Their happiness lasts for about two minutes.

That grimy, dilapidated old ship they were so delighted to see? It turns out to simply be a grimy, dilapidated ship. No gold. No buried treasure. Just more seaweed than they've ever seen in their lives, which says a lot, since they've spent their whole lives on the ocean.

"It's not there." John B sighs, his face falling with his disappointment. The rest of them are upset as well, after all the work they put in, but it's different for John B: this was his dad's biggest project, passed down to him. "Just pull the drone up."

Thunder rumbles again, and Vera buries deeper into her sweatshirt, trying to stay warm and hide her disappointment from John B.

"Look, we can do another pass." Pope tries. "Recharge the battery. We can—we can go back down."

"Guys, we've been through it three times. There's nothing there!" JJ tells them, still manning the charter boat.

"Shut up!" Kie shouts at him, and he turns to yell back.

"What? It's true!"

"The gold could be buried! We don't know!" Kie shouts, running a hand through her hair in frustration.

"If it was there, it would've been found on the metal detector, okay?" John B reminds her. "Somebody beat us to it."

"Or it was never there." JJ grunts, and Vera is more inclined to believe that over someone finding 400 million dollars in gold without alerting anyone. It's not like it's cash: gold has to be weighed, proven accurate, and traded in for money.

John B shoves his hood over his head, hiding his face from them, and they all give him space.

"Will one of you help me pull up the drone?" Vera asks Kie and Pope, and Kie moves to help her. She frowns at the sight of the chalk markings on the side of the boat, hating the reminder of how excited they were only an hour ago.

How naive.

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"You know, you dragging me out to Kookland got tired back in freshman year." Vera says dryly, even as she follows Kie into the field for their movie night. There's a giant projector set up, and concession stands that Vera eyes up.

"Back to OBX life." Kie tells her. "Come on, you're all glad that I made you come."

"Yeah, ecstatic." Pope tells her sarcastically, while JJ clears his throat.

"My couch was pretty comfy, I'll be honest."

"My couch you mean." Vera points out, raising her eyebrows at him. She'd dragged JJ back to her place to stay for a bit, wanting to give John B some space to himself.

They find a good spot to sit, setting up their lawn chairs while Vera keeps an eye on JJ and Pope, who are whispering to each other. Pope looks skittish, but neither of them will tell her what's going on, and it's driving her crazy.

"I'm gonna go grab snacks." She says loudly, breaking the two apart. Neither of them will look at her, and she huffs, rolling her eyes as she heads over to the concession table.

"I'll grab drinks!" Kie calls, moving over to the other one, and Vera blows her a kiss when she looks back.

She starts grabbing snacks—two bags of popcorn, m&m's, skittles, and sour patch kids. She laughs a little when she grabs a box of Goobers, her mood brightening until someone grabs her attention.

"I gotta admit, I didn't expect to see you here." Kelce says, moving to stand right next to her in line while she rolls her eyes.

"I was hoping I wouldn't see you, to be honest." She tells him, beyond over his weird attempts at flirting with her. He's always all over her at parties, trying to get her to leave with him, and insulting her group in the process.

"Ouch. Words hurt, you know?" He holds his hand to his heart, pouting at her. He drops the ruse when she just stares at him blankly. "Whatever. I just wanted to warn you."

Vera doesn't respond, not wanting to give him the attention he's looking for, but he continues speaking anyway.

"Look, just . . . we know what your boy did. Rafe and Top are out for blood, so I'd stay out of the picture for a bit." Vera just stares at him, curiosity killing her. Who does he mean when he says her boy? Is this why Pope is acting so scared? "You know . . . if you need a place to take refuge for a while, my bed is—"

"You sure you're not too busy riding their dicks?" Vera asks him cheerfully, taking another step forward in line. Behind her, someone snorts, and Kelce freezes.

"What the hell does that mean?" He snaps, glaring at her, but she just smiles.

"I'm just sayin', you're always all 'yes, Top, whatever you say' and 'oh Rafe, of course you're right.'" She pretends to swoon as she imitates his tone, smirking when he narrows his eyes at her, even as his skin darkens. He knows that she's right, even if he'll never admit it. "Don't get me wrong, I think your little crush on them is cute or whatever, but I'd rather not be involved in whatever weird role-play you've got going on. Cheers."

She snatches up the twenty dollar bill he's holding, handing it over to the vendor, who looks more amused than annoyed about them holding up her line. Still, Vera gives her an apologetic smile and tells her to keep the change.

"You can't just steal my money—!" He starts, huffing and glaring after her as she walks off, not bothering to look back at him. "Tell your boy we're coming for him!"

"Go suck Rafe's dick!" She calls back, flipping him off over her shoulder and grinning to herself when laughter follows her away. She can hear people making fun of him already.

Kie has gotten back to the boys by the time she reaches them, dropping her snack selections in JJ's lap so that she can get situated. Kie gets a kiss on the cheek when she hands her a strawberry Jarritos.

"Here you go, Goober." Vera smirks as she tosses the candy box to Pope, who doesn't react, still looking worried about something.

"Did he ask you out again or something?" JJ asks, which is how Vera realizes that they'd been watching her interaction with Kelce.

"What's new?" She asks with a laugh, disgusted by the thought. He would be attractive if he wasn't such a follower. As it is, she's not interested in getting with a Kook. "Actually, he had a warning for 'my boy.' With context clues, I'm assuming he was referring to you, Pope."

"Um." Pope stutters, and Vera sighs loudly.

"Look, whatever you two did, just tell me." She pleads, not wanting them to feel like they can't trust her. Pope's face falls at her words, but he still doesn't say anything, which stings.

"What did he say exactly?" JJ asks, sounding like he's trying to act unaffected. It gives him the opposite effect.

"'We know what your boy did. Rafe and Top are out for blood, so I'd stay out of the picture for a bit.'" Vera quotes, frowning when Pope gulps loudly, clearly scared. She doesn't like this at all. "I called him a dick rider, but that's not the point. What did you do?"

"It's better if you don't know." Pope says, not holding eye contact with her, and she rolls her eyes. Since when do they keep secrets like that?

"Rafe talked to me." Kie jumps in, and Vera frowns. "He said, and I quote, 'tell your boy that we know what he did.' Vera is right, you need to tell us."

"Yeah, guys, we're involved in this whether you like it or not." Vera points out.

"Where is he?" JJ asks, and Kie nods her head to where Rafe is standing with Topper and Kelce. Pope whips around obviously, and Topper smirks at him, staring dead at them with Rafe. Kelce is pretending nothing is happening, as always.

"Fuckin' pussy." Vera whispers, flipping them all off as JJ turns back around, using his hand to snap Pope's head back around.

"Great, the whole death squad." Pope complains.

"Don't stare, bro!"

"Just warning you, bro." JJ starts up, even as he rips into the bag of popcorn, throwing a piece in the air and catching it with his mouth. "If they corner me, I'm coming out swinging, okay? Slice and dicin'. I'm on edge right now."

"Yeah, yeah."

"If that doesn't work, I got this right here." He holds up his tan book bag.

"Yeah, yeah. So, we just gotta stay in the group." Pope nods, while Vera and Kie share a disbelieving look. "They can't come get us if we're in the group."

"Like a school of fish."

"Stay in the school. Can't leave the school."

"I'm sorry, JJ . . . please tell me that you did not bring a gun here." Kie grits out. "JJ, there are kids!"

"No! Kie, I did not bring the gun. Everything's fine, okay?" JJ tries, obviously lying through his teeth.

"Wow, thank you. That's really convincing. I love that, JJ."

"Wait." Vera frowns, looking at them. "You said that you took care of it, after Pope got jumped—"

"Pope got what?" Kie demands, but Vera ignores her.

"You didn't say how you took care of it."

"Just leave it alone." JJ snaps, glaring at her. "Okay? We've got it handled."

"Clearly." Vera huffs, shaking her head as she snatches back the bag of popcorn and settles in to watch whatever stupid movie the Kook's put on. "Liars don't get treats."

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Vera's never paid less attention to a movie in her life. Kie gets sucked into it, but Vera wouldn't be able to describe a single plot line or name an actor. Instead, she's just staring ahead, wishing that they weren't here. She hates that the boys won't talk to her, no matter how many times she asks them to explain what's going on.

"JJ." Pope whispers suddenly, nudging him. "I gotta take a piss."

"Hold it."

