‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ REMEMBER ME LIKE THIS — FEIGNING INNOCENCE ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙
EPISODE ONE

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     Thankfully, Esme didn't have to sit with her reservations of self-doubt long before the group was interrupted.  Though, their new problem wasn't much better.  At the chirp of a siren, the group minus John B turned to see Shoupe approaching on his boat with some other cops.

     "Shit.  Guys, that's the police," Kiara alerted everyone.

     "Oh, you gotta be kidding me," Claire groaned the smile from her face disappearing as she spoke.

     "Yep, that's the police.  Just act frickin' normal," JJ ran a hand through his hair as he snapped towards the crew, specifically Esme who was now at his side.

     "Yeah, way to be calm," Esme patted his shoulder softly.  His eyes drifted to her hand, but after a moment of pondering, he turned his attention back to the oncoming boats.

     She quickly fixed her outfit, still wearing just a long tan dress from the long morning, but adjusted it to the straps of her swim top would show easier.  It was habit at this point, and it was usually her ticket to feign innocence.  The siren rang again, unsettling Esme even if she could see clear as day what was happening and who was in front of her under the warm summer sun.  "Evening, officers," JJ took the initiative to greet them first.

     "Evening," Shoupe nodded.  Esme had probably seen him around the most, despite the gang of pogues frequently getting into trouble.  Esme hung out around Figure Eight at all odd hours, and Shoupe had been called to more than a few house parties to shut them down.  "Here."

     "JJ, tie it off," Pope instructed his friend so they could use the rope Shoupe tossed over to tie the boats together.

     "How you kids doing?  You know the marsh is closed?" Shoupe asked.

     Esme was the best at feigning innocence.

     While the others were tripping over their words and stuttering, Esme got to work making sure they were looking at her trustworthy eyes.  Her eyebrows creased as they lifted, eyes widening like a baby deer.  "No, we had no idea."

     "Why... why is it closed?" Claire asked, more nervous than Esme was.

     "Well, we're conducting a search out here.  Boat went down," Shoupe replied.

     "Oh my God, was somebody on it?" Esme asked without overdoing it, but just enough that she looked concerned.  Of course, she'd known nobody was actually on the boat when it went down, but then again, they weren't supposed to know a damn thing about it.

     Shoupe looked at her uneasily.  "We're not yet sure...  Seen anything?" 

     "No," JJ shook his head, the others following his example.  "No boats.  No."

     It was quiet for a brief moment before Shoupe asked, "Where's your friend you always hang with?  He here?"

     "He's working," Pope thankfully answered.

     "Hm," Shoupe hummed as he thought for a second before announcing, "I'm gonna check your little boat out."

     "Yeah," JJ nodded.

     "Yeah, hop aboard," Pope added.  "You wanna check... uh, check her out."

     "Excuse the mess," Esme said, trying to bring the attention back around to her, which is the one thing she knew she could do without fail.  What would they do without me? she thought to herself as she smiled.  "We don't get many visitors."

     Shoupe nodded, but he didn't crack as easily, although... she hadn't counted on the fact that he would.  He nodded, and asked, "Uh... you got another one?"

     "Yeah," JJ answered cooly.

     Pope (nervously) added; "Yeah, yeah of course.  It's, uh... it's in the hold."

     "Yeah, show him," Kiara gestured vaguely as she quickly stood up and ran a hand through her curly hair.

     "Okay," JJ agreed.  "Yeah, here we go," he held it up for him to see.

     "All right," Shoupe nodded.  He turned to Esme.  "You of all people should be wearing one of those out here.  I still remember when you fell into that pool and we had to pull you out."

     Esme's jaw dropped open to say something — maybe mention how she was actually pushed, and on top of that, the pool was like twenty feet deep — but JJ thankfully cut her off.  The blonde boy shook it open, and one of the straps smacked Esme's leg, but she hardly felt a thing.  She saw his shadow shift as he took a step closer, his chest facing her back.  "Yeah," he agreed before sliding the jacket up over her lean and skinny arms.  His fingertips gently slid across her skin, but his touch was so light that she second-guessed having thought she could feel a stutter in his movements.  Maybe he was scared?  After all, they were currently putting on a show for law enforcement.  That never ended well where they were from.

