Everyone was asleep when you made it back to the Chateau. Pope and Kie had knocked out on the floor near the bed that JJ slept in. You wanted to smile at the sight of them, but you were so exhausted that you could barely move your feet. Shuffling around your friends, you peeled off the t-shirt you had borrowed from JJ, which was now covered in your blood. Without a second thought, you dropped it on the floor beside the bed. You didn't think JJ would mind if you crashed with him for the last few hours of the morning. You crawled under the blankets, careful to keep on your side of the bed, cradling your arm up to your chest.
It took you seconds to fall asleep. You didn't even realize you had until sunlight woke you up a few hours later. Feeling consciousness return, you groaned and squeezed your eyes together tight.

"Morning sleepyhead," a voice said. You hummed and peaked open a single eye. JJ was standing by your side of the bed, smiling down at you.

"Feeling better?" You asked him as you pushed yourself up to a sitting position. He shrugged his shoulders and tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear.

"You need another shirt?" He asked. You nodded your head slowly, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes.

"Yes, please."

He tossed one of his shirts in your direction before jumping back on the bed, wrapping his arms around your waist.

"What are you doing?" You asked with a laugh as you pulled his shirt on over your head.

"Giving you a hug," he said and pressed a kiss against your thigh.

"Where are Pope and Kie?"

"Outside macking or something, I don't know," JJ mused, closing his eyes again. You slid out from underneath him, to which he groaned and reached out for you again.

"I gotta go talk to them," you said, stretching your arms once you stood.

"Why?" JJ whined, rolling onto his back. You smiled down at him and poked his nose with your finger.

"Because."

JJ groaned, but he didn't push any further. You walked away, a smile still on your face. The sun was warm and welcome against your skin as you walked outside. If you focused on the task at hand and the sun on your face, you could almost forget what had happened the night before.

"Pope! Kie!" You called, waving your hand in the air. They were whispering back and forth to each other until you called out. Pope smiled when he saw you nearing, but Kie just crossed her arms.

"So?" He asked once you finally reached them. "Your plan, how did it go?"

You let out a sigh, swinging your arms at your sides.

"Fell through." Pope dropped his head. "I'm really sorry. I thought I could do it, but-"

"What happened to your arm?" Kie interrupted, nodding toward your wrapped up arm.

"I fell over yesterday when I walked back from Barry's."

"You didn't have that thing on last night."

"I did, but it was dark and we were a little preoccupied." You crossed your arms, feeling your heart start to pound. You hadn't really given yourself time to think of a lie to cover yourself. You had just gone to bed. Kie narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to say something else, but not before JJ cut in.

"Hey, Ellie!" He called from behind. You spun around, your heart dropping at the sight of the bloody shirt in his hand.

"Fuck," you breathed, hanging your head.

"What's this?" He asked and dropped the shirt at your feet.

"I was just telling Pope and Kie," you said, looking back at them. "I fell. Used the shirt to stop the bleeding until I got something to wrap it up with."

"Is that your car back there?" he asked. You nodded your head, tucking your hands under your arms. "Jesus- Fuck, Ellie!"

You flinched.

"What...what's going on?" Pope asked. Kie put her head in her hands.

"You went home, didn't you?" The good mood JJ had been in earlier was gone. You scratched your eyebrow as you tried to think of something to say that would get you out of your current predicament. You heard both Kie and Pope let out heavy sighs.

"I may have snuck in to get my keys, but I didn't even see my dad-"

"Don't lie to me, Ellie," JJ said, his voice dropping as he stepped closer to you. You dropped your arms, your defensive mode activating. Don't back down. Don't blink. Don't show fear.

"Fine," you snapped. "Yeah, I went home. Yeah, I saw my dad. Big whoop."

"Tell me what happened to your arm."

"No."

"Ellie, just tell me what happened!"

"No!"

JJ was tired of arguing. He reached out and grabbed your wrist, pulling your arm toward him.

"JJ, come on," Pope said. "You don't have to-"

You pulled against JJ's grip, trying desperately to get your arm back before he revealed what your dad had carved into your arm. There was no need for him to see it. How was he supposed to look at you the same way after seeing what had been done to you? This was more than just a few bruises or a cut that would fade over time. These would scar. You were going to wear this word on your arm for the rest of your life and you weren't sure that you were ready for him to see it.

"Let me go," you hissed, trying to yank your arm back. But JJ was stronger than you were and he started to unwrap the bandage. That fear you were trying to keep away started to eat away at you. You pulled harder, more desperately. You were now feeling like the cornered animal, wanting nothing more than to find a hole to hide in.

