FOURTEEN LIKEWISE

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Picking up his suit was far less exciting than the dresses had been, but he had to admit as he eyed himself in the reflection he looked damn good. The rain had stopped and the sun was starting to come out, much to Lila's liking, as they decided to enjoy the rest of their day on the mainland since it wasn't something they got to do often. Granted, for Norman this really meant holding all of the girls' shopping bags most likely, but he never minded such a thing.

However, of course as they were checking out everything about Norman's perfectly nice day had to be absolutely ruined. Just decimated completely.

As soon as they were about to leave, Alisha looks over her shoulder and just had to ask, "Is that John B? And Sarah Cameron? What are they doing here together?"

"It's probably not them, John B would rather be caught dead than be shopping here --" Of course, Norman's statement was cut off as he turned around where the girl was looking and sure enough, John B was trying on suits... with Sarah Cameron. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

Right as Norman said that, the bell on the door as Lila let it swing shut caught the other boy's attention and their eyes met. So, of course, Norman planned to do what he did best which was run, but it was already too late.

"Hey, Norman, hey!" John B called, getting up from his seat, leaving Sarah standing there in a striped dress with a confused expression as he ran over to the group.

"Is it too late to run?"

"You let him call you Norman?" Lila asked with a perplexed tone in her voice as the boy ran up to them which had unfortunately caused quite a stir in the small store. Giving John B a once over he looked absolutely out of his element in dress pants and a light pink shirt, but admittedly, he looked good. Not that Norman was ever going to tell him that.

Norman shrugged, "Is that important? Uh, John B, what are you doing here? With... her?"

"It's a long story, but it has to do with you know... the thing," John B tried to slip around the obvious elephant in the room which was that none of the girls surrounding Norman knew anything about the treasure hunt. "And the thing that I mentioned when you came over that one time."

"DCS?" Norman somehow made the connection right away, which goes to show how much they understood each other. That fact was absolutely painful for him to realize as he was very much supposed to be avoiding John B right now. Today was supposed to be Pogue free and yet, here they were. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Uh," John B looked around at the girls nervously, "Can we talk in private?"

"Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of them," the boy stood his ground, hoping forcing the girls to stay would make John B leave him alone.

John B groaned, before asking a question Norman hadn't expected, "Why have you been avoiding me? Kie told me she called and you didn't come."

Norman sighed, shoving John B out of the way of the door and out of earshot from the girls, regretting this the moment he said it. Whispering, he seethed, "You know damn well why I'm avoiding you. You guys don't even need me for this stupid treasure hunt of yours and you have no idea what I'm going through and you made it so much worse just by... you know. Doing that."

"Doing what?" he pleaded innocence, but the smile hinting at the corner of his lips said otherwise, "Kissing you? That's why you've been avoiding me?"

Norman shushed him immediately, "Wow, thanks, just tell the entire store. None of the girls know about it so keep your damn mouth shut. You make everything worse literally just by being here. I was absolutely fine until you came along."

"Why are you being so mean? I thought we were friends," John B scoffed, stepping back from Norman as he looked genuinely offended. Norman sighed, knowing what he said had come out so so wrong.

"Friends don't kiss each other out of nowhere, John B," Norman sighed, "Friends don't make me question my sexuality and everything I've ever known in terms of it. You and I aren't meant to be friends and I want out of this stupid treasure hunt so I don't have to deal with this shit anymore."

John B seemed to be putting it together as his expression shifted, saying, "You're mad at me because you're confused? I don't see how that's my fault. I feel like the sexuality crisis was gonna show up sooner or later, I just helped make it sooner for you."

"It would have never happened if it wasn't for your stupid attitude at that party last year."

"Oh, you're going all the way back to the beginning? I'm honored really to be part of your origin story," John B teased, but Norman wasn't amused. After a moment of no reaction from him, the boy sighed, "Listen, I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have kissed you the other day, that was stupid. The others miss having you around, though, I miss having you around. Also, don't make me deal with Sarah Cameron all day alone, come with us. I need to get into the Archives to get some information and I was just using Sarah as my ticket in. Besides, it looks like you already have a suit. You'll fit right in."

