chapter fifteen
i just want you

The next morning, Athena woke up to the slight jostling of the plane. She stretched moving away from where she was still using her father as a pillow. Pope walked past her, gesturing for her to follow him. The blonde furrowed her eyebrows turning to see him sitting with Sarah, Cleo and John B.

The girl jumped up from her seat, moving to sit opposite John B and next to Cleo, a small smile on her face. The trio looked over at Pope, who clicked his fingers and waved his hand in front of Ward's face, checking if he was asleep.

"He's out." Pope declared, turning and sitting down.

"All right." John B nodded, turning and looking out the window over Orinoco Basin. "So Tres Rocas, that's where Neville said we would find the guy. Solana, that's the archaeological site. I think that's where they're taking my dad. Neville gave me this map. He said it should be... here."

John B took the map out of his pocket, clearing his throat and pointing to the bit where Big John would be. Sarah took a hold of the map with a small scoff, looking over the badly drawn, not at all to scale and quite vague map they had been following.

"This? This is the map we're following?" She asked her boyfriend.

"He's the only guy who's been there." John B defended.

"Pretty janky, John B." Sarah commented.

"Oh boy." Pope sighed, looking over the map.

"I've been in river towns like this." Cleo stated, looking out the window. "Major danger, you know?"

"Don't worry." Pope reassured, noticing the look on John B's face. "We're gonna get there, find Singh, boost your pops. And then we'll find El Dorado. It's a layup."

"Plus, we always work best when we're in danger." Athena added with a scrunch of her nose. Their attention was then drawn to Ward's loud snoring. Athena looked over incredulously as John B spoke up.

"You guys sure he doesn't know anything?" He asked, looking between Sarah and Athena.

"Not from me." Sarah told him.

"I told him nothing. I believe that he wants to change but I'm not risking anything." Athena reassured them all.

"Okay." John B nodded. "First thing, we gotta find this guy named Jose and then head upriver."

It wasn't long before the plane landed, and the group were getting off of the plane.

"I told you," Cleo piped up, looking at the various armed men surrounding the landing strip. "it's the Wild West out here."

The group began walking away when Ward's voice called after them.

"Sarah! Athena!"

"Dad, what are you doing?" Sarah asked, watching as the man tried to climb off the plane.

"I'm coming." Ward exclaimed.

Athena snorted. "That's what she said."

"Athena!" Pope scolded.

"Sorry."

"You need to stop spending time with JJ." He shook his head.

"No, you're not." Sarah told their father. "You got us here like you said you would. Now go on to Guadeloupe."

"You're in over your head." Ward tried to tell her. "You need help."

"You need a doctor." Athena spoke up.

"Let me help, please." Ward begged.

"No!" Sarah shouted. "Get back in the plane. You promised you weren't a part of this. No."

"Okay." Ward bowed his head.

The twin turned and began walking away. Athena scoffing as they did. "Let's get the hell out of here."

The pogues walked off of the airstrip, pausing to turn and watch Ward clamber back on the plane. They waited until the plane door was firmly shut before they began their adventure once more. They managed to convince a taxi to let all five of them in the car, squeezing in the back like they had done many times before.

The group arrived in Tres Rocas not long after, the car stopping in the street. The five of them got out of the car, thanking the driver while John B paid. They stood in a little huddle, looking around at the insanely busy street. There was something different happening everywhere they looked.

"There's a lot going on." Pope observed, looking around.

"Looks like it's a local holiday." Cleo inferred.

"All right. So we got to assume that Singh's already gone upriver." John B began to explain to the group. "We're looking for a guy named Jose. He's gonna take us to the dig site."

"Jose." Pope repeated with slight furrowed eyebrows. "Do you have a last name or..."

"I do not have a last name." John B stated.

"Shit. It's gonna be like trying to find a teardrop in the ocean." Cleo cursed, looking around once more.

"I'm assuming river guides probably hang out by the river." Sarah suggested a starting point.

"Yeah but if they're like the guides at OBX, they're probably getting drunk on holiday." Pope replied.

"So let's start with the bars." Athena stated, looking around for approval.

"Okay." Pope nodded.

"Divide and conquer?"

"Let's do it." Pope and John B did the pogue handshake.

"I'll go with Pope and Cleo." Athena answered Sarah's questioning look, considering there was an odd number of them and she was not going alone.

The group split up, asking around in different bars for a Jose but no one had heard anything. They tried one more bar, Cleo going inside to ask while Pope and Athena waited outside.

"No? No Jose. They don't know anybody named Jose." Cleo stated, walking back over to the duo. "Like I supposed to believe that shit, man."