"JJ," Kie's voice was a warning, but JJ wasn't about to head it. He threw the wrapping on the floor and went to pull the gauze off your arm, your last line of defense. You reached out and grabbed his wrist before he pulled off the gauze.

"Please," you begged, meeting his eyes. "Don't."

But he did anyway. He snatched the gauze straight off your arm, tossing it on the ground beside the wrapping. As he stared down at your arm, the fear you felt mutated into shame. Shame that came out as anger. JJ's mouth hung open, his grip on your wrist going slack. You snatched your arm away, taking a few steps back.

"You wanna see it, too?" You asked, turning toward Pope and Kie. You lifted your arm toward them. Pope turned his face away at the sight of it. You saw tears gather in Kie's eyes.

Raw and still bleeding, the long, clean cuts came together to form one word. A reminder for you. A warning for others.

Whore.

"Oh my god, Elm," Kie brought a hand up to her mouth. You whirled back around toward JJ, who wouldn't look up at you. That was like a dagger to your heart. That hurt more than the pulsing pain in your arm. You scoffed, but it came out sounding more like a sob than anything else.

"Your plan," Pope said, glancing at you but not keeping your gaze. "It was to see your dad, wasn't it?"

"You said you were behind me one hundred percent," you reminded him, hands shaking at your side.

"I didn't think that meant going back to your abusive ass dad!"

You glared at each of them in turn.

"And that's why I didn't tell you what it was," you ground out through your teeth. No one had anything else to say. You nodded your head slowly, pressing your lips into a thin line. You scoffed and turned away from them, walking back to the Chateau to find yourself some new bandages.

"Go after her," you heard Kie say, probably to JJ. You didn't hear his response.

"She needs you, bro," Pope said. You rolled your eyes.

"I don't need shit," you growled to yourself.

"Ellie," JJ called from behind you. You flexed your hand before bringing it up to cover your wound. "Wait, I'm sorry!"

You hesitated, but you didn't turn around.

"Ellie, I didn't know!"

"You didn't know?" You spun around quickly, a fire in your eyes hidden behind a layer of tears. "I begged you not to look, JJ. And you did anyway."

"What else was I supposed to do when you lied to me?" He asked. You tightened your jaw, breathing heavily through your nose.

"I'm going inside," you said and turned back around. Marching inside, you were almost disappointed not to hear him follow you.

Sitting on the toilet with a first aid kit in your hands once again, shame bit at your gut, forcing tears into your eyes. Part of you knew that you shouldn't have gone last night, but the other part of you knew that you couldn't just wait and see if you got the gold. You were ashamed of the tears that rolled down your face, dropping onto your legs. You sniffled and ran your hand under your nose.

The door creaked open slightly. JJ stood there, just on the other side, looking down at you. You looked away from him, staring at the far wall as you wiped away your tears as fast as they fell. Without saying a word, JJ walked over to you, kneeling at your feet. You tried to turn your head even farther away from him, but there really was nowhere else to hide.

JJ picked up the adhesive wrap off the ground and slowly started to curl it around your arm over the gauze. His touch was gentle. Any semblance of anger he had shown earlier was gone. He wrapped your arm up tight and when he finished, he leaned down and pressed a kiss against the new bandages.

You let out a short, shaking breath before finally turned to face him as he curled your hand up in both of his.

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you for trying."

Your lips started to shake as tears formed in your eyes once again.

"I tried," you whispered, voice breaking. "I thought I could-"

But your voice gave out completely and a sob choked you before you could try again.

"Come here." JJ put his arms around you and pulled you to the floor beside him. He held you tight as if hoping to squeeze the hurt out of you. But it didn't matter how much you cried or sobbed, he never let go or loosened his grip. He ran his fingernails up and down your back and you listened to the sound of his beating heart, his steady breath, until you found yourself much calmer than before. Even when your sobbing came to an end, he didn't let you go. It wasn't until you started to move away that he dropped his arms from around your waist.

With a smile, he lifted his hand and brushed away a few of your stray tears.

"Are we good?" He asked. You nodded your head, kissing the palm of his hand.

"Yeah, we're good."

You were on your way out of the Chateau, with JJ behind you, just as Pope and Kie were walking in.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," you said, hiding your arm behind your back. Kie shook her head and smiled. Instead of saying anything, she walked forward and hugged you around your neck.

"You know that you don't have to lie to us, Elm," Pope said, standing back. "We're here for you, no matter what."

