"Drug money?" You asked, agape. JJ put his hands on your shoulders from behind as he cackled.

"Yes," Kie said, trying to keep her eyes on the road. "We want you in on it."

Your mind was running at a mile a minute. The boat, Scooter's death, the connection to John B's father, the money. Even a small fraction of that would be enough for a good lawyer and to get you and Kid somewhere safe. It was just the miracle you needed.

"I'm so in." You smiled at Kie. "What's our next move?"

"We're having a party, Ellie. We'll figure it out tomorrow."

"There's a chance we can make a shit ton of money and you're throwing a party?" You asked, looking back at him.

"Party's already thrown," he said, leaning back with his hands locked behind his head.

"Alright," you said with a sigh. "It's a good night to get drunk."

The party was in full swing when you, JJ, and Kie pulled up. John B ran over with a large grin and a few beers in his hands.

"Glad you could join us," John B said, handing you one of the cups.

"Glad to see you guys are still alive," you said, matching his smile and taking a sip from the cup.

"Welcome back Kie, JJ," John B said, passing JJ a cup, which Kie promptly took for herself. "As you can expect, the kooks tried to take over so just...don't start any fights."

John B looked directly at JJ, who put his hands in the air innocently.

"Follow me," JJ said, grabbing hold of your wrist. Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted Rafe and Kelce, who were whispering quietly back and forth.

"Wait," you said, pulling your wrist back. "We have to be careful with the kooks here."

"What do you mean?" You nodded your head toward Rafe, taking another drink. "You're not scared of Rafe, are you?"

"No, Maybank. But if he sees us and decides to tell my dad-"

"Then we'll be careful."

You let out a sharp breath, gulping down the rest of your beer. You offered your hand for him to take, which made JJ smile. He pulled you along to where Pope was attempting to woo a girl with his talk of dead bodies. The two of you plopped down in the sand by their feet. Pope sent an irritated look at JJ as you introduced yourself to the girl.

JJ pulled you around, introducing you to as many different people as he could, using a different version of your name to each person. You weren't sure how he came up with so many different forms of your short name, but he did. Somehow, he still made you laugh, even if your day hadn't been the greatest. Just being in the presence of him and his smile eased the pain just a little bit.

Despite the serotonin and alcohol running through your system, you couldn't get the money out of your head. That money would save you and your brother. Part of you knew better than to get your hopes up, that there was only a small chance that anything would come of it. Still, now that you knew the money was an option, you wanted it more than anything.

The night was wonderful, talking to Kie, sharing a few smiles with Sarah, dancing with the boys. And then it all dissolved when you let JJ out of your sight.

You were talking to Kie, laughing at a story of hers about the boys, when you saw JJ trying to offer Sarah and Topper something to drink. You didn't see who threw the first punch, but as soon as you heard the sound of a fight, you knew exactly what was going on. JJ had said something that put Topper off and now they were rolling around in the sand beating the shit out of each other. You pushed yourself out of the sand, to pull Topper away from JJ, but Kie grabbed your wrist and pulled you back. When you looked at her with pinched eyebrows, she tilted her head toward Rafe, who was watching you carefully. You growled to yourself, forcing yourself to stand by with everyone else.

John B stepped in, taking JJ's place. Kie ran up to JJ and Pope and you stepped to follow them, but someone grabbed you by the wrist.

"Come with me," Rafe hissed in your ear.

"Let me go," you ground out, trying to pull your wrist away.

"I need to talk to you."

He pulled you away from the growing crowd. You tried to reach your friends one last time, but Rafe pulled even harder on your arm. The best choice for you was to follow him.

When he finally stopped, you ripped your wrist from his grip.

"Just say what you want to say," you snapped, crossing your arms.

"I saw you come in with JJ and Kiara," he said.

"So?"

"I know you're always on lockdown. Sarah told me. You shouldn't be out."

Your pulse began to race and you let a shaking breath.

"What do you want, Rafe?"

"I want to tell your dad that you've been sneaking around with the pogues," he said, a proud smirk on his face. You resisted the urge to punch him right there.

