chapter twenty
THE PARENT TRAP TRICK

A knock at Athena's balcony the next day caught her attention. She was once again sat on her bed trying to catch up on her summer maths homework but it was still not working. She so desperately needed more tutoring from Pope. She stood up from her bed, pulling her red summer dress down, the pink bikini underneath not needing to be shown.

"Hey." Athena greeted JJ as she let him into her bedroom. "John B just took Sarah somewhere, what's going on?"

"John B came up with an idea to get Kie and Sarah to forgive each other." JJ told her.

"Oh yeah. What?" Athena asked.

"We're putting them on a broken down boat on the marsh together." JJ stated.

"The parent trap trick." Athena gasped. "Genius."

"Yeah." JJ smiled at her. "But we need your help getting Kie because she kind of hates John B right now and we need to be inconspicuous and you're the most trustworthy."

Athena let out a laugh. "Sure I'll do it."

The two then left the Cameron household, Athena meeting JJ around the front of the house. She hoped on the back of his bike, going back to the Chateau where Pope was waiting for them. After dropping JJ off with John B on the stranded boat, the two friends headed towards Kie's house.

"Code red!" Pope called out to Kie, who was walking down the dock to the HSM pogue.

"What the hell is going on?" Kiara asked.

"Okay, JJ and John B conked out in the marsh." Pope explained.

"Uh, okay, well what does that have to do with me?" Kie questioned, stepping onto the boat next to Athena.

"We need you for mechanical." Pope lied very badly.

"Mechanical." Kie nodded, unconvinced.

"And I cant deal with these boys by myself Kie, I literally need you." Athena smiled at her innocently. The curly haired girl titled her head to the side for a second, almost as if she was wondering if she could believe Athena – the girl wasn't actually lying, she had no idea how Kie managed to deal with the three boys by herself because she wouldn't be able to do it – before she let a smile spread across her face, hugging her best friend.

The trio then left the docks and made their way to the boat in the middle of the marsh where JJ and John B where. Pope stayed on the boat while Kie got off, her hand interlocked with Athena and so dragging her onto the boat with her.

"Can't you guys do anything without me?" Kie asked as they walked closer to the boys. "What happened?"

"Uh, the alternators, uh, not alternating anymore." JJ replied, messing with a nearby screwdriver.

"It's not charged." John B added.

"Did you check the plugs?" Kie asked, crossing her arms over her chest. The two boys shook their heads.

"No. No, you should check em." JJ said as he stood up and handed Kiara the screwdriver. Kie raised her eyebrows at him, slightly confused.

"Give it a whirl." John B insisted. Athena rolled her eyes and let out an inaudible sigh, wondering how Kie hadn't figured out something was wrong.

"You guys are useless." Kiara sighed, pulling Athena over to where she had to look. Athena caught the last second of JJ's wink before she was yanked near where the plugs should have been.

"Sorry about that." John B lamely apologised.

"Uh, is this a joke? There are no plugs, like at all." Kiara exclaimed. Athena sighed once more knowing she had figured it out. Kie turned to see a lack of the boys. "What the hell?"

Kiara walked past Athena, going closer to the front of the boat when a sudden banging caught their attention.

"John B! John B, let me out!" A familiar voice shouted. Kie walked over and opened the top of the compartment, a shocked expression crossing her face when she was met with Sarah Cameron glaring back at her.

"What the hell?" Sarah gasped in shock. "Guys! Are you serious?"

"Are you joking?" Kiara shouted as they glared at the boys standing on the boat a few feet away. "Get your asses back here!"

"We can't." John B called back. "Not till you two figure it out."

"I will kill every single one of you!" Kiara threatened, her anger growing by the second. JJ let out a laugh at her threat.

"Y-you can't just leave!" Sarah cried, leaning into Athena's side as the boys got the small oat started.

"There's food in the cabin and JJ rolled a blunt." Pope called out with two thumbs up.

"Hydroponic!" JJ laughed, winking at Athena, which made Sarah groan.

"You cannot leave me here with these two." Athena shouted to the blond boy, an exasperated look on her face.

