"So the keys last known location is with this...Thomas Mallory?" JJ Maybank was leaning on the dining room table, June commissioning a meeting at her own house for once. No one was home...her dad was working a case pro bono for a kidnap victim in Arkansas, and her mother had diligently followed him, the two of them having to keep up their perfect image. Adam was out doing god knows what, June telling him not to come home for awhile due to the fact she was having some friends over. He obliged,  secretly excited about the fact she was opening back up again, even if he didn't like the people it was with.

"Correct...well at least that's what—that's what the note said. So I'm assuming. It just says Thomas Mallory." June looked down at the piece of paper that had the name scribbled on it, in her own handwriting. Her mind had been blocking out trying to make a plan since she got up this morning, the girl smacking herself in the face on the way home from Tannyhill earlier trying to get her brain to start thinking again. She had come up with nothing, calling on the others to get some opinions.

"Yeah but when I looked him up it says he was just some 50 year old deckhand from Charleston." Pope was sat in a chair at the kitchen table, his eyes having been attached to the wood for what felt like hours. His clever brain had been trying to comprehend the fact they were back in the game, and trying to contribute to the conversation with something of substance.

"If it's Charleston then it makes a lot of sense. That's where Limbreys at." Kie said, the girl also sitting in a chair but on the opposite side of the table. John B was standing, his back against the wall and his arms crossed over his chest.

"True." He said, his finger pointing at Kie as they started to begin to connect something.

"For $6.99 I can get an address to his house." JJ said, his fingers hovering over his phone screen  as he looked at all of them. Cleo and June shared a look, both of them seeming rather exasperated by this conversation already. However having the man's address would be a good start, just sounding a little too easy.

"What?" Sarah said, her face scrunching up in confusion at his words. He nodded, pointing at the phone as he explained.

"Yeah this website you look up a name and then it gives you their info if you pay $6.99. It works it's basically just a security deposit and then you get the info. Like it's some kind of police database or some shit. It's pretty cool."

"Well pay it." Cleo said, shrugging her shoulders as everyone nodded to agree.  JJ immediately got  a little flustered, beginning to refuse.

"Okay now I don't get why-"

"You've got $6.99. Pay it so we can find out where this dick lives." Pope said, giving JJ a deadpan look as if to tell him to get it done or else. However the blonde quickly put his hand to his chest, feigning shock as he looked at the Heyward boy.

"Woah woah...whys he a dick? We don't even know this guy." JJ defended, all of them groaning as he attempted to stall. John B tilted his head to the side, thinking JJ had a point and voicing it.

"He works for Limbrey." Sarah was the next to pick up a sentence, everyone rolling their eyes as they kept this trivial argument up.

"Well I think technically he worked for her. As in past tense." Sarah said, her arms crossed over her chest as she also looked down at the wooden table.

"Just look him up." June said, her hand dropping heavily on the table. JJ let out a groan and then type in his phone, everyone falling silent and looking around at each other. Now was the first time that June wondered why she couldn't have just done this herself, what the significance of having all of them do it was. Surely Hardy didn't think she was that unskilled that she couldn't find it herself...surely not.

"Alright I got the address. He's here on the island actually."

"That's convenient." Kie said, a few of them nodding  at her comment. It was rather convenient, but June had also been informed that the key was here...so she wasn't too surprised.

"So what's the plan? We running up on the dude like Portis?" JJ said, a glint in his eyes as he remembered how badass it had been to do that. Pope stood from the table, shaking his head and waving for him to get the idea out of his head, his face scrunching up in disbelief at JJs immediate aggression.

"No...what? No. We're going to go to his house and ask." The Heyward boy said, everyone in the room
thinking that that was probably the better idea. June wasn't too sure she wanted to remember Portis at all, the man who was brutally killed right in front of her. She had almost forgotten...it wasn't very nice to be reminded.

"Not all of us should go." John B said, counting the number of people in the room. Seven was a lot of people to show up on someone's doorstep and demand information. June stood now, nodding her head in agreement and offering the solution she had just come up with.

