Slater woke up with her arms wrapped around her pillow, hugging it tightly to her chest. She sat up, seeing the Disney t-shirt JJ was wearing on the side of her bed. The blond pogue was nowhere to be seen. Some part of her had hoped maybe he would have stayed the night. Something about JJ was beginning to be comforting to her.

She noticed a piece of paper next to the shirt. It was a note, hastily scribbled in JJ's messy handwriting.

Thanks for the movie and the shirt.

PS - tell Deputy Dad to put locks on your windows. It's way too easy to break into your house.

PPS - you drool.

She laughed and tucked the note behind a picture of the pogues, which she'd recently printed off and added to her messy walls. She'd once told JJ that her wall decorations were a reminder of all things she loved -- and she loved the pogues.

She got showered and dressed, then headed downstairs, where her sister was eating breakfast with their mother.

"Where's Dad?" Slater asked as she poured herself a bowl of cereal.

"She does talk," Maeve mocked, sticking her tongue out at her sister.

"Ha," Slater said, rolling her eyes as she sat down next to Maeve.

"Your father is at work. Busy day," Leanore said, taking a sip of coffee. "The Thorntons are riding the sheriff's ass about a sunken boat."

The Thorntons were a rich family on Figure Eight that Slater didn't especially care for. She knew her father didn't either, but when a family was as rich and powerful as many of the kook families were, many of the public figures had to do what they wanted.

"Her idiot son probably left the plug out," Slater said, earning a laugh from Maeve. Topper Thornton was a preppy asshole that the two sisters knew from the country club, and neither were fans of him.

"That's enough, now," Leanore said, scolding her daughters. "I'd better get going," she said, pouring her coffee into a travel mug.

Slater could have been in a bad mood, but her day with the pogues and movie night with JJ had tremendously lightened her mood. She was surprised that JJ could have a positive effect on her demeanor. Plus, she worked today, so that meant she got the Subaru.

"Mom, are you forgetting something?" Slater asked, plastering her happiest grin on her face. "I work today."

"I almost forgot," Leanore said, digging into her pocket. She pulled out Slater's keys and tossed them at her. "The Wreck and back, and nothing more. Your father's been monitoring your odometer."

Slater's eyes widened. Had Vic truly lost it? "That's psychopathic behavior," she said.

"He just wants to trust you both," Leanore said, looking at her daughters. "He knows that you two are like peas in a pod. Excuse us for making sure you're following the rules."

She rolled her eyes. "Got it," she mumbled. "Wreck and back."

"Perfect. See you girls tonight," Leanore said before leaving the house.

"I think they've officially lost it," Slater said to Maeve as soon as their mother was out of earshot.

"It's possible," Maeve responded.

Slater got ready for work and headed out, happy to have a reason to be out of the house without the fear of getting in trouble, even if it was just for work.

She was happy to see Kiara was also working that morning, so it made things even better.

"Slater!" Kiara said, pulling the girl in for a hug. "How's prison?"

"Prison is prison," Slater said, smiling. "How was the movie night?"

Kiara's smile fell and she sighed. "Not great. Pope got his ass kicked by Topper."

Slater's eyes widened. "What for?"

Kiara shrugged. "Normal kook versus pogue shit. He's okay, though."

"I'm glad," Slater said. Part of her wondered if JJ could have prevented the fight, or at least helped Pope out, if he hadn't been too busy with her last night.

She didn't dare bring the thought up to Kiara.

The lunch rush made most of Slater's shift pass quickly, though near the end of her shift the restaurant was mostly empty. Kiara was doing some maintenance painting on the walls, and Slater was sweeping the dining area.

The bell on the door rang, letting them know someone had arrived. Slater was relieved to see that it wasn't a customer, but Pope and JJ. She couldn't help but cringe as she saw the dark circle lining Pope's eye, and the cut on his lip. Topper had clearly done a number on him.

"Hey, boys," Kiara said, waving to them with her paintbrush.