"Think of it as a girls night Cinderella." JJ called, giving her a smile. "And everyone needs a buffer."

"I hate you!" Athena exclaimed. JJ laughed once more at her anger, the girl not being very scary from far away and knowing she wasn't being serious.

"This is ridiculous." Sarah stated, taking off her shorts and tank top.

"Well, I would rather drown than stay here with you, so..." Kiara shot back. Athena sighed knowing that she was in for a long night and that things were only going to get worse from that point.

"Fine, be my guest." Sarah exclaimed, turning away from Kiara as she stripped into her bikini. "Maybe you'll finally shut the hell up!"

"You don't even know where you're going." Athena reasoned as Sarah walked over towards the edge of the boat.

"I don't care." The blonde sassed making Athena hold her hands up in surrender. Sarah then jumped into the water.

"Good luck with the oyster beds." Kiara mumbled nonchalantly.

"Wait! Wait! John B, you asshole!" Sarah cried as she swan towards the small boat.

"They're not coming back for you!" Kie called to Sarah. The girl kept swimming, desperately trying to catch up to the boat.

"Love you, guys! Bye!" John B exclaimed as the boys drove off, officially leaving the girls stranded.

"Great." Kie sighed. Athena then heard Sarah squeal suddenly, her head snapping up to see what was wrong with her sister.

"What happened?" Athena asked, leaning over the edge of the boat to see what was going on. Kie sighed, casually leaning over the edge.

"I got stung by a jellyfish! Shit! Ah!" Sarah cried out as Athena helped her back onto the boat.

"Dramatic." Kie murmured to herself before looking up at Sarah. "Well, you swam right into a man-o-war. Don't know what you thought would happen."

"Thanks for your help." Sarah replied sarcastically, sitting next to Athena. Athena examined her sting that was turning bright red. "Ow. Shit!"

"Does it hurt?" Kie asked making Sarah give her a no shit look.

"Hey guys. You what they say about curing jellyfish stings?" Sarah mumbled, making Athena shake her head already knowing what she was going to say. "One of you has to pee on me."

"Sarah I love you and I would do anything for you... except that." Athena replied making Sarah grimace in pain once more.

"I have a better idea." Kie stated, Sarah giving her a confused look in response. Athena already knew what she had in mind, helping Sarah up and following Kie into the cockpit of the boat. They three sat in a circle, Athena in the middle as Kie dug through all the food and supplies the boys had left them. "It's for the pain."

She had found a metal box, it containing the blunt JJ had rolled for them. Sarah nodded, leaning her head on Athena's shoulder as Kie lit the blunt and took a drag. Athena watched as Kiara was about to hang it over to Sarah but then changed her mind at the last second, taking a second drag instead.

"Really?" Sarah grumbled, snatching it out of Kie's hand.

"Go easy. It's JJ's cousin's cripple." Kie warned her, but it was too late seeing as Sarah had already inhaled too much. She began to cough violently, which made Kie roll her eyes.

Athena took matters into her own hands, grabbing the blunt of her sister's hand and handing it back to Kie, who gave her a grateful smile. Soon enough the drug started to kick in for the two old friends. The sun had set and the girls had moved so they were sat more comfortably as the night went along. Athena had a feeling the boys weren't going to be stopping by anytime soon.

"Hey, guess what?" Sarah giggled, turning to face both girls. "Would you rather... have— I was imagining you like this just now. It was pretty funny. Would you ima... would you rather... have nipples for eyes or eyes for nipples."

Looking over at Kie, Athena noticed her jaw was clenched in order to not lash out at the annoying blonde. "She asks this every time she gets drunk or high." Athena commented. Kie turned to her, a small smile on her lips as she realised that she wasn't actually alone with Sarah.

"Imagine, if you get really old and your nipples— your books gets saggy, and your nipples, if they were your eyes, you could see if your shoes were untied." Sarah continued, completely onvlivious to the tension lingering around them.

"Is this like your first time smoking?" Kie asked, unamused. Sarah shook her head.

