her unannounced. She kissed back instantly as he urged her backwards, guiding her back to her bedroom. When she nearly tripped over her own feet being half asleep, she separated from JJ, him still urging her back as he chased after her lips again.

"JJ...it's like eight am. We haven't even br―"

"I really don't give a fuck, V," he replied hastily before he was connecting their lips again. A sound came out of her mouth on impact but JJ didn't pay attention, his hand going out to hold her jaw as he backed her against her bedroom door.

"You know..." she muttered in between shuddered breaths when his cool hands slinked up the side of her thigh, to her hip, underneath her shirt and all the way to her ribcage "...we're even now. Two for two."

Another sound came from the back of JJ's throat as he pressed against her, his hand on her jaw trailing down momentarily to her throat to hold her there before he pulled away. "Fuck, V," he muttered, his blue eyes catching her dark ones for a moment before he was trying to tug on her shirt off her body completely.

"Mm, okay. They're right outside," she started to protest, her hand going out to his chest to push him back gently, not surprised when he only went from her lips to her neck, open-mouthed kisses trailing down her skin as his tongue left lingering remarks. "You wake up every morning like this?"

He pulled back with a scowl, pieces of his blonde hair in front of his face. "You have no idea how much effort I've had to put into sleeping next to you for years and hiding it."

"You really think you hid it?" she asked with a scoff, inching forward with a growing grin on her face. JJ pressed against her lips softly, but she pulled back too quickly, giving him a look. "Better put the training pants back on, baby―it's a small house."

He gaped down at her in disbelief. "You're kidding me, right? You fucking tease―"

"You started it," she shrugged innocently, pressing her back further against the door when he stepped forward with narrowed eyes, blocking her in with his two arms on either side of her head. "You have a thing, you know?"

"What?"

"A thing," she continued, and then she smirked, her hand going up to grab his jaw, pressing a long, deep kiss to his swollen lips just like he did for her. "Alright. I'm going to go find the others to see if Kie killed them."

"I'm not liking this habit we're forming here, Veronica."

"Reap what you sow, baby."

★☆⋆⁎⋆✶★☆⋆⁎⋆✶

The weather outside was not looking great, neither the overcast nor the water acting on its best behavior, but the drone they'd nearly lost their clean arrest records (JJ's was debatable) and lives (per vicious dog) for was thrown gracefully out into the marsh by Pope, and John B and Kie were already in the water by the time JJ and Ronni walked outside to meet up with them. There was a brief pause in the air when they got to the dock, Pope fiddling with the parts of the done in interest as Kie and John B gave one another glances.

"Alright, we're not going to do this," Ronni said as she lowered herself down to hang her legs off the side of the dock. "JJ and I kissed. We broke the rule. It's a thing. Let's move on. Is the drone working?"

JJ blinked in surprise down at his best friend―whom he has now kissed a total of four times―and then he caught John B's stare from the water. There was a brief exchange between them, JJ shrugging in oblivion because he honestly had no idea what was going on with him and V either. He knew that they would get around to talking about it when they had the chance, but...for right now, he could take the sneaking around and unannounced kisses if he meant he was finally kissing the girl he loved. Now, he just had to remember to control himself around her because whether she knew it or not, she'd started a war he was intending on winning.

"Uh..." Pope cleared his throat and turned back to the drone, nodding at John B and Kie to go back underwater. They did so, and JJ's eyes narrowed with intrigue when he saw them on the small screen suddenly. "Yeah. I mean, it looks like it―"

"What's this right here?" JJ asked, only to be swatted away by Pope.

"Don't touch that. I'm trying to work out this thing."

"God bless geeks, Pope. Truly man." JJ moved away from Pope to the edge of the dock where Ronni was seated, and he stood over her with his arms resting on the wood above her. He glanced down at her for a moment, winking. "What would we do without you to control the drones?"

Pope's nose wrinkled. "Technically it's not a drone. It's an ROV―"

"Shut up. Shut up. It's too early for that right now."

"First rule: always be nice to the geeks," Ronni said as she looked up at him, shooting him a sharp glare. "You need to watch more movies. Don't piss off the merit scholar."

Pope shot his head up at her. "I haven't been―"

"You'll get it, Pope," she insisted, not even giving him the chance to doubt himself. She looked back when she heard their other two friends submerge from the water and caught John B's stare instantly. "What's the plan here?"

"Once we get footage of the wreck, we'll bring it to a lawyer in town and file a formal claim," he explained. "You think Harvey knows anyone?"

