𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧: 𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 through the crowded yard of the crain house. coby was walking between kie and jj, the carrera girl leading the group. coby's mind had wandered to back when she was in sarah's room earlier that day, kissing, flirting, laughing. how did she go from being completely happy in sarah's room to being creeped the fuck out in the crain yard all within two hours? she brought her hand that was casted to be her arm that was, wedging her fingers between her skin and the hard plaster to scratch her skin.

"look, you guys know whose house this is, right?" kie questioned as she stepped over weeds. coby nodded, knowing that the blonde boy behind her was about to start telling ghost stories.

"oh, yeah. no, i do." jj nodded.

"honestly, i don't really believe the stories of this place." john b voiced, pope quickly shushing him. "what?"

"i only know the stories because of blondie right here." coby mumbled, turning to look at jj. the maybank boy sent the girl a wink, her sending him one right back with a smile on her lips.

he then walked past coby and to kie, making coby slow her pace for a second. "which stories did you hear?" he asked the curly haired girl.

"the one where she killed her husband with an axe and that she's been holed up ever since." kie answered, making coby roll her eyes. " on certain nights, when the moon is full. . . you can see her in the window." kie finished, bringing her hands up as she wiggled her fingers. coby let out a cackle at that.

"no, guys, it's not funny, cause it's all true." jj told the girls before turning around to face the boys. "i swear to god, guys, this is all real. i knew hollis." he informed before he turned back around, flinching when a statue came into view. "jeez!"

"wait, you knew hollis crain?" pope questioned.

"yeah, dude." the blonde boy shrugged.

"how do you know hot hollis crain?" coby asked him with furrowed eyebrows. that earned her a slap to the shoulder from kie. sometimes the girl thinks with her dick like the boys. "what? she's hot and you know it, kie."

"she was my babysitter, man. she told me all about it. told me he truth. . . about her mother and what happened in this house." jj started, looking over at the crain house. everyone else did the same thing before they looked back to the maybank boy. "so as a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father, and. . . she was a murderer and all. hollis didn't believe it. until that night."

"what night?" john b asked, his eyebrows furrowing as he stared at the shorter boy.

"it all came back to her." jj answered. coby couldn't help but snicker at that, the boy reminding her of a narrator in some old movie. "when hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. so she goes downstairs to see her mom washing her hands in a sink. . . full of blood. her mother just says that she cut her finger. the next morning, she says her father and her split up. but then, hollis noticed something. her mother going into the parlor constantly, in and out and in and out with plastic bags. weeks pass, and hollis decides to use the outhouse. and as she's using it, she looks down, and there, in the outhouse, is her father's head, looking straight back at her."

"god, you are so full of shit." john b told him.

"dude, i swear to god, man." jj promised.

"did she call the police?" pope questioned.

"she didn't have time -" jj started, but was interrupted by john b walking past him "wait! dude!" he yelled, stopping the routledge boy. "you sure you wanna do this? she's an axe murderer. you got a cast on."

"i don't give a shit if she's an ace murderer, okay? i got nothin' to lose, right? you comin' or what?" john b said before he started to walk away. coby was right behind him since she was also apart of the got nothing to lose club.

"hey, come on. come here." john b called in a hushed tone, making everyone huddle around him. "so here's the plan. we need to look for the wheat near the water like it said in denmark's letter."

"okay, like, what kind of water? like, pond water?" pope quizzed.

jj chuckled, "bong water?"

"no. it - it just said look for water, okay?" john b answered, ignoring jj's comment.

"that's the shittiest secret message ever." kie mumbled before she started to walk off from the boys. coby snorted at that, going her own way as she walked through tall grass.

"you wanna complain a little more, kie? nobody said it was gonna be easy." john b said, following after the curly haired girl.

coby pretty much had no luck in finding any water, so she just wandered around for the most part. the yard looked like it would be beautiful if everything was trimmed down and maintained. she wondered how it looked like prior to mrs.crain locking herself in her own home. as she was walking, she felt kie grab her hand and pull her towards the crain house itself. coby didn't question it, letting the taller girl drag her until they were starting to crouch, walking through a small space. john b was in front of her, kie behind her, while jj and pope was all the way in the back. coby stood up once the ceiling became taller, looking around to see that they were in a basement of some kind. a really creepy basement.

"down came mrs.crain and cut off all our heads." jj started to sing, making coby look at him with a bored look. "up came the sun and dried up all the blood."

"can you stop?" pope asked him, although, it sounded more like a demand.

"see any water?" kie asked her friends, looking around.