"No." She replied dreamily. Everything went silent for a moment, allowing Athena one second of peace to stare up at the stares. The night sky that night reminded her of the night that she helped John B after the boneyard and was standing on the Chateau porch with JJ. It was a comforting thought, the idea that while they constantly changed, the stars in the sky stayed the same, that he could've been looking up at the sky with the same though – which unbeknownst to her, he was, stood in the same place he was that night, a blunt between his lips as he stared up at the same star she was looking at.

"Hey, Kiara..." Sarah suddenly mumbled, snapping Athena's gaze from the stars back to her. However, it seemed like Kie's patience had officially run out.

"Oh my god. Enough of the hey, kiara bullshit! Why'd you do it?" Kiara snapped, making Athena's heart drop.

"Why did I do what?" Sarah asked, taken back by Kie's blunt question.

"We were best friends. The three of us, like the musketeers or something. We stole beers from your dad's fridge, we watched movies together, we cried about boys. And the next thing I know, I'm watching your birthday party happen on Instagram."

"It was one party." Sarah replied nonchalantly, making Kie scoff in response.

"I tried to invite you." Athena muttered,

"You invited everybody except me." Kiara exclaimed. "And then you told everybody I was the reason that the party got busted."

"Okay, well, who else would've called the cops?" Sarah asked, turning to face Kiara.

"You never asked. You just let the rumour go that I was a rat." Kie retorted making Sarah look away from her cold stare. "You were my best friend, and then you ghosted me, and I don't even know why! I mean, really, what did I do?"

Sarah let out a sigh, knowing she couldn't hide the truth anymore. "You liked me." She mumbled, making Kie raise an eyebrow at the blonde girl next to her.

"What?" She asked, wanting some sort of confirmation to what she had just heard.

"When... people get... close to me, I feel trapped. And... I bail. And then I blame them for it. I'm really sorry... and I miss you. Do you think there's a chance we could be okay again?" Sarah rambled, turning to face Kiara, who was trying to process everything Sarah had just admitted.

"Honestly, I don't know." Kie answered truthfully, making Sarah nod. After a few seconds of silence, Kie spoke up, her voice soft. "Hey, Sarah."

"Hey, Kiara." Sarah replied, turning to face her.

"Promise me that you wont bail on John B. He's not just some other guy. And he really, really likes you."

"I won't." Sarah nodded. Kie then shook her head.

"Promise me." Kiara pressed.

"I promise." Sarah replied honestly, a smile on her features as Kiara looked up at the sky. By now the three girls had laid down, ready to get some sleep. Athena was lying next to Sarah, Kie on the other side of the blonde.

"Also, I'm sorry I called the cops." Kiara admitted lowly. Sarah gasped dramatically.

"I knew it. I knew it, you bitch!" Sarah exclaimed. Kie's laughter grew as Sarah tried to keep a straight face, pretending to be upset.

"I knew too." Athena admitted with a laugh.

"You knew!" Sarah turned to face her sister.

"Yeah, Kie told me after I apologised for you not inviting her." Athena explained.

"And you didn't tell me." Sarah pouted jokingly.

"You already thought she did it!" Athena laughed, Sarah finally joining in.

"You should've invited me." Kie spoke in a sing-song tone, Sarah rolling her eyes in return.

"So you called the cops?" She asked dumbfounded, making Kie nod.

"Yes!" She exclaimed, making Sarah and Athena laugh before she sat up, looking at Athena. "And Athena for the love of god please like kiss JJ or something."

"What?" Athena gasped.

"Come on A." Sarah sat up, emphasising her point. "Even I can tell you like him. You snuck him into our house."

"He need ice for his bruises after Rafe beat him up. I was being nice." Athena tried to defend herself, leaning up on her hands to look at them better.

"So why did he then stay over and use your shower?" Sarah questioned, a smirk growing on her face when Athena's cheeks went pink.

"And JJ likes you." Kie added. "I literally cannot deal with him staring at her when you laugh from across the room and his love struck gaze. And he literally can't stop talking about how amazing you are, and to be honest it's a bit annoying."