"I can't hold it. I drank too much soda."

Vera can't help but snort, getting shushed by Kie, who's enthralled by the movie. Pope sounds like a toddler.

"It's too exposed. They'll totally see us." JJ protests.

"I gotta go." He whispers furiously, turning to see the three Kook's watching the movie, in front of the path to the bathrooms. "They're blocking the bathrooms."

"Alright. Come here." JJ whispers, passing his soda can to Vera and motioning for Pope to follow him. "I know where."

"Where are y'all going?" Kie asks them, frowning.

"I feel like it's less noticeable if only Pope goes." Vera points out, frowning. Two missing people is more notable than one.

"Goes where?" Kie hisses.

"We gotta wring it out." JJ says, nodding to Pope, who looks increasingly uncomfortable with each second. "I'm not leaving my boy alone."

"You gonna hold it for each other?" Kie asks incredulously, watching the two of them crouch down low and pass through the crowd. "Boys."

"So stupid." Vera groans, never taking her eyes off of them as they walk. "Popcorn?"

"Yes please." Kie grabs a handful with a smile. "Honestly, the two of us need to take a trip somewhere without them."

"A girl's weekend." Vera approves, nodding her head. "Yeah, we'll make that happen."

"Shush." A mother hisses at them, glaring, and Vera rolls her eyes. So, the boys can talk for minutes, but god forbid she say a sentence? Bullshit. Just as she's about to turn back around, she sees Rafe purposefully walking where the boys went, and she's shoving herself out of her chair. Kie comes with her, swearing and grabbing JJ's bag, which he'd left behind.

At least we'll be the ones with the gun, Vera thinks, not liking the thought of JJ having it.

When they get behind the screen, Rafe and Kelce are fighting JJ while Pope is up against Topper.

"Grab Pope!" Vera tells Kie, rushing over to JJ. Kelce has his arms held behind his back while Rafe punches him, and rage has her slamming right into Rafe's side, sending them to the ground. She can hear JJ struggling with Kelce behind her, and Kie hitting Topper with JJ's bag, but she stays focused on Rafe, who spits blood out of his mouth and starts swinging at her. He gets a good punch to her chin in, but she knees him hard in the balls even as she moves off of him, blinking through the shock of the punch.

She's quick to push to her feet as Rafe does the same, knowing that she'll have better odds that way. She knows how to throw a punch—it's a necessary skill on the cut, especially when she spends her nights waitressing—and she quickly loses herself to the heat of the moment, her heart racing. The force of punches doesn't actually come from people's fists, like a lot of people assume: it comes from the hips, and the weight of your body, so Vera plants her feet, pivoting her hips and throwing the punch all at the same time. She aims for a spot behind Rafe, not at him, because otherwise she'll lose out on force.

She can feel her knuckles splitting as her punch lands on Rafe's lip, the force rocking her for a minute before she's jumping back, her hands curling up defensively as Rafe retaliates. He lands a punch on her arms and then gets distracted when Kie hits him with JJ's bag, swinging it around at all of them.

Vera desperately hopes that the gun's safety is on, hating that Kie didn't check before swinging the thing at Topper. The last thing they need is that thing accidentally going off.

"Hey, listen Pope!" Topper screams, snatching the bag from Kie and throwing it aside. Kie grabs at Topper's arms while Vera turns and starts in on Kelce, pushing him back and punching him hard in the jaw. He doesn't fight her back, twisting away from her to try and get his hands on JJ again, but she shoves herself between them and keeps pushing him back. "All you gotta do is accept a little personal responsibility!"

"Screw you, Kook." Pope spits out, laying a punch on Topper as Kie jumps on his back. Rafe rushes forward, pulling Kie off of Topper as she flails around.

"Let go of me, Rafe!" He does. She falls on her back with a loud shout, before crawling over to the abandoned bag, sifting through it. Vera sends her a worried glance before abandoning JJ to Kelce, letting them fight again in favor of going to help Pope, who's held in a headlock by Topper while Rafe keeps guard.

"You don't mess with me, Pogue, you hear me?" Topper bellows, his grip tightening around Pope, who's panting. "I'm gonna give you one chance."

Vera snarls, kicking Rafe straight in his balls, laughing when he falls to the ground clutching them and moaning. Topper is still choking Pope, and Vera circles to the back of them, trying to get a good moment to make her move. If she reacts too soon, she doesn't like their odds. Topper could apply more pressure, or twist too hard, and Pope could be seriously injured, if not killed.

If she had the gun, it would be pressed right up to his face right now. She's pissed enough that she might even pull the fucking trigger.

That thought is terrifying, but none more than the choking noises Pope is making, or the pained groan from JJ as he gets punched in the face.

"Finish him off, Top!" Rafe shouts, just as Pope twists and Topper's grip slips for just a moment.

Vera takes advantage of that split second, kicking the back of Topper's knees and sending him down to the ground. Pope goes with him, pushing away from his reach and gasping for breath while Vera follows them to the ground, shoving Topper's face into the dirt with a tight grip in his hair, sitting on his back.

"You dirty fucking Pogue!" Topper spits into the ground. Vera smirks, lifting his head up and slamming it roughly into the ground again, delighting in the pained shout he lets out.

"What, you don't like us playing dirty?" She asks him, digging her knee into the back of his leg when he tries to buck back, slamming him back into the ground. "You want me to sit and watch you kill someone, you fucking psychopath?"

"You Pogues aren't any better." Topper snarls, and Vera hums.

"No, but we don't pretend to be." She says, before the sight of Pope grasping at his throat has her anger skyrocketing, her body heating up. She pulls back slightly, letting Topper think that he can get the upper hand, and as soon as he's twisting around and up, she lands an uppercut on him that has him sprawling back out on the grass.

She doesn't get a chance to enjoy the move before Rafe's wrapping his arms around her, hefting her up and landing a solid hit to her abdomen that has her folding over as her mind shouts for her to kick him. The pain wins out long enough for Rafe to pull her back a few feet, his fingers digging into her arms and drawing blood, and then she's slamming her head back and feeling her head connect with his nose.

He lets go of her, letting out an angry shout as he spins her around and punches her in the jaw.

Before she can retaliate, the projector goes up in flames, Kie holding JJ's lighter to it.

That gets everyone's attention, screams starting up from the other side as movie watchers react. Vera isn't sure how they didn't hear any of the fighting happening, but at least a fire is impossible to ignore.

"Guys! Guys! Fire!" Rafe turns to Topper, grabbing his shoulders, while Kelce reluctantly lets go of JJ. Rafe and Topper leave instantly, rushing from the scene while Kelce hesitates for a second, looking back at Vera, who spits at him.

"Go!" She screams at him, knowing that she has to look insane, with blood covering the lower half of her face and her shirt. "Run after your daddy, bitch!"

Kelce clenches his jaw, looking as if he wants to continue the fight at her words, before Rafe calls after him and he's taking off without a backwards glance. Vera grabs JJ's shoulders as Kie does the same for Pope, all of them panting and covered in sweat.

"Kie, I adore you so much." Vera sighs, laughter starting up immediately after. "You're such a fucking genius!"

"You're welcome." Kie pants out, smirking at her. Vera doesn't think she's ever looked hotter.

"Yo, guys, want to steal some candy?" Vera asks, looking around the deserted grass. JJ whoops, the two of them exchanging mischievous looks as they start loading up his bag. "Oh, hell yeah."

"John B is gonna be so jealous that he missed this."

"Where is he, anyway?"

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As soon as Kie's gone inside her house, hunting for a first aid kit, Vera turns around to glare at the boys in the backseat of the Twinkie.

"Talk." She orders, done playing around. The two of them eye each other warily before Pope sighs loudly, wrapping his arms around himself.

"We didn't want you involved."

Vera swallows down her hurt at that, gesturing to her face. "Well, the bruises say that I am involved." She tells them bluntly. "Pogue's don't lie to each other, and you've been lying all day. Cut that shit out."

When Pope flinches, Vera softens her tone, not wanting to kick him while he's down.

"Look, we've been best friends since kindergarten. Your shit is my shit. I deserve to know what I'm getting beat up over."

"I sunk Topper's boat." Pope rushes out, and Vera freezes.

"You . . . sunk Topper's boat." She repeats, and both JJ and Pope nod. "And, let me guess, this wasn't done somewhere where the cameras are still down, was it?"