"no. but i hear a bunch of fucking skeeters." coby mumbled, slapping her ear once she heard a buzz.

"there's not even water on the pipes." she heard jj announce, the girl too busy with swatting the mosquitos away then actually looking for any water.

"there's no water here." pope concluded, disappointed.

"not a dropamino." jj added.

"know why we didn't find it?" kie questioned, turning to look at coby. the sawyer girl let out a sigh, knowing where this was going. "bad karma."

"yep. give it to me, kie." coby mumbled, bringing her hand up to scratch her ear.

"you know, we had a good think going. and then you decide to rope in barbie, and now the trail's gone dry. coincidence? probably not." kie ranted, her eyes glaring at coby as she did so.

"this is exactly why i wish we didn't tell you about sarah." coby started, gesturing to herself and john b. the routledge boy, pope, and jj all looked at the two girls with raised eyebrows, not used to seeing them have a disagreement.

"yeah?"

"yep. look, i get what happened between you two, i do. i mean, i slapped her for you! but what is up with you? is it because i used to be head over heels for you and you're mad that i'm no longer interested? you wished it was you or something? is that the problem?" coby quizzed, her eyebrows raised into a challenging manner as she stepped closer to kie.

instead of giving a verbal answer, kie raised her hand and slapped the girl in front of her. coby's head swung to her right as the boys all exclaim at that. she felt her jaw clench as she processed what just happened, slowly turning her head to look at kie. "stop treating me like i'm some girl that's obsessed with you instead of your best friend who's actually trying to look out for you." kie then said.

coby hummed quietly, nodding her head. "did you - did you hit me?"

"skeeter." kie mumbled, raising her hand to show that a mosquito was squashed in the malm of her hand.

"skeeter?" coby repeated.

"yeah, you see it?" kie nodded, looking at her own hand before back at coby.

coby hummed again before she brought her own hand up and slapped kie. this made the three boys watching exclaim again. pope stepped forward slightly, going to break the two girls apart. they did break into a house after all, and if the two girls were to start fighting, they would definitely get caught. that and he didn't want them to hurt one another since both girls are really good at defending themselves.

"where's your proof?" kie questioned. coby quickly held up her hand, a tightlipped smile appearing on her face. kie nodded, slapping coby on the arm. the two then started to take turns in slapping each other, the thick tension between them fading away as smiles replaced the serious looks on their faces. the two giggled and laughed as they continued to slap each other.

the sound of stuffing scraping against the floor and clattering gained the two pogues' attention, the both of them turning to see pope moving some wooden boards. john b quickly went over to him, shushing him.

"hey. help me move this." pope said to the boy, getting shushed once again. "help me move this." he repeated in a quieter tone.

"okay, just. . . quiet." john b whispered as he bent down to help the heyward boy. jj quickly joined them, coby and kie walking towards them in confusion.

when the boys finally moved some wooden planks, coby's eyes widened. she was looking right into a well. she quickly slapped kie's arm, the carrera girl looking at her with furrowed eyebrows before she followed her gaze. everybody peered into the well, it only getting darker and darker the deeper it went. they had found the water.

"well, well, well." pope said, making coby look at him with a smile.

"that was a good dad joke." john b mumbled as he continued to stare into the well. he then crouched down, a small smile pulling at his lips.

"they built this part of the house right over it." kie assumed.

"this is where she hid the bodies." jj added, making coby groan slightly.

"dude, we just found the water part of the hidden message and you're still worrying about the bodies that mrs.crain possibly murdered?" she questioned, looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"come on, cobe, think about it. it was never an outhouse." jj tried, all of his friends complaining.

"she probably doesn't even know it's here." kie pointed out. coby pointed to the curly haired girl in agreement, looking over at her blonde friend. he shrugged before he looked back into the well.

"so, we found water." pope mumbled, looking over at john b.

"we're gonna need a really big rope." the routledge boy said.

"and a long one." coby quickly added. "a really. . . really long one. that's what they said." that earned her a slight chuckle from jj, the both of them fist bumping each other.

☠︎ ✶ ♡ ✶ ☠︎

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐆𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐎 the château, coby had begged john b to contact sarah since her phone was dead. the boy obviously did it, liking the fact that coby was finally whipped for a girl and wasn't hopping from one to another. that then led to coby waiting at the beginning of the dirt road that led to the château for the cameron girl, pacing back and forth in anticipation. she knew she was gonna be in a load of trouble with kie, but she couldn't just leave sarah out of this. not after risking herself and lying to her dad for the pogues. well, it was for coby, but it still helped the pogues out.

coby heard a bell ring in the distance, making her turn to see sarah quickly approaching on her bike. coby smiled at that, waiting for the girl to get closer. when she did, sarah climbed off her bike and pulled coby in for a kiss, their lips meeting before the both of them pulled away. sarah smiled, leaning her forehead on coby's. "hi." she greeted.