Norman sighed, "I can't leave my friends. Besides, I'm mad at you."

John B looked absolutely bored with this, "Drop the mad act, you can't be mad at me unless you mean madly in love because then you'd be right."

"I will punch you in the middle of this store, I don't give a shit," the boy spoke with a deadpan expression. With a sigh, he turned around to see his friends immediately turning away and trying to act like they weren't attempting to eavesdrop and watching them intently. "I can't."

The boy scoffed before grabbing Norman by the wrist and marching him back over to the friend group with a disgustingly charming smile on his face, "Hey, friends of Norman, my name is John B, I'm sure you've heard of me. I need to steal your friend away for the rest of the day for reasons I can't disclose, but would that be all right with you guys? I'm sorry to ruin any plans you guys had."

Before anyone could say anything, Alisha spoke up with a gleaming grin, "Actually, we didn't have any plans, we got all our errands done. He's all yours!"

"Alisha!" Norman exclaimed, unable to believe the betrayal.

"Bye, Norman," Alisha teased as the three girls waved to him and left the store. He couldn't believe this. Alisha was never going to hear the end of this when he got home, this was by far the worst thing they could have ever done to him.

With a satisfied smile, John B dragged Norman over to Sarah, saying, "Val, we have a new asset for our mission."

"What the fuck?" the girl asked, but there was more humor in her voice than there was anger or malice, "All right, all right, Rocky, I don't know why I'm surprised. But what's your codename?"

"Codename? What the fuck is this?" Norman asked, feeling incredibly vulnerable now that he didn't have his friends by his side. Being with John B now felt dangerous, even with Sarah around. "What's going on here?"

Sarah laughed and it was weird to see her actually in a good mood -- especially in the company of a Pogue. "We're on a secret mission, I'm Valerie, that's Vlad. You need a codename."

"This is stupid," Norman deflected, but they were both looking at him expectedly, "Oh, my god, fine! Uh, fuck, I don't know!"

"I think Bruno, I get Bruno vibes," Sarah decided, ruffling Norman's hair, "Tall, brooding, irritable. It's perfect."

"Hey!" Norman exclaimed, but John B just laughed and nodded. "Okay, fine. Bruno. Can we go do whatever you guys were doing now? I really don't know why I have to be here."

The other boy just shrugged, "It's 'cause I wanted you here. Besides, you were gonna have to stop avoiding me at some point, Bates."

"Hey, not Bates," Norman corrected with a matter-of-fact tone of voice, finally caving in and deciding to play along, "Bruno."

Sarah laughed at the two of them, saying, "All right, come on. We've got a job to do. Archives, now."

Sarah and John paid for their clothing while Norman change into his dress pants and shirt with the jacket slung over his shoulder casually, not wanting to put it on just yet. He had to admit, seeing John B in the suit was making things a lot harder for him, but he was going to have to deal with it. The three of them ran out of the store and onto the sidewalk, walking briskly in the direction of the campus.

"All right, the library isn't open all night, so we need to hurry," the girl explained as they walked. How she was walking so fast in her wedge sandals he had no idea, but he admired it. "Okay, okay, let's settle down, get a snack or something because I'm starved and then I'll call us an Uber."

"Thank God, I'm always starving and no one ever wants to stop for snacks!" Norman exclaimed as they came across a small cafe where Norman would be happy to pick up a pastry or two. While they ordered, Sarah worked on getting them a car to take them to the library.

Thankfully, the car arrived quickly, but they were still able to eat. Norman didn't realize how hungry he was until he was shoving an overpriced blueberry muffin in his face. John B was laughing at him, but he couldn't figure out why. After a moment, the boy shook his head, reaching out without a word and caressing his face gently. This made Norman more confused until John B's hand came back with a piece of the muffin on it.