Her friend's sport guilty looks, and she brings her hands up to her face, wincing when she presses on the sore spots. The bruises are already forming, and the corner of her lip is split. Her head hurts like a motherfucker.

"Okay." She says, taking a deep breath. "No one goes anywhere alone, you hear me? Especially you, Pope. Topper almost killed you. We're not giving him another chance to finish the job."

Her hands are shaking as she grabs the steering wheel, trying to calm herself down. She's been trying for levity—cracking jokes, stealing candy—but what happened is serious. Topper was strangling Pope, and Vera doesn't think he had any intention of stopping.

They're not just dealing with snobby rich kids anymore: they're actual psychopaths.

"Yes, ma'am." JJ nods, reaching over the front seat and squeezing her shoulder. "We're going to be okay."

"We better be."

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"Now, what happened to your face?" Vinnie frowns, leaning in over the register to get a closer look at her. They're at Heyward's Seafood shop, running the store while Heyward works outside.

"You know me, always in trouble." She gives her dad's best friend a warm smile. "How've you been, Vin?"

"You know me, always in trouble." He parrots back with a wink. He passes over some cash and she makes quick work of getting him his change. "I'll tell your dad to bring home some bruise cream!"

"Thanks, Vinnie!" She shouts after him, turning to JJ when he starts speaking.

"Don't let it get in your head, bro. Three of them and two of us." He tells Pope, and Vera raises her eyebrows.

"Uh, hello? I owned that fight." She scoffs, knocking JJ in the head. "You're welcome, by the way. You would've been fucked if Kie and I hadn't joined you."

"That we would've, because we were outnumbered." JJ nods, turning back to Pope. "What was your thought process, using your head?"

"What?"

"Pope started the fight by head butting Topper." JJ explains.

"I don't know, man. I just kind of acted off instinct." Pope sighs. "Alright? I was a cornered animal."

"Hey, Pope!" Heyward calls out, coming into the store. "Someone here to see you."

Shoupe walks in behind him, and Vera freezes.

"Evening, Officer." Pope chokes out.

"I have an arrest warrant for felony destruction of property." Shoupe states, handing the warrant to Heyward.

"What?"

Pope turns and gives JJ a terrified look.

"Keep your hands on the counter where I can see them." Shoupe warns. "Ms. Levine, out of my way, please."

Vera doesn't move, her feet frozen in place. This can't be happening. Not to Pope, out of all of them. He's the one that's supposed to make it out: her, JJ, and John B, they're not destined for life outside of this island. Pope, though? He's intelligent. He's got his scholarship interview coming up, and dreams of college.

"Woah, woah, wait, wait, wait." Heyward says frantically, shaking his head. "Shoupe, what'd he do?"

"Take a look at the warrant." Shoupe tells him, pushing past Vera and pulling Pope's hands behind his back. The room bursts into noise, everyone protesting while Pope stays silent, his wide eyes locked in on JJ.

"I'm sorry, you're arresting him?" Kie demands.

"You're just arresting my boy?"

"What's the proof?"

"Where's the warrant? Let me see it." Vera demands, turning to Heyward. "This is bullshit! Topper Thornton tried to kill him an hour ago! Is he being arrested too?"

She already knows the answer to that: of course not.

"Be careful!" Vera snaps, giving up on the warrant and watching Shoupe handcuff Pope. "He's already hurt!"

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." Shoupe ignores them, reciting off the Miranda Rights. "You have the right to an attorney—"

"How much are they paying you, man?"

Vera moves to stand right in front of Pope, grabbing hold of his face even as Shoupe tells her to move.

"Just give me a second!" She snaps, focusing on Pope. He's staring back at her, shock clear in his expression, and Vera's heart breaks. "Don't—don't say anything to anyone, okay? Don't drink or eat anything they give you, just—we're going to get you a lawyer, I promise. It's going to be okay!"

She walks right next to him as Shoupe leads him outside, shaking her head. This can't be happening.

JJ jumps forward, trying to stop Shoupe from taking him to the car, only for Heyward to block him before he can get arrested too.

"It wasn't him!" JJ's shout makes them all stop in their tracks, Pope turning to look over his shoulder. "It was me! He tried to talk me out of it, but I was mad because he'd just been beaten up. I was so sick of those assholes from Figure Eight that I lost my shit." He walks closer to them as he speaks, until he stops right in front of Pope and Shoupe, next to Heyward.

"I can't let you take the blame for something I did." JJ tells him pointedly, rolling his jaw. "You've got too much to lose."

"JJ, what are you doing?" Pope takes a step closer to him, his eyes wide.

"I'm tellin' the truth." JJ insists, smiling. "For once in my goddamn life, I'm gonna tell the truth."

Shoupe looks between the two, clearly unsure about what to do in this situation. He respects Heyward, and it's obvious that he isn't happy to be arresting Pope, but he doesn't trust JJ.

"I took his old man's boat, too." JJ tacks on, looking at Heyward, who narrows his eyes.

"What the hell, boy?"

"JJ, come on." Pope begs.

"Just shut up, Pope!" JJ shouts. "Just shut up."

He exchanges a long look with Pope before turning to Shoupe. "He's a good kid. You know where I'm from."

"Yeah."

"This was all me." JJ insists, facing Pope again, who lets out a gasp.

"That's the whole truth?" Shoupe questions.

"Whole truth, swear to god." JJ tells him, but Shoupe isn't asking him.

"I know what you think, damn it, I'm asking Pope." He snaps, looking to Pope, who looks like he's going to throw up or pass out. JJ nods minutely at him, and Pope looks at the ground as he nods.

"Yeah, that about covers it."

JJ looks almost victorious as the handcuffs are taken off of Pope and put on him instead, and then he's being placed in the backseat of Shoupe's sheriff truck. Pope stands still as they pull away, before he's yanking his hat off and throwing it to the ground, screaming.

"Shit!"

"Pope!" Heyward moves to grab the hat from the ground, staring after his son as he rushes away from them. "Pope!"

"Just . . . give him a second." Vera whispers, her stomach churning before she's doubling over and throwing up, gasping for air. She feels one of Heyward's hands land on her back, the other one gathering her hair away from her face, and for a second things almost feel normal. How many times has she stayed over at Pope's while sick, because Mrs. Heyward insisted on making her soup and taking care of her?

Nothing is normal, though. JJ is being carted off to the station on federal charges, Pope feels responsible for it, and John B still doesn't know. Everything is in pieces, and she doesn't know what to do. How does she fix this?

"Kiara, go grab her some water." Heyward orders, his hand moving in circles. "There, get it all outta your system."

"Okay." Vera whispers, spitting and then flushing with embarrassment. "Um, I can clean this up. Sorry."

"Girl, it's not the first time I've cleaned up after you kid's, and it won't be the last." Heyward reminds her, and he looks despondent when she looks up at him.

He always did love JJ the most out of all of them.

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Vera spends the night at Pope's. Like at John B's, she has a drawer in his room, and she quickly gets changed into a pair of sweatpants before crawling into bed with him. He's staring up at his ceiling, and Vera looks up too, seeing the glow-in-the-dark stars JJ had pasted up there. He'd won them for Pope at an arcade back in elementary school.

It's been so many years since then that some of them don't glow anymore, but Pope never took them down.

They don't say anything. Vera wants to assure him that everything will be okay and that he's not at fault, but the words won't leave her throat. She's positive that he wouldn't want to hear any of that anyway. Instead, she reaches out to hold his hand, and they eventually fall asleep just like that.

The annual Kook midsummers party is the next day, and Vera volunteers to help the Heyward's out—they're in charge of catering, since his seafood recipes are widely renowned.

Heyward puts her straight to work loading up the truck with them, none of them discussing the previous day. Pope keeps sending his dad nervous glances, clearly expecting to be reamed out, but his dad ignores them aside from ordering them around.

Vera rides in the bed of the truck on the way there, sitting next to three coolers, stuffed full with seafood.

"You were two seconds away from having a different life." Heyward cracks when they arrive, the two of them moving to help Vera unload the truck. "You just about killed me."

"It would've killed your mama. And you know the deal!" Heyward snaps, pulling out the dolly. Vera grabs a cooler, helping Heyward set it on the dolly while he rants to his son. "One of these rich kids messes up, they'll still go to college and meet another rich person. Then they'll have more rich kids, who'll also get third and fourth chances."

Vera pushes the next cooler to the end of the truck, and Pope and Heyward each grab an end of it, stacking it on top of the other one.