     After what seemed like an eternity of just getting the jacket to sit right over Esme's form, JJ lowered his hands to the front of her torso, clicking the latch on the jacket tight.  Shoupe hummed, satisfied.  Esme breathed a sigh of relief and swore she felt JJ's chest rise and fall too.

     "Uh..." Pope squinted from the sun as Shoupe stepped over to the side of the boat and looked straight down.  Esme suddenly tensed again as she realized John B was swimming underwater somewhere right under his feet.  "Be careful."

     "You don't wanna slip, you know," Claire said, running her hands along her legs.  Esme knew it was because she was nervous, but at least she was trying to lie.  "Don't wanna end up like Esmeralda over here, falling into the water."

     Even though she didn't like the usage of her full name like that, Esme played along.  "Jee, thanks, Claire."

     A short alarm beeping tore Shoupe's attention away from the water, and he nodded.  "All right, beautiful day," he commented.

     "Sure is," JJ agreed.

     "Very," Pope said.  Claire looked at him from the corner of her eye, silently begging him to keep his mouth shut.  He matched her gaze, and Kiara saw.

     "Let us know if you see anything on your way out," Shoupe said as he made the bigger step back to his boat.

     "Will do, will do, we'll be gone soon sir," JJ promised.

     "Yes, you will," Shoupe said with one last nod of his head before starting back on his trail, returning to where he came from.  The group of five watched as he left and tried their best to wait long enough for him to be out of earshot, which felt like an eternity.

     Everything with the pogues felt like an eternity, Esme decided.

     Stimulatously, the group turned their heads suddenly and raced back to the other side of the boat, staring down into the water to catch even a glimpse of their friend.  "He's definitely out of air," Pope stated the obvious.

     "There he is!  Oh, God!  Jesus Christ!" Kiara screamed as they finally saw a mop of curls swimming up toward the surface.  Pope and JJ moved quickly — but not swiftly — to yank John B up by his arms.

     Claire breathed out in relief.  "Thank the lord.  I was about to call dibs on the twinkie."

     Esme nodded in agreement before turning to slap John B's arm, even though he was barely just getting to sit down and catch his breath.  "Don't scare us like that!"

     "How'd it go down there?" JJ asked as he came to the other side of John B.

     "Did you find anything?" Pope asked him.

     "Did I find anything?" John B repeated, holding up a small cylinder.

     "Yeah, there we go!" JJ cheered.  "That's my boy!"

     "Jeez, dude," Pope sighed.

     "Honestly, I feel like a proud mother right now," Claire stood with her hands on her hips, squinting from the intensity of the sun as she tried to look down at John B, who was still trying to catch his breath.  "I didn't even know you could swim that well."

     John B, Esme, and JJ turned to look at the blonde girl in confusion as Kiara asked the level-headed question, "You okay?"

     "Yeah, I ran out of air," John B breathed heavily as he explained the obvious.

     "You scared the shit out of us," Kiara admitted.

     "Yeah, the cops were up here, but, uh... took care of 'em," JJ said smugly.

     Claire snickered.  "Right.  JJ the bodyguard."

     "At your disposal, ma'am," the blonde boy bowed for the blonde girl, earning a chuckle from her.  Kiara and Esme were both surprised with their own reactions to this exchange, even though they knew it was friendly — JJ and Claire had been friends literally forever.  But that didn't mean that it didn't elicit jealousy.  JJ grinned.  "You kinda missed the show, brother."

     "And honestly, we should be glad he didn't insist on personally escorting us back, he's done that before," Claire sighed.

     Kiara turned her gaze away from the scene to look elsewhere, and try to clear her mind of her racing thoughts.  Instead, she stumbled upon something else entirely that just heightened her anxiety.  "Hey, guys?  Guys, bogey, two o'clock."

     Everyone turned their attention to where Kiara was looking.  "Do you recognize that boat?" Pope asked.

     "I've never seen it," Kie said.

