chapter eleven
ward's back

Athena woke up the next day with the worst headache known to man. She groaned, sitting up slowly and rubbing her forehead. She kept her eyes closed as she heard the door open. Dorota walked into the room, placing a tea on her bedside table. Athena let out a small laugh at the gesture, feeling a weird sense of deja-vu.

"Thank you, Dorota." Athena spoke gratefully.

"Your welcome, Athena." Dorota smiled at her warmly.

Sage then came barging through the door making Athena groan once more. "Athena Cameron it is midday and you are still in bed."

She shook her head like a mother scolding their child. The girl walked over, throwing the curtain's open and pulling the duvet off of Athena's body. Dorota laughed softly, turning and leaving the two girls alone.

"Stop." Athena whined, covering her face with her hands. "I don't want to be awake."

"Well, I went to get us breakfast and I have news for you." Sage sat down on the bed next to Athena, placing a take-away bag on the bed in front of them. Athena immediately perked up, grabbing the bag and pulling a sandwich out of it. Sage had gotten them both a bacon bap and a hashbrown each.

Athena opened it up, taking a bite and humming in enjoyment. "What do you have to tell me?"

"Okay so I ordered our stuff, right and I bumped into Kie but that's not the strange bit." Sage began to recall her morning. "So, I'm stood there talking with Kie, waiting and we look over and guess who we see, together?"

"Who?"

"Sarah and freaking Topper." Sage stated. Athena's mouth dropped in shock.

"No." She gasped.

"Yep." Sage nodded. "So I grab our food and so does Kie and we leave but Sarah follows after us, says how she was only eating breakfast with him because she had nowhere to go—"

"Bullshit! I offered her here." Athena interrupted.

"I know." Sage exclaimed. "But she ditched Topper and we went back to Kie's before I came here, mainly because I wanted to hear what happened."

Athena hummed. "Good gossip girl behaviour."

"Thank you. I thought you'd be proud of me." Sage smiled. "And Sarah made out with Topper last night."

"What?"

"Yeah." Sage nodded.

"Oh my god." Athena's eyes were wide with shock. "She cheated on JB. I never—that's so—I didn't think she'd do something like that. They're—"

"Perfect." Sage suggested.

"Yeah." Athena nodded. "But I guess nothing's perfect."

"Nothing." Sage sighed. "But I did reheat your sandwich since it was cold and I couldn't have you complaining."

"Thank you, for the breakfast and the gossip." Athena smiled. "I don't want to go to Mike and Anna's party. I—I can't deal with the Carrera's all lovey like the perfect family. I can't deal with the lecture I'm going to get from Mike about JJ because he's basically my father at the moment. I can't deal with any of it. I don't wanna go."

"Thena, you have to." Sage told her softly. "We are normal, remember? So you are going to put on a pretty dress and we are going to dance the night away like normal teens do, okay?"

Athena sighed, hesitating for a moment before she nodded. "Let's do it."

"Good." Sage smiled. "I'll meet you back here at four, be ready."

Sage got out of the bed, bouncing out of the door leaving Athena alone. Athena let out a small sigh before climbing out of her bed. She drank the tea that Dorota made her before having a quick shower. She sang some sad songs at the top of her lungs, only stopping when she realised she was probably annoying Dorota to no end. The blonde got out of the shower, wrapping the towel around herself and making her way back into the bedroom.

She pulled the bag of clothes Dorota had gotten for her over to the bed, sitting it next to her and going through it to find the perfect outfit. She pulled out a white tube top and a long blue ruffled skirt, deciding that it was good enough. Athena put the outfit on, grabbing a pair of gold sandals as well. The blonde sat at the vanity in the corner of the bedroom, putting some natural make-up on as well as her jewellery.

Once she was ready, Athena walked out into the kitchen where Dorota stood with a smile on her face. The woman was cooking some lunch for the two, only a small snack since Athena had only eaten breakfast an hour ago.

"You all right?" Dorota asked.

"Yeah." Athena nodded. "Are you coming to Mike and Anna's party?"

"I might stop by to say congrats but I wasn't planning on it." Dorota explained.

"Sounds good." Athena smiled. "What's cooking?"

"We are having sausage rolls and crisps." Dorota stated. She turned around, sitting at the island opposite Athena, placing the plates in front of them.

"Look lovely, as always." Athena told the woman. Dorota was and always had been a fantastic cook from the moment Athena met her.

"Thank you." Dorota sent her a smile. She looked over at Athena's outfit. "That outfit reminds me of something you used to wear all the time."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you had just watched mamma mia for the first time and you and Rose went shopping. You saw a skirt like that and was obsessed with it, you wore it for like three days straight, like when you were twelve I think. I have photos of you wearing an outfit just like that." Dorota explained.

Athena let a smile take over her face. "I guess some things never change."

The two ate in mostly silence, except for Athena filling Dorota in about the gossip Sage told her earlier that morning. Sage returned at four o'clock, dragging Athena out of the house as they walked towards the party.

