𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞: 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐭

𝐂𝐎𝐁𝐘, 𝐉𝐉, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐍 𝐁 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 in the twinkie. the two boys were in the front while coby was sprawled out in the back seat. john b ad apologized for everything that he had said, saying that his dad had told him to get the pogues off their backs. john b wouldn't tell them where he was taking them, the three of them trying to come up with some type of plan to get to south america.

"so walk us through it one more time."  jj said from the passenger seat, holding a map of south america in his hands. coby sat up, going to the makeshift seat that was behind john b's seat so that she'd be able to hear.

"okay, right there." john b started, taking his eyes off the road briefly so that he can see where he was pointing. coby furrowed her eyebrows, seeing that he didn't point to anywhere in particular. "that's where they're taking him. that's the site of the idol."

jj turned to look at coby, wanting to make sure if she saw what john b had just did. she nodded. "you pointed to just south america, you understand that, right?" the maybank asked.

john b nodded. "yep."

coby stared at him with a blank stare, sniffling slightly. "that's all you know? th - that he's somewhere in south america?"

"yes. yes, that's why we're going to the professor's house, all right? look, he was at the site." john b reasoned.

"okay." coby mumbled before she puffed out her cheeks.

"so happy we have the map, then." jj commented sarcastically. he then realized something. "wait! whoa, whoa! we're going to a house right now with a dead body in it? th - that's where we're going?"

"yeah." john b nodded.

"and if the cops show up, you know what that makes us look like?" jj questioned.

"yes."

"and you're okay with that?" coby asked, looking at the routledge boy with narrowed eyebrows.

john b hummed.

jj looked back at coby once again, seeing that she was looking at john b like he had three heads. "okay, just making sure. can we make it quick though? just in and out."

"i'm gonna stay inside the twinkie." coby informed, making the two boys look at her with furrowed eyebrows. "oh, i'm sorry that i don't want to be accused of murder. . . again."

"she has a point." jj mumbled, john b looking at him. "i'll shut up."

john b pulled up outside of house that looked like it hadn't been kept up with for years. coby shook her head, getting flashbacks to the crain house. she almost got shot the last time they were in a house like that. she watched as her two best friends got out of the volkswagen bus, the sawyer girl going back to the back seat so that she could lay down. the boys were in there for about 10 minutes before they came out with another piece of paper. once they were inside the twinkie, john b pulled off as him and jj explained everything that they had found out. now they were on their way to a guy that had the same last name as. . . this neville, who was connected to the guy who owned the house they had previously been to.

they pulled up onto a farm, coby perking up as she looked out the window. she wanted to own a big piece of property, probably not to have a farm on it, but just to have it. she'd want her and sarah to be able to build on it so that their kids could have room to play. speaking of sarah, she hadn't seen her since the day before. she hoped that she'd be able to see her at some point before the day is over so she could apologize.

"okay, now, so let me get this straight." john b started as him and his two friends climbed out of the twinkie. "so, because you know a guy with the same last name as neville, you think they've gotta be related. that's your master plan?"

"right. okay. how many people do you know with the last name persaud?" jj challenged, looking at the taller boy. "i met a guy here last summer with my cousin cause we were doing the growing business." coby and john b nodded, knowing what he was hinting at. "yeah, yeah, yeah. last name persaud. or wait, was it percett?"

coby let out a huff, looking at the blonde boy with narrowed eyes. "did we come out here for no reason?"

jj and john b talked over each other for a few seconds, coby looking at them with an exhausted look on her face. they hadn't exactly slept through the night.

"no, i know. i know mr.persaud. trust me. it's cool." jj reassured, patting john b's shoulder. he then looked over at coby, sending her his infamous smirk before he turned to face a dark-skinned man wearing a green fishing hat. "hey, uh, mr.p, right?"

the man looked up, the gears turning in his brain to try and remember who jj was. a grin ten took over his face. "hey!"