     "That's enough for me," Esme said.

     "What are they doing?  The marsh is closed," Kiara said, confused.

     "So what and who cares, let's go," Esme repeated herself, and when she moved to where the wheel was, she swore she could feel bubbling in her stomach again.

     JJ nodded.  "I'm with the princess, let's not stick around and find out."  She felt something hit her where she was already feeling anxious, but she knew she needed to push it back down for the time being.  She would deal with JJ later.  She knew something else was wrong, something bigger.

     "JJ, get the bowline," John B instructed, and JJ immediately started helping him.

     "Should we wait on 'em?" Pope asked.  Claire, Kiara, and Esme all turned to him with painfully confused expressions.

     Thankfully, John B answered nicely.  "No, we're not."

     "Are you kidding me?" Kiara mumbled to Pope, which kind of made Esme sad because even though it was exactly what she was thinking, she never would have said it out loud to him.  For the most part, Pope was weird but he meant well.

     "Guys, don't wait for me," JJ shook his head as he was still pulling the bowline up.

     Esme nodded even though he wasn't looking at her and turned her attention to the wheel, but she found she was having a problem grasping it hard enough.  Maybe she really just was that skinny girl who fell into pools at parties.

     "Johnny," Esme said softly, and in no time he caught her drift.  The taller boy stood next to her, helping her turn the wheel sharp enough so they could turn the boat around and speed out of there since it looked like the other boat was already gaining speed on them.

     "Are they coming for us?" JJ questioned as he lowered himself to sit across from his friends, but also fairly still at the back of the boat.

     "Maybe they're fishing," Pope reasoned.

     Claire, who was squatted closest to them, couldn't help but voice her thoughts.  "You really think we're the only group of idiots out here searching for something?"

     "Good call," Pope turned to John B and Esme.  "Go into the marsh."

     "Let's go!" Kiara yelled, making it clear to Esme that she wasn't the only one about to have a panic attack on the boat.

     "I'm going," John B said, gripping his hand over Esme's so they could pull the wheel harder together.  The boat's engine revved a little bit, as JJ's curiosity got the best of him, causing him to sneak a glance at his friends.  "Act natural."

     "Hey, guys, they're following us," Kiara informed them in a panicked voice, never tearing her eyes away from the other boat.

     Claire hid her face behind her hands, pressing her fingers into her eyes.  "Great, great.  This is how I die."

     "This can't be good," Pope shook his head.

     "You gotta go faster!" JJ shouted.  "Gun it!"

     Just as they thought they were maybe possibly able to get away or lose them somewhere in the marsh, one of the guys raised a hand, and just as Esme turned her head, she could see him lift a gun.

     "Holy shit!" Kiara basically shrieked.

     "Guys, get down!" JJ yelled.

     "Oh my God," John B said, shifting his hands and body so he could move Esme away from the wheel.  She loosened her grasp but she felt as if she were out of her body as he said, "get down, go."  John B had to practically push her out of the way and down towards the deck because she just stared at him.

     "We're gonna die!" Pope, expectantly, started panicking.

     "Buddy," Claire wrapped an arm around his shoulders and helped him bend down more.  "I get it, but like... shut up."

     "Shit, Pope, move," JJ grumbled as he crawled over towards where Esme was.  "Kie, get down," the blonde boy groaned as he moved, only a tad annoyed with the others.

     Esme wanted nothing more than to crawl up into a fetal position and stay on the floor of the boat until she was magically in her own bed in her warm but cozy bedroom with a glass of lemonade on her nightstand.  She was parched, and on top of that, worried about Adonis and her grandma.  On top of that, she was worried about Xiomara, Carter, JR, and the bag of drugs.

     She was surprised to feel that familiar touch from just moments before, but this time it wasn't so light to her the touch.  JJ was gripping her as if she were never made of porcelain to him and using all of his body weight to tuck her under him, their chests to the deck but their noses facing each other.

     "Is this a bad time to mention that you're really good at this?" Esme said as loudly as she could, which didn't make much noise at all.  In fact, he was surprised she said anything and she was surprised he heard anything.