"You tell my dad about sneaking out and I'll tell your dad you've been pushing drugs, how about that?" You watched with a small amount of glee as his smile faltered and fell. "We've both got dirt on each other, why don't we keep it under the table, huh?"

Rafe set his jaw, shoving his hands into his pockets. You could barely hear the sound of people shouting in the distance, anything important drowned out by the others chanting.

"You're bluffing," Rafe finally said. You narrowed your eyes at him.

"I've literally seen you doing lines with Kelce. All I have to do is walk right up to your house-"

"Fine!" He huffed out a heavy breath. "Fine. You win."

"Good choice."

You turned to run back to the fight, hoping you weren't too late, but Rafe grabbed your arm again, spinning you back around.

"Why did you kiss me?" He asked. "At that party."

You scowled and shrugged.

"I was drunk," you said with an irritated shake of your head. For the first time, you couldn't read the look on his face. Before he could let your arm go, a series of loud gunshots echoed across the sky. Rafe dragged you to the sand as you covered your head. You heard screaming as the party-goers ran from the sound.

"JJ," you breathed, tearing your arm from Rafe's grip as you scrambled upward.

"Elma!" he called after you, but he didn't follow. You ran back to where the party had been. Everyone else had already ran off, all except your friends. John B was lying in the water on his back, Pope and Kie staring at JJ.

"What the hell happened?" You demanded, walking forward. You stopped suddenly when you saw the gun in JJ's hand by his side.

"JJ is an idiot is what happened!" Pope said, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"He was going to kill John B!" JJ exclaimed, waving the gun through the air.

"JJ, be careful!" Kie begged, putting a hand up. Yelling wasn't going to help anything. You knew that. Raised voices only made things worse. You took a careful step forward.

"Give me the gun, JJ," you said.

"I'm not going to use it," he scoffed.

"I know, but you've had a lot to drink tonight and it's safer if you put it down."

"Right, right."

As you neared, hand outstretched, he placed the gun in your palms before turning toward John B. He and Pope pulled their friend out of the water. You stood there, staring at the gun in your hand. If the money wasn't a real possibility, the weapon in your hand always was. All you had to do was ask JJ for it. He would give it to you, no questions asked. It was just the pull of a trigger and your problem would be solved.

"Elm?" You startled as Kie put her hand on your shoulder. "Let me take you home."

You nodded your head slowly. You walked over to JJ's backpack and slid the gun inside. Looking back at the boys, you were tempted to offer a wave or even say goodbye, but you couldn't bring yourself to.

The drive home was oddly quiet for a while.

"We were supposed to be laying low," Kie said after a while. Your window was open, hoping that the wind would blow away the thoughts in your head, the hurt in your heart.

"He was just trying to help."

"I know." Kie let out a deep sigh. "We're probably going to hang out a John B's tomorrow. Can you come?"

"I should be able to," you said, looking over at her. "My dad will be out most of tomorrow."

"Thank God," Kie said with a smile. "It's nice to have someone else with brain cells to hang out with."

You felt yourself smile. Kie pushed your shoulder lightly with her hand and you let out a laugh.

"It's nice to have people to hang out with who don't hate me," you said. Keeping her smile, Kie pushed on the radio button, music starting to blast out of the speakers. The songs that you used to sing alone in your room, you were now singing with someone you could call a friend.

The weirdness of the day was gone as the word passed through your head. Friend. For as long as you could remember, it was just you and Kid. Friends weren't on your radar. But ever since meeting JJ, you had found four new friends and by some miracle, they actually liked you.

You let all of those thoughts out of your hand, wanting nothing more than to enjoy the moment. Music pounded out of the speakers, flowing out of the open windows. Kie drummed her hands against the steering wheel as you waved your arms in the air to the beat.

"I thought you didn't dance," Kie said, shouting over the music and the wind.

"I guess I do now," you replied, meeting her smile with one of your own.

As you neared your house, you leaned over and turned the music down.

"You can let me out here," you said to Kie, whispering as if you were already at your house.

"Are you sure? I want to make sure you get inside," Kie said. You shook your head and gave a smile.

"My house is right up the road. I'll be fine," you reassured her. Kie watched your face for a moment, as if trying to see if you were really going to be alright.