"hey! see, i told y'all!" jj bragged, looking at his best friends before he started to make his way over to mr.p. "what's going on, man? yeah. hey, so we're looking for. . . we're looking for neville. is he still here?"

"nah, nah, nah. he's out there." mr.p answered, gesturing towards his right. coby furrowed her eyebrows. "been holing up on doe creek."

"doe creek." jj repeated.

"in his houseboat. way, way back." mr.p elaborated, still gesturing in the direction of wherever neville was.

that led to the three stooges making their way towards the houseboat to talk to him. the whole way there was spent with jj bragging and gloating about how he was right and that his plan had been working wonders. coby rolled her eyes at the blonde boy, trying to bite back a smile. she couldn't add more to his already huge ego.

"why ever doubt me, guys?" the maybank boy questioned as they walked through the water.

"the idea was just a little far-fetched is all i'm saying." john b reasoned, shrugging.

"all his ideas are a little far-fetched." coby reminded, earning a hum from john b.

the trio stopped right along the tree line, looking out on the water to see if they saw a houseboat. coby was the first one to spot it, noticing that it was pretty hidden by the small amount of trees that was surrounding it. that only made her wonder why not tie the boat up to a dock. why be out there all alone? she then remembered that neville thought that people were after him. she gently tapped the two boys, making the two of them look at her before they followed her gaze.

"that looks like a houseboat." john b confirmed.

"well, you think he's there?" jj asked.

"i don't know know. i mean -" john b started, a sigh escaping his lips.

"only one way to find out." jj mumbled before he sucked in a deep breath, bringing his hands up to cup around his mouth. "neville! hey!" he yelled.

both john b and coby looked at him like he was crazy, the former quickly slapping his hand over jj's mouth to quiet his yells. coby was quick to scold him, shoving him back.

jj was quick to push john b's hand away. "what?"

"what do you mean, what? you really think the best thing to right now is yell out someone's name who thinks people are trying to kill him?" coby challenged, looking at him in bewilderment.

"exactly. he's probably packing." john b added, gesturing towards the houseboat.

"ah, okay. so it's a death trap." jj concluded.

"yeah. but, unfortunately, we don't have a choice. he's the only guy alive who knows where my dad is." john b told him.

"so, what? we're just gonna go on the boat? no announcement? no nothing?" coby quizzed.

"do you have a better idea?" john b asked.

coby looked at the routledge boy, going to say something. but she realized that she did not have a better idea. "i do not. but i don't think that just going on the boat is gonna do us any good."

john b and jj looked at one another before they looked back at the sawyer girl.

"sarah changed you. you're starting to think about consequences." jj told her as he walked past her.

"he's right. you never thought about the consequences." john b shrugged, patting coby's shoulder as he followed after his blonde friend.

coby turned around to follow them. "well, i like what ii got going on. i don't wanna lose that."

"oh, and what exactly is that, cobe?" jj questioned.

"well, i have a wife. you missed the wedding. john b here was the best man." coby started as the three of then started to swim towards the houseboat. the routledge boy hummed. "haven't see my two legal guardians, but knowing the universe, they'll show up somehow. and i got this thing called a family. yeah, come to think of it, j. you're actually apart of it. oh! and so are you, john b."

jj and john b let out a few laughs, earning a smile from coby. silence fell over the trio once they got close enough to the boat. they climbed up the latter and onto the boat, trying their hardest not to make any noise. coby had to hold back a laugh, john b telling jj to keep it down even though he didn't make a sound. john b reached inside the kitchen area, his hand hovering over the small stove.

"the stove's warm. he's still here." john b informed, whispering to the best of his ability.

that made the other two look around, coby carefully looking around a corner to make sure the man wasn't trying to sneak up on them. jj did the same thing, john b looking through the kitchen before he turned around to look at the others.

"maybe he split when he heard us coming." jj suggested.

on cue, a man jumped down from the upper level with a machete in his hand. "devils!"

john b was quick to grab jj, pushing him out of the way just as the man, neville, swung the machete. neville swung at john b this time, john b quickly leaning back, falling into the hammock behind him. jj tried to grab at him, but neville was quick to bring his elbow back, nailing jj right in the nose.