"Hey," JJ said, taking a seat at the counter. "You two done yet? The waves are perfect right now."

"We've got thirty minutes," Kiara said. "Then we're all yours."

"Not me," Slater said, sighing. "I'm grounded, and apparently my dad has been tracking the miles on my odometer to make sure I'm not going anywhere I'm not supposed to."

JJ snorted. "That's a new low, even for Shoupe."

"Well, your parents won't be home for hours, Slate. Just leave the Subaru here and we can drive you to the beach," Pope said.

"Pope Heyward!" Slater laughed. "Are you encouraging me to break the rules?"

Pope shrugged. "I mean, they're stupid rules."

"Yeah, come on, Slater," Kiara said. "The waves are calling. Plus, my parents love you, so they won't care if you leave your car here."

Slater smiled and rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said, her eyes shifting to JJ, who was watching her with a happy smile. Her cheeks reddened and she looked away, thinking about their movie night.

Kiara and Slater finished up their shifts while Pope and JJ waited.

"By the way, where is John B?" Kiara asked, to which the boys exchanged a nervous glance.

"He's busy," Pope said.

"Busy? Since when is John B busy without us?" Kiara said.

JJ glanced at Pope, who nodded. "He's, uhh, with Sarah Cameron."

Slater's eyes widened and she turned to her friend. She knew Kiara and Sarah did not get along at all.

"... with Sarah Cameron?"

The boys went on to explain that the previous day, when the four of them had gone surfing, John B slipped away to Chapel Hill with Sarah to use the university archives.

"So they're friends now?" Kiara asked.

Pope shrugged. "I guess so."

"Maybe more than friends," JJ quipped.

Kiara looked like she was about to erupt into a stream of angry ranting, so Slater spoke up while she could. "Hey, let's get to the beach before all those good waves are gone, shall we?"

They headed for the beach, stopping first at Pope's house to pick up some surfboards. As they walked down Pope's street, they noticed two police cars sitting in the driveway.

"Shit," Pope said, ducking down behind a hedge. "Shit, J. They know."

"What did you do?" Slater asked, looking nervously at her friends.

"We might have ... sank a boat," Pope said, running a hand through his hair. "Shit, I can't go to jail! I'll never get my scholarship."

"You sunk a boat?" Slater said, looking horrified.

"Topper's boat," JJ said, his jaw clenched.

Slater recalled the conversation with her mother that morning, about the Thornton's boat, and then Pope getting beat up by Topper. It all made sense.

Slater's father, along with another deputy, was standing in front of the Heyward house, with Pope's parents.

Thankfully, they still couldn't see Kiara's car.

JJ turbed, his eyes locked on Slater. "You have to go," he said. "Your dad can't see you here."

"No, I could be of help," Slater said. "Maybe I can talk to my dad, explain that there was some kind of misunderstanding-"

"No, Slater," JJ said firmly. His eyes locked on Pope. "I've got this, bud," he said, patting his friend on the back before walking towards the driveway.

"JJ, stop!" Slater said, grabbing his arm and pulling him backwards before they could see him. "I can help." She turned to Pope, hoping he would agree with her.

"Slater, maybe you should just let us handle it..." Pope said.

JJ's eyes locked on Slater, sadness hidden under his blue irises. He clenched his jaw, a frown filling his face. "All you'll do is fuck it up. That's what kooks always do."

Slater's face fell. "JJ, I—"

"What? You're going to cry to Deputy Dad and everything will be better? That's how kooks solve everything, don't they?" JJ chuckled. "To think, I almost thought you were different."

Slater's eyes welled with tears and she turned away. "Fine. Good luck with jail. Hope you don't end up just like your father," she spat before turning away. She ran down Pope's street, heading back for the Wreck and her car.

She turned back once, seeing that her father was putting JJ in handcuffs, while Kiara and Pope watched from the side.