"hey." coby smiled, putting her casted hand onto sarah's waist. "you still ride a bike?" she teased, her eyebrows raised.

sarah scoffed as she pulled away, pushing coby slightly. "you still ride a skateboard."

"that's different. i don't have any other way of transportation. you have a great big car in your driveway. i would know, i was in it." coby quickly defended.

"whatever, jake." sarah mumbled, a small giggle escaping her lips as she started to walk her bike towards the château. "so what was so important that you made john b text me?"

coby quickly joined her side, "we found the gold. or at least where it's hidden. but the only downside is that it's in the crain house. well, it's under the crain house. it's actually in a well that the house was built over, so. . ."

"so you found the gold?" sarah questioned, her smile widening in excitement.

"yes, ma'am." coby nodded, a cheeky smile on her lips as she turned to look at the blonde next to her.

"but under an axe murderer's house?" sarah continued.

"yeah." coby said, a chuckle leaving her mouth.

"that's perfect." sarah shrugged.

"i mean, the only thin is the well is super sketchy. and deep. like, really deep."

"kinda wish i was with you guys."

"hopefully, you'll be there tonight." coby mumbled, making sarah look at her with raised eyebrows.

"tonight?" she repeated.

"i said hopefully. if - if this next part goes well." coby stuttered as she stopped, placing her hands on her hips. sarah looked her up and down, thinking about how coby looked like a dad with the way she was standing. she then saw the look on the skater's face.

"kiara said something, didn't she?" the cameron girl asked.

"n - no." coby quickly answered. too quick.

"you might be able to lie to other people and get out of situations. but i'm different, jake. i can tell when you're lying." sarah told her.

coby ignored the way her heart flipped with the way sarah had said her name, picking up on the fact that she's been calling her jake this whole time. "i'm not lying."

"look, if she's gonna get all territorial -" sarah started.

"hey, hey, hey. just listen, okay?" coby interrupted. "you're apart of this too. you got us the tannyhill map. you got john b into the archives. we wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for you, okay? now, come on." she finished.

sarah let out a huff, following the slightly taller girl towards the château. when they got there, sarah let her bike drop to the ground before she followed the girl onto the porch. she could sense how nervous coby was when pope and jj looked at her, the both of their mouths being hung opened. john b was the only one smiling at the girl, seeing the way that sarah look at his best friend. if coby was happy, he was happy. and once the other boys saw how happy the sawyer girl was, they would be happy too. kie was a different story.

"she must have you wrapped around her goddamn finger if you're willing to bring her here." jj commented, a smirk on his lips as he shifted in his seat.

coby didn't respond, gesturing for sarah to sit on the couch. the blonde girl did so, sending a small smile towards john b. he was the only one who wasn't being hostile towards her. coby sat next to her, knowing that once kie came onto the porch, all hell was gonna break loose.

"no offing way!" kie's voice yelled, making everyone look at her. the carrera girl's eyes dropped onto coby, glaring at her slightly. "you brought her here? so what? she's in on this now?"

"we wouldn't be this far if she hadn't helped us, kie." coby tried, shifting forward so that she was sitting on the edge of the couch now.

"look, all i care about is her cut comes out of your share." jj announced, pointing towards coby. the sawyer girl nodded her head before she sent him a thumbs up.

"you know, i don't remember taking a vote. this is our thing. a pogue thing." kie told coby.

"i gotta say, i'm just a tad uncomfortable with all of this." pope announced. coby looked at him with a really look, not helping the situation.

"thank you!" kie agreed.

"when are you not uncomfortable, pope?" coby questioned, her eyebrows raised.

"i dunno. i rode here on the back of jj's bike pretty comfortably." pope shot back.

"it's true. most relaxed i've ever seen him." jj nodded.

"thank you. that was cute, guys." coby mumbled, turning to look away from the two boys.

"you know we were all extremely comfortable until you brought her." kie said. she was noticed how john b hadn't said anything, knowing that he was on coby's side.

"stop talking about me like i'm not here!" sarah snapped, looking over at the carrera girl.

"then leave."

sarah scoffed, turning to look at the girl next to her. coby met her eyes with an apologetic look. "i told you."

