‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ REMEMBER ME LIKE THIS — ABSOLUTELY NOT  ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙
EPISODE ONE

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     "No, absolutely not."

     Esme was standing in front of Carter Logan when Rafe walked into the living room of the Logan family, with Kelce and Topper in tow.  "Esme, Esme, wait," Rafe quickly said upon catching a glimpse of the unmistakable raven-haired girl, in an attempt to get the girl to stop walking away from them.

     "Do not come anywhere near me," Esme warned, turning on her heel as she quickly tried to leave the house altogether by booking it out the grand front doors of the Logan household.

     "What are you even doing here, lil poguey?" Topper came around the opposite side of her, forcing her to slow in her tracks when he and Rafe both outstretched their hands as if forming a gate to keep her inside.  Esme looked between both boys uncomfortably.  And she could have sworn that she heard Kelce growl.

     "Come on guys, she was literally just leaving," Carter said, sucking on his teeth from behind Esme.

     While Carter Logan was the product of a once loving family, he was also falling prey to peer pressure from his friends.  And he had been easy prey very early on, it wasn't hard for Esme to catch on to the fact that he was easily influenced.  Despite that though, he had a big genuine heart and every time he crossed paths with her, he treated her with nothing except kindness and respect.  Which was saying a lot more than anyone else.

     You see, Esme was dumb to think she was anything special to J.R.  He treated everyone the same way — as if they were below him and nothing more than vessels for money.  When there was Esme, who had her head screwed on right most days, there were also young girls her age that was as equally impressionable as Carter Logan... girls who didn't know better and would work to the bone just to be appreciated.

     But J.R. didn't appreciate people.

     Carter had fallen for the antics of another girl in Esme's circle, another young Latina who embraced the gifts she earned with her money from being pimped around the same way Esme had been.  While Esme hid what she earned, put it away for safekeeping and put it into investments like her grandmother's house, Xiomara Lopez was happily prancing around Figure Eight with a new fur coat every week and showing up to parties in the newest swimsuit fashions.

     Xiomara was already living in Figure Eight when J.R. had gotten his greedy and grimy little hands on her, just in the middle-class areas.  I suppose she was still middle-class, she could just afford to dress better and be wherever she pleased.  Xiomara had also been seeing an awful lot of Carter lately and ended up leaving something of hers at his house.  

     Esme had gone to Carter's house as a favour to Xiomara and him both — neither of them wanting to get busted for what had been happening right under Mr and Mrs Logan's noses — when Rafe, Topper and Kelce showed up.  She raised her eyebrows at them.  "You really wanna do this, right here, right now?"

     "Here, just take this so you can get going," Carter said, retrieving a small purse from the couch near himself, and tossing it to Esme.  She caught it and clutched it close to her chest with her metallic purple acrylic nails.

     "Thanks."

     Topper rolled his eyes.  "Just stay off our side of the island, got it?"

     "Loud and clear," she snarled.

     "Wait, wait, wait, whoa.  Whoa," Rafe placed a hand on her shoulder.  "What's so important that you had to risk your neck for this bag."

     Esme scoffed.  "I don't know if your little brain could comprehend this, but this is a Louis Vuitton bag.  Meaning, designer.  Meaning, costs more money than you.  Got it?"

     Rafe smiled, sticking his tongue in his cheek as he did so.  Esme didn't find any of it funny.  "What's in it?"

     Esme shrugged.  "Nothing of value to you."

     "Are you sure of that?" 

     "Positive."

     In the blink of an eye, Rafe had the bag from Esme's clutch and started tossing it between the boys like a game of hot potato.  "Guys... guys!"  Esme exclaimed.  "So not funny."

     "Guys," Carter shook his head uneasily.  "Give it back to her."

     "Or what, you'll call the cops?" Kelce chuckled.  "What do you think they'll do when they realize this girl has a Louis bag with ten bottles of oxycodone and codeine in here?"

     Esme gulped, taking a step back.  It was easily clear who had the upper hand, with three huge teen boys compared to her.  She could barely see Carter standing behind Kelce.

     She watched Rafe for his next move as he circled her like a shark to its prey.  Then, slowly, he leaned in.  "You can leave here with your life, or not at all," Rafe whispered to her, and that was the last thing she needed to hear as confirmation before spinning on her heel and making a bee-line for those grand wooden doors in the entryway of the massive household.

     Esme scrambled for the phone that was in her back pocket as her Vans hit the ground on the sidewalk, running as fast as her small legs would take her.  She frantically scrolled through her phone call history and rung the first name that came to mind — Claire Floyd.

     Except, Claire didn't answer.

     Finally coming to a slow near the corner of a street under a stop sign, she took a moment to make sure she wasn't being followed before she grasped the metal pole.  Esme stood there for a good moment, heaving as she thought about her next move.  Then, she scrolled for the next person who came to mind, the only person in the world who couldn't say no to her.