"Jealous Kie?" Athena raised her eyebrows, shuffling so she could wrap her arms around her best friend. "You know you'll always be my number one choice."

"I know. But JJ deserves some happiness and so do you. So kiss him and put all of us out of our misery." Kie begged.

"I'm not now just to spite you guys." Athena shrugged, grabbing her blanket that they had found and laying down in the middle of the two girls.

"You're too nice for that A."

"I'm terrifying thank you."

"You keep telling yourself that Thens."

"I am, ask John B." Athena stated, smiling at the two girls. "I love you girls."

"We love you too Athena." The two girls spoke in unison, all three falling into a peaceful slumber.

"Do you guys need a tow?" John B called out.

The sun had risen the next day, the three girls chatting amongst themselves until they heard a boat approaching. They put all of the stuff they had used away before sitting on the edge off the boat, waiting for the boys to get close enough

"Don't give them the satisfaction of thinking this worked." Kiara mumbled to Sarah as the boys got closer.

"Absolutely not." Sarah replied. Athena smiled softly, glad their plan had worked after all.

"You gotta admit it was funny." John B pressed, Sarah rolling her eyes.

"John B." Kiara greeted coolly, managing to keep a straight face.

"Uh, what's that?" He questioned.

"Mastermind, huh?" Kie teased sarcastically.

"I'm always planning." He smiled.

"Some patriarchal bullshit." Kie muttered as the HSM pogue stopped next to their stranded boat.

"Yeah, that sucked." Sarah added, turning to her sister. "Right Athena?"

"Totally, worst night ever." Athena replied sarcastically, making JJ chuckle. "So much for girls night."

"You still love us though, right?" The blond boy asked, tossing Kiara a rope, which she caught with ease.

"Hey, you still hate me?" John B asked Sarah as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"A little. We're all gonna get you back when you least expect it." Sarah proclaimed making John B chuckle.

"Watch your back, boys." Kiara threatened making the three boys shrug.

"Yeah, there is nothing I do better than revenge." Athena told them.

"Did you just quote Taylor Swift?" JJ questioned her.

"See, I knew there was a reason I've kept you around." Athena joked, the two sharing a soft smile. Athena let Kiara and Sarah's words from the night before run through her brain. She wasn't sure if they were right about JJ liking her, but the one thing she knew right then was that she definitely liked him.

"I welcome that challenge." Pope said, a playful smile on his lips.

"Me too." JJ agreed.

"So, did you guys, you know...?" Pope asked, looking between Sarah and Kie.

"Reconcile our differences?" Kiara asked rhetorically, John B nodding. "Not even close."

"It was a shit-show." Athena added. The smiles from the boy's faces dropped instantly allowing a sense of smugness fall over the girls before Sarah spoke up.

"But we're... willing to work together." Sarah informed everyone, looking at her sister and Kie with a smirk as they all nodded in agreement.

"You know what? That's victory." John B exclaimed high-fiving JJ and Pope.

"Know why? Hydroponic." JJ added, making Athena chuckle. In a way, he was kind of right, not that anyone would admit it.

"Don't say that." Pope scolded as John B glared at the boy.

"All right shut up. You guys ready to jack someone up?" John B asked making both girls smile.

"Yeah, whatever." Sarah and Kie spoke in unison as they jumped into the boat.

"I see you're still in one piece." JJ commented as he helped Athena onto the HMS Pogue.

"I still hate you." She muttered accepting his hand. "I can't believe you left me with them."

"You survived." JJ stated. Athena nodded. "Let's go get that gold."

Athena smiled. She rested her head on his shoulder as John B drove off towards their next adventure.

𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗟 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗦
i actually didn't want Athena on the boat with kie and sarah because that seems to happen in every book but then i realised there was no way kie wasn't taking Athena on the boat and then she wouldn't be able to get off the boat with the boys without kie being extra suspicious before she realised so here we are!
also i know i update this book pretty randomly but do you guys want a set schedule or do you not mind the random updates.