"told her what, exactly? that you're a liar?" kie quizzed, looking at sarah with furrowed eyebrows. coby looked down at the floor, a sigh escaping her lips.

"no, that you're a shit-talking bitch." sarah spat, making pope and jj exclaim. the two boy started to make bets on the girls, making coby glare at the both of them.

"guys -" she tried, not liking the fact the two most important girls in her life was insulting each other.

"oh, yeah?" kie challenged, looking at sarah.

"when have i lied to you?" sarah questioned.

"you get somebody close to you, for like a month -"

"i didn't like about shit -"

"everyone shut the fuck up!" coby yelled, making everyone look at her. jj and pope looked at the girl with raised eyebrows, not used to her having an outburst like that. john b leaned onto the château, sitting on the arm of the couch that sarah and coby was on. "kie, you are my best friend, right?" the curly haired girl nodded slightly. "and cupcake, you're my. . ."

"cupcake?" kie repeated, looking at john b with furrowed eyebrows. the routledge boy nodded, a small smile on his lips.

"you're my. . ." coby continued, not exactly sure what she should say. well, she wanted to say something but she didn't know if sarah would be okay with it. plus, she had never called a girl that before. she had never made it official. sarah nodded her head, encouraging the girl to say the word. "you're my girlfriend." that made sarah smile, her heart skipping a beat.

john b smiled at that too, crossing his arms over his chest as he nodded his head slightly. he was proud of the sawyer girl. jj only smirked, seeing the lovestrucked look on her face. she was really whipped for sarah.

"wow. . . that's something new for coby." pope mumbled, seeing the look on the girl's face. she really had feelings for sarah and she really wanted to be with her. maybe he can get behind it, if it means that coby was happy.

"she's your girlfriend now?" kie asked, making the now official couple look at her. "what was all that talk about you were just using her for information?"

"i never said that." coby said, looking over to john b since he was the one who had actually said that.

"oh, that's right. you said that you would get the map and then cut her loose." kie corrected, wincing slightly when she saw the hurt look on sarah's face.

"you said that?" sarah questioned, looking over at coby.

"y - yeah, i did." the sawyer girl mumbled, not even gonna deny it. "but look, that doesn't matter anymore, okay? i - i care about her, okay, kie? i actually have feelings for her. and i'm not gonna deny that. i'm not."

"look, but the bullshit, jake." kie started, making the girl in question look back down at the floor. "if she's in, i'm out."

coby looked up at her with knitted eyebrows, not exactly picking up on what kie wanted her to do. but when she had picked up on it, the girl's face dropped. "i'm not doing this."

"you are gonna decided." kie demanded. "i'm very interested, actually. me or her?"

"i'm not doing this." coby repeated, shrugging her shoulders as she leaned back into the couch.

"me or her, jake?" kie repeated.

"i'm not doing this, kie." coby shook her head.

kie stepped closer to coby, a hard stare in her eyes. "me or her."

"i am not. . . picking between you two." coby told her, her voice stern as she looked kie right in the eyes. she knew there was no right answer to that decision, didn't matter if she chose kie, sarah, or both. either way, the two girls were gonna be angry.

kie nodded her head, bringing her hand up to rub her nose before she turned and walked off the porch. the door slammed shut behind her, making coby let out a sigh of frustration. the boys looked at her, watching her bring her hands up to her head. they couldn't imagine being in her situation. sarah turned to look at the sawyer girl, coby turning to look back.

"sarah. . ." coby started.

"i'm gonna leave." the cameron girl announced, standing up from the couch.

"sarah, please." coby tried, watching her closely.

"gonna let y'all chat. let me know, okay." sarah told her as she turned to look at coby. she quickly bent down to place a soft kiss on coby's cheek before she walked out.

"fuck." coby hissed out, letting her head hang down.

"you handled that better than i would've." john b told her, speaking up for the first time since sarah had gotten there. "honestly. i would've probably said both, or some shit like that."

"yeah, whatever." coby mumbled, looking over to where kie had gone. she was sitting on the dock. "i can't have her hating me."

"she doesn't hate you, c. she just needs some time." pope assured, standing up from his spot. "i'm gonna go check on her."

"okay." everyone nodded, watching pope walk out.

daij speaks!
heyyyyyyy. i knows it been awhile :) like two weeks? i really love this chapter. we get to see john b being the captain of the ship carah, and supporting coby through the whole drama part of this chapter. stan john b for being a supportive bestie. i have stuff planned for the next chapter, but idk when i'm gonna have it up. hopefully soon.

but i hope u guys enjoyed this chapter 🫶🏼