─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

The two had gotten out of the bathtub after the crying session. They dried themselves up and got changed, closing their eyes as the other got dressed. Marella and JJ spent the rest of their time in silence, falling asleep beside one another on Marella's queen-sized bed.

The next morning, they were picked up by Kie to take them to the North drain. "This is the North drain. It should've gotten washed into the gully." JJ explained, leading them closer. "So, if it got flushed out from this drain, it would've been pushed out to, like—"

"Somewhere in this trash." Pope cut him off. JJ nodded in agreement. "Correct."

"Oh my God." Kie sighed. "People who use plastic should be shot." She remarked. Marella's head shot in her direction, a mixture of fear and surprise in her eyes. "Everyone?" She asked.

"Okay, personally, I love plastic." JJ said, aiming to tick her off. "Use it every day. Love the stuff."

"Okay, well hopefully you recycle it and don't let it flush into the ocean." Kie snapped.

"I thought you'd say something like that, so... trash bags." Pope said, holding the black bags up. Kie grinned. "Did you just proactively protect the environment?" She asked.

Pope shrugged, a wide smile on his face. "Maybe."

JJ and Marella shared a look of confusion. "You want us to leave you two alone, or what's going on?" The blond boy asked. Pope didn't hesitate to throw the roll of bags at the boy. "Just pick up the trash." He ordered.

"Hey, Pope. Could I talk to you?" Marella questioned. Pope nodded, "Yeah, sure. I was going to say I wanted to talk to you too." He agreed.

"Great." Marella nodded. The pair moved out of the other two's earshot, to a different part of the North drain. Pope sighed. "I just wanted to start by saying I'm sorry for how shitty I've been to you lately. It's not fair, and I really didn't mean to hurt you. I think I just took the whole 'time and space' thing a little too far."

"Oh, Pope—" Marella started. But he wasn't finished. "What you said yesterday after Shoupe left helped me remember how hard this whole thing must be for you... and how much harder I've been making it."

"Thank you for saying all of that." Marella nodded. "I'm just so tired, I-I don't want to be at odds with you anymore. I just miss you." She explained. Pope placed his trash bag onto the ground and stepped over to her. "I am so sorry." He said, softly, as he drew her into a tight embrace.

JJ had momentarily stopped picking up the garbage, staring as the two hugged. He rolled his eyes, turning around to complete his task.

∙ ~εïз~ ∙

Finally, the four had finished searching through the trash and found nothing. "Ah. Well, that was fun." JJ sighed. Pope frowned. "If it's not in the trash, then it's gotta be in the storm drain."

"It's in... it's in the drain." JJ confirmed.

"Damn it."

"Of course it is." Kie groaned. Marella placed her hands on her hips. "Okay. So, what's the new plan?" She asked.

"I'm glad you said that, Princess." JJ grinned, moving over to his backpack. "Because it's a good thing I brought the crow."

"So, are we gonna do, like, rock, paper, scissors?" Kie asked, making Marella grimace.

"No."

"Or alphabetically?" She suggested. Marella quickly shook her head. "No... that would make me first. And uh, I have a fear of tight spaces."

"Right." Kie chuckled, not believing her.

"On three, Pope. One, two, three."

"It's true!" Marella explained. "When we were ten, JJ trapped me in one of those tube slides and I haven't been the same since."

JJ glanced back at her with a smile. "Hey, you remember!" He exclaimed. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yeah, and I remember beating you up after too." Marella said, making his smile fade.

"Okay, fine." Kie sighed. "Marie's out, so, like, the oldest goes?"

"In the sewer, there's this worm that you get when you're down there." JJ explained. "It gets into your blood, and then it has to come out your pecker. So, uh... that would be a hard pass for me."

"Right." Marella nodded. "What's this... worm called?" She asked, genuinely interested. JJ slowly blinked at her question, clearly not knowing the answer. "Uh, Pecker Parasite?" He named.