"Okay how bout us girls go and you guys stay here and  do some research about the treasure. There's gotta be shit on the internet about it." The boys immediately started to refuse, John Bs voice coming out louder than the others.

"I don't know if the girls should go." The Routledge boy said, all of the girls turning their attention to him as he spoke. 

"Why not?" Kie asked, already prepared to defend their abilities as he seemed to start realizing his mistake in refusal.

"Yeah, give us your reasons John B...I'm sure they won't be sexist at all." June said, a challenging smile on her lips. John B scoffed, looking at the other two boys who was clearing their throats and looking away from him. He was on his own with this one.

"Okay wow." John B said, Sarah quick to instigate him.

"Go ahead, why shouldn't we go?" The Cameron girl said, John B looking at her with a betrayed expression. She simply smiled back at him, shaking him how unimpressed she was with his doubt in them.

"You know...I can't think of any good reasons now." He said, backing down. The girls all shared a look and a nod, Cleo opening her mouth to speak.

"Yeah that's what I thought. Okay it's about...3 o'clock? Should we wait till dark or just go now?"

"Give it like an hour." Pope said, a thumbs up directed towards the girls as all of the boys tried to hide their disappointment.  It wasn't that the girls couldn't do it...it was that they had been sidelined for the mission, reduced to the bookwork. This was not something they were used to.

"Perfect. An hour. Gives us time to ballpark a plan." Kie said, letting out a breath and turning back towards the table. However June was quick with it, her eyes on the dark wood as she informed them of what was going on in her head.

"The plan is this...me and Sarah are going to go to the front of the house, I'm gonna have my phone recording the conversation. You and Cleo stand outside and Sarah's gonna be on the phone with you guys so you can listen in. Things start going sideways you bust in we force him to tell us. Get the key, leave. That's the plan." Everyone sat in silence for a moment, mulling over the plan and trying to see any problems or if they had anything better to suggest.

"Okay wow you just...came up with that off the top of your head." John B said, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips pulled into a straight line as he realized he couldn't even contribute to the planning. It was a pretty solid plan. Recording for evidence, phone call for backup.

"Not that complicated. Guys get ready. Make sure your phones are charged and—"

"June can I speak to you for a minute." The voice of JJ Maybank cut her off, Junes head turning to look at him as she lowered her hand from gesturing to the girls. She leaned across the table towards him and answered, her mind in a million different places as she spoke.

"Yeah what's up?"

"Alone. Just me and you." He said in a serious tone, Junes eyes lifting and her face falling. Her stomach turned and she felt the urge to say no, they were kind of doing something right now. But instead she nodded, rounding the table and pulling him by the arm. She decided to multitask, pulling him up the stairs and into her room, knowing she had some things she could grab in there.

She pulled him through the door and then let him go, heading straight for her closet. She pulled the door open and looked inside before looking back at him, her eyebrows lifting as she waited for him to start speaking.

"We're alone. Start talking." JJ stood by the door of her bed, fiddling with his hands in front of him as he tried to explain what he was feeling, what he was wanting to tell her. He could here here shuffling through stuff in her closet, the boy feeling worry crowd his chest the more he thought about her plan.

"Okay um...listen I'm all for women empowerment, I love women...they're the best. But I'm a little worried about this guy you know? Some middle aged dude that worked for Limbrey...whose whole thing is having big lackey type guys. I mean we don't have what this guy is capable of, he could be super skilled, he could be like a ninja and you guys are just walking up to his house and—"

"I don't think any ninjas retire to the OBX." June called from the closet, the girl sifting through a pile of  clothes at the bottom of  her closet. He nodded, not quite convinced that the man couldn't be dangerous just because she said that.

"Well you also wouldn't think Ward was a criminal mastermind but it was still true." He made a point, June letting out a sigh as she continued to search. She could tell he was just worried, so she was trying to cut him some slack here.