"I know. I gotta do better. I get it." Pope insists. "Alright?"

"You wanna spend your whole life grindin' it like me?" Heyward asks him, turning and pointing at Vera. "This is for you too, young lady. I know you've written off going to college, but that's called being an idiot. Neither of you want to be my age still working nonstop."

"I know." Vera says, sharing a commiserating look with Pope when Heyward bends down and can't see them. The not so fun part of being best friends with him for so many years? His parents have no qualms about lecturing her just as much as him.

"I don't think you do." He grunts. "You like waitressing now, but just wait until those snobby kids you fight with come back with college degrees to wave in your face while they boss you around. You won't like it so much then."

'Sorry' Pope mouths at her, but she waves him off. Heyward is just concerned for them and their futures, and she doesn't take it personally, even if she always feels about two feet tall when he starts in on her.

"I expect better for you, Pope." Heyward continues. "I want better for you. And if you end up like me, I will consider that a personal failure. So please, keep it in check. At least until you have your—your scholarship interview. You need to wake the hell up. And you can start by picking better friends. You can keep Vera, your mama is too attached, but she's on probation."

Vera really wants to ask what that entails, but she's too scared of his answer.

"Don't talk about my friends." Pope snaps quietly.

"What'd you say?" Heyward asks, and Pope stays quiet. "You don't know nothin'. Friends. Shit. You'll see."

"Hey, my friend!" An older man comes over, wearing a black suit, and Heyward quickly walks over to him.

"My man."

"Look at you. You never age."

"Oh, so he's allowed to have friends." Pope grumbles, watching the two men hug. Vera claps him on the shoulder, keeping a grip on him for leverage as she jumps down from the truck. He hugs her when she's on her own two feet, burying his face in her neck while she wraps her arms around his, her fingers locking together.

"Thanks for being here." He whispers, and she kisses his cheek when she pulls back, giving him a sad smile.

"Nowhere I'd rather be." She says, and then looks around. "Alright, let's get this party started."

"Not much of a party without JJ." He sighs, despondent. She grabs his hand before he can move to the dolly, wanting to talk to him first.

"Hey. None of this is your fault, you hear me?" He still looks uncertain, so Vera narrows her eyes at him, poking his chest with her pointer finger. "I mean it. Topper tried to kill you. JJ and I—we've got you, okay? No one is touching you again."

"I've got your back, too." Pope insists, shaking his head. "I don't—I don't want you guys ruining your lives for me."

"Well, that's too bad." Vera gives him a look, shaking her head. "We love you. That means either one of us would rather take the hit."

Heyward calls out for them, sounding impatient, before Pope can argue with her.

A few hours later finds Vera walking around with a tray of oysters, fighting the urge to dump drinks on people's heads as they have fake, boring conversations around her. Everyone is so condescending, pretending to care about the person in front of them just to make fun of them as they leave. She eventually takes a break in the corner, setting the tray down nearby. Pope and Heyward are manning the grill, and she sees Kie over there, wearing a beautiful purple satin maxi dress and a flower crown. She amuses herself for a second imagining the nightmare it must've been for her mom to force her into it. Kie hates Midsummers.

"Do they pay you to stand around?" Kelce's voice sounds, and Vera fights the urge to punch him instantly. Heyward will kill her if she embarrasses him like that.

She opens her eyes as he walks closer until he's standing directly in front of her, no one noticing them. She makes a point of looking past him, letting out a surprised gasp as her eyes widen.

"Where's Topper? Did he finally let you off his leash?" She asks, and he scowls instantly, his eyes darkening.

"Nice shiner." He shoots back, nodding to the bruises on her jaw that she wears with pride, and Vera smirks. He has a matching one, courtesy of her.

"Awe, you didn't deny it. So you really are Topper's bitch. Nice." Vera waves her fingers at him, moving to walk away before he reaches out and grabs her arm tightly. "Let go, right now, or I will scream."

"And what'll that do?" Kelce snorts, his grip tightening. Vera can't stop herself from wincing, since he's digging into the marks Rafe left there. "You're just the help."

"You wanna find out?" She asks, leaning in real close before stomping down hard on his foot. He drops her arm with a curse, hopping on the spot while she laughs. "That's what I thought."

She leaves him there, scooping up the tray only for the Cameron's to make their grand entrance. Rose and Ward walk out arm in arm, with Rose wearing a gaudy pink dress and the strangest head piece Vera has ever seen. It has gold roses and long thorns, so she can understand the namesake reason, even if she'd be caught dead before buying or wearing something like that. For some reason, the room breaks out in cheers.

"Lookin' good, Ward!"

"My man!"

"Beautiful dress, Rose!"

Vera shakes her head, taking quick steps to reach Pope and Kie, watching with disgust from the sidelines.

"She looks like she's gonna poke someone's eye out. Quick, hide the alcohol." Vera whispers to them, getting them to laugh quietly. She can already see it now: Rose, wine drink from a few too many glasses of her favored rosé, falling over and fatally stabbing someone. At least this party would get interesting.

"Enough chit chatting!" Heyward chastises, replacing her tray with one overflowing with shrimp cocktails. She rushes to balance it. "Go, before they get hungry."

"God forbid rich folks experience hunger." Vera breathes out, doing as she's told while Pope turns back to the grill before he gets in trouble too.

"Vera!" Sarah appears out of nowhere, quickly grabbing the tray from her and passing it off to a different waiter with a warm smile. "Come dance with me!"

"Uh, what?" Vera panics, looking around them. "You really want to be caught doing—?"

"What? Dancing with a friend?" She asks with a tinkling laugh, shaking her head as she leads her to the dance floor. She grabs Wheezie as they pass through, the three of them dancing together. It's fun showing Wheezie moves and spinning her around, alternating with Sarah, who leans in close when Wheezie slips away to grab a drink.

"So. I have a secret." She whispers, her eyes gleaming. "I—"

She's cut off when Vera gasps, her gaze caught on something over Sarah's shoulder. A moment later, she's pulling away from Sarah, running away without so much as an explanation or second glance.

𓆉⋆｡˚⋆❀ 🐚🫧𓇼 ˖°

"I keep finding glasses halfway down the beach." JJ complains, dressed up in his waiter outfit: a pair of black slacks, and a white button-up with a black vest and a floral bow-tie. "Do me a favor. Try to keep 'em corralled, will ya? I thought you were security."

He easily moves past the man and into the party, keeping his eyes peeled for his friends and for Sarah Cameron, who John B wanted him to pass a note to. He balances his tray, stacking empty glasses on it as he goes.

He gets a glimpse of Sarah dancing with her little sister and . . . Vera?

What the fuck?

He does a quick double take, but he'd know those brown curls anywhere, along with that laugh as she gets spun around by Sarah. For a second he just watches, pleased to see her so happy after there's been so much fear in her lately. He can't figure out why she's hanging out with Sarah Cameron, after years of hearing Kie complain about her while Vera nods along.

He feels like he's entered an alternate universe, where Vera is friends with Sarah Cameron, who John B is secretly macking.

What is his life?

He sets the tray down on an empty table, ready to head over there just as someone grabs him and pulls him away. He jumps, a hand flying to his chest when he sees Pope instead of one of the Kook's he's keeping an eye out for.

"Dude, don't sneak up on me like that right now." He gasps, while Pope pushes him backwards until he's behind Heyward, who is shucking oysters with his back to them. Pope just gives him an intense look—fear and anger and gratitude all mixing together—before he's launching himself at him. There's no other word for it: Pope throws himself forward, his arms wrapping around JJ's neck. He's breathing heavily, his whole body shaking and rocking them back a few steps.

"Pope?" He asks, his hands slowly coming up to hold his shoulders. JJ isn't sure how it's possible, but Pope manages to tighten his grip. "Woah. Unexpected PDA there, Dr. Spock."

JJ carefully pulls himself out of his grasp, meeting Pope's frenzied gaze for just one second before he's leaning in and kissing Pope on his cheek, feeling himself blush. He gives Pope's cheeks a pat before forcing himself to let go, not wanting to be too obvious. "But, hey. Love you too, man."

"Dude, I'm sick over all of this shit, man." Pope tells him passionately, his eyes watering, and JJ quickly makes a joke to calm him down. Pope gets like this sometimes, strung up and scared, and JJ has learned over the years that the best thing to do is to calm him down with humor, even as it pisses him off, and make plans later.

