─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

"Sunny, you hungry for a sandwich?" JJ questioned, watching as the girl stepped past him in the kitchen. "Awh Jay, I would love a sandwich." She smiled. "Thank—" The girl started.

"That bread had mold on it three days ago." Pope told the two. Sunny's face fell, her grateful expression morphing into disgust. "Are you serious?" She asked. "We really need to go food shopping."

"I'll just pull off the bad parts." JJ said as if it were nothing. Soleil shook her head, "Nuh, uh. You can count me out of that one." She ordered.

"Whatever, mold is good for you. It's just a natural organism." JJ argued. Sunny gave him a look, "That's the same defence you use for cannabis." She reminded him.

The boy shrugged, "And it applies to that too." He said, taking a bite of his sandwich. The boy immediately gagged and spat it out, making Sunny laugh and pat his back. "Sunny, JJ!" Kie yelled out from the front room.

"Yup, yup, yup! Hot damn, let's do it." JJ said, throwing the bread into the trash and following Sunny to the table. They gathered behind John B, watching intently as he opened the package.

"Holy shit." The boy mumbled, staring at the large map that was laid out on the table. Pope leaned over, "Oh. X marks the spot." He said.

"Longitude, latitude. Wait, there's somethin' else in there." The boy said, pulling out a tape recorder. "What's that?" JJ asked. Kie gave him a look, "It's a tape recorder, dumbass." She hissed.

"Dear Bird." Big John Routledge started. "Who's Bird?" JJ quickly questioned. John B didn't even glance back at his friend, too enthralled by his father's voice. "That's what my dad called me." He muttered.

"I hate to say, "I told you so," but I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either."

Sunny and Kie looked up at each other with utter surprise. Big John found the Royal Merchant?

"You were probably right to call me out. Wasn't exactly Father of the Decade. What can I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we're listenin' to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, livin' off passive investments and pulling on permits."

"If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If somethin' happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, kid. I love you, Bird, even if I didn't always act like it."

Sunny looked away, wiping the stray tears from her eyes. If she was getting so emotional over Big John's message, she couldn't even imagine how John B was feeling.

"I'll see you on the other side." The man concluded. There was a moment of silence between the five until John B stood up and stepped away from them.

"Holy shit, he did it!" JJ exclaimed. "Big John... He found the Merchant—" He continued. Kie glared at him, silently telling him to read the room. "Can you... can you please?" She asked.

"Sorry." JJ muttered over his friend's sobbing. Sunny didn't hesitate to step over to John B. She immediately wrapped her arms around him, holding him dearly as he sobbed. The boy eventually turned around to face her, enveloped his arms around her body and buried his head into her neck.

∙ ~εïз~ ∙

The five decided to get some fresh air, departing the Chateau and going to the pier. Sunny sat on the edge of the dock, her feet dangling over the edge. "How much was it again?" JJ asked, tossing a rock into the water. "Four hundred mil." Pope reminded him.

JJ sighed, pulling out his pistol. "All right, let's talk the split. Now, before we say "evenly," may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us. Protection? Not cheap, okay?"

Pope scoffed at his audacity. "You haven't trained. You've done zero training." He reminded him. "YouTube, bro!" JJ exclaimed. "That's at least a five percent bump right there."

"You haven't—"

"Any objections?" JJ asked. Sunny raised her hand, but the boy ignored her. "Huh, didn't think so." He said.

"Yeah."

"I don't hear any, so."

"What are you gonna do with your 80 mil, Pope?" Kie asked the boy. He hesitated as he thought of an answer. "Pay for college in advance. And also, textbooks. Those are expensive."

"What about you, Kie?" JJ questioned. Pope nodded, "Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?" He added.

Kie chuckled. "Just wanna make a double album. About OBX, the Pogues. You know, the way Catch a Fire is about Kingston." She explained. Sunny turned back to look at her with a smile on her face, "That's such a good idea." She said.