The trio turned around at the sound of a car. A jeep was racing towards them, men inside that looked like they could work for Singh.

"They don't look friendly." Cleo commented. The car honked their horn, coming straight towards them.

"Run." Pope demanded. "Go!"

The three took off running, sprinting as fast as they could. Athena huffed as she looked over her shoulder, the car following after them. She gritted her teeth, pushing herself to run faster. She had done more running with the pogues in the last six months than ever in her life. They continued running, coming towards a bus that had just arrived when a familiar head of blond hair poked his head out of the side.

"Como estas, amigos?" JJ exclaimed, holding his hand out for Pope to high five.

"What the..." Pope trailed off, confused but happy. "Hey! Run!"

"We gotta go!"

"What?"

"We gotta run!"

"You gotta be kidding me."

"Already? We just got here." Kie exclaimed.

"For god's sakes." Sage cursed underneath her breath.

Athena, Pope and Cleo rushed around the bus to meet JJ, Sage and Kie. Athena immediately wrapped her arms around Kiara, letting out a breath of relief.

"Oh my god, you're okay." Athena laughed slightly.

"I'm okay." Kie nodded.

"What is going on?" JJ asked.

"Singh's men are after us." Pope explained hurriedly. "They're after us. We gotta think of a plan."

"Okay, why don't we just hijack the bus?" JJ suggested, slightly panicked.

"This bus?" Kie questioned.

"That only goes ten miles an hour?" Sage added.

"I'm just spit balling, guys, okay?" JJ snapped.

"Guys!"

"They're coming now! Hide!"

"Fruit stands! Duck!"

"Sorry."

The six of them pushed through the crowd, ducking down behind the fruit stands and hoping they were out of sight. They tried to apologise to the people but were in too much of a hurry to truly sound apologetic. They pushed their backs against the wall, holding their breath as they could hear the men get out of the car and speak to the workers.

Athena stayed huddled to JJ, grabbing his hand as they tried to stay as quietly as possible. The six of them stood up with a breath of relief when the men got back into the car and sped down the road in the opposite direction.

"Welcome to South America." Cleo looked between Kie, JJ and Sage.

"I'm glad you guys are safe." Athena told the trio.

"We knew you loved us, Thena." Sage commented with a smug, teasing smile on her face.

"I love Kiki Dee more than you." Athena replied.

"I love you most too, Thens." Kie smiled, dramatically grabbing Athena's.

Athena let out a small laugh, a fond smile on her face. She glanced over at JJ, who sent her a smile, squeezing her hand, that was still holding his, three times.

The group then set off, down towards the river as they explained to JJ, Sage and Kie everything that had happened since they left and how they had managed to loose John B and Sarah as well. JJ took them to a man that could get them up the river, the group walking through the bushes to a small raft boat.

"Got anything to protect yourself?" The man asked them.

"Uh, kinda working on that part." JJ told him.

"I got a gun." Athena shrugged, patting the bag on her back. The entire group paused, turning to stare at her. "Oh, I stole it from Rafe little while ago, thought I'd bring along, just in case."

"Right."

"You scare me." Pope stated.

"Anyway, here." The man gave JJ a bag.

"What's this?"

"Machetes." He stated. "You'll need them. I'm adding the cost of this rig to what you already owe me. I don't expect to see it again anyway. Look, I asked around at the landing today. Your buds did leave this morning, but I was able to get directions to El Tesoro. Pretty loose. Only Jose knows the real way, but get you in the right zip code, maybe."

The man handed JJ a piece of paper with directions on it while the others nodded. Kie smiled. "It's a start."

"Thanks."

"No." The man chuckled. "Don't thank me. Start praying. And JJ."

"Yeah?"

"You owe me, dude. Ten times. Good luck."

The group got onto the boat, JJ steering it as they made their way up the river. They travelled for a while, sun setting as they continued their journey. Athena sat with Sage, a small, teasing smile on her face.

"Don't even ask." Sage piped up.

"I didn't even say anything yet." Athena held her hands up in shock.

"I saw the look."

"What look?"

"The 'I'm gonna ask you something personal because I'm a gossip and know something happened' look." Sage explained.

"That's a long name for a look, you should think about shortening it to make it more catchy." Athena told her with a small shrug.

"Well the other look is 'I know something happened but you haven't said anything so I'm going to ask meaningless questions until you crack'." Sage shrugged.

"How is that name longer?" Athena questioned, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Because the process of finding out what happened is longer." Sage answered. Athena nodded, humming slightly. The two sat in silence for a few moments before Sage cracked, turning to face Athena with a giddy smile. "We kissed. Me and Kie and we said 'I love you'."