"He can be a ninja I don't care. I'm not trying to do anything but ask him about the key." She said, telling the truth. She had no intention of doing anything other than just simply asking.

"Yeah but if it's that important to somebody then—"

"It's not that big of a deal. I'm sure it'll be fine. We've got this." She said reassuringly, peeking her head out of the closet and giving him a smile. He still looked nervous about it...worried. It wasn't just her but Sarah. Kie, and Cleo too. He was worried about the fact that if he wasn't there, he couldn't control the situation.

"Or you don't got this and you guys get hurt or something." He said in a low tone, June still hearing it as she rustled in the closet. He was starting to wonder what she was doing, his eyebrows furrowing as he took a step towards the closet.

"Oh it's so sweet that you're worried but I think we'll be okay." He stopped moving, his cheeks unfortunately brightening with red as she insinuated that he was sweet. Her quickly pushed it aside and continued on.

"But what if—"

"Besides if anything goes sideways I've got this." June emerged from the closet with a gun in hand, JJs eyes widening as she lifted it up. He took a step back when she pointed it around the room, a lump growing in his throat as he questioned her.

"Where the hell did you get a gun?"

"I've had it since Barbados. Hid it in my closet." She said, holding it loosely to the side. She had forgotten where she had hidden it in her closet, it had been mere months since she even thought about it. And while she wasn't entirely sure if it was necessary to bring a gun...it was better safe than sorry.

"Where was this gun when you were getting kidnapped?" JJ asked, June not quite appreciating this question.  She scoffed and gestured towards the closet with the gun, shaking her head as she answered.

"In the closet. But I didn't get kidnapped out of my closet did I?" JJ thought she had a point,  a sheepish look on his slightly worried face as his eyes glued to the gun in her hand.

"Fair point. Can you—can you put the gun down?" He would never admit it out loud but he was actually quite afraid of the gun she was holding. He had heard about his threatening Kie with it, how she had almost killed Rafe. She let out a huff but still lowered the gun, defensively beginning to speak to him.

"Why are you acting like you've never thrown a gun around? Quite literally the first time we hung out you tried to take the gun into the country club." He would never say it, but he knew the truth of what really made him so uneasy with her holding the gun. The two of them were different in this respect because she was the only one who had ever actually killed someone with one. It was never to be brought up in the group, but he was reminded when he saw the gun in her hand.
Only one of them in the room was a killer. JJ pushed his uneasiness aside and let out a short chuckle, June stuffing the gun into the waistband of her jeans and pulling her shirt down over it.

"You remember that?" She looked at him like he was stupid,her lips pursing as she nodded. He was looking at the front of her shirt, remembering the time she had mentioned. It felt like decades ago, the boy moving towards the edge of the bed and taking a seat.

"Of course I remember that...you think I'd forget?" June had also made her way towards the edge of the bed, the girl sitting beside him. Their legs were touching all the way up to the separation of their leg and torso, June having sat a little closer than she had meant to. However she couldn't move over now, the girl leaning forwards and leaning on her knees.

"Well I don't know. I don't know what you do and don't remember." He said in a sheepish way, June letting out a little chuckle as then shrugging as if she had been caught.

"I remember everything. Just cause it ended doesn't mean it went away." JJs head tilted slightly as she looked back at him, her body experiencing a series of tingles shooting up through this leg that was  practically in hers. His eyes moved from curiosity to something a bit deeper and he thought of what memories they  held, one that had been burdening him coming to the forefront of his mind. He knew there was no way he couldn't  ask her about it, he knew he had to because he needed to tell her something important about the night he was remembering.

"Do you remember that night that I got the Cats Ass and you took me back here...and we laid in bed and you held me?" He looked at her with a reminiscent gaze, the corner of his lip fighting to lift as he whispered about that night. June felt a stir in her stomach as she thought back to that night, remembering how different things used to be. She was looked ahead again, the girl straightening her back and sitting up beside him.