"You're sick?" He asks, placing his hand on Pope's forehead. He quickly slaps it away. "You don't seem sick."

"I'm sick on the inside."

"Right. Well, I already knew that." JJ says, while Pope breathes out, finally getting a proper look at his face. JJ feels sick as soon as Pope gets his kicked puppy look. This is why he likes to hide out for a bit after Luke goes on his rampages.

"Did Shoupe do that?" Pope asks, lifting his hand like he wants to touch his face before he just hovers it in the air, clearly too worried about causing more damage.

"Oh, this?" JJ asks, playing it cool. He feels that old urge to deny Luke's involvement, but there's no point, is there? Everyone knows what happens to him at home, even if all the adults look the other way. He's not John B: authorities aren't interested in saving him. His friends, on the other hand, would burn the world down for him and he knows it. That's what gets him to admit the truth.

"This is—it's my dad, you know." He smiles slightly, feeling the movement tug at the cut on his lip. He hopes it doesn't reopen. This shirt will be a bitch to clean. "Has that right jab. Can really snap it off at times."

Pope shakes his head, looking guilty for a moment before anger wins over.

"That looks like more than a jab, bro." He points out.

JJ just shakes his head, not wanting Pope to feel responsible for Luke hurting him. If it wasn't this, it'd be something else: he's learned that by now. JJ was the one who encouraged the golden boy to sink a boat, and he was meant to take the fall for it. Prison life isn't built into Pope's DNA the way it is JJ's.

"It's nothin' that hasn't happened before." He assures him, but Pope's face only twists further at his words.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you take the fall for all this." Pope whimpers. "It's my fault!"

"No, it's not."

"It's my fault."

"Shut up!"

"You took the fall for me." Pope insists, pointing his finger at JJ's face and not listening to him.

"Shut up."

"I'll tell the truth, go to the cops—"

"Shut up, Pope! Just shut up!" JJ orders, reaching out and cupping Pope's face in his hands. Pope quiets down, his wide brown eyes staring at JJ in wonder. "For once in your life, trust someone else. John B and I got it all sorted out."

JJ doesn't get to finish explaining before he's once again being leaped on, this time by Vera.

"Oh my god!" She gasps, her arms tightly wrapping around his waist. She's hugging him from the side, and he quickly shifts them so that she's not pressing against a bruise, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She sinks into the hold, her eyes watery when they meet his. "JJ, you scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry, sweetheart." He tells her, hating that he's scared the two most important people in his life. He doesn't know how to explain that, though, so he just sticks to keeping it lighthearted. "If it helps, we're back in the G-game."

"G-game?" Pope whispers, still close to JJ's face. "I thought we lost the gold game."

"Yeah, well, we're in overtime now." JJ assures them. "Fourth and one, baby. Be right back."

He detaches himself from Vera's side, who uses her button up sleeve to wipe at her eyes. Pope pulls her into his side, and JJ has to fight not to rejoin them, especially when they're giving him such yearning looks.

Brown eyes are definitely his weakness.

"Fourth and one?" Pope asks, and Vera shrugs.

"I don't understand football shit." She admits, before her worried honey eyes are back on JJ, freezing him to the spot. "Jayj, you—you look really hurt. Please don't leave."

Leaving them might be the hardest thing he's ever done, but he made a promise to John B.

"I'll explain later." JJ promises, grabbing for the note still hidden in his pocket. Sarah is right where he'd last seen her, dancing with her little sister. He walks right up to her, tapping her on the shoulder and smiling with a finger pressed to his lips when she turns to face him, looking surprised.

"JJ?"

"Yep." He nods, turning and dancing a little bit as he holds John B's note out for her. "Got a, uh, note from Vlad. Sh, sh!"

"From . . ." Sarah trails off, grabbing the note from him. "From Vlad?" She smiles at the words, and for a second JJ can see what John B sees in her as he dances around her.

"Yeah."

"Okay." She giggles.

"Just read the note." He tells her, planning to circle back around to Pope and Vera and get them to come with him and John B. Before he can, Rafe's hand lands on his shoulder, spinning him around.

It's the first time he's seen him since the fight, and pride bursts in him at the bruise and split lip he's sporting, partially covered with makeup. Vera's doing, of course, along with the ones on Topper and Kelce.

"I'm wondering if you could get me a mai tai, my friend." Rafe smirks, his hands gripping JJ's shoulders.

"Yeah, Pogue, how about you make that two?" Kelce gets in his face.

"Yeah, well, I'm on the clock right now. You guys look spiffy. You know, uh, I got a couple orders ahead of you, so why don't you guys just go ahead and wait by the bar?" He tries, really not wanting to get beat up for the third time in two days. His body can't handle too much more of this.

"Until then, help yourselves to hors d'oeuvres." He offers with a smile, waving to a tray of them in the opposite corner.

"You guys, JJ's gonna serve us some hors d'oeuvres." Rafe waves another three Kook's over while JJ backs away quickly.

"I'll be right back, okay?"

"We're actually gonna follow you in here just to make sure. . ." Kelce smirks, taking off after him when he turns and runs through the crowd, his ribs aching with the movement. He shoves an empty chair behind him in an attempt to slow them down, hearing people gasp as he sprints past them, desperate to get away.

"Hey, JJ! Come on, bud!" Rafe calls after him, and he almost slams into a girl as he rounds the corner, who shrieks and shoves herself into the wall.

"So sorry!" He calls over his shoulder to her, rounding the corner into the men's room. Inside, he tries all of the stall doors, just for them to be in use.

"Come on!" He groans, turning the corner and coming face to face with Rafe.

"Hey, man, what are you doin' in the locker room?" Rafe asks him. As soon as JJ turns back to the bathroom, he's blocked by a Kook he doesn't know, who shoves him back into Rafe's arms.

"Wow, that's a cute outfit." He mocks him, because if there's anything he knows how to do, it's how to mouth off in bad situations.

"Fuck you!"

"Shut up." Rafe snaps, pushing him further into the room. Before JJ can pull away, Kelce has him in a chokehold. JJ struggles, feeling a strong sense of deja-vu, but he's been beaten too many times recently to really fight him off. "Hold him still. What—what do you think? A four iron, right?"

Rafe pretends to swing a golf club at him, and it reminds JJ of how he'd jumped Pope with one. That gets his blood pumping, kicking out at Rafe and getting yanked back by Kelce before he can do any real damage.

"Very Rafe of you, Rafe." He spits out. "Five on one, really?"

"Maybe we should switch?" Rafe suggests to Kelce, narrowing his eyes at JJ. "You know, you've been getting in the way a lot lately. Kelce here is being cockblocked by you. Can you believe that?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" JJ grinds out, reaching up to try and remove Kelce's hands as they tighten.

"Verona." Rafe says as if it's obvious, and Kelce huffs angrily in his ears. "You know, she's a hot piece of ass in that server's uniform of hers. I don't blame Kelce for wanting you out of the picture so he can have that all to himself. Shit, maybe he'll give me a go when he's done with her. What do you think, man? I mean, she's dirty now, sleeping with a Pogue and all, but I think we can clean her up—"

Rage is one hell of a motivator.

He spits directly into Rafe's face, and while his hands fly up to his face, JJ knocks his head back into Kelce's. As soon as his grip loosens, JJ is yanking himself out of it, punching Rafe hard on his cheek. He swears he can feel his blood pumping in his ears, and any sense of flight is gone. All he knows is that he needs to take care of them before they can go find Vera.

He needs to stop them before they become a problem for her.

Just as he's pulling his fist back for a second punch, the lights flicker and a voice booms out.

"Gentlemen!"

JJ turns to see the hired security standing in the doorway, and common sense hits him. Of course he'd never win a five against one fight. This is his chance to get away. He can make a plan with John B and Pope and come back for them later.

"Is there a problem here guys?"

"Oh! Pardon me, Officer. No, there's not an issue. I just—well, actually, yes. No, there is an issue. Uh, we got a criminal trespass in progress here. Beep! Call it in, right? Blatant disrespect for private property. I'm in violation of all kinds of shit, sir, but these young gentlemen . . ."

He reaches out to fix Kelce's lopsided bowtie, and he shoves him back angrily.

"Don't touch my shit!"

". . . Uh, caught me, sir." JJ continues. "They're about to take me away. And that's what you should do, escort me out of here. You got me."