"Oh my god." Athena looked over with mouth agape, blinking a few times.

"What?" Sage held a concerned expression. "What's happening? Why aren't you squealing? Did I break you?"

"You kissed and confessed your love for one another in front of everyone at the coocoo place?" Athena asked.

"Yes."

"In front of JJ?"

"Yes."

"Without me there?"

"Yes Athena."

"I am sad that I missed that but oh my god!" Athena squealed the last part loudly causing Sage to cover her ears with her hands. "I'm so proud of you both. I'm glad you're happy, Sage."

"Thanks Thena." Sage smiled softly. "What about you and JJ?"

"What about us?" Athena wondered.

"Go and talk to him, right now." Sage told her. Athena spun to look at the girl, knitting her eyebrows together and shaking her head slightly. Sage pushed her shoulder, nodding over to where JJ sat alone. "Go."

Athena let out a sigh, nodding and standing up. "Fine."

The blonde made her way over to JJ, sitting down next to the boy but not saying anything. They sat quietly for a few moments, Athena just looking up at the stars in the night sky before she glanced over at the other pogues. Pope was leaning on Cleo, his eyes closed as he slept while Cleo stayed vigilant, almost scared of anything coming out of someplace. Sage had moved to sit with Kie, the two whispering between themselves, soft smiles on their faces.

Athena turned back to JJ, looking over his features before she took JJ's ring off of her finger, holding it out to him. "You came back so I believe this is yours."

"I think you should keep it." JJ stated. Athena looked over at him in confusion. "And I think I should be your date to Dorota's wedding."

"I think you should stop thinking." Athena joked.

"I'm being serious." JJ told her. "Look, I messed up big time. I said shit that I can't ever take back, okay? But ever since then all I can think is maybe if you just let me back in, we can make this better, break every bad habit we have and you can watch me be a better man, you can watch me pull myself together. Because I love you, Attie and I want us back, I want you back."

"JJ..."

"No, no. Athena, baby, I—" JJ cut himself off, moving to kneel in front of Athena, looking down at her. "I wanna marry you, okay? I want to have kids with you, I want that life that we spoke about on poguelandia I do, I swear. I promise. And I know we can work, it's just, being back in OBX messed with my head, it emphasised for some reason how different our lives looked but you're right. You're always right, we can find a way. I'll come stay with you and Dorota, or we'll live somewhere, just you and me. I don't want to love anyone else, I just want you."

"I love you—"

"Wait, I'm not finished."

"Okay." Athena laughed softly.

"Um... I'm also sorry for not understanding you. That day I said things about your family, just like I've always said things and I've never thought about how it would affect you. I fulfilled your family trauma and that's something you have never done for me, you've always just been there and reassured me and I haven't." JJ apologised. "I'm gonna stop doing that, I'm gonna—"

"I know, Jayj." Athena nodded. "It's okay. And I miss you, I'm sorry. I love you too, this is me letting you in."

"Well then, I believe this is yours." JJ unclasped the chain around his neck, taking Athena's paper ring off of it and handing it to her.

"I didn't realise you had this on." Athena tilted her head.

"I, uh, I didn't until yesterday. I had a good feeling so I put it on before going to the airstrip." JJ told her.

Athena smiled as she unclasped her own necklace, and placing the ring on it. She looked up at JJ once more, leaning up and connecting their lips. JJ smiled into the kiss, pouring everything he had been feeling into the kiss and Athena did the same, placing a hand on his cheek before she pulled away, pressing their forehead together.

"And I'd love to marry you too." Athena stated. "And yes, you can be my date to Dorota's wedding. We'll figure the rest out later."

JJ nodded, moving to sit next to Athena once more. The girl rested her head on his shoulder as they stared at the stars together. Athena felt a small sense of déjà vu as she closed her eyes. Suddenly she was back in Heyward's truck, driving along a Charleston road as she hoped John B and Sarah were safe but she wasn't. She was on a small boat in the Orinoco, praying her twin sister and brother figure were okay.

( 💌 ) isobel's notes
y'all jathena is back !!!
this chapters giving i miss you i'm sorry and
mess it up because the two songs are jathena
coded from both povs
and yes sage and kie are together sages own
book will be published in the near future if you
wanna read about it!!
one chapter left :(((((

ABOUT TO FREAK OUT ON YOU ALL
so i went to wembley n1 for harry styles
love on tour — yes for any of you who
don't know i'm british i live in england 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
it was the BEST night ever i sobbed i laughed
i watched harry help a girl come out i dance
i screamed
he sang little freak daylight and medicine so
it's currently sage to say i won but i am so
sad it's over so now waiting until my 5SOS
and then niall concert