"Messy eater, jeez," the boy teased, flicking the crumb at him before he could even register what was happening. He was fairly sure he had forgotten how to breathe for a moment. However, it was over now as the night began to fall and they were approaching their destination. Somehow, Norman was already exhausted.

They all thanked the driver as they got out of the car, Sarah began to direct, "So the library's on the other side of the student center. Have you ever been here before? Rocky, I'm sure you have."

The boy nodded, but John B's response was more surprising, "I've never been to a college, no."

"That's a gap in your training," Sarah teased, "How do you like it?"

"So far, so good."

"So my dad went here," Sarah began to explain, "and then his dad went here, and then his dad's dad went here. Long story short, he would have an absolute aneurysm if I didn't go here. Which is kind of annoying, but what can you do? What about you?"

John B shrugged, looking as though he felt out of place, "Uh, college has never really been on my radar."

As he was speaking, Sarah's phone rang. Once she answered it, Norman took this as an opportunity to start getting some answers.

"Okay, is anyone gonna fill me in on what this mission actually is? So far, all I know is our codenames and the destination," Norman sighed as they walked, noticing how closely John B and Sarah were walking together. He wasn't the jealous type and John B was in no way his, but something wasn't sitting right with him. "I really don't know why I'm here, John B."

"Oh shit," Sarah gasped before John B could say anything, "It's my handler. I told him I was spending the night at Scarlett's."

"What would he say if he knew you were hanging out with me?" John B asked and as he watched the two of them interact, he felt unbearably left out. This really was just cementing the fact that John B absolutely wasn't his because the second someone else came along, he was nothing to him.

Sarah scoffed, "I'd be hanged for treason."

"A Pogue sympathizer," John B joked, the two of them putting fake telephone's against their ears, "You've got to be careful fraternizing with the enemy, Valerie. Wait a minute, did he kidnap you? Drug you?"

"I wish I was drugged so I didn't have to listen to this," Norman muttered but no one was paying attention to him. This feeling was so new and he absolutely hated it.

In a French accent, Sarah responded, "No, I came of my own recognizance, following a lead."

"Oh, do we know this enemy?"

"You do. He used to work for you."

Cutting them off mid-conversation, Norman caved, "Bruno's here to tell you the library's gonna close if we don't hurry the fuck up."

The two giggled, but cut it out as the three of them walked into the library. Norman was just glad that was over, but he still felt wildly uncomfortable being with them. He felt like he was intruding on a private moment and it was the worst thing in the world.

"What's up with you?" John B whispered to him as they entered.

Norman didn't get a chance to answer as Sarah asked, "All right, Vlad, time to play the truth game. What the hell are we doing here?"

"I already told you I can't tell you," the boy said, sending a look over to Norman that told him he was still expecting an answer.

"Nothing's wrong," Norman answered in a whisper, hoping Sarah wouldn't hear them.

Before John B could say anything else, Sarah stopped. "Intel on the mission is the price of a ticket and I'm your only way of getting in."

John B sighed, "I'm on a treasure hunt. Norman knows about it, too, that's why I wanted to bring him."

However, Sarah just laughed. Before she could ask anything else, Norman stepped forward to confirm, "It's true. We're looking for the gold on the Royal Merchant. Can we please just buy the fucking tickets now?"

Looking at both of them, the girl's expression sobered, "Holy shit, you guys are serious?"

"Look, I have reason to believe that Denmark Tanny is the sole survivor of the Royal Merchant wreck. Look, I-I know this sounds crazy, okay, but I'm pretty sure he got away with 400 million in gold, which is how he would have been able to buy Tannyhill. And I think the location of that treasure is in his papers. That's why we're here."

"Believe us now?" Norman backed him up, getting tired of this game.

Sarah nodded, "I'll talk to the librarian."