She squinted doubtfully. "I mean, he might, but if he doesn't, Rachel would."

"One, ew, V. Two, it's such bullshit. Why do we even have to do that?" JJ asked.

"Well, there is Maritime Salvage Law," Pope said, joining the two of them over by the edge of the dock, standing next to JJ. "You can't just go to the ocean floor and scoop a bunch of stuff up."

"I know. I know. It's just... lawyers aren't cheap, bro."

Ronni looked up at JJ and nodded toward JB. "Add it to his list―"

"No," John B interrupted her, shaking his head. "As soon as they see the footage, they'll work for a comp."

Kie raised her eyebrows at him as she started making her way to the steps at the edge of the dock. "How do you know all of that?"

"Because my dad said it, like, a million times."

"Okay, fair."

Kie stepped up right next to where Ronni was sitting, the girls giving each other a knowing look and then the former sending a quick glance up at JJ. She couldn't help the smile picking up on her face, seeing the clear difference in both of her best friends now that they had somewhat admitted how they felt to each other. Even if it was only through an exchange of kisses, that was more than the two blind idiots had been doing in the last three years. Maybe it would knock some sense into the two of them. She hoped.

Pope glanced over at the long, yellow cord in the water connecting the drone to the screen. "This tether is really long. In the wrong weather, this thing could get pushed around."

"Then we'll go at dead calm, " John B decided.

Kie turned over her shoulder to him. "Slack tide?"

"So now we just have to wait for the right weather..." Pope decided, and then they all looked up when they heard the rumbling of thunder, alerting them that there was the potential for rain "...and today is not that day."

★☆⋆⁎⋆✶★☆⋆⁎⋆✶

The overcast day ended up with all of the Pogues splitting in different directions. Pope had to go work his usual shift at Heyward's delivering out on Figure Eight, and JJ being JJ decided to tag along the moment Pope opened his mouth to ask if any of them wanted to come with and work. Kie had to stop by the Wreck for a half-shift, which left John B and Ronni to their own devices given that one of them lost their job and the other didn't work on Tuesdays. John B's first option was to sit on his ass all day and stare at the coordinates, which was absolutely not going to work for her. She had just been on her way to tell him they're going down to the beach when she noticed someone walk up the side of the Chateau, and she paused.

"Uh, are you lost or...?"

Sarah Cameron stopped on what seemed to be a warpath to find someone when she heard Ronni speak up. There was an awkward pause, neither one of them entirely sure what to say to the other. Not only was she Logan's ex-girlfriend, but she was also Kie's ex-best friend and the words that had come out of Kiara's mouth since were not pretty. The only salvation being that Ronni always tried her best to keep an open mind about people...tried.

"I'm actually looking for John B," she said, which only made Ronni's brows raise further in question. "He said some things the other day. I just had a few to say back."

Ronni hesitated for a moment before she nodded, stepping back and nodding her head in the direction of the shack off to the left of the Chateau. Sarah noticed him immediately and she started on her way over to him, but she paused for a moment.

"Hey, Ronni?" The nickname felt off on her tongue, but she decided it was better than Veronica. Sarah watched her turn back around, awaiting further explanation. "I know you guys aren't close or anything, but there was a party last night and something was off with Logan. I think his dad is back in town...for whatever it's worth. You can do whatever you want with that information."

What the hell was she supposed to do with that information? Ronni didn't know what the fuck that meant. Her and Logan weren't close. They actually had grown up about the notion that talking to each other was like drawing enemy lines. He had his group of people and she had hers. He had Topper, and Rafe, and Kelce, for whatever their friendship was worth―but the longer that Ronni stood there in confusion, the more frustrated she got because now she felt obligated to check on him. With a scowl growing on her face, she cursed under her breath and called out to the blonde girl.

"Wait! Sarah? Do you know where he would be today by any chance?"

Sarah turned back around in shock, her grip tightening on the back she was carrying on her shoulder for a moment. "Um. Yeah, actually. Topper said that he didn't want to golf with him and Rafe this afternoon because he wanted to surf. I'd check there first."

Convenient.

"Okay..." she nodded, pursing her lips as she thought on what to do with that now. "Okay. Tell JB I'm going to the beach after you get done with...whatever you're doing...and thanks."

Sarah blinked in surprise at the uncharacteristically civil conversation she was having with Ronni, but nodded nonetheless, and that concluded whatever weird thing just happened between the two of them until further notice. However, it was only the beginning to the internal war going on inside of Ronni's head as she jogged up to the porch of the Chateau, grabbing the bag she'd already packed for the beach and setting off to her jeep.

