TWENTY-NINE FAMILY

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Defeated, what remained of the group returned to the Wreck. Eating in silence as everyone was worried about JJ. Norman had never seen him act like that. Sure, JJ had always been a little bit of an asshole, but not so much so that he became practically unhinged. They were less offended by the behavior and more worried about it. JJ was practically family to the Pogues, so Norman could understand the fear within the group now that JJ had broken off on a rampage.

The silence surrounding the group was deafening as Norman, John B, and Sarah sat around the table. Pope was leaning against the window, not looking at anybody. He and JJ had always been closer than the rest, so Norman couldn't imagine how he was feeling. He imagined this was what it would feel like if Alisha decided to go off on a bender and he knew that would utterly destroy him with worry and fear.

"All right, look," John B broke the silence, "He'll come around. It's... he's doing a JJ thing."

Kie's expression didn't change as she asked, "Do you think he'll go home?"

"There's about a zero percent chance JJ goes home," Pope cut in and Norman couldn't help but wonder why. Judging by the somber expressions on everyone's faces, Norman thought it best not to ask. Some things he would have to figure out via context clues because at least he knew how to read a room.

"Are you okay?" Norman asked John B quietly, leaning to have one hand casually resting on the boy's thigh in an act that almost didn't seem purposeful, but still acted as a comfort.

John B shrugged, "I mean, I'm in one piece, so..."

Pope sighed, interrupting the conversation to set the record straight, "Okay so it's too dangerous to pawn this thing off piecemeal. So our best bet is to go down there and get the rest of it. Bring it all up at once. Put it in-in a safe or a vault or something. I-I don't know, just until we can find someone who won't rip us off."

"I can always have my mom get in contact with lawyers and see if there's any way we can claim ownership of the gold, then we don't have to worry about anyone asking questions where we got it from and just... go to the bank or something, I don't know. I've never tried to trade in gold bars for cash," Norman shrugged as he suggested the first thing he could think of.

John B shook his head, "It's stolen gold that we took from someone else's property, I don't think we have very much claim over it."

"Finder's Keepers?" Sarah added meekly, a half-smile on her face that faded quickly.

Pope shook his head, "No, no. I can figure it out tonight, get it done, and we can be out there tomorrow morning."

John B nodded, "And then we'll go from there. Yeah, let's do it."

"One step at a time," the boy sighed, letting himself lean into John B gently, relaxing his tense shoulders. God, today had been awful so far.

"What about that thing with my dad?" Sarah interrupted, "The whole welcome-to-the-family shit?"

John B groaned, "Shit, I forgot about that. I have to go fishing with Ward."

"Are you serious?" Pope asked with an exasperated face, "Daddy Day Care can't wait?"

Kie had a similar reaction, "You can't get 400 mil because you're gonna go kill fish?"

"I can do it," Norman shrugged, "Meet up with John B later."

His boyfriend shook his head, "No, I barely fit through the opening and you're taller and bulkier, you won't fit."

"Hey!"

"Bulky! Like muscle-y! It's a compliment really," the boy said with a shrug, biting back a teasing smile. "Kie, tell me I'm right?"

Kie nodded, "He is kinda right. Besides, you saw how dirty he was when he got out. You really wanna be covered head to toe in sewer shit?"

Norman shivered at the mere thought of it, shaking his head vehemently as he remembered, "No, actually, I take it back. Yeah, I'm good. It was worth a try, though. So, what, then? We wait to get the gold? I feel like 400 mil as a sitting duck is a bad idea."

"Blow it off!" the darker-skinned boy argued, "This can't wait and we can't do it without you because you're gonna need someone to help with the pulley, it can't be just Rocky and the girls and we already lost JJ. Another man down and this whole thing could very easily go to shit."

"Just make something up," the dark-haired girl suggested as if it was the easiest thing, but judging by the expression on John B's face he was struggling with the idea of that. "It's 400 mil in gold!"

"Look, I have to, okay? He saved me. It's been a year since anyone treated me like a son and I don't wanna screw that up," the boy finally admitted, avoiding the pressuring eyes of his friends. Norman sighed, moving his hand to rub small circles into the small of his back. "If it weren't for Ward I'd be in foster care right now. Half the kids that go into foster care on the Cut end up dead or somewhere on the mainland. So... I have to go. Plus it'll be better to do it at night, anyway. Right?"

Everyone considered his statement and it seemed to be okay with Kie, Sarah, and Norman so they all turned to Pope. Finally, the boy sighed and gave in, "Fine, fine, go fishing."

"And at least JJ will have probably washed up by then," Kie added. The statement was lighthearted, but the worry in her voice was clear as day.

"Okay, so we know what we're gonna do?" Norman asked with a sigh, "Because I'm tired as shit and I kinda miss my friends so if we're done with the group meeting."

Kie nodded, "I'm gonna try and get ahold of JJ, but feel free to eat and head out."