You had no desire to cry again, so you fought it back. With an arm still around Kie's waist, you smiled at Pope.

"I know. And I'll try to be better with the whole not lying thing."

Kie tightened her arm around your neck again, standing on her toes to give your cheek a little kiss.

***

You were helping JJ clean up the front yard as Pope and Kie worked with the pulley system.

"You know," you said as you shoved a blowup pool animal into a trash bag while JJ lounged on the edge of the hot tub. "In any other circumstances, this would have been a party I would have loved to come to."

JJ smiled as he took a quick swig of beer.

"John B's pulling a Houdini," he said.

"Yeah, where is he?" Pope asked as he lowered Kie back to the ground.

"Didn't he say something about going out on a boat with Ward?" You asked, lifting your head.

"I thought they'd be back by now," said Kie, watching the pulley carefully.

"I got my scholarship interview tomorrow," Pope reminded everyone. "We gotta get this done."

John B strolled out of nowhere, staring at the ground. He looked like a man on a mission.

"Speak of the devil!" JJ called, lifting his hands in the air. "Hey! Dude, I set up the entire winch to pull up the gold and everything."

John B didn't say anything. He just kept walking. You scowled, setting your trash bag down on the ground.

"No, he didn't," Pope said, throwing a streamer roll at JJ's head. "I did that."

You glared at Pope, snatching the streamer roll off the ground and tossing it in your bag.

"I'm trying to clean here, Pope," you said. "Try not to make more of a mess, please?"

"Hey!" Kie climbed out of the bucket and walked over to the front door as John B pushed his way inside.

"Okay, that's it?" JJ slid off the side of the hot tub.

"What's that all about?" Pope asked as the four of you met in a clump outside of the house.

"I was gonna ask you the same question."

"John B?" You started toward the front door, Pope taking the stairs faster than you could and running inside. When you all made it in the house, you found John B rummaging through the drawers of a cabinet. Like he was looking for something.

"You alright, man?" Pope asked, standing just behind John B. "What-what's up?"

"What are you looking for?" Kie wrapped her arms around her stomach, standing back near the wall.

"Bro, what's going on?"

But John B didn't even pause. He threw pillows off of JJ's bed and ran his hands through his hair. Shoving his hands under the mattress, he pulled back with JJ's gun in his hand. You took a startled step backward, bumping into Kie.

"What do you need the gun for?" JJ asked, stepping forward.

"Just put it back and take a breath," you tried.

"Talk to us," JJ said before John B shoved him down to the bed. You started forward, but Pope took a step in front of you.

"John B, chill!" Kie cried out. He stormed off toward the front door, but Pope jumped in the way. "What, are you JJ now?"

John B shoved Pope out of the way pushing him into the table. You walked over to JJ, helping him climb off the bed. Once again, you all followed after John B. After the events of the last two days, if there was one thing that was certain, there was no way any of you were letting him run off with a gun and no explanation.

"John B, what the hell are you doing?" Kie's worried mom voice came out once again. By the time you were all running outside, John B was on top of his motorcycle, revving the engine. "What the hell?"

"Ward knows about the gold!" John B shouted finally. He turned back around, eyes full of rage and tears, a common combination. "He killed my dad."

Hearing his words was like running into a brick wall. You all froze and then watched him ride away on the motorcycle.

"John B!" Kie and Pope ran after him for a few feet while you and JJ stayed where you were.

"Shit," JJ breathed.

"What do we do?" You asked, looking at Kie for help. She threw her hands in the air. "Do you think he's really going to kill Ward Cameron?"

"If Ward killed his dad?" Pope turned back around. "Yeah, I think he might."

"So, we've got to stop him before he does." You said, looking around at the others.

"I always thought Ward was a pretty cool guy," Kie said, chewing on her fingernail. "For being a kook and all."

"John B wouldn't be running after him with a gun if he didn't have a damn good reason to, right?" You turned to look at Pope and JJ. "Right?"

"No, he wouldn't," JJ replied.

"So, we have to go help him. Make sure he doesn't do something incredibly stupid."

"We can go on the Pogue," Pope said, lifting his head to meet your eyes. You nodded your head.

"Let's do it then."

***

By the time you made it to the Cameron's house, the world was shrouded in darkness. You wondered if Rafe was inside and what he would do if he saw you there without the money. You tried to push the thought from your mind. Right now was about John B and helping him. You had to help your friend.

"So, what do we do?" JJ asked. "Walk up and as 'Hey, have you seen John B?'"