"Well, we're meeting at the house in the morning. I'll see you there," she said. You opened your door and stepped out.

"Be careful driving home," you told her before shutting the door behind you. Kie stayed where she was in the car as you started up the road. You didn't hear her engine start again until you turned around the corner.

The wind blew through your hair as you made your way up to your house. It had to be past midnight at this point. You weren't sure how this one day could have been so long. You let the breeze blow away all of the thoughts that would keep you up all night if you let it.

Sneaking past your front door, you clambered up to the roof outside your window, which was still open just a crack. You let out a sigh as you crawled into your room, exhausted from your full day. You didn't even change or turn off the light before flopping onto your bed. Sleep claimed you almost instantly, swallowing you whole.

***

You were still rubbing sleep out of your eyes as you drove toward John B's the next morning. Letting out one last yawn, you slowed to a stop. When you arrived, it seemed like John B and JJ were in the middle of a heated conversation. You got out of your car as quietly as possible and snuck over to Kie and Pope, who sat by and watched.

"Hey," you whispered, startling Pope.

"Shit, Elm!" He said, turning to look at you, hand over his heart. Kie looked up at you with an irritated smile.

"What are they arguing about?" You asked, settling yourself onto a table.

"Sheriff Peterkin said that as long as John B stayed out of the marsh, she would help him out with DCS," Pope said, talking low as to not interrupt the conversation that John B and JJ were having a few feet away.

"But JJ is trying to get him to go out there anyway," Kie added, the same irritation on her face evident in her voice.

"Wait, you're giving up on the money?" Fear burst in your chest. That money was a shred of hope that you possessed, they weren't really going to give up on it. Were they?

"You really think it exists?" Pope asked, looking back up at you. You let out a sigh, chewing on your lower lip.

"I have to."

"New plan!" JJ said turning around with a clap. He caught sight of you on the table and smiled. "Hey, Babe."

"Hi." You smiled back. It was nice to see this smiley, happy version of JJ rather than the nearly unhinged version from last night.

"John B is going to get us some scuba gear and then we're going to go out to the boat, see what we can find," he said. "And then we'll be rich."

"Where is he going to get the scuba gear?" Pope asked, leaning his elbows against his knees.

"Ward Cameron," JJ said, beaming.

"That is literally the worst idea I've ever heard," Kie said with a small shake of her head. You breathed out a deep sigh, pressing your fingers against your forehead.

"It's a great idea, Kie," JJ said. "You think so, right Ellie?"

You looked up, eyebrows raised.

"It's dangerous," you said. "John B could get caught before we even go out into the marsh."

"Thank you," Pope said. JJ's smile fell and he put his hands on his hips.

"But," you continued. "We can't give up so soon, right? I mean, what other chance are we ever going to get for this kind of money?"

You watched Kie and Pope show different levels of disappointment and you grimaced. You looked up at JJ and he was smiling once again.

"We're so going to die," Pope said, meeting Kie's gaze. She nodded slowly. You had the feeling you just made a mistake.

***

"You took empty tanks?" Kie gave John B her disappointed mom look as you looked at the second tank.

John B sat beside her with a sigh. He shrugged his shoulders, running a hand through his hair.

"This one has some air," you said, pointing at your tank.

"How much?" Kie asked, leaning over to look.

"About a quarter of a tank," you told her, showing her the gauge. "At least one of us should be able to go down."

"Love it when a plan comes together," Pope said, leaning back and feet up by the wheel. You glanced over at JJ, who leaned against the side of the boat.

"Anyone know how to dive?" Kie asked. You shook your head, looking at your hands.

By the time it was decided that John B was the one going to dive, you were really starting to regret giving JJ your stamp of approval. You were sure they probably would have done it anyway, but you felt like you should have kept your desire for the money to yourself.

You helped pull Kie back to the boat after she tied her shirt to the line as the Pope helped John B into the gear.

"Here," you said, offering your sweater to Kie. She took it with a small smile.

"These boys are going to kill me," she muttered to you, pulling the sweater over her head. You tilted your head to the side with a short sigh.

"You and me both."