He holds his arms up as if he's going to be handcuffed for the second time in 24 hours, and the guard gets a tight grip on his arm as he pulls him away. JJ can't resist getting another barb in, though.

"Fix that tie, son. Oh, you're looking spiffy, too. You Powerpuff Girls have fun!" He shouts, turning around, only for Rafe to shout back.

"Tell Verona we'll be visiting her!"

He grunts, yanking himself out of the guards grip, and Kelce meets him halfway there. They only break apart when the guard pulls him back, and JJ has never wanted to cave someone's face in more than he does a smirking Rafe.

The guard pushes JJ out of the front door, who loudly protests the treatment.

"Look—look, man, I can walk myself! I got legs. Can you see that, brother?"

They walk past Mr. and Mrs. Carrera, who stop dancing to watch him with displeasure. JJ waves at them and they scoff, turning to look for their daughter.

"I really appreciate what you did back there!" JJ tells the guard. "Let me just walk out by myself. Oh, Mr. Dunleavy, I see you got your drink." The poor man had asked for it multiple times, growing less and less patient each time. "Good. That's really nice of you. I'm actually gonna down that."

He chugs the drink, the burning in his throat being a relief as it distracts from his other injuries screaming at him.

"What the hell's the matter with him?"

"Whoo!" JJ cheers, tossing his head back so his hair falls out of his eyes as he's pulled down the stairs. "I really appreciate the discretion, Daryl, you know? It's okay, everybody! Do not panic! Let's leave it to the men and women in uniform! Huh? Let's hear it for them!"

He starts clapping, before pointing to Rose and her insane outfit. What the hell is on her hair?

"Rose! You look like Lady Liberty." She smiles at him until the Lady Liberty comment, frowning into her wine glass. "Great to see you again. Ooh, buddy, can I have one of those?"

"Let go of him!" Kie screams, moving to the porch while her parents try to pull her back.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

"I invited him here!" She lies while her parents beg her to stop. Next to them, Rafe laughs. "I'm a member of this club."

The reminder stings, even though it's not her fault. As does the dirty looks her parents send him, always thinking of him as the bad influence. They'd rather her be friends with the guys that follow people into bathrooms to beat them up, or try to drown someone at a party, than a Pogue like him.

He looks away, only to find Kelce picking his way through the crowd to Vera who's too busy watching him with amusement, and he snaps. The crowd gasps when he shoves the guard back into a table, but it gets Vera to move onto the porch, avoiding Kelce, which makes it worth it.

"Hey, mandatory power hour at Rixon's, Vera." He tells the girl, keeping his eyes on her. She beams, instantly nodding, and he relaxes enough to look for Pope. "Pope, you as well, alright? Kie, come on! Rixon's Cove. Let's roll!"

He walks backward, slowing down when he sees Vera take off down the stairs to him. Her hair falls out of its braid as she moves, curls falling messily around her face, just the way JJ likes it the most. She beams as she runs straight into his arms, and he spins her for a second before wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her along to where John B is waiting for them.

"Workers of the world, unite!" He hollers. "Throw off your chains!"

John B cheers when they reach him, beaming.

"Colonel." JJ greets, pushing his shoulders back and standing straight.

"Captain." John B does the same, saluting him while Vera giggles at the both of them.

"Mission accomplished, sir."

"Come on, Kie!" John B shouts, turning to where Kie is running to them, a wide smile on her face.

"Pope, run!" Vera screams, and JJ is quick to do the same, waving him forward. "Heyward, I'm sorry!"

"You will be!" He hollers, sounding completely over them.

Kie hugs John B when she reaches them, while Pope throws herself at the two of them, being caught by JJ. Vera kisses him on the cheek, beaming about him joining them, and then she's holding both of their hands as they take off from the party.

"Later, losers!"

Behind them, Sarah Cameron is the only one to watch them with complete wonder.

𓆉⋆｡˚⋆❀ 🐚🫧𓇼 ˖°

Rixon's Cave is their own unknown spot in the woods, which is why JJ was comfortable naming it in front of the Kook's. Over the years, they've built themselves a little treehouse, although they're currently sitting on the ground around a fire.

JJ is sitting between her and Pope, since the two of them have been poking at his face, worried about him. Thankfully, he cleaned out the cut on his cheek, but they hate that he's hurt at all.

"Hey, guys. So, like, my dad's already gonna kill me." Pope points out. JJ flinches at the words, and Pope looks guilty, while Vera pulls JJ closer to her. "So, what's this mandatory meeting about?"

John B points finger guns at JJ.

"Might as well tell them, man, before we're gaffed." JJ tells him, and they all turn to John B.

"You ready for this?"

"Yeah."

"So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant." John B informs them, a smile forming on his face. Vera freezes from where she'd been poking the fire with a stick, dropping it in surprise. She doesn't want to believe it and get her hopes up, but she's already envisioning that beach house again.

"Oh my god." Pope sighs. "Here we go again with this."

"No." JJ shakes his head, grabbing Pope's hand. "Just hear him out, okay?"

"Fine." Pope grumbles, and Vera notes that they don't drop each other's hand. She looks away, her stomach churning, although she's not sure why. She's always thought the idea of them would be cute. Sometimes, though, she feels jealous over how close they are, and it always makes her feel horrible.

"It's been here the whole time." John B says mysteriously, smirking at them. "It's on the island."

"Are you serious?"

"No fucking way."

"Where?"

"I'd like to voice my skepticism." Pope says, stopping Kie and Vera from asking more questions.

"I'm sure you would, Pope, but can I please present you with my evidence, sir?"

"Proceed."

"Alright. So, in my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny."

He holds it up for them, and Vera looks around, wondering if that means anything to anyone. JJ is the only one who seems to recognize the name, winking at her.

"Who the hell's that?" Kie asks for the three of them in the dark.

"Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck." John B explains, and hope hits Vera. Are they going to be lucky for once? "Check this out. Okay, slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad, he found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery. So Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom. After that, he bought his farm. Drumroll, please, because that farm is . . ."

They all slap their knees, sharing excited looks with each other.

"Tannyhill Plantation."

Vera feels a little stupid for not piecing that together herself.

"Tannyhill?" Kie repeats, the smile slipping off of her face.

"Yeah." John B looks away from her. "So, after that, he used his money to free even more slaves and then he sold a shit-ton of rice, which pisses off all the white planters, and then they decide to lynch him. So on the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of that letter, he leaves a coded message about where to find the gold."

"Where?" Kie whispers.

"Harvest the wheat in parcel nine, near the water." John B tells them. "Except . . . there's no wheat. You see, wheat is code for gold. Check this out."

He shows them a copy of the letter.

"Holy shit." Pope breathes out, tilting the paper to show JJ and Vera while Kie laughs breathlessly.

"All we need is an original survey map of the property, and we've found the gold." John B continues, excitement clear in his voice.

"Okay, so this might have a small chance of being actually true." Pope decides while JJ stands up, moving around the fire to where John B is standing.

"I am a genius. Hey, woah!" John B exclaims, surprised by JJ picking him up in a hug. John B pats him on the back while Vera laughs, wishing that she had one of her camera's on her. "Fire, fire! You're near the fire! You're gonna burn!"

"I'm so proud of you right now." JJ gushes, letting John B down but keeping his hands on his hips and patting him there.

"Thank you. That's really sweet of you." John B plays into it, cupping JJ's face before Pope interrupts them loudly.

"Okay, so, guys. What's the plan?"

"Good question." John B points at Pope, nodding his head. "So, Sarah Cameron's coming tonight. She's gonna bring an original survey map—"

"Wait, wait, hold on." Kie protests, her eyes narrowing. "Sarah? Wh—why Sarah?"

"Um . . ."

"This is gonna be good." JJ winces, taking off his hat and running his fingers through his hair. Vera looks between the two of them, wondering what they're not telling them.

"Sarah, she, uh, she—she got me into the archives in Chapel Hill yesterday, and that's where I got the letter." John B confesses. It explains where he was when they were in their fight, and when JJ got arrested.

"You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah Cameron?" Kie questions, sounding betrayed.

"Yeah, um—"

"He was macking on her." JJ jumps in, cutting straight to the point.

"I wasn't macking."

"You were totally macking Sarah Cameron."

"That's what Sarah was trying to tell me." Vera realizes, and Kie's betrayed look gets sent her way at the words.