Marella snickered at his creation. "Pecker Parasite. Really?" She asked. JJ rolled his eyes, pushing her head back with his hand, "Yeah, shut up." He groaned.

"That's gonna be a no for me too." Pope added.

"No, I get it. I get it. You guys are scared." Kie smiled. "I mean, Marie claims to have a psychological fear. But you boys, you're just scared."

"I'm not scared."

"It's kind of cute." Kie continued to taunt them.

"I mean, it's the pecker thingy." Pope tried to justify. "I'm not scared." JJ repeated over him.

"You should've just led with that. You don't have to be scared. I'll do it." Kie volunteered. Marella smiled at her, "Lifesaver over here. You two should be ashamed of yourselves." She shook her head at them.

JJ scoffed. "I don't see you volunteering to go in." He reminded her. She shrugged. "I have a very valid reason."

"So do we!" Pope exclaimed. He turned to Kie, watching as she crouched down. "Okay, just, you know, be careful."

"I'll be so careful." Kie spoke to him, making Marella snicker. Pope sighed. "I deserve that." He accepted. The three watched as Kie crawled into the space, Marella cringing as she did. "Just, uh, holler if you need anything, okay?  We'll, uh... we'll holler back." JJ said to her.

"Very helpful. Thank you." The girl spoke back, her voice echoing.

The three waited anxiously as Kie made her way through the storm drain. "Kiara, you find anything yet?" Pope called out.

"Yeah, Kie, do you see the gun?" JJ questioned.

"Nothing."

"It's probably at the bottom of the catch basin." Pope advised. When there was no reply from the girl, Marella stood up straight. "I think I saw a shop when we were driving up. I bet Kie will need a snack and something to drink when she's out. Would you guys want anything?" She offered.

"A Coke, please." Pope spoke up. "And a bag of chips?"

Marella nodded, "Yeah, of course." She hummed. She turned to face JJ. "You?" She asked. "I'll just have the same. Oh, and a bar of chocolate too?" He requested.

The girl didn't say anything, thinking of what chocolate to get him. But JJ took her silence the wrong way. "Actually, never mind. You know, it's totally fine—" He quickly said.

"Hey, it's okay." She told him, a reassuring smile. "I'll get it for you." The girl pivoted on her feet and walked away.

"Thanks, Marie!" Pope called out to her. She gave him the thumbs up as she continued to walk away. Once Marella was gone, JJ turned to Pope. "All right, bro, I see you vibing on Kie, okay? Give me the details. Are we talking first base, second base, third base?" He interrogated.

Pope scoffed. "Try not even in the same ballpark."

"What do you mean by that?" JJ asked.

"It's like we're not playing the same game. The other night, we're— she was all over me." Pope described. JJ nodded, "All right. Good start."

"But she was wasted, so it doesn't really count." Pope explained. JJ sighed, "Yeah, I know how that one feels." He muttered.

Pope furrowed his eyebrows with confusion, unsure as to what JJ was referring to. "What?"

"Well." JJ cleared his throat. "River and I were at the Château together, and we were just talking... drinking and smoking." He and quickly.

"JJ—" Pope started, the warning tone in his voice evident.

"It's fine, we're completely fine." JJ clarified. "And she was... well, I thought she was coming onto me. The teasing, the joking, I mean she even put her fingers like, through my hair, dude." JJ explained, combing his fingers through his hair to demonstrate.

Pope narrowed his eyes, his jaw slightly clenching at the new information. He was aware that JJ liked the girl a while back, but he didn't know it was a current thing. "Right." He nodded.

"So, uh... I tried to kiss her." JJ confessed. "And you know how they say 'the worst way a girl can reject you is by saying no?" He asked. "Well, they were freaking wrong. She just got up and left, we haven't spoken about it since. She gave me the Heisman... again!"

"When was this?" Pope asked. JJ thought for a second. "The night before first day of school." He stated. "Okay," Pope nodded. "So, she's... not into you?"