Kie walked by and over to John B. You felt your face contort into a confused look as Kie placed a short kiss on John B's cheek. You looked over at JJ, who was trying to cover a laugh. Maybe reading social cues wasn't your best skill, but you thought you might have noticed if one of your only friends liked another, but apparently not.

You leaned over the edge of the boat, watching John B sink below the surface. You felt your heart squeeze when you could no longer see him. There was a lot riding on whatever John B found down there, for you and for the others. There was also a lot riding on him not getting caught. You didn't want him to be put in foster care just because you wanted money. All you had to do was not get caught.

But, naturally, you did.

Deputy Shoupe and another one of the deputies rolled up in their boat. You forced a smile onto your face as they neared. Heart hammering in your chest, you tried not to pull any of his attention onto you. If you could have jumped into the water a drowned right then and there, you would have. With how often your dad and Shoupe talked with each other, there was no way he wasn't going to mention you being on a boat with a bunch of pogues.

You tried to smile as Kie, Pope, and JJ talked their way out of it. You glanced down at the water, your heart pounding in your ears. There had to be a way that you could tell John B not to come to the surface. Shoupe walked around the Pogue, asking dumb little questions, obviously trying to catch them in a lie. You justified your lack of talking by telling yourself that you didn't know anything about the boat, so how could you be of help?

You didn't take a single breath until the cops were in their own boat, driving away. All four of you raced to the back of the boat to wait for John B to surface. You let out a deep breath once you saw him pop out of the water.

"Did you find anything?" JJ asked as John B swam over.

"Did I find anything?" He asked with a laugh, tossing his soaking wet bag onto the Pogue. You smiled at the sight of it. You helped John B out of the water as Pope rambled about the cops pulling up on the boat.

"You scared the shit out of me," Kie said once John B was back in the boat.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said, smiling up at her.

Looking back out over the water, you saw another boat nearing.

"Kie," you said, hooking your pinky around hers. "I think that boats coming toward us."

"Shit," she hissed before turning to the others. "Bogey, two o'clock."

"What?" JJ looked up.

"They shouldn't be out here," you said. "Deputy said the marsh was closed."

"Do you recognize it?"

"No."

"What do they want?" Kie asked.

"No way we're waiting around to find out," JJ said.

"JJ, get the bowline," John B said.

"Yup."

"Pope, the stern."

"Should we wait for 'em?" Pope asked.

"Are you kidding?" Kie didn't take her eyes off the other boat.

You wondered if there was ever going to be a normal day on this goddamn island. You moved to the front of the boat to help JJ with the bowline.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," you mumbled to yourself.

"Are they coming for us?" JJ asked once the anchor was in the boat. You turned to watch the other boat, pulse racing.

"Maybe they're fishing," Pope said, but from the tremor in his voice, you knew he didn't believe it.

"Ever the optimist." You looked at him with an attempt at a smile.

"Into the marsh," he said, returning your smile with a quick one of his own.

"I'm going," John B said from the wheel. "Just act natural."

"Act natural," you grumbled. When you turned back to look at the boat, which was the opposite of acting natural, you saw them closing in.

"So," you said, turning back to the front. "They may or may not be speeding up."

"They're following us," Kie said, glancing back.

"Shit."

"Dude you gotta go faster!"

What was just supposed to be a simple matter of sneaking onto a wreck with stolen scuba gear suddenly turned into a boat chase through the marsh. You held onto the side of the boat as John B sped up, glancing back again, almost wishing you hadn't.

"That's a gun," you said, voice shaking.

"What?"

"Gun!"

One of the men in the boat pulled the trigger and everyone ducked.

"Get down!" JJ pulled John B's arm, forcing him to crouch.

"We're going to die!" Pope yelled as another shot was fired. There had to be a way out of this, some way to slow them down. When you looked up at Kie, you could see that she was thinking the same thing.

"The net," she said, just loud enough for you to hear. You nodded your head. The two of you stood.

"Don't-" JJ tried to grab your hand, but you moved toward the front before he could. You met Kie in the front of the boat.

"I'll cover you," you told her as she grabbed the net. She nodded her head once before you both took off for the back.