"Of course I remember that night." He would be wrong to think she could forget it. It was the night she found out that his father was hurting him, the night he had told her that he was not okay. That was the night she had held a broken boy and decided that she wanted to love him, all of him, and all of his broken pieces. That night meant more to her than he probably knew, it was the night she realized she loved him, and that no matter what happened...he would change her life.

"I heard you say it that night." JJ said, June feeling her face scrunch up at his words. That was the night she had whispered to him that she thought she loved him. She had always wondered if he had heard her. Her heart constituted an ache as she thought about the fact that they were not those people anymore, a sorrowful look on her face as she questioned him about it.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I heard it. I pretended I didn't, didn't want to freak you out too much. But I heard you loud and clear." JJ couldn't help but feel sad, reminiscing about their doomed love...remembering the early days when it was just them against the world. He wondered what it could possibly take to get back to that, if they ever really could. Then he pushed that thought away, knowing he didn't need the torture of the what ifs at the moment.

"How about that..." June said, her voice trailing off as she thought about the fact he had heard her. She thought he hadn't, he had seemed asleep...but it was kind of nice knowing that he did. It warmed her heart. She had meant it that night, she had said it with pure honesty. It was nice that it had actually been recognized.

"Good times." JJ said, his eyes still glued to the side of her face. His ghost of a smile faded into a frown and he let out a short breath as she looked back at him with a questioning look.

"What...before all of this?" He shook his head, now looking away from her due to the words falling out of his mouth.

"No no...when you loved me." June felt a pan off guilt in her chest, inklings of shame and she didn't want him to be sad...she didn't want him to be upset. It startled her for a moment how easily he had clawed back into her good graces, she was concerned for his broken heart. She reached forwards to comfort him by he scooted away, their legs no longer touching.

"Oh JJ—"

"No...don't do that. You don't have to try and make it better. It's fine. I did it to myself." She was now confused, wondering what he meant by that. What had he done? Ruined their relationship? Broken his own heart through his actions? She wasn't sure what he was referencing. "Besides it's my own fault that I don't know how to do it like you."

"Do what?" Now she was extremely confused, his eyes glazed over as he seemed to be admitting something deep. Her hands folded on her lap and she blinked in confusion, waiting for his answer. He seemed to struggle with his words for a moment, until finally landing on one's that made sense to him.

"Live every day knowing someone really loves me." Her heart felt like someone had squeezed it, her face falling from confusion to some form of sympathy. She still wasn't entirely sure what he meant, pushing him to further elaborate.

"What?"

"It's hard for me when I find out, because I never feel like it belongs to me, you know?" She knew he was talking about love, whatever that meant, but she still wasn't understanding quite what he was getting it. To JJ it was crystal clear, this was the easiest he had ever put it into words.

"I'm not following." She said, shaking her head as he low voice sent a chill down his spine. He let out a short breath and then swayed a little bit, wondering if he should just stop talking or explain. He chose to explain.

"You go to bed every night knowing that no matter what you do, someone loves you. You do anything and Rafe still loves you, Zach does, your brother, me...more people than that. You go to bed at night knowing how to live with that, because you're so sure that someone does. It's not a bad thing, it's just not something I know how to do like you." She understood now, he was saying that he didn't know how to be loved, he didn't know how to accept it. She understood what he was trying to say. June slid her hand across the space between them, biting the inside of her cheek as she dropped her fingers on his.

"It's not a bad thing to have people love you." She said, JJ moving his hand out from under hers. She tried not to be hurt by it, her hand pulling back to her body and resting in her lap again. It was strange to see him so vulnerable about his struggles, when they were together he was not a fan of sharing them. Maybe because they weren't together it made things easier.

"I never said it was. I was just saying it's not really my thing." There was silence as they held each other gaze, a dejected look in JJs vulnerable eyes and a mirror in hers. Sharing this moment didn't feel wrong, it felt fair in the way that she didn't feel uncomfortable listening to him. Something unspoken was held in their gaze and JJ seemed to notice it consciously, the boy clearing his throat and shaking his head, a sly smile sneaking onto his lips. "I'm too cool for all that."