"See, that's what you'd think!" JJ exclaimed. "But last night, we were in the tub together and—"

"The bathtub?!" Pope cut him off. "Like, with no clothes on?" JJ nodded at his words, "Yeah, man. But, it's not what you think. It was actually really... sad."

Pope frowned. "Is she okay?" He questioned, growing concerned for her. JJ shrugged. "She seems better, I guess. But I think things have just been hard for her, especially without Sarah."

"And I made things much worse." He sighed. JJ gave him a look. "Yeah, man. What was that all about?" He questioned.

"I don't know." Pope sighed. "Everything has been so weird. First John B and Sarah, now this whole thing with Kie and I still don't understand how I feel about Marie either."

"Hold on." JJ said. "Now you like them both?" He questioned. Before Pope could answer, Kie's voice was heard echoing. "Guys, I think I found something!"

∙ ~εïз~ ∙

Marella stepped out of the convenience store with a black plastic bag in her hands. Resting on top of the bridge of her nose were red sunglasses that she found on one of the stalls. Thinking JJ would find them cool, she purchased them.

She had lost track of time because when she exited, she could see the same man who had once scammed them and pulled a gun on the group walking away from Rafe Cameron. She quickly hid behind one of the walls, not wanting to be caught.

A few moments later, Marella peeked again to see that Rafe was turning a wheel. With her eyes furrowing with confusion, she pulled the sunglasses to the top of her head to get a better view. Marella looked at what he was turning and the second she saw it connected to the sewer, she thought fast.

She began to stride towards Rafe, her heart pounding with dread and concern for Kie. "Hey, Rafe!" She called out.

The boy's head snapped backwards, removing his hands from the wheel. He was surprised to see her and seemingly confused. Marella stepped over with her head held high, trying to forget how violent their last confrontation was.

"What are you up to?" She asked, attempting to keep her cool. But Rafe wasn't interested in her question. He glanced around, "What the hell are you doing here, Mouse?" He asked.

"Deliah and Dylan sent me snack shopping. Deliah claims this is the only place in the OBX that had the chocolate she wanted. So, I drove up." She explained, quickly. Her eyes flickered between Rafe and the water pressure machine. She could feel that her time was running out, that Kie's time was running out.

"Some man with a... a moustache and a man-bun was heading to the Sheriff's station as I was walking up. And I could've sworn that he was muttering your name." Marella explained.

Rafe ran his fingers through his hair with frustration. "Holy shit." He groaned, stepping away from her. The second that he had turned his back, Marella rushed forward and began to turn the wheel in the opposite direction. She could hear Kie screaming with terror through the open hole, making her turn the wheel quicker.

Suddenly, Marella was pushed forward and her head slammed against the metal wheel. The sunglasses flew off of her head and the bone right underneath her eye socket was now throbbing. The discomfort was familiar, it was right where JJ had kicked her the day before. The girl slipped down onto the ground, her head ringing.

Rafe turned her by the shoulder to look at him. "You think I'm an idiot, huh?" He asked her.

"Oh my God." She muttered, her hand grazing the area under her eye that was pulsating with pain. Rafe released her, "You're so lucky that I promised your dad I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

Marella looked up at him. "My dad? He's the one who appointed you to be my saviour?" She scoffed.

"Yeah, he did." Rafe nodded. "But you keep doing shit like this, and I'll be forced to break the promise." He exclaimed.

Marella pushed herself onto her feet, "The only person I need saving from is you, you fucking psychopath!" She yelled, backing away. Seeing Rafe's violent self brought out a newfound rage in the girl. And his mentioning the man who had recently been haunting her dreams made her even more frustrated.

Rafe was about to snap back, about to shout back at her. But he knew that he had important things to discuss with his father. "Stop hanging out with the Pogues." He warned her. "Or you'll end up like my sister."