"Athena." Anna's cheery voice greeted her immediately. "How are you?"

"Anna, I'm good. Congrats on all of this." Athena told her. She turned to the man next to Anna. "Mike."

"Athena." Mike hugged her. "I heard about you and JJ. I'm sorry. But it's for the best."

"Yeah." Athena nodded awkwardly. "And I'm sorry that he stole from you."

"It's okay, not your fault. It was eye opening for everyone I think—"

Athena chuckled awkwardly, the man being cut off by Kie calling her name. Athena looked between the couple. "Excuse me."

She made her way over to where Kie, Sage and Sarah stood. Kie hugged the girl, having not seen her since their failed theft attempt. Sarah quickly jumped into catching them all up on the day she had had. Athena's eyes widened as soon as she began talking, cutting her twin of almost instantly.

"Woah, woah, wait. Wheezie's back in town?" Athena questioned. "How was I not informed of this?"

"She's not. I just said that." Sarah told her.

"But you thought she was and I wasn't told." Athena stated. "Why wasn't I told?"

"Because Athena you were passed out at midday." Sarah snapped.

"Yeah because I got drunk last night and passed in my bed unlike you who slept on the beach after making out with your ex-boyfriend." Athena retorted quickly. "Okay? Your find out, you get a message from our baby sister, you come and find the only other family member who hasn't tried to kill you. That's me, your twin sister, Sarah. I don't care if Wheezie isn't actually in town, you thought she was, okay? So you come and get me because she's my sister too and unlike you who promised not to leave her and then did, I was there, I was always there."

Kie looked between the two sisters before changing the subject as the stood by a table. "Wait, are you kidding me, Sarah? That doesn't even make sense. Ward's on this island? Like, the same island we are on, Sarah?"

"Yes, he's back. Mm-hmm." Sarah nodded.

Kie sighed. "The second I see him, I'm turning him in, I swear. I don't know how you do it. I mean every time I wanna complain about my dad, I just think about your guy's dad."

"Oh, glad to be of service." Sarah commented.

"Hmm, every grey cloud has a silver lining I guess." Athena shrugged.

"Works every time."

"I'm glad I could help."

"It's great. Appreciate it."

The girls didn't notice Sarah looking off to the side until she suddenly turned back to face the three girls with a panicked look on her face.

"You didn't tell me Topper was gonna be here." Sarah stated, looking at Kie.

"Sorry. My mum invited like the whole island." Kie shrugged.

"Shit."

"It's not a big deal." Kie told her. "I'll keep him away."

"Karma." Athena muttered making Sage nudge her and send the blonde a look.

"Oh, great." Kie spoke up, looking over her shoulder to see Topper approaching the four girls. "Um, well, I'm gonna go over here."

"Please don't." Sarah begged.

"I won't go far. Just say the word." Kie smiled at her.

Athena looked around, humming slightly. "I'm going to get a drink."

The blonde turned and walked in the opposite direction, successfully avoiding Topper. She grabbed herself another drink before walking back towards the girls, hoping that Topper had left. Athena stopped in the middle of the crowd when Mike stood and gathered the crowd's attention.

"Hang on. Please, excuse me." The crowd fell silent. "Thank you. Um, I just want to say a few words, and I'm not much into giving speeches, but I do want to say thank you for coming out and thank you for your support after a rough few months. I want to say thank you to our daughter for being here. Hey, we love you."

"Love you too." Kie replied as the crowd applauded.

"But most of all..." Mike continued. He held a hand out for Anna to take, the woman stepping up onto the stage next to him with a smile. "Thank you, Anna... for 15 years, for making this restaurant a symbol of our life. I love you."

"I love you." Anna told him.

"Figure eight. The cut. Everyone's together here. As one island. So, thank you for putting up with us. Cheers." He finished, holding his cup up.

"Thank you all for coming." Anna smiled.

The crowd cheered as the couple stepped off the stage. Athena watched through the people as they gestured for Kie to move over to them. They brought her in for a hug, sharing smiles and laughter. Athena's smile fell slightly at the happy family dynamic that she wished to have. Athena forced a smile back onto her face before she noticed John B and Sarah hugging, her eyebrows raising at the fact that Sarah would have to admit what she did.

"Hey." A voice spoke up from next to Athena. She turned to see Alex, the boy she made out with at the party, a boy she used to be friends with.

"Alex, hey." Athena greeted with a small smile. "How are you?"

"I'm good." He nodded. Athena looked at him, awkwardly. "We don't have to talk about the party by the way."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean I got to told my friends that I made out with kook princess Athena Cameron so I have no reason to badger you anymore." Alex shrugged.

"Is that all I was? A notch on your belt so you can brag to your friends?" Athena asked, raising her eyebrows with him.

"No, obviously I wanted to make with you because you're well, you—like you're so pretty and—" Alex stuttered his words out, trying not to fumble everything.

"I'm messing with you." Athena let out a laugh. "If you wanna brag about, brag about it. I know I'm awesome so if I was making out with me, I would brag about it too."