The drive wasn't long, but it was long enough. Ronni didn't know why she had a bad feeling in her gut. She didn't know enough about her step-brother to have a bad feeling, but it persisted deep enough that she couldn't ignore it. If Sarah Cameron of all people was coming to her about Logan, surely that had to have meant something. So glanced once at her board on top of her jeep before maneuvering it off, mindful of JJ's which she was sure he'd need later if he showed up with the others.

It didn't take long for her to find Logan. He was 6'5" and towered over most of the island, so even when he was a small blur in the water, she noticed him. He wasn't a great surfer being that he was so tall, hitting the water harder than most, but everyone on the island had a talent in some way or another. Unlike his friend Topper, he was not competition worthy, and unlike her JJ, he didn't show the natural talent―but Ronni always advocated for surfing to cleanse the soul. It had been her form of therapy for years, so skill was brownie points but not everything.

She waited in the sand, sitting on her board and watching him out in the water for a few minutes. Despite herself, she found herself giving him mental tips, JJ's voice ingrained in her head after so many years of them sitting and doing the exact thing together growing up. The weather was finally nice out, so she was able to pull off her t-shirt and get some cloudy sun in her yellow bikini―which she had definitely stolen from Kie and not returned, she was now realizing.

Logan broke shore eventually, and she watched him jog forward, his board in his arm. Clearly he hadn't noticed her yet, but when he was close enough, he stopped, his face falling and board going slacker in his hand. Ronni was the one to pause next, her body pushing her up off her board much faster than she was expecting her mind to react―but that was perhaps because she knew what she was looking for. She'd gone through it enough.

"What the hell happened, Logan?" she asked immediately, concern spiking through her as she reached forward to tug at his chin, inspecting the large bruise on his eye. A cut broke his eyebrow, and disgustingly, Ronni hated knowing that whoever hit him wore a ring. He jerked his head away and continued on, but she was also used to this behavior and grabbed his arm, using all of her strength to pull him back. "Nu uh. Who the fuck did this? Sarah Cameron said you were acting weird at their Kook party last night. Did you get into a fight there?"

"Fuck off and go play doctor to your boyfriend, Ronni," Logan scoffed, sticking his board into the sand. "It's not a big deal. I'm pretty sure your new brother has given me one or two in the past."

"Okay, fuck you. I don't even know how you know about that, and two, I'm pretty sure it is a big deal. Who was it? Was it Rafe? Is he all coked out again? Did you sleep with his girlfriend or something?" she asked, continuing to follow after him as he shed himself of his wet suit down to his waist, and then she blanched when she noticed that there were more bruises on his side. "Logan..."

He glanced up at her and rolled his eyes. "Don't act like it isn't anything you haven't seen before. I know Maybank's dad beats the shit out of him. Like I said, it's not a big deal―"

"―the fact that you think it isn't a big deal means that it is a big deal, Logan! You think we all just walk around thinking it's okay what his dad does to him? We can't stop it. JJ refuses to even see what's going on because he's blinded by it. So if that's what this is, Logan, if your dad―"

"Seriously, Veronica? You're going to blame my dad?" Logan whirled around to look at her in surprise, his eyes widening in growing anger. He took a step forward, but Ronni held her ground, knowing he wouldn't hurt her. "You don't know anything about us. You want to get pissed off at Rachel for leaving you? Go right ahead, but just because she replaced you and your dad with us doesn't give you the right to assume shit about my family. You aren't a part of our lives. You don't get to point fingers on things you don't understand."

Ronni gaped at him, her eyes widening in absolute disbelief. "You think I give two fucks about that? You want Mommy Dearest, you can fucking have her, but you know just as well as I do that she's not a mother to either one of us. She's more concerned about fucking her way up the totem pole to get what she wants. So you want to project your anger or whatever the hell this is on me? Go right ahead, but I'm not going to be your punching bag. Whenever you want to talk to someone about what's really going on, I'm here―but I'm not going to let you treat me like shit just because you feel like it."

Before Logan could say anything more to her, she went to pick up her board and walk away, her frustration bubbling over with every step she took in the opposite direction. She hadn't gotten far enough, though, because she could still hear Logan call her name over her shoulder. Reluctantly, she turned around, her jaw set tightly as she waited for whatever he was going to say next. His face had softened to some degree, letting her see an ounce of emotion, but that disappeared quickly when his eyes drifted past her head and he noticed something.