     "Shush, you can thank me later," JJ cooed, but there was no trace of mockery or a smug look on his face.  Oh.  The kid who was never serious was being serious.  And yeah, they were being shot at by a random guy with a gun, but it was only when she saw the look on JJ's face did Esme realize just how bad of a turn the day took.

     All she really remembered was those gunshots going off and how the others continued screaming, and she swore she was Kiara grabbing netting from the corner of her eye and throwing it overboard, which she learned had gotten caught in the other boat and stopped the chase.  And JJ yelling out something about a Pogue God.

     While the others were quick to flee the boat once they got back to the chateau (like Claire, who literally hugged the ground), it took Esme longer to gather the will to leave.  She knew her body better than anyone (despite what people said) and knew it always took her longer to regroup, but she was surprised to see JJ sitting right next to her.

     Esme hugged her knees, pressing them into her chin as she prepared her words.  "I'm sorry."

     JJ nearly flinched.  "Come again?"

     She took a deep breath, grateful that the others were giving them space, even if it was unintentional.  "I've been treating you like shit and you're the only person I know who would shield me with their body.  I'm sorry, and thank you."

     JJ shrugged like an apology from Esme came every day.  "It's nothing.  Besides, you're wrong.  John B came close."

     Esme's world was silent as she read between the lines JJ spoke.  Sure, John B and her cared about each other, even if they'd rather roughhouse or knock each other in the head.  But she knew John B never liked her in the way JJ was insinuating, and she never did him.  John B was her best friend, but that's all he'd ever be.  JJ, however, she wasn't so sure.  "You see John B here right now talking me down from the ledge?  Or trying his hardest with me no matter how much I push him away?"

     A deep flush settled over JJ's cheeks as her words sink in.  Out of all the things he thought she'd say, he never thought she'd be somewhat happy about him sticking around for her.  "Oh, shut up."

     "Hey, is that how you speak to your royal highness?" Esme grinned wildly as JJ rolled his eyes.

     "Oh, come on, girl," JJ practically leaped to his feet, taking Esme's hands into his and lifting her up with ease.  She was much shorter than him, but she still managed to hold eye contact as she nearly stumbled into his chest.  "It's clear to me that you're feeling much better."

     "Thanks, doc," Esme said softly as he assisted her off the boat and joined the others on the dock, where the others were also regaining their bearings.  But not JJ.  She didn't turn her head to see for sure, but she felt as if JJ's head was maybe still on cloud nine.

     "What do you think it is?" Kiara finally asked.

     "The world's largest bottle of Tylenol," Claire rubbed her temples.

     "Gotta be money, right?" John B said, ignoring Claire's comment and how busted up the girls in front of him were feeling.  "That or a couple of keys with street value to the low-to-mid-mils!"

     Oh, how wrong he was.

     "Can we please just open the bag?!" Pope exclaimed, flickering his widened eyes among the group who all looked at him with surprised looks.

     "Wow, Pope," John B stared at him.  "That's a rare outburst of emotion."

     "Okay.  You guys are killing me with anticipation," he defended.  "Open it."

     "Love a man who knows what he wants," Esme patted Pope on his chest as she walked in front of him.  He looked over to JJ, and they shared an equally crazy look as if silently asking the other, "did she just do that?"

     "We almost died over this," Pope continued talking as John B opened the canister up.  He turned it over, allowing the contents to slip out.  "Oh, wow.  Yup.  That's about right.  Good job, everybody.  We found a compass."

     Everyone took large breaths, some in a weird relief of at least knowing what was inside the container, others frustrated, but all equally lost.  "Dude, what?" JJ finally asked.  "It's not worth anything."

     Esme never felt chills, but she swore she felt her heart sink when John B looked right at her and said, "This was my fathers."

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#JJ— yooo the new season has me writing like a bat out of hell lowkey. i got like four pope drafts and maybe some wlw kiara ones? 👀👀 but we'll see...

i am also so so sorry it's taken me twelve chapters to complete one episode [cricket noises] it won't happen again though I'VE GROWN I KNOW BETTER NOW