Kie smiled as she nodded, "Yeah, I'd record it at Marley Studio, Peter Tosh producing."

"Peter Tosh is dead." Pope reminded her. "Peter Tosh is dead. I know that Pope. The spirit of Peter Tosh will never die." She told him, raising her can of beer.

"What about you, Sunshine?" JJ asked her. Sunny paused for a second, "Hm, I don't know. I haven't thought about it. Well, I'd save some for school, of course. I think Winny wants to go to Art School, so I'd help her with that. I'd probably want to travel a little as well. Oh, and I think the OBX could really benefit with like a... a community centre." She rambled.

"That sounds like a great idea." Kie told her. She grinned, "Thanks, Kie."

"I know what I'll do." JJ spoke up. "I'm gonna get a big ass house on Figure Eight and go full Kook." "You're gonna go full Kook?" Pope laughed.

"Yup. Gonna get a marble statue of myself, and then I'm gonna get a koi pond." He concluded. "Put a bunch of those fish—"

"I'm never visiting." Kie stated. Sunny chuckled, "Who in their right mind would build a statue of you?" She questioned. JJ shrugged, "Anyone would do anything for money."

"What are you gonna do, JB?" Pope asked the boy who was yet to say a word. Sunny completely shifted her body around so she was now facing her friends, interested in what the boy would say.

"To going full Kook." John B said.

"To going full Kook!" They all said, raising their cans.

∙ ~εïз~ ∙

JJ was crashed out on the patio couch, Kie had taken up the space on the pullout in the living room while John B was in his bedroom. Pope left Sunny in the kitchen to take a quick shower, so she went to check up on John B. The bedroom light was off and the door was slightly ajar, so she just pushed it open.

John B quickly turned around, surprised by the door creaking. He was stood shirtless in only his boxers as he was in the middle of pulling some shorts on. "Jesus, Sun! Don't you knock?!" He questioned, quickly dragging his shorts on.

"Sorry, dude." She chuckled. John B sighed, "What if I was naked?" He challenged.

"Nothing I haven't seen before." She joked. The boy groaned at the memory, making her chuckle. "Look, you just need to learn to tie your towel around tighter, okay?" She said.

"I was tired one time." He tried to tell her, but Sunny shook her head. "All these excuses. Mind if I crash?" She asked, pointing to the bed. John B nodded, "Course. You want the room to yourself?" He asked.

"No, I'm not gonna take your bed from you." She said, moving over to the bed and slipping her flip-flops off. "I just came to see how you were coping with everything... you know the tape we found." Sunny explained, climbing under the duvet.

"Right." John B nodded, running his hand through his hair. "Yeah, I'm good. I'm okay." He told her. But Sunny didn't believe a word he was saying. She didn't even have to say anything, the look in her eyes told John B that she didn't believe him.

Soleil had very expressive eyes— they spoke for her most of the time. And John B knew she was the last person to judge anyone, so he didn't know why he was holding back.

He sighed, throwing himself onto the bed and making Sunny flinch. "It's a lot, you know. Hearing my dad's voice again, him telling me that he—" John B started. He paused, getting choked up with emotion. Sunny frowned, shifting closer to him and pulling him into an embrace.

"He said that he loved me." John B said, softly. Sunny nodded, "I heard. And I'm sure that he loved you so much, JB." She reassured him.

"So why did he pick treasure hunting over me?" The boy cried out. Her heart broke at his words, unsure of what to say. "I don't know." Sunny said, honest but gentle. "I don't know why he did that. But I do know that he chose wrong. Because you're an amazing person, amazing friend and you're an amazing older brother to Winny... and to me."

There was a moment of silence after her words, but John B's sniffling was still audible. "Have I told you how glad I am you guys moved down here?" He asked. Sunny lightly chuckled, ruffling his long, brown hair with her hands. "Yeah, once or twice." She said.