"You're not cool." June took the bait into a lighter conversation, a laugh leaving his lips as he tried to shake the serious feeling that their conversation had held. It had been a heart to heart with the girl he loved, it had went well, but he secretly wished he wouldn't have said any of it. She could tell he wanted to move on so she shoved away all the thoughts in her head about him, the aching in her heart for him, the image of that broken boy she had decided to love, the very same broken boy sitting right beside her. She realized this as she watched him speak, that he had changed, but he was still JJ...he still was the same boy she fell in love with. He had just cracked and shattered like she had.

"What?! That's a lie. I'm cooler than half the people in this house. Cooler than most of them. The only one  maybe cooler than me is Cleo."

"And me." June said in an obvious tone, JJs holding back a laugh as he looked at her like she was crazy.

"Oh no, no ,no. I'm definitely way cooler than you." She crossed her arms over her chest, unimpressed by his comment. He stood from the bed and she rolled her eyes, quick to start her defense.

"How?"

"Well...I can surf for starters. I can—" He started but June cut him off, standing from the bed as well and waving his words away.

"Blah blah whatever. You and the surfing damn.  It's like the only thing you can ever think up." He pressed a hand to his chest as quickly argued back, June walking past him and towards her vanity.

"Well, if you were as good as me you'd feel the same way. But you're not...because you're a loser." JJ said in his own obvious tone, turning around and leaning against the vanity with a defiant look.

"Whatever. I'm not but you can believe whatever you want." He liked the way she had said that, his stomach turning at her playful attitude. His eyebrows furrowed and he couldn't wipe the smile from his lips as he stepped towards her, hitting her with a quick return.

"Oh yeah Carly?" He said it as if he was asking her what she would do if he didn't agree, June rolling her eyes at the nickname. She leaned forwards and smiled, her voice dropping a bit as she answered him.

"Absolutely fat ass." JJ felt his heart jump and his stomach flutter with the nickname that he hadn't heard in so long, the name making hair stand up on his arms. He thought it was funny how that stupid name had such a visceral impact on him, even now. June turned around and seemed like she was looking for something, JJ taking another step closer.

"You're so nice to me." He said sarcastically, June rolling her eyes and moving towards the dresser. She pulled open the top drawer and moved the stuff around, looking for something.

"You're so annoying." She shot back, meaning it when she said it. She pulled a pocket knife from her drawer, shoving it in her pocket and then turning around. He was closer than she expected, a lump growing in her throat as he looked at her pocket.

"For someone who's not that worried about going...you seem to be grabbing a lot of weapons."

"Well better safe than sorry I think." She said, JJ nodding at her words. He looked like he wanted to say something else, the girl letting out a sigh and crossing her arms over her chest, wanting him to spit it out. "What?"

"Just...just be careful okay? I'm serious." She nodded at him, knowing he was worried because of how he had conducted himself the entire time they were up here. He brought his hand up to push fair out of his face and she felt a bolt of heat fly through her when she saw his wrist, that bracelet still sitting on it. The lump returned to her throat again and she tried to swallow it but couldn't, her heart reacting to the sight of it in a way that she didn't think it still could. She felt pained by the way she had reacted, the girl nodding again and pushing past him. He watched after her as she reached for the door, feeling like he had done something wrong now that she was trying to leave so frantically.

When the door was pulled open John B stumbled onto the floor, his face hitting the carpet and making her jump. He looked up at the two of them with a guilty look. Junes eyes wide as she looked at Pope who was crouched beside where John B had fallen.

"Hey guys..." John B said in a high pitched voice, Pope pushing himself up from where he had been leaned against the door.

"What are you doing?" June asked, JJ trying not to laugh as it because extremely obvious they had been eavesdropping.

"We were coming to tell you that uh... well—the wood of your door is a strong oak. Really...really nice." June shook her head as she walked past John B who had explained, rolling her eyes as she started back down the stairs.

"I'm in a house full of idiots."