"sir! listen!" john b tried, grabbing ahold of neville's arm just as he went to swing. "neville! we just wanna talk!"

coby was quick to run over, going to help john b since she saw that he was struggling to push neville off. the older man looked at her once she grabbed him, quickly pushing her back. she tripped and fell, somehow hitting her head. she tried to recover, quickly shaking her head so the world could stop spinning. jj looked at her from his spot on the floor, silently asking her if she was okay. she nodded before she made a gesture with her hands, jj immediately getting what she wanted to do.

"john b! trip line! trip line!" jj quickly yelled, earning another nod from coby.

the routledge boy did as told, pushing neville back while his friends extending their legs in the doorway of the kitchen. both neville and john b went flying to the floor, but the former recovering quickly. neville grabbed his machete and straddled john b's waist, bringing the machete up so that he could swing. jj and coby quickly got up, going to help their best friend. jj wrapped his arm around neville's neck, putting him in a headlock to try and knock him out. coby grabbed at neville's hand, trying to get the machete out of his grip.

"stop, stop! we know professor sowell!" john b quickly informed.

"who gave you that name?" neville questioned in a thick caribbean accent.

"let it go, dude!" jj ordered, tightening the headlock around neville's throat.

"listen to me, we're friends, okay?" john b tried, knowing that his friends weren't gonna stop unless the man calmed down. "you were in orinoco last year! with five other people. right?"

"how did you know that?" neville asked.

"let go, let go!" john b told him.

"let go! let it go!" coby demanded.

neville finally did as told, coby quickly taking the machete out of his hand as she stood up. she watched as jj pulled neville onto his feet before pinning him against a box. he then held his hand out, coby immediately handing him the machete.

the blonde boy pointed the machete to neville's throat, still having him pinned. "we're on the same team, home dog, okay?"

"look, we don't wanna hurt you, okay?" john b told neville, having gotten up from the floor. he made jj put the machete down and let go of neville. "look, we were just with sowell yesterday. he, uh. . . he didn't make it."

"he's dead?" neville asked, looking between the three teens.

"i'm sorry." john b apologized.

neville took a second to himself, letting john b's words process. he slowly walked away from the trio to go sit down. "i'm the last one left."

"yeah. that's why we had to get to you before they did. if we found you, they can too." jj told him.

"dude, give him some time to process. he just found out he's the last one left of his group." coby whispered.

her comments fell onto deaf ears, john b pulling out a piece of paper out, unfolding it. coby sighed, shaking her head slightly. "i just have a few questions." he said, placing the paper onto the table in front of neville. "solana, you've been there. yeah?"

"that is a place of evil." neville stated.

"that stone piece right there." john b started again, pointing to said piece on the photo. "me and my dad found the thingy that goes in the center."

"the gnomon." neville elaborated.

"gnomon?" coby repeated, eyebrows furrowing as she looked at john b for help.

"what's a gnomon?" jj questioned, also looking at john b for help.

"the gnomon. hey, hey. i got it." the taller boy told his friends before he looked back at neville. "listen to me. now, there's some bad men who have taken my father to this place, and they are gonna kill him. so i need your help to find this place, neville."

the older man realized what john b was asking him. he stood up from his seat. "no, no, no, no. the curse has already done enough."

"no, no, no. look, it's not a curse. okay? i understand that it's dangerous but i need your help." john b urged.

"hey." jj called.

"what? what's going on?" john b quizzed, looking at the maybank boy.

that led to the two talking over each other before jj slapped his hand over john b's mouth. silence fell over the group, the sound of boat engine appearing in the distance. coby's spine straightened when she had processed the noise, her and the other two pogues looking at each other for a few seconds.

"hey, neville, how much traffic do you get on this river?" jj asked, looking at the man in question.