"You're funny." Alex smiled.

"I wasn't joking." Athena shrugged.

"You're effortlessly funny." Alex told her. "Always have been."

"Right."

"Anyway, we don't have to talk about it because I don't want anything else with you. Just friends is perfectly fine." Alex stated.

"Said no man ever." Athena retorted.

"I'm serious—"

"He's dead, you can't be." Athena cut him off.

"You like Harry Potter?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, do you?" Athena nodded.

"I love Harry Potter, rewatched the third one the other day just to see Remus and Sirius." Alex replied.

"That's awesome." Athena smiled.

She turned to look around, seeing everyone smiling and having fun with their friends. Her smile dropped however when she made eye contact with JJ from where he stood behind a fence near the dock. She swallowed, sending him a small smile before turning to face Alex again.

As for JJ, he froze.

The outfit she was wearing, the way her hair had gone brown again at the roots, the way she was stood so far away from him. It all made him freeze, completely stop caring if Mike saw him. He couldn't tear his gaze away from her... and the stupid guy next to her.

Everything reminded him of the day he first saw her. The first time she rushed past him on her bike on the way to see Heyward. The first time he watched her as she smiled brightly, a long blue skirt on and a white tee that made him immediately think of mamma mia, a movie he had only watched after hearing her sing it one day.

And suddenly he was back there again, watching her laugh brightly from afar with someone who isn't him. Except this time it wasn't because she didn't know he existed, it was because he was idiot, an idiot who messed it up, messed up the best thing the universe had ever given him. So now, he had to watch the girl he loved more than anything, a girl's who initial he wore on a chain around his neck, laugh and smile with some other guy.

Just when he went to step forward and walk over to the duo, Sage and Kie step into his line of vision, breaking his concentration.

Athena and Alex turned and walked further from the crowd, catching Sarah and John B having a heated conversation, both of them looking visibly upset. Alex turned to Athena in slight concern.

"Is your sister okay?" Alex asked. "I won't mind if you need to go comfort her."

"Um, she's just dealing with... the consequences of her own actions." Athena took a sip of her drink. "I'll find her later."

Alex nodded as the two spoke for a little while, the sun setting as they slowly lost track of time. She didn't notice, Sarah finishing talking to John B or Kie and Sage chatting to JJ. None of them came over and told her what was going on. She was completely out of the loop as she continued to talk to Alex.

It wasn't until she heard Sarah shout that Athena looked away from the boy. She looked over to see John B shoving Topper back angrily.

"Stop!" Sarah shouted.

"You need to chill out, bro." Topper told the boy.

"You feel good about yourself."

"I'm not ruining their party." Topper stated.

"That's what you're worried about?" John B questioned, pushing Topper once more.

"I would just walk away."

"Feel good about yourself?"

Athena watched Sarah spin John B around to face her forcefully. "For once in your life, would you please just turn around and walk away? Please. Look at me. Please don't."

Athena walked closer to the group, standing near Kie and her parents as Topper spoke up once more. "Hey, no hard feelings, bro."

"He never knows when to shut up." Athena muttered to Sage, who stood next to her.

"Topper." Sarah scolded softly.

"We good?" Topper asked as John B turned around.

"No." Sarah seemed to catch onto what was about to happen before anyone else. "John B, no!"

John B swung his fist in Topper's jaw, hard. Topper grunted, falling to the floor, catching the attention of everyone else at the party. The music cut out as the crowd exclaimed in shock. Athena's mouth dropped in shock but there was a hint of pride at John B's attentions, Topper deserved it in her opinion.

"You like that shit, Top?" John B commented, shaking his hand out. "Huh? Huh?"

"Stop, John B!" Sarah called.

"John B." Kie stated.

"Stop! What are you doing? No!" Sarah shouted.

"You ready for this?" John B asked rhetorically. He grabbed the front of Topper's shirt, punching him over and over as the crowd shouted at him to stop. Mike rushed over, grabbing John B by the waist and pulling him off of Topper, shoving him back.

"Get out of here." Mike ordered.

"Is that what you want, Mike?" John B questioned as JJ caught John B, pushing him behind the blond.

"Get off of him." JJ ordered.

"That's what I'm talking about. Both of you get out of here!" Mike demanded.

"You happy, Sarah?" John B shouted as JJ pushed him back towards the boat. People started fussing about Topper, Sarah panicking about Topper being okay and not even defending himself as a medic in the crowd starting helping the boy.

Athena rolled her eyes, turning and looking over her shoulder. She made eye contact with JJ, sending him a smile. It was a smile that he knew, one full of pride, one that JJ could recognise, a pogue look that said that John B was completely right in what he did.

She just hoped John B would be okay.

( 💌 ) isobel's notes
the song for this chapter was love in slow motion
by ed sheeran
athena and sarah arguing is just how me and my
sisters would argue so don't think either of them
are in the right or wrong tbh athena's just sick of
sarah's behaviour
5 chapters left of season 3