Norman stood up from the table first, leaning in to kiss John B goodbye, telling him, "Drive safe, text me when you're home."

"Text me when you're home," Pope mocked, acting melodramatic as he grabbed Kie's shoulder, whispering, "Drive so, so safe."

Kie reacted accordingly, saying, "I will, just for you."

Norman laughed, flipping them off before waving goodbye and exiting the restaurant. Taking a deep breath, he stood on the porch for a moment, grabbing onto the railing for stability as he kept his head down. He hadn't quite comprehended that he almost died earlier. That man had a gun pointed right at John B's head and Norman was sitting next to him. If things had gone south... Norman shivered at the thought.

With shaky hands, he pulled out his phone, but he wasn't sure who he was going to call just yet. Finally, he decided.

"Hello?" James's voice came through the phone, sounding almost confused that Norman would be calling. "What's up, Rocky?"

"Do you wanna get everyone together for a campfire on the beach like we used to? I've been distant lately and I miss you guys," Norman admitted as he absentmindedly pulled out his keys that he kept on him regardless of whether or not he drove. The Wreck was close enough to his house that he didn't have to ask James to pick him up, which was nice. "I'm about on my way home now, I can pick up Alisha on the way and meet you at yours?"

"Yeah, dude, that sounds great, yeah, it's been a while, huh?" James said with a small laugh through the phone, "Also, how did things go with you know... uh..."

Norman laughed at the hesitation, "Yeah, that. I'll catch you guys up on it in a bit. See you soon?"

"Yeah, yeah, see you."

So that was how Norman ended up on the beach by James's backyard sitting on towels around a small campfire. It was nice to have his friends all together again, he felt like it had been forever. Part of him wished John B was there with him, but maybe he needed some time without trying to merge the two groups together.

"Okay, okay, so you're dating a Pogue?" James asked in disbelief as he looked at Norman, "And I was the last to hear about it?"

"Um, we were both last to know!" Gemma exclaimed with a laugh, "Of course, Alisha told Lila, they're conspiring against us!"

"She asked why I wasn't spending the night at Rocky's anymore and I told her it's because I didn't wanna interrupt the total boner fest I witnessed!" Alisha defended herself while simultaneously throwing Norman completely under the bus.

Gasping, he retorted, "You have your own goddamn room! I'll give you some headphones next time, how about that?"

The girl mimicked gagging which soon turned into laughter, "I can't believe we're all experiencing Rocky in his first relationship, guys, I swear Imma get emotional."

It was clear she was joking, so Norman flipped her off playfully to which she stuck her tongue out. After a moment, James motioned to something beside Norman, "Dude, your phone has been vibrating like crazy. Do you wanna check that?"

Norman almost hadn't noticed it, but when he looked he saw he had a couple missed calls and texts from Kiara. "We found JJ." The first one said, which brought a sort of sense of relief over the boy. That was, until he saw the next one. "It's bad. I can't get ahold of John B, I think he's asleep. Can you get here?"

"Shit," Norman muttered under his breath, handing off his drink to Alisha, "Guys, fuck, I think I have to go."

"To our replacements?" Lila joked, but he expression became more serious when she saw the worried look on Norman's face. Once she registered his worry, she nodded, "If something's wrong you should go."

James nodded, "We're not that fragile, just go."

"Are you guys sure?" Norman asked, feeling terrible. They all nodded and bid him goodbye, making the choice for him as he scrambled for his keys at set his GPS to the location Kie had sent him. He felt bad leaving his friends, but if Kie needed him, Kie needed him.

When he arrived at the location, he saw there were a bunch of lights strung up on the trees and a hot tub resting on the grass. JJ had tear-streaked cheeks and a bruised torso as he sat in the hot tub next to Kiara and Pope who were both fully clothed. They all had their arms around each other and when Kie noticed him, she motioned for Norman to join them.

"C'mon, family time," Kiara commented at the boy's confused expression. "I'm pretty sure John B and Sarah are on their way."

"Family?" Norman scoffed, "I'm hardly--"

"You're family," JJ spoke up. "You guys are all I have."

With that, Norman didn't argue anymore as he pulled off his shoes and stepped into the hot tub even though he was fully clothed. He didn't care too much about that right now, instead, he just wanted to be there for JJ. He didn't know for sure what happened, but he had seen enough of what Alisha went through to get a pretty good idea of the situation. As Norman sat there, he wondered if they really had become his family. Yeah, he decided, they had.

I know this chapter is kinda all over the place, but I didn't want to write the hot tub scene mainly because I couldn't figure out a way to make it make sense with Norman's character and everything and I figured we'd just get some cameos from his friends because I continue to forget they exist! Also, we're just gonna pretend John B and Sarah went home after being harassed by Rafe and were not boning because in this fic they have a brother-sister relationship and Sarah is Kie's girl and Kie's girl ONLY, thank you also this book has almost 3k votes so... get it to 3k votes please and thank you :)