"Look, he lives at Tannyhill now. It's plausible," Kie told him, staring at the house as the boat bobbed up and down in the water.

"We can play dumb?" You suggested, lifting your head. "It's always an easy bet."

"Play dumb?" JJ looked up at you and then glanced down at the bandages on your arm. Your face heated up and you dropped your hand to cover your arm.

"It's pretty late," Pope said, still at the wheel.

"I've never seen John B like that," Kie said, worry straining her voice. "We honestly should be going to the cops."

"And say what Kie?" JJ narrowed his eyes. "We're worried about our friend because he's on a rampage because Ward Cameron killed Big John?"

"That won't go over well," you agreed. Pope pulled a pair of binoculars out of his bag, pointing them at the house.

"Hey, I see Ward," Pope said. Kie and JJ turned to look at him.

"Let me see." Pope handed the binoculars to Kie.

"Doesn't look dead to me," Pope sighed. "Let's go home."

You could tell immediately that wasn't going to fly with Kie.

"Wait-"

"What?" She spun around, cutting JJ off.

"Obviously Mr. Cameron is fine," Pope said, gesturing to the man standing outside his house. "And even if John B was here, he isn't now. Plus, I have the biggest, most important moment of my life in six hours."

"Yeah, well our friend is in trouble."

You could tell from the way JJ flopped back onto a seat that hearing his friends argue, his usually level headed friends, wasn't ideal.

"I'm in trouble," Pope said. "Guys, I haven't been home in three days. My dad's probably put all of my stuff on the street."

"He's right," you said. "We don't know where John B is and waiting around here all night isn't going to solve anything."

"You're taking his side?" Kie asked, narrowing her eyes at you.

"Kie, this scholarship is important." You let out a deep sigh. "I think we should at least take Pope home. The three of us can keep looking afterward if you want."

"Okay, so that's it?" Kie asked, looking away from you and back at Pope. "In a time of need, you're just gonna walk away? You're gonna bail?"

It was clear that your attempts at peacemaking were falling on deaf ears so you just sat down.

"Guys, can we not do this now?" JJ asked, putting his hands on his head and closing his eyes.

"I have a scholarship interview in the morning," Pope said again. "I can't-"

"What about John B?" Kie shot back. Pope inhaled deeply before he started yelling. You put your hands over your ears to try and shut it out, but they were loud arguers.

JJ kept trying to calm them down, but it was clear that this argument was a long time coming. Pope mentioned Kie's kook year and you felt as if there was a lot more to this conversation than what you knew.

It wasn't until Kie shoved Pope away from her that you and JJ both stood. JJ ran forward, pulling them apart.

"Cut it out, alright!" He said, looking between the two of them. "If I'm the one meditating, we've hit rock bottom."

He wasn't exactly wrong. Sometimes, it felt like Pope and Kie were the only ones in your group that ever really thought anything all the way through. If they were at each other's necks, there was no way you would be able to get anything done, let alone get the gold.

Kie went to sit at the back of the boat as JJ sent Pope to the front. You dropped yourself into a seat as JJ took the wheel.

"Pope, I'll drop you off," he said, turning the boat away from the dock.

The silence was cutting. Even after dropping Pope off at his house, no one said a word. It wasn't until the Pogue was parked back at the Chateau that anyone spoke again.

"Is that John B?" You asked, pointing at the dock. Lo and behold, it was. He was asleep on the dock, his legs curled up to his chest.

"I'll go get him," JJ said after tying off the boat. You walked beside Kie on your way inside.

"I wasn't trying to betray you back there," you said quietly. Kie looked over at you with a thin smile.

"I know."

You tentatively lifted your arms to wrap around her neck. For a moment, you were afraid she was going to move away, but she hooked her arms around your waist and hugged you back. A smile spread across your face as the two of you walked into the house together.

***

Hearing John B say that the gold was gone was the final straw. It took everything within you not to beat the shit out of a tree. Everything you had hoped for was gone. There was no way you were going to be able to get Kid away from your dad and there was no going back to live at your house. You had risked everything on a treasure hoard that someone else stole. Tears swam in your vision as you tried to control your breathing.

Not going home was the only way to keep you alive, but you couldn't protect Kid from anywhere else. You had royally fucked yourself over.

"Guys!" Pope shouted from the shore. You whipped your head around to look at him. He was running, breathless, toward the four of you. "Oh god. I ran all the way here."

"How was your interview, Pope?" JJ asked, turning to look at him from his perch.