"nothing." neville answered, looking at jj with furrowed eyebrows.

"neville!" a voice yelled, making the three pogues and man jump. the four of them turned to look out the kitchen window, seeing that there was a boat approaching them, two of singh's men on it. "neville persaud!"

coby gulped, watching as one of the men cocked a shotgun before aiming it at the house boat. "guys, he's aiming that thing over here."

on cue, the man fired the shotgun, shattering the kitchen window. coby, jj, and john b were quick to duck down, shielding themselves from any bullets and glass. neville followed pursuit, dropping to the floor with the three teens. coby screwed her eyes shot, wondering how the hell they always end up in these situations. neville quickly told them to go pull the anchor up, but they couldn't exactly do that from the boat since they were being attacked. so instead, jj grabbed the machete that neville had attacked them with before him and the other two practically crawled out of the kitchen. just as they got out, the shooting had stopped, coby hearing the fact that the boat had gotten closer.

the trio made sure that no one was around before they quietly climbed off the boat and into the water, jj briefly putting the machete into his mouth. they swam around the boat, seeing how there was only one of singh's men on it, meaning that the other had climbed onto neville's boat. they quietly swam towards the boat, making sure that they weren't seen. once they were close, they quietly climbed on board, john b going first. he snuck over to where the keys to the boat were while jj helped coby up. the rougtledge boy tried to pull the keys out of the ignition slowly, but they jangled when he had gotten them completely out. that gained the attention of the man, him quickly turning around and pointing his gun at the boy.

john b was quick to grab at the gun, the two of them fighting over it. fortunately, john b had gotten the upper hand, somehow hitting the man with the shotgun. the man went stumbling off the boat, along with the shotgun and the keys that john b had taken out of the ignition. coby wasn't really sure what the plan was, but she knew that definitely wasn't it. the trio looked towards neville's houseboat when they head some commotion, neville and the other man probably fighting one another. john b looked looked at coby and jj, gesturing towards the water before he jumped back onto the houseboat. the other two looked at one another before they jumped back in the water.

jj went over to the ladder that they used to climb onboard earlier while coby went over to the rope that they had just used to get down. they climbed slowly, seeing that singh's minion was now pointing a gun at john b, the teenager having his hands up in surrender. suddenly, the engine to the houseboat revved to life, meaning that neville had started it up. jj and coby looked at one another before they looked over at john b. the maybank boy quickly grabbed at the man's shirt before he pulled him back, making him go falling into the water. coby smiled as she climbed onboard completely.

"jj, machete!" john b called, the blonde boy quickly throwing it to him.

both jj and coby yelled at john b to cut the line to the anchor before the man could get back on the boat. john b did as told, cutting the rope with ease. with that, the boat started to move through the water. coby turned to face singh's men, seeing that they were trying to swim after the boat. she simple sent them a smile before she stuck up both of her middle fingers. she then turned to her friends, looking between the two of them.

"so, uh, what did i say earlier? something about. . . getting on this boat not doing us any good? d'you remember that?" coby reminded, her eyebrows furrowed as she gestured between the two boys.

"is now really the right time to say i told you so?" john b questioned.

"it's always the right time to say i told you so. especially when we are still alive." coby reasoned. "but, you guys should've listened to me. just saying."

"yeah, yeah. whatever." jj mumbled, waving her off.

"i'm still waiting for a 'you were right, coby. we'll listen to you next time.' come on. i'll wait." coby teased, watching as the boys turned around to go find neville. "did sarah make me soft or did she help me mature? huh? you two oughta learn about that. just saying."

"just saying." both jj and john b mocked in unison.

"mocking me won't make me wrong."

daij speaks!
i've finally updated omg. i was trying to update the day before thanksgiving because i also had that day off from school. but i was running around for my parents and for myself. and then i had family over so the update just never came. but here it is finally. it's literally just the three stooges because i don't think i've ever really written a scene with just the three of them.

but i hope you guys enjoyed 🫶🏼