Thanks to the Cameron name, they were granted entrance right away as the librarian let them into an archive room, going on about some materials donated by Ward Cameron. They were guided up the stairs to which they happily obliged. As Sarah and John B went through the papers, Norman was staying by the door to make sure no one was going to come in or overhear the conversation. He had given this position by himself because there was nothing he wanted more than to distance himself from John B and Sarah at the moment.

"It says here that Denmark used the money he made from Tannyhill to buy slaves and give them their freedom. It says that he was accused of inciting revolt. This is before the Civil War," Sarah read, looking at the papers below her.

"That's why they hanged him," John B explained as he reached into Sarah's box to pull out an aged book, "Check this out. His three sons' birthdays. Wait a minute. Is that a picture of--"

"Gold?" Sarah finished as they looked at one of the pieces of paper.

"This is how he bought the land. It's--it's British gold. This is what was on the merchant."

Sarah smiled, "Bingo. Hey, we found this when we first moved in."

"Wait, what's that?"

"The last correspondence," the girl explained. Norman was getting incredibly impatient, but maybe he was just sick of being the third wheel in the room right now.

John B furrowed his brow as he looked at that paper, "Wait, that's in Gullah, the lost Creole language."

"Can you read it?" Sarah asked to which Norman held back a scoff.

As Norman assumed he would, John B shook his head, "No, I can't. I wish, but no. So, Denmark finds out the posse's coming for him. Wait, what's the date on the letter?"

"It is..." Sarah's eyes searched the paper, "May 3rd, 1844. Wait, that's the day he died. And this is addressed to Robert."

"So, on the day he dies, he writes a letter to his son."

"In a language only they can understand."

"Are you guys done? Don't we have what we need by now?" Norman asked, trying to hide how frustrated he was in his voice. He didn't know why, but being around them right now was exhausting.

"Hold your horses, Norman," John B says, trying to think, "Wait a minute -- Let's see."

John B took a photo of the letter with his phone before nodding as they started to put the things back. After a moment, John B whispered something to Sarah before grabbing Norman by the wrist and leading him out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"What the hell is up with you?" John B whisper-yelled, clearly not wanting Sarah to hear the conversation.

"Nothing is wrong! I'm just tired and frankly, really confused as to why I'm here. I don't know why I keep following you to the ends of the fucking earth when it makes literally no difference as to whether or not I'm here!" Norman seethed, not really caring to watch his volume. If Sarah heard this, he really didn't give a shit. "This was your thing with Sarah and I don't know why, but you asked me to come and I'm really, really regretting saying yes."

"Oh, really?" John B scoffed, "What else are you regretting?"

"You wanna go there?" Norman raised an eyebrow, now liking where this was going, "As of right now? I'm regretting absolutely everything because I was foolish enough to think that we could be friends or care about each other at all, but the second someone else comes along you do not give a single shit about me. You wanna know why we're not friends? That's why."

The boy sighed, clearly taken aback by the small outburst, "So, this is about Sarah? There's nothing going on there, she has a boyfriend. She just helped me escape DCS earlier because oh, yeah, I'm running from them because they're trying to take me from my home, but you've never had to worry about something like that in your little rich people world, have you?"

"What the fuck does that have to do with this?" Norman took a step back, an expression of disbelief clear on his face, "You are exactly who I thought you were. You can put on a nice suit and hold your head high, but when it comes down to it, you will always be a Pogue."

Before John B could say anything else, Sarah opened the door with a disdainful expression on her face, "Are you two done with your bitch fit? We've been out all night and we need to get to the ferry before they sell out again so let's go."

"Sounds fantastic," Norman scoffed, glaring at John B, "Can't wait to get back to the island and the hell away from you."

John B shook his head, "Likewise."

I'm splitting this up now or else this chapter would probably end up being like 5000 words and I really don't have the energy for that right now so this one is about 3400 which I think is still pretty decent considering how exhausted i am lmao. I like keeping up with the daily updates because I really love this story and all the support it's getting (I mean, 1k votes already? holy shit) but my mental health is fucking with my focus so if i miss a few daily updates y'all better not say shit