You stood as tall as you could, hopefully drawing enough attention away from Kie as she crouched. You watched Pope try to grab her and pull her back to the floor of the boat, but she moved past him quickly.

Another shot. It flew past you, barely missing your side. When JJ reached out for you, you couldn't evade him and he pulled you down to the boat.

"Are you crazy?" He asked. You shook your head, looking over at Kie as she threw the net into the water behind the boat. You lifted your head to see if it worked. For a few seconds, the boat behind continued to follow until it got caught in the net. You watched with a growing smile as the boat sputtered to a stop.

"Ha!" You cried, throwing a fist into the air. Once you rounded the bend, finally out of eyesight of the other bought, JJ finally let you go. "That was amazing, Kie!"

You pushed yourself up and hugged her around the waist.

"Let's never do that again," Pope said, breathing heavily.

JJ let out a holler, standing. John B laughed, looking back at Kie and over at Pope.

You found yourself laughing off the rest of your adrenaline, the wind blowing through your hair.

"That was insane," Kie said with a laugh.

Looking at your friends, all laughing after nearly dying, JJ's words returned to your mind. What was the point of surviving if you weren't living? This...this felt like living. The laughter, the adrenaline, sneaking around, doing whatever the hell you wanted with the wind blowing through your hair, you wanted it all. You soaked it in, closing your eyes and lifting your face to the sun.

You didn't let yourself think about what would have happened if you had died right then. It was important. It didn't matter. Why worry about something that didn't happen?

The sun was nearing the horizon when you made it back to the dock. You still felt the adrenaline pumping through your system, smile still on your face.

Everyone scurried off the boat, JJ tying it off.

John B dropped the bag to the ground, everyone crowding around.

"It's gotta be money, right?" John B said, smiling up at JJ, who said something in response, but all you could do was stare at the bag.

"Can we please just open the bag?" Pope asked suddenly. You all glanced up at him each smiling.

"Wow."

"That was a rare outburst of emotion," JJ said. You bumped his leg with your shoulder.

"You guys are literally killing me with anticipation," Pope said, showing his shaking hands to prove his point.

John B finally unzipped the bag. Your heart beat so fast, you were sure you could feel the blood flowing through your veins at a million miles an hour.

"We almost died for this," Pope said as John B pulled out a metal canister.
It took John B a few moments to untwist the lid, setting it on the ground. No one took their eyes off of the thing in his hands. When he tipped it upward, you craned your neck to see what landed in his palm. It was something wrapped in a towel. As he unfolded it, your breath hitched.

Slowly, John B pulled a compass out of the towel. You felt your heart deflate at the sight of it. A collective, disappointed sigh came out of everyone except John B, who stared at it as if it was hypnotic.

"Yeah," Pope said, turning around. "That's about right."

"Are you okay, John B?" You asked. Maybe he was in shock. After all, he had almost died twice to get nothing but a compass out of that sunken boat.

"Dude, what?" JJ asked, his voice tighter than usual. "That thing isn't worth anything."

"This was my father's."

Pope turned back around to look at him.

"Why did Scooter have your dad's compass?" You asked. John B shook his head, not taking his eyes off of the thing.

"I...I don't know."

"We should talk to Ms. Lana," Kie said, stepping forward. She knelt behind John B and placed a hand on his shoulder. You looked back at JJ with a 'are you seeing this or am I crazy' look. He made a face and crossed his arms.

"Yeah," John B said absentmindedly. "Maybe tomorrow."

"I should...I should probably go," Pope said, turning to walk away from them. "Fun day guys. Let's never do that again."

"I should go, too," you said, standing. "Keep me updated."

"How are we supposed to do that?" JJ asked with a raised eyebrow. You shrugged.

"Carrier pigeon?"

He placed a gentle kiss against your forehead.

"See you, guys," you said.

John B didn't look away from the compass but Kie gave you a smile. You turned back toward shore, starting across the dock.

"Pope, wait up!"

***

Ah, the canon material. Fun stuff. I didn't really want to do everything verbatim because I've always found it really distracting in fanfics when it's done that way, so I tried to change it up a bit. I hope you don't mind! 

Stay safe, stay healthy, stay groovy dudes!