"Why would Sarah be telling you?" She frowns. "You're not friends."

"Actually, we are." Vera admits, wincing when Kie looks truly hurt at that. "Look, Kie, it was a recent development. Like, super recent. She told me some things—"

"Like what?"

"I'm not telling you." Vera says instantly, ignoring the way Kie narrows her eyes. "It was personal stuff, okay? I'm not going to gossip about any of that. But we've decided to try and be friends."

"She's infiltrating." Kie lets out a disbelieving laugh, shaking her head. "She's actually trying to destroy my life even more, this time by stealing my friend's."

"That's definitely not it." Vera frowns. "Kie, first of all, you're not getting rid of us that easily. We're Pogues, remember? Not Kooks. We don't drop friends the way that they do."

"The way Sarah does, you mean?"

Vera ignores that statement, continuing with her point. "Second of all, I don't know, she seems genuine this time. I don't think she's going to screw us over."

"Thank you." John B gives her a warm smile, clearly relieved to have her on his side. "Kie, can you just try and be happy for me?"

"Did you tell her about the treasure?" Kie asks him.

"I was just trying to get into the archives!"

"That's a yes." Kie throws her hands up in the air. "You let a Kook in on our secret? What about Pogue Life? What about the T-shirt company, bro?"

"I was just using her for information." John B defends, looking away when Vera narrows her eyes at him. He better not mean that. "I'm trying to make us filthy rich here. Okay, so that we can pay off a boat, or—or send Pope off to autopsy school to study dead bodies. Look, you guys know me! Do I look like the type of person to fall for Sarah Cameron?"

"Yes." Vera answers immediately, shrugging.

"Dude, yes." JJ snorts.

"Do you want us to answer that?" Pope asks.

"All of you shut up." He frowns at them.

"Look, you don't know her yet." Kie brings them back to her failed friendship with Sarah. "I do! You can't trust her!"

"Her brother did hit me in the back with a golf club." Pope reminds them.

"Yeah, Rafe. Not Sarah." Vera defends, frowning when Kie huffs and turns away from her, shaking her head. She hates hurting her feelings, but she also isn't going to pretend that she doesn't like Sarah when she already does.

"Rafe and Sarah are two different human beings." John B adds, sitting down next to Vera and bumping their shoulders together.

"What did she do to you, exactly?" JJ asks them, curious.

"She's like a—a spitting cobra!" Kie snaps. They all give her strange looks, not sure where this analogy is going. "First she—she blinds you, and then—"

"This is a bad analogy." Pope tells her, amused.

"Listen to me!" Kie begs, her voice rising. "Whatever we get, she's gonna try to take."

"She won't." Vera insists, sure about that. Maybe she's being naive, or too kindhearted, but she doesn't think so. "She's different, Kie. Just let her prove herself."

"You're all idiots." She huffs, shaking her head.

Vera just shares a look with John B, who looks lost. He doesn't say anything, so Vera takes a deep breath and starts again.

"Look, you're allowed to be pissed at her still. I get that. But . . . we're talking 400 million. I think we can set aside hurt feelings for that."

If Sarah can get them the map, then it's worth putting aside hurt feelings from ninth grade. John B smiles at her, but Vera is a little annoyed over his words about using Sarah.

Kie narrows her eyes again, but she doesn't say anything else, and Vera takes that as a win.

𓆉⋆｡˚⋆❀ 🐚🫧𓇼 ˖°

John B has plans to meet Sarah at the Hawk's Nest.

He drives them all there, and the ride is the most awkward one of Vera's entire life. Kie sits in the back with JJ, Pope, and Vera and alternates between glaring at John B and Vera. JJ tries to lighten the mood with jokes, and while they all make Vera smile, they do nothing for Kie's stony disposition.

"I can't believe you befriended Sarah Cameron and didn't say anything." She snaps, glaring at Vera, who sighs loudly.

"Kie, I don't have to run my friends by you." She snaps back. "It just happened, okay? We're friends. I'm sorry that you two aren't, but that has nothing to do with me. Just . . . work things out with her, or don't, I really don't care. Leave me out of it."

"You put yourself in it." Kie tries, but Vera just turns around, starting to play rock-paper-scissors with Pope. They get through three rounds—Pope winning two—before JJ starts whining about being bored, and the two of them face him and try to come up with a three player game.

Vera gets an idea, sending a small smirk John B's way before she's shifting so that the three of them are sitting with their knees pressed together. She holds up her hands, implying that she wants to play an old clapping game.

"A sailor went to sea?" She asks, feeling that it makes the most sense contextually.

Thankfully, John B laughs from the drivers seat.

JJ and Pope both hold up their hands, and she starts chanting and hitting their hands, the words coming to her automatically even after years of not playing this. They had had a blast in elementary school, turning these games into three or four player ones, depending on if John B was with them.

"A sailor went to sea, sea, sea." She starts off, hitting JJ at the word 'sailor', Pope at 'went', clapping her own hands at 'to' before they all put their hands on their forehead as if they're shielding themselves in order to see when they get to the 'sea, sea, sea' part. She can't stop her smile the entire time: it's entertaining how competitive they all get over childhood games, rushing to do it before the others.

The song continues, with them each taking turns to do the clapping, their speed increasing with each line.

"To see what he could see, see, see. But all that he could see, see, see was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea. A sailor went to chop, chop, chop to see what he could chop, chop, chop. But all that he could chop, chop, chop was the bottom of the chop, chop, chop." They all sing along, only for Kie to huff loudly and cause Pope to falter, ending the game.

"Don't you think that's a little insensitive?" She asks them, nodding to John B, who's been singing along with them.

"I think he's got a voice and can speak for himself." Vera points out dryly, just in time for them to pull into the Hawk's Nest. Pope wastes no time in shoving open the van door, clearly not wanting to listen to them argue again.

"Hit it, boys! We're going on a recon mission." JJ cheers, moving to roll out of the van before John B speaks up.

"Yo! Uh, so, uh, I think I'm gonna do this one by myself . . . tonight."

Kie rolls her eyes hard, shaking her head, but Vera smiles. He wants alone time with his girlfriend. How cute.

"Look, I just don't wanna spook Sarah with the peanut gallery."

"More like you want alone time." Vera teases, grinning when John B blushes, which only makes Kie angrier. Next to her, JJ pulls out a blunt, pulling it back when Vera immediately makes grabby hands for it.

"I just don't understand why we're involving her at all!"

"Kie, we're not involving her, okay? It's—it's just, uh, like a—a business meeting."

JJ pretends to give the blunt a blow job, making gulping noises. Vera smiles at him, the smile growing at the way Pope laughs at him, his whole face lighting up.

Beautiful, Vera thinks about them both, wishing that one of them would make a move on the other before she's focusing back on John B.

"Look, once we get what we need, we cut her loose, alright? Plus, we need the map."

John B doesn't believe his own words, and it's obvious. Vera has no idea what happened in the last day, but he's infatuated with her.

"Promise me nothing's happening between you two." Kie says intensely, holding eye contact with John B.

Vera shoots a look to JJ and Pope, her eyes widening. This is a lot all at once, especially after Kie turned John B down when he kissed her. She's never been more confused about what's going on in one person's head than she is right now.

"Nothing is happening, Kie." John B assures her, breaking eye contact.

"I'm being serious!"

"Okay!"

"This isn't about you, and this isn't about us." Kie tells him, and Vera mouths the word 'us?' to her boys, shocked. She's pretty sure they're not included in that. "This is about her. Dude, she's gonna get inside your head. Just promise me nothing's happening between you guys."

"I promise."

"That was really believable." JJ jumps in.

"A hundred percent believable," Comes from Pope.

"Yeah, bro. No need for acting classes. You're ready for the big screens." Vera says with fake seriousness, giving John B a thumbs up.

"Anyways, um . . . I'm gonna take care of business." John B looks away from them.

"You're gonna take care of that business so well." JJ encourages.

"Yeah, we'll just sit here." Pope points out, because that's incredibly boring. "In the hot ass car. While it's lightning."

"Yep." John B opens his door, rushing out, but Vera shouts out to him before he can leave.

"Give Sarah a kiss from me!"

The glare she gets from Kie is worth it for the blush on John B's face as he runs away from them.

"So . . . tic-tac-toe, anyone?" She asks, and Pope gives her an amused stare.