"Don't ask." Pope panted for breath, leaning against his knees.

"Here's some water," you said, offering him your bottle. He took it and downed what little you had left.

"JB," Pope said. "Look, I'm sorry dude...about everything."

"It's fine," John B said, closing his eyes. He clearly was not fine.

"But I don't have a lot of time and I have information that is tactically relevant," Pope said hurriedly. He went on to explain something about his dad and the Cameron's airplane and making the airstrip longer because of weight.

"What could be so heavy to weigh it down?" He asked as John B sat up, his gears clearly turning.

"Gold," JJ answered, turning around to look at Pope, who did a little dance and snapped his fingers.

"Exactly!" Pope looked from JJ to Kie to you and then finally at John B. "This is our chance. But it leaves tonight and we have to go."

"We can't give up now," Kie said with a smile, sliding off of the railing. You pushed yourself to your feet. Even if it was a last ditch attempt to get that gold, by god you were going to take it.

"What's the plan, big man?" JJ asked, fixated on John B. There was the smallest hint of a smile on the boy's face.

"We're going to steal that shit back."

You couldn't help but howl, pumping a fist up in the air. Hope wasn't gone after all. There was still the chance to keep Kid safe.

"Let's do this!" Kie yelled, running toward the shore. You were right on her heels, the widest smile on your face.

***

You hopped out of the van before John B even pulled to a complete stop. Running up to the gate with the others, you all looked out onto the airstrip.

"What's the plan?" Kie asked. "Broad strokes."

"I don't think we got that far," John B said. Pope pulled out his binoculars again, holding them up to the fence. You squinted, hoping it would give you a better view, but it didn't really. Everything aside from the plane was far too small.

"They're loading up the gold," Pope said. John B snatched the binoculars from him.

"There's Ward," he said as a large black truck pulled up to the plane. After a few moments, he lowered the binoculars, a far off look in his eye.

"What?" Kie asked.

"It's Sarah," was all he said. The look on his face was somewhere between hurt and confused. He had told you all what had happened the night before when he told her what happened with her dad, how she didn't believe him. You imagined something like broke his heart, at least a little bit. It certainly didn't help the entire situation. "She's with him."

He put the binoculars back up to his eyes, watching something. You tapped your foot nervously against the fence.

"If we're going to do something, it has to be soon," you said.

"Wait a minute." You all turned to look at John B. "He's hurting her."

You looked back out toward the plane, wishing you could see better.

"He's what?" You asked, narrowing your eyes even further. You caught a glimpse of something that could be Sarah, but it could have also very well been a flamingo for all you could tell.

"They're fighting," John B said as Kie took the binoculars from him.

"Then we have to do something," you said, looking up to the fence as if to try and climb it, but JJ put a hand on your shoulder. His message was clear enough. Then you heard her scream. Every instinct within you told you to hop the fence and run over to that plane and get her out. That's what you would have done if it was Kid. Sarah was no different.

But John B had a different plan.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Pope asked as John B ran back to the van.

"Where are you going?" Kie looked back at you and you shrugged. John B started the van and pressed down hard on the gas. The van started forward and you stepped out of the way. He was going to break down the fence.

"Don't be a hero, man!" JJ yelled. "John B!"

"Go get her!" You cried, cupping your hands over your mouth. JJ looked at you and scowled, but you knew that someone had to do something. When the van burst through the fence, JJ pulled you backward, shielding you from the debris. All four of you ran after him for a few yards, but there was no way you were going to catch up.

JJ put his hands on his head, looking down at the dirt. Kie turned toward Pope and he put an arm around her shoulders. You watched the van drive alongside the plane for a while until you could no longer see what was going on. Your heart pounded, praying that John B could get that plane to slow down. To hell with the gold, you thought, as long as Sarah was off that plane and away from that man she called a father, you would be happy.

To your delight, you saw the plane skid to a stop.

"He stopped it," you said, a smile spreading across your lips. "John B stopped the plane!"

None of you could see much beyond that. Still, you stood where you were, waiting, hoping. Then the sirens came. You straightened your shoulders, picking your head up.

"I can't get arrested," Pope said, looking over at you and JJ.

"I'm on probation," JJ said, almost in agreement. There was no way you guys could stick around, especially not standing in the middle of a broken fence that your friend had just rammed through with his van. You twitched your lips, not wanting to leave John B and Sarah behind.

"We're no good if we're all in jail," Kie said, sounding almost defeated. The four of you turned around and took off running.