     "Hey... where are you?" the phone only rang twice before he picked up.  "I kinda need a ride, JJ."

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     Esme realized she couldn't go home just yet, J.R. would be waiting for either her or Xiomara to return the package to him.  Which left her no choice, but to slum it with the boys for a while.

     "Look, I'm calling it off.  All right?" John B informed the group.  "Peterkin said, if I stay out of the marsh, she'll help me with DCS."

     Esme sat cross-legged, wearing an old pair of John B's sweats as she clutched a cup of half-assed coffee in her hands.  "Legit."

     "And you believed her?" JJ asked, appauled.

     "Yes, I believe her, JJ."

     "An actual cop, John B.  You believed a cop."

     "All I gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a couple of days and she'll help me out," John B shrugged.  "It doesn't help that your ass was the one shooting a gun."

     "You know what I should have done?" JJ asked bitterly.  "Just let Topper drown your ass."  Esme sighed as she brought the cup to her mouth.

     "Topper was gonna drown me?"

     "Sure looked like it."

     "Funny," John B smiled.

     "Have you looked in a mirror?" JJ countered.

     "Alright!" Esme exclaimed, the coffee in her cup swooshing as she moved abruptly.  JJ and John B both turned their attention to her as she raised her voice.  "Can we talk like big boys, or not?"

     JJ gulped before turning back to John B.  "They always win, don't they, man?  Kooks versus Pogues.  They always, always win!  Goddamn!"

     "Look, it's okay," Kiara said from her position on an opposite chair.

     "No, it's not okay!  It is not!" JJ insisted.

     "Why not?" Esme asked.  "John B kinda needs all the help he can get right now."

     "They don't want us to go down into the marsh," JJ explained.  "That means there's something valuable down there, and you know it.  I know you do," he said before turning to Pope.  "And I understand why you don't wanna go.  You're the golden boy.  You got way too much to risk.  And you, I mean, you're already rich as fuck anyway.  Why would you bother?" he shrugged towards Kiara.  "But you and me, man, we got nothin' to lose.  We really don't, all right?"

     "JJ," John B warned, the two of them now walking farther from the deck.  Esme and Pope shared a look when a slightly worried Pope turned to look at her.

     "And I know it didn't use to be that way for you."

     "I don't want to talk about this.  I don't want to talk about it," John B shrugged.

     "So that's it?"

     "Just get out of my way, bro," John B warned.

     "John B, listen to me.  I have a plan.  You got the key to Cameron's big boat, right?"

     "No."

     "We borrow that, and then we go down to the wreck this afternoon, and that is what's gonna save you, man.  You don't see rich kids going into foster care, do you?"

     You know, John B should have learned a long time ago to never listen to JJ.  But he did have a point with that one.  With everything Esme had seen, she was convinced that there wasn't a single living Kook that didn't have the rest of their lives taken care of.  Everything was planned to a T, and the things that weren't would still be taken care of eventually, they could rest assured knowing that.

     JJ and Esme sat quietly in the main living space of the chateau as they waited around for John B.  Finally, he roughly cleared his throat.  "What do you think, Esmeralda?  Are you in yet?"

     Esme dryly chuckled.  "I didn't realize I was invited."

     JJ quickly rolled his eyes out of habit, always getting so flustered when talking to the girl.  "Whatever, you know what I mean?"

     "Mm, not sure that I do."

     "Whatever."

     Now it was Esme who rolled her eyes, but she packed a lot more attitude behind it.  "Of course, I'll be part of your little group," she pretended to beam with glee.  "I love spending every waking moment with you, JJ."

     JJ closed his eyes and hummed.  "Mm, could you say that a little slower and—"

     "JJ!" she cut him off, chuckling as she lunged a hand over his mouth.  "Shut up!"

     As her hand slid away from his chin to reveal a large grin, he leaned forward.  "Make me."

     Esme let his minty breath linger across her lips for a moment, and she hated to admit it, but a part of her was revelling in it.  She was so used to his usual scent of basically weed, drippings of sweat and if she was lucky she would catch a whiff of his lotion — something subtle but almost fruity.  It was as if the mint itself had awoken her, captured her, taken her.

     They sat like that for a while, wide eyes searching the others' facial features frantically as if daring the other to move first.  Finally, after realizing what compromising position she almost landed herself in, Esme placed a finger to his lips.  "Absolutely not," she whispered, dragging his bottom lip gently as she dropped her finger to her lap.

     JJ was about to object when they heard John B drive up with the equipment in the twinkie, so the two abandoned all previous thoughts and actions and jumped up towards the door.  When they walked outside, they were met with a more calm John B than the one they had seen that morning.

     "Ready to do this thing?" John B asked.  Esme nodded as she crossed her arms over her chest.

     What other choices did she have, but the ones that were pointing her down a dark and twisted path?  She didn't even blame Carter for hardly blinking an eye — she was already so used to being the fish stuck in the bottom of a crowded fish barrel.

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#JJ— chapter ten we did it guys!

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