"We don't have any paper." He points out just as JJ shouts that he'll play, the two of them exchanging frowns before Vera perks up, holding up a certain bag of hers. JJ lights up too, making grabby hands, while Pope groans loudly. "You are not tattooing that on you."

"No, but you are." She says cheekily, getting out two needles and a small container of ink, setting the ink in between them and passing the first needle to JJ, who passes his blunt off to Kie in favor of scooting even closer to her. She contemplates her body for a second before pointing to a spot on her upper left arm and watching as JJ draws the four lines of a tic-tac-toe board there before he turns to Pope.

"X's or O's?"

"O's." Pope sighs, smiling slightly when Vera hands over the second needle.

"You go first, man." JJ waves him on, and the both of them watch Pope carefully dip the needle in the ink before bringing it to her skin, where he hesitates.

"Won't this hurt?" He checks, before his frown deepens. "Also, is this needle sterile? What if—?"

"Pope." Vera cuts him off, smiling warmly at him. "You're sweet, but it's okay. The needle is clean, and I have gloves if you want them, but I've done this a hundred times. It's safe."

"Okay." He sighs, nodding to himself. "Okay."

Not being the one doing the tattooing feels strange, but it's also exciting. The feeling is the same as it always is, and Vera relaxes into it, enjoying the difference in how JJ and Pope handle the process. Pope is high-strung, gripping the needle tightly and taking his time drawing the circles. The first time he tries, he doesn't press in deep enough to make the ink stick—clearly worried about hurting her—and JJ reaches over to grab his hand and show him how to do it with a smile. JJ is the exact opposite of Pope: he's completely relaxed, the needle an extension of his arm, and he takes breaks to steal his blunt back from Kie. He doesn't try for perfect lines, just drawing messy X's in her skin with no concerns.

Kie loosens up a bit, watching them but making no effort to talk, not even to egg them on or boo them when they make a wrong move.

Pope wins, letting out an excited noise as he finally relaxes, beaming up at her.

"Come on, draw the line." Vera encourages, laughing at him while JJ pouts. He still reaches out and shakes Pope's shoulders, pleased for him despite the personal loss. "And sign it. Have you never played tic-tac-toe before?"

"You want me to sign your arm?" Pope stops just as he was about to draw the diagonal line, looking surprised.

"Uh, yeah, otherwise no one will know you won." Vera points out, curious to see where he'll sign.

He looks at her very intensely for a long moment, clearly wanting to say something before his face softens and he curls over her arm again, this time more comfortable with grabbing her and moving her to make tattooing easier. This part is strangely intimate, with him tattooing his name on her skin, but no parts of her regrets the decision.

When he pulls back, a big smile on his face, she takes the time to look at his signature. It's not perfect, considering that he's never done a stick and poke before today, but that only makes Vera like it more. It's clearly his handwriting, which Vera could recognize without question after years of passing notes in class: he never connects the loop to the second p in his name, leaving a space in between it and the line.

Vera laughs when she sees the sideways smiley face next to his name, so that she has Pope :) right underneath his winning game.

"Perfect." She beams at him, loving how wide his smile is, and how warm his eyes are. She can't resist leaning forward, giving him a kiss on the cheek before doing the same to JJ, feeling so connected to them now that their mark is on her skin forever. Pope's name is permanently on her. Anyone would feel ready to burst with love at that.

They both blush where she kissed them, which amuses her as she grabs her bag with her right hand, making quick work of pulling out some tattoo wrap. JJ grabs it from her before she can get started, taking care of it for her. When he's done wrapping her arm, he hands her the blunt, winking at her.

At Pope's disapproving look—he thinks drugs should be kept far away from their mission—JJ says it's for her pain. That gets him to leave it alone, and JJ winks at Vera, both of them knowing this was way below her pain tolerance.

"Are none of you worried?" Kie demands, shaking her head at them. Vera takes an extra hit, breathing in deep and enjoying the tight feeling in her chest before she lets it out, sinking into Pope's side.

"Kiara, holding onto your grudge is like drinking poison and thinking Sarah will die." Pope tells her, and Vera smiles as she moves herself so that she's lying down with her head in Pope's lap and her legs in JJ's across from them, not wanting to put pressure on her arm.

"That sounded so cool." She whispers, getting a smile from him while JJ starts fidgeting with her anklets.

"Exactly." Kie huffs.

There's silence for a second before JJ fills it, explaining everything that's happened since he was taken to the station. He skips over his dad picking him up, paling for a second before telling them that cops were camped outside of John B's house, making them have to sneak out to the HMS Pogue. Then, he explains what happened during midsummers.

"Rafe and Kelce followed me—"

"Wait, do you guys hear that?" Kie interrupts him, leaning forward. Vera frowns, only hearing thunder. "Sh."

"Please, somebody help!" Sarah screams, and they all scramble out of the van, swearing. The yelling came from the tower, where John B and Sarah were meeting, and they sprint to reach them.

"Sarah! What happened?" Pope yells when they turn the corner, finding her holding John B, who's laid out on the ground. Vera looks around, her heart dropping when she sees the missing railing from the top of the tower, with pieces of wood surrounding John B on the ground. Did he fall from all the way up there?

"I don't know what to do." Sarah sobs, looking up at them while John B groans, his face twisted in pain. "He needs help. Topper shoved him!"

"Where the hell is he?" JJ shouts, looking around them while Vera drops to her knees next to Sarah, gently reaching out to pull her back.

"Oh, please, please, please get help." Sarah begs, tears streaming down her face. "I don't care who! Just call someone!"

"Go. Go!" JJ shoves Pope back, who takes off in a sprint back to the Twinkie.

"Sarah, honey, I need to see him." Vera says firmly, pulling her back and nodding to JJ, who reaches out to grab her shoulder and hopefully keep her there. Vera slowly turns back to John B, wanting to throw up at the pain on his face.

"John B, stay with me." Sarah begs, while Vera stops her from moving him.

"Don't—don't touch him. He could have spinal damage." She says, forcing the words out even though every part of her hates speaking it out loud. She wracks her mind, trying to remember what she was taught in that first aid class when she was training to be a lifeguard.

Sarah's face falls even further as she nods, carefully leaning forward to kiss John B without moving his head or neck.

"Please don't leave me." She sobs. "Please—Vera, JJ, please do something."

Vera takes a deep breath, tears burning in her own eyes as she leans forward, trying to take stock of his injuries.

"I, uh, I think his wrist is broken." She says softly, looking over his left arm. "So, we, uh—sorry. Fuck. When help comes, we need to tell them to be careful with it. Did he—did he wake up at all before we got here?"

Sarah shakes her head, tears steadily falling, and Vera swallows thickly.

"Right. A fall from that high—he's definitely got a concussion."

No brain damage, Vera begs, not daring to say the words. She feels like that's tempting fate.

"He's going to be okay." She chokes out, looking at Sarah before twisting to face JJ and Kie. Kie is standing back, looking conflicted as she watches Sarah card her fingers through John B's hair, whispering to him. "He's tough. He'll be fine."

She is going to murder Topper Thornton.

𓆉⋆｡˚⋆❀ 🐚🫧𓇼 ˖°

authors note

man i hate the kooks.

it's crazy to me how many topper sympathizers there are: i'm sorry, but can you not spot the warning signs to an abusive relationship?? i don't approve of cheating but some people act like sarah cheating on her overly possessive, violent boyfriend is a crime worth death. like that man SUCKS. if a man ignores your wishes (to not jump off a roof into a pool while holding you, for one) and then says that he "isn't jealous but wants to kill" a guy he thinks you might have spent the day with, RUN!

sarah cameron, i love you.

okay but jjpope & vera... no idea what their ship name could be... they own my heart completely.

vera is so funny to me bc she is a giant ball of confliction. she wants to see jj and pope date but she also wants to date them both and is in heavy denial over that bc of the pact SHE made them make as kids. just a mess. every once in a while her feelings come out and she's like "damn i want to kiss them but i want them to kiss each other. whatttt i don't have feelings."

so stupid.

pope when the girl he likes has him tattoo his name on her body 🥰🥰🥰 he's hearing wedding bells fr. meanwhile vera is just like "dude you sign your winning games?? duh?? oh wait this is actually kinda hot" lmfao like i said, she's a mess. these poor boys.

the way ive only been writing this for like a week and we're already halfway through season one is crazy

ALSO kelce will be a reoccurring problem and we will get protective jj & pope over it so look out for that!!

love you guys <3