"Nevermind. Go have fun with your brother."

Logan was walking away in the opposite direction before she even had the chance to get him to come back, and she looked over her shoulder to see that John B was coming up the beach with his board. He could obviously see something was wrong, picking up on the tension as Logan walked away from her even a distance away, and picked up his pace. They met halfway, both of them sticking their boards in the sand as he immediately started the questions.

"Why're you talking to Logan?" he asked, watching as the boy disappeared off the dock to the parking lot. "Is everything okay?"

"I don't know. I have a bad feeling. He's got these bruises...they looked familiar." Both of them shared a knowing look, and Ronni bit down on her lip nervously, her brows furrowing. "He closed up on me, though. Sarah said his dad is in town, and I know it's none of my business and I'm probably projecting some of my anger over Rachel but...I don't know. He just...he reminded me of JJ. He got super defensive...tell me I'm being irrational."

"You're not being irrational. He's your step-brother. He's still family. I mean, I don't like him any more than the rest of them, but...if what you think is going on is actually going on, he's going to need someone to talk to," John B advised softly, noticing the way Ronni's chest heaved, like a ton of bricks sat on her. "And as much as I hate that it's all put on you, you're good at this kind of situation, V."

"No, I'm good with JJ," she disagreed. "I know JJ. I know him better than he knows himself so I know how to be there for him. Logan? I don't...I don't know him, JB. How am I supposed to help him when I can't even figure out if he wants it? If I push him, he's just going to pull back―"

John B raised his eyebrows. "You know that about him. You know more than you think...and I know you. You're not going to give up on him and forget about this. So just go ahead and add it to whatever list you've got in your head. There's nothing you can do right now, but when he's ready, just be there for him. You're good at it. Trust me."

He leaned over and pressed a kiss into her hair, pulling her into his side to give her a hug, Ronni letting head head fall on his shoulder with a sigh. "What did Sarah Cameron want with you?"

"Wanted to tell me she wasn't a liar. She got me popcorn."

"Oh, yeah? That was nice of her."

"She threw it at my face."

"You probably deserved it."

John B scoffed and shoved her away from him gently, the two of them separating with smiles. Ronni's didn't meet her eyes as much as it normally did, but she was able to try and distance herself from Logan for the moment to grab her board and run with John B out into the water. They caught a couple of waves, the weather not having completely set for the big ones to come out, so eventually they just gave up and sat on their boards in the water closer to shore. Kie would be coming soon anyway, and Ronni knew that JB wanted to have a conversation with her before that.

Ronni squinted up at the sun. "Sun's out."

"Weather's still not clearing," John B hummed, and then he paused, watching her momentarily. "Are you wanting me to ask a question first, or are you going to explain first?"

"Depends on the question you're wanting me to answer," she replied obscurely, glancing down at her hands, letting them tread water slightly. "Did I kiss him? Yeah, more than once. Do I know what it means? No...JJ and I aren't good at relationships, JB. You know that. Hell, we know that. Put my trust and abandonment issues with his commitment issues and toxic relationship with Luke, what do we really have here? The second we do anything, or we try and become anything more...it'll just be ruined―and before you say something like 'oh, you dumbass, this is why we made the rule, blah blah blah' you know that this was going to happen one way or another. That's not the problem. We're the problem."

John B knew both her and JJ best. She could talk to Kie about it all she wanted, just like JJ could talk to Pope, but at the end of the day John B would be the one capable of giving them the clearest perspective. Obviously, it wasn't an easy situation for any of them, but he seemed to have been prepared for this outcome from her, sighing heavily and closing one eye as he looked ahead at the horizon.

"I'm not going to say that you're wrong. I definitely think both of you could fuck this up real bad," he admitted, to which Ronni's lips fell into a straight line. "But are you really looking to put a label on whatever it is you guys are doing right now? I mean, just because you've kissed once or twice―"

"We've kissed four times."

He shot her a look before continuing. "Just because you've kissed four times doesn't mean you guys are automatically going to get married or anything. We're sixteen, V. Friends with benefits is a thing, you know? And like...casual hooking up and seeing people. You guys do it all the time."

"Oh, yeah, totally. Except they weren't my best friend, John B."

"Okay, yes. I see the problem, but I also don't see why you're stressing out about it. You and JJ have always just done your thing. I mean, if you're worried about him going out and sleeping with another girl―"

"I would literally murder him."

"―okay, well, alright, I don't think he would, but that's one thing the two of you should probably talk about. Just ask if you guys are exclusive or not. Neither one of you are bringing up dating. You're just best friends with benefits, yeah? Just seeing each other."