Tears streamed down her face as she made her way back to the Wreck. All this time, she thought she was making progress with the pogues. She thought they actually liked her, that they considered her one of their own. Even JJ — she thought of the night before, when he'd gone out of his way to do one of the kindest things anyone had done for her in a long time. Then, when she offered him help, he yelled at her and called her a kook, which now hurt more than anything coming from his mouth.

She reached her Subaru and drove home in silence, not even bothering to pick out a CD to listen to during the drive. When she got home, Maeve was in the kitchen.

"Hey, Slate! How was work?" Maeve asked.

Slater brushed past her and headed upstairs. Maeve could see something was wrong, so she followed her sister.

"Hey, talk to me," Maeve said, knocking on Slater's closed door. "Slater, what's wrong?"

Slater reluctantly opened the door and pulled Maeve in for a hug, explaining the whole situation to her.

"For once, I thought I had a group of friends that actually liked me for me. Turns out, they didn't like me," Slater said.

"I'm sure they like you, Slater. It's probably just JJ," Maeve said.

"The thing is, it's how JJ acted that hurt the worst."

They heard a car pull into the driveway, alerting them that their mother was home. Slater wiped at her eyes and the sisters headed downstairs to help with dinner.

Their father came home soon after, a frown on his face as he entered the door. Slater couldn't even look at him after seeing the way he shoved JJ into his squad car as if he were nothing but a piece of garbage.

They settled down at the dining table as Vic broke the silence.

"You'll never guess who I arrested today," he said, his eyes locked on Slater. "Although I think you already know."

"Dad, not cool," Maeve said, shooting Vic a glare.

"JJ Maybank," Vic said, popping a bit of food into his mouth. "And do you know what I was thinking, when he was in the back of my squad? 'Damn, this is funny. Didn't my daughter just tell me this boy was nothing like his father? Because here he is, just like his father.'"

Slater slammed her fork down and pushed away from the table. "I'll be going to my room," she said, glaring at Vic the whole time as she made her way to the stairs. She ran upstairs and locked the door behind her, tears filling her face as she flopped down on the bed. JJ was such an asshole, and yet she'd defended him in front of her father. And, she couldn't even tell her father the truth, that JJ was innocent, or else Pope would get in trouble and lose his scholarship.

Her phone buzzed beside her, and she was surprised to see Pope was calling her.

She wiped her eyes and sniffled before answering. "Hello?"

"Hey, Slater," Pope responded. "Are you okay?"

She sighed. "I'm fine, just a brief argument with Deputy Dad."

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said. "Hey, could we talk?"

"Pope, we are talking," Slater said, chuckling.

"No, I just meant about what happened today, with JJ," he said. "I think I need to explain his actions."

"You don't need to explain JJ's actions, Pope. It's easy. He's an asshole, and he hates me. Simple," she said, frowning.

"Except it's not really that simple at all," Pope said. "He said what he said because contrary to his behavior, he cares about you."

"I don't think screaming at me and calling me a kook exactly shows he cares about me, Pope," she said.

"He only said that to get you to leave. He knew that was the one thing he could say to you that would make sure you left. He knew you would get in deep trouble with your dad, for being out of the house and hanging out with us. He knew you would leave, thus keeping you out of trouble," Pope said.

"Did he tell you to say that?" Slater said in a quiet voice.

"No, I'm just observant. I know JJ pretty well, and he's the most selfless person I know. He may act like a jerk, but he's incredibly loyal," Pope said. "Just like how he took the blame for me sinking Topper's boat."

Slater's eyes welled with tears. She felt even worse after hearing that, especially considering the way she'd spoken to JJ after he yelled at her. She felt guilty that it was her father that threw him in jail, and now he'd be spending the next however many nights sleeping in a cell.

"We have to get him out, Pope."

"I know we do, Slate."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ author's note ✫・゜・。.

ICYMI: i have no impulse control, so here's another chapter! this one ... well, this one hurt to write a little bit.

thoughts?

xx,

madi