─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

The next morning, the group of friends decided to take a morning ride on the boat. Sunny wore the only bathing suit she had at John B's house— a light green, one-piece, swim dress. She knew most of her bathing suits would be considered childish to others — the design, the colours and the patterns weren't exactly 'mature', but that's how she liked them.

She sat beside JJ at the front of the boat, black sunglasses resting on her nose. JJ whistled, nudging Soleil and pointing to the boat approaching them. "You guys see that? That's the Malibu 24-MXZ, the world's finest wakesetter. Number one in luxury, quality, and performance. 200K, easy."

"We picked the wrong parents." Pope remarked. Kie rolled her eyes, "I hate to break it to you guys, but that's Topper and his girlfriend." She told them.

Sunny squinted as the boat got nearer and Kie was right— that was Sarah and Topper. Sarah raised her sunglasses above her head to get a better look at the five but quickly glanced away after.

"You don't have to act like you can't see us, bitch!" Kie called out to her. Sarah didn't even flinch at her words, continuing to stare forward and pretend she didn't hear anything.

The interaction brought a feeling of guilt to Sunny. She had spent a night with Sarah and the two had a good time, but she now remembered how much Kie hated Sarah. While Kie never fully explained her despise for Sarah, Sunny still felt as if she had betrayed her.

"Hey, Kie." Sunny said, looking over at the girl. Kie turned to face her, the irritation on her face disappearing. "Yeah? What's up?" She asked.

"I have to tell you something." She said, her voice getting higher. John B's eyes widened, he knew exactly what Sunny was about to say. JJ chuckled, "Uh oh, her voice is all fucked up. Sunshine's nervous." He teased.

"Shut up, JJ." Pope rolled his eyes. "What's up, Soleil?" He asked.

"Well, my mom's working on a project with Mr Ward and the other night she took Winny and I over." She explained. Kie raised her eyebrow with intrigue. "And?" She interrogated.

"And... I spent some time with Sarah and we stayed the night at the house." She admitted. Kie was silent for a moment, making Sunny even more anxious. She glanced over to Pope and JJ, who seemed just as surprised as Kie.

Finally, she cleared her throat. "Did you guys have a fun, happy sleepover? Just between you girls?" Kie questioned, the annoyance evident in her voice. Sunny winced, unsure of how to reply. She could either tell the truth and feel less guilty or lie and spare Kiara's feelings.

"Didn't you say Winny and Wheezie were there too?" John B questioned in an attempt to save his friend from the awkwardness.

Pope looked confused and even slightly offended. "Wait, you knew?" He asked.

"Winny tells me everything that goes on with her." John B shrugged. That was true, John B was Winny's favourite— she treated him like he was her older brother.

Kie was still visibly irritated by the confession so JJ decided to speak up again. "What's the big deal? They live right by each other so it was bound to happen." He said.

"Sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Kie." Sunny said. "I couldn't think of a right time." She admitted.

Kie shook her head, "I don't care who you choose to be your friends, Sunny." Kie stated. But all the boys knew that was complete lie. They all knew how Kie would count the days until the summer break would come because she knew she'd see Sunny.

Kie was almost as bad as Pope— and he had a crush on Sunny. Soleil was the only girl Kie had genuinely connected with in a while, so hearing her bond with arch-nemesis, Sarah Cameron, was bound to bring some negative emotions.

"Okay." Sunny said, softly. She turned back around so she was facing the water rather than her three friends behind her. The girl felt terrible. If she knew that Kie would be so bothered by what happened, she definitely wouldn't have done it.

Pope was still stuck on the fact that John B knew about it and he didn't. While Sunny had a special type of friendship with each one of them, they all knew she was closest to Pope. But Pope always believed she and John B had the tightest bond. He was well aware that the two shared a bed the previous night, and he couldn't help but feel envious.

⎯ ❃ jania speaks!
JEALOUS POPE ALERT 🚨 i have so many cute scenes in store for him and soleil 😊😊😊