Ronni's hands went up to her eyes, rubbing them in frustration. "This is going to go to shit."

"Nah," John B denied, shaking his head. "You and JJ have always had this thing between you two. It's why Pope and I stopped crushing on you. We just kind of decided we didn't stand a chance against whatever you had with JJ. He pretends like he doesn't get jealous every time a guy breathes in your direction, and you ignore how it makes you feel when he brings another girl back to the Chateau after a kegger. Everyone can see it...I mean, everyone except for you two. I think it's better that you're figuring it out now instead of getting into this toxic way of proving how the other feels by hurting each other."

"When the fuck did you get so smart? You haven't had a solid girlfriend since Sophie freshman year, and she literally hated you half the time."

"I watch a lot of movies," he said, making reference to her comment earlier this morning. He smiled at her, nudging her slightly in the water, having her struggle to regain balance on her board. "For what it's worth, I'm really glad you two are whatever you are. I know I've been distant the last few months and you guys have had to deal with a lot more shit together―"

Ronni frowned. "Don't even. You have nothing to apologize for."

"I'm just...I am sorry. I appreciate everything you and the others are doing for me. I know I'm probably crazy but you guys being there means a lot."

"Always, JB. I mean it. Even if it's a treasure hunt that may or may not get us murdered by Dad when he finds out."

They ended up going back to shore for a bit, sitting and talking more about the drones and the coordinates. Kie showed up thirty minutes later, grinning at them and holding up a case that they knew would be full of beer for when they returned to the Chateau later on that night. Then they caught up on the bad shift she had at work, Ronni wincing because she felt her pain. The two of them decided to go out in the water while she stayed back on the beach to take a few hits of JJ's JUUL in her bag, the small ounce of sun bringing some serotonin back into her life after what happened with Logan.

"Hot damn! Whew! Pope, you see her? Who's that fine lady right there?" Ronni glanced over her shoulder to see JJ and Pope coming over to her. They were already holding their boards, which meant he'd gotten his off her jeep, and she rolled her eyes at the comment JJ made on his way. He grinned down at her. "Hey, baby. I'm JJ. You come here often?"

"Oh yeah, all the time. Sorry, though. I'm kind of seeing someone right now. Unfortunately he's hotter than you, no offense," she said, shrugging up at him and smirking. A flash of surprise lit up his face before he grinned back at her, the moment lost between the two of them when Pope made a gagging noise behind them. She narrowed her eyes at the other boy. "What the hell happened?"

Seemed like she was saying that a lot today. Ronni stood up when she noticed the bruise start to form on the side of Pope's temple. Even more suspiciously was the look Pope gave JJ in sheer panic before swatting away at Ronni's prying hands, this time she was less forgiving than she was with Logan and held onto his chin tighter so she could inspect it. Then, she scowled, glancing between the two boys. Waiting for an answer that she had a feeling they weren't going to let go of easily.

"Spill it, you two."

JJ glared at Pope. "Nothing to spill. Except maybe―"

"JJ, stop flirting with me to avoid the topic. Pope, what happened?" she asked him directly, knowing he would be easier to break than JJ. Pope coughed and turned around, grabbing his board and quickly darting toward the water to meet up with the others. That left only one option, and JJ was just about to go as well when she grabbed the end of his board, stopping him. "Ah, ah, ah, Maybank. I'm not stupid, and you aren't slick."

"Course not, baby. You're very smart," he nodded, turning around to face her with a grimace. She remained unphased. "Look. It's cool. We got it handled, Mama V...actually, I'd like to hear more about this hot guy you're seeing―"

She nodded and leaned forward, smiling too eagerly at him as he leaned in closer to her lips. "Okay...wanna hear about how I hate when he hides things from me?"

JJ scowled down at her. "Not particularly, no."

"Mhm. There's a 'Ronni-Code' too, buddy. I'll figure it out eventually when Pope spills his guts to me. Now, want to go watch the guy I'm seeing get his ass handed to him by me out in the water?"

"Oh, baby, you're on."

Step nine: control yourself, JJ, because now you're in a reality where the girl you are magically in love with unofficially announced that the two of you are 'seeing each other' (whatever the FUCK that means), and the only options available are to then: one, decide to worship the ground that she walks on because she might actually be an angel in the shape of your best friend, and two, not fuck it up like you do everything else. Easy, right?

★☆⋆⁎⋆✶★☆⋆⁎⋆✶