"Fuck you." She seethed, shaking her head as she picked up the plastic bag and glasses. "You're going to get what's coming to you, just wait." Marella said. She rushed away without another word. Once she turned a corner, the girl glanced back to see if Rafe was following her. Once she was sure that he was not, Marella began to sprint down the road.

She saw her three friends embracing and picked up the pace. Once she was close enough, Marella launched herself into Kie's arms. "I'm so glad you're okay." She sighed.

Kie coughed out. "Barely." She said, holding up the gun. "And look what I got!"

"You're incredible." Marella grinned.

"You missed so much." JJ told her, making her turn to look at him. "Hey, sweet sunglasses—" He stopped speaking once he saw that the mark underneath her eye looked much worse than before. JJ immediately grabbed her face with his hand. "What the hell, River?"

"Oh shit. What happened?" Pope asked her.

"Yeah, the water didn't start filling up randomly." Marella explained to them. "Rafe was turning some dial. So, I distracted him and tried to turn it back, but he caught me and pushed me. I slammed my head on the wheel."

"What the hell?" Pope frowned.

"Son of a bitch." JJ cursed. Kie mirrored his angry expression. "Is he still here?" She asked. Marella shook her head. "I doubt it. I think he has somewhere to be. It's okay, let's just take this to Shoupe."

"First, let's get some ice for that, yeah?" JJ offered, placing his arm around her shoulder. Marella dug into the plastic bag and pulled out the chocolate bar. "Here." She said to him.

JJ shook his head, "I think you need that more than I do right now." He told her. Marella chuckled, "Maybe a reefer too for the pain—" She started.

"No!" The other two exclaimed from behind them.

─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

"So y'all are telling me this is the firearm Rafe Cameron killed Peterkin with?" Shoupe asked them. Marella and Kie were sat on chairs facing the Deputy at his desk, while JJ and Pope stood behind them.

JJ nodded, "That's exactly what we're telling you, Shoupe." "And the exact same firearm that Ward just used to kill Gavin." Pope added.

"I— And where's that corpse again?" Shoupe questioned.

"Didn't you look?" Kie snapped. "I checked the hospital. I went by his house. He was out." Shoupe told them.

Marella slammed the bag of frozen peas on the table and buried her head in her hands with frustration. "Of course he's out!" She exclaimed over her friends yelling.

"He was out?"

"No shit! 'Cause he's dead!"

"Listen to yourself." Kie shouted, "It makes perfect sense."

"Just because he's not in his damn home does not mean he was a victim of a homicide." Shoupe explained to them.

"What are you talking about?" Kie asked.

"I told you this was gonna happen." JJ explained, shaking Marella's shoulders with frustration. "You gotta be kidding."

"Are you at least gonna send it in for ballistics and shit, or are you just gonna sit on your ass?" Kie inquired.

"No, he's gonna sit there and wax that damn mustache. Is that even real?" JJ accused.

"I'll wax this—" Shoupe started, getting up to his feet.

"Hey! Shut up, JJ!" Pope hissed.

"It's not fair."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt his feelings?" JJ asked, his voice leaking with sarcasm. "Shut up!" Pope yelled in his face as Shoupe made his way to the door.

"Get out." He ordered, holding the door open for them. "I got work to do. Y'all are smelling up my damn office."

"Shit!" JJ cursed.

Kie stood up and walked over to him, a disgusted look on her face. "Did Ward bribe you? This doesn't make any sense." She shook her head as she exited.

Marella moved up to her feet. "Look at him, of course he was bribed." She muttered, pushing her way past him and out of the door. "A waste of time. The legal system is so fucked!" She exclaimed as they left the police station.

Kie nodded from in front of her. "Yeah, you've got that right."

⎯ ❃ jania speaks!
HI ITS BEEN SO LONG
"why is it now in uppercase?" this is the only way my brain would motivate and allow me to write it😭😭😭 i hope it doesn't bother anyone

marella's calling out bs, not scared anymore and unbothered era is my favourite version of her