WHAT THEY FOUND IN THE WRECKAGE was nothing short of anticlimactic and disappointing. All the hopes and dreams that they'd conjured up the moment that they would found the gold in pieces of the Merchant went into the drain, never to be seen.

To be completely sure of the discovery, or lack thereof, Pope went in circles a few times with frantic, searching eyes. Any alternatives he could conjure up in the moment were spewed out in hopes of not giving up. But, with a firm command from John B, Sierra was pulling the drone back up.

  The Routledge had already accepted defeat the moment they didn't find it in the first sweep. The tension thick and awkward as he remained seated on the floor, hood pulled over his head. Now, Sierra sat inside the cabin, keeping JJ company whilst he drove back to Heyward's. Slowly, Kiara stepped in, sitting beside the Ray girl.

  "So..." The curly haired girl began quietly, swinging her legs gently from the edge. "would not be a good time to ask you something?"

  Sierra peered over, smiling softly, ever the kindest even in such a situation. "Yeah, anything."

  "Come to Midsummers with me."

  "Anything except that."

  "Oh, don't be stubborn, Si!" Kiara whined, face scrunching up into a pleasing look. "Please, my parents gave me permission to bring a plus one, and then they said the plus one can only be you."

  "Do you want me assassinated?" Sierra argued, a flicker of her attack against Topper and Rafe flashing in her brain. Marching into Kook territory after something like that only called for one thing, trouble. "I step one toe into whatever country club is hosting the event and there'll be a sniper waiting to gun me down."

  "Don't be dramatic." The Carrera girl countered, clueless on the knowledge that Sierra held. "It won't be that bad."

  "Is that suppose to reassure me or you?"

  "Maybe a bit of both?" The girl revealed, shrugging sheepishly. "But that's not the point! The point is that you're going with me, no arguing, no saying no."

  "I have no way in dropping out of this, do I?"

  Kiara feigned thinking, looking up and tapping her chin to really sell the act. "Nope, your appointment for the dress fitting is the day after tomorrow."

—

  SEVERAL HOURS HAD PASSED AND Kiara invited Pope, JJ, and Sierra to join for the annual Outerbanks get together. Of course John B would've came along if he was even present at his house, which he wasn't. And with no way of contacting him they shrugged it off and drove down to the open field.

  The actual location sat on the cusp of the Cut and Figure 8, though the activity itself was mostly a Kook thing, but few Pogues stood out in the large crowd of people. Walking past those people were the four Pogues, Kiara walking with an extra, excited pep in her step, tote bag slug over her shoulder. Pope was forced to carry the lawn chairs and his backpack, speaking of which, JJ had his own hugged on his back along with a cooler in his right hand, the other protectively held Sierra's.

  The blonde was antsy, looking around in fear as they walked through. Had Kiara not been rambling enthusiastically the whole time she would've noticed, but it was the girl by his side that was only one to see it.

  "I'm so glad they're still doing this."
Grinned the Carrera girl, approaching an open spot in the smack center of the field. "Keep calm, carry on, back to OBX life, y'know?"
Her smile wavered only a bit when she didn't receive an immediate response, her head twisting to look at three. "Aren't you guys glad I made you come?"

  They arrived in a patch of free grass which gave them a perfect view of a screen placed at the front, projecting the the large words: OBX SUMMER MOVIE SERIES.

  "And made you carry all our things?" Added the Ray girl, smiling teasingly at she happily swung her empty hand.

  "Ecstatic." Pope replied monotonously, placing down all the materials onto the ground.

  JJ cleared his throat and copied the Heyward boy's action, taking the opportunity of being face down he grumbled. "My couch was pretty comfy, I'll be honest."

  Taking a glance behind him, assuring that Kiara was occupied with unfolding the chairs, Pope leaned towards JJ. "We're outta the green zone, man."

  "Dude, tranquilo, okay?"

  "We're in the middle of Kooklandia, this is the last place I wanted to be—" Hissed the boy, his hushed tone slowly rising in volume. Usually, Sierra would butt in with her own words but she couldn't bring herself to say anything, and that was because she felt the same bubbling anxiety in her stomach.

  She tased the man, for god sake, knowing Kooks—especially men like Rafe Cameron— she was lucky that Peterkin wasn't on her porch.

  "Shut up, Pope." JJ warned, eyes flickering towards Kiara in hopes that she didn't hear. If she did, she hid it well, her face remained neutral and clueless as she smiled at them.

  "I'm gonna go get snacks, any request?" She asked kindly, nodding at each ask before her eyes landed on the Ray girl. "Come with me, Si."

  She felt a squeeze on her hand but ignored it, pulling it away from JJ's grip and nodding in agreement. "Okay." Before stepping away she turned to Pope, "Your whispering is horrible, fuckin' Hellen Keller can hear you, even if shes deaf and six feet underground."

  "Somebody had to say it." The blonde murmured, throwing his hands up when the Heyward boy turned to glare at him.

  "I'm doing my best! I'm nervous!"

  "Just don't whisper, don't talk at all, there's probably, like, undercover Kooks that could be listening." Sierra instructed, jogging to catch up to Kiara who was nearly at the snack concession stand.

  "Hey, uh..." The Carrera girl greeted, briefly scanning at the menu, "can I get two Pepsis, and a lemonade, please?"

  "And a bag of hot Cheetos as well." Sierra added with her own faux smile. "You're paying, right."

  Kiara rolled her eyes playfully, knowing that she was only teasing as she reached into her pockets. "Why don't you go ask your boyfriend to pay."

  "Kie—"

  "Holding hands, flirting in the car, and looking at each other all lovely-dovey." She smirked, handing the vendor a few bills. "I mean, come on, I can't keep living like this!"

  "I'll do it soon, I promise."

  The two girls smiled at each other, and they simultaneously dropped it when a familiar voice came nearing their forms. "Hey, Kie. Pirate." Rafe fucking Cameron, sporting a full frat bro outfit, backwards hat included, called out. He spat the Ray girls nickname mockingly, a flicker of anger in his eyes as he looked at her. It contrasted against his soft tone when he spoke to the Carrera girl. "Hey, what's up? How are you?"

  "I'm fine." Kiara responded uncomfortably, looking down and anywhere but at his annoying face.

  "Good, good, um..." Once again, his blue eyes glimpsed towards Sierra, turning back to Kiara before she noticed it. "Tell your boy that we know what he did."

  "Sorry," The curly-haired girl scoffed, "what boy are you talking about?"

  "Uh, he'll know." The wealthier man simply stated as Sierra collected the drinks. He watched them both walk off without another word. "Bye."

  "Douche." Kiara muttered, turning to get one last look over her shoulder before shaking her head.

  "Guess who we ran into." Sierra began, handing off the cans of Pepsi. "His name rhymes with asswipe."

  "Was it JJ?" Pope questioned, cracking open the can with a loud hiss as JJ slapped his arm.

  "Dude, I'm right here."

  "It was Rafe." Kiara informed flatly, sitting down with an irritate puff of air. "He said, and I quote: 'Tell your boy that we know what he did'." Looking between the two she awaited an answer, "What is that?"

  "Um..." JJ clicked his tongue, doing his best to maintain a straight, calm face. "Where is he?"

  Turning around, Kiara caught sight of the Cameron boy, not bothering to point or motion. "Right there."

  Whilst JJ calmly turned his heads, making a subtle move to look at big three—the big three being Kelce, Topper, and Rafe in all of they spoiled glory. Though, Pope snapped his whole body to look his wide eyes practically labeled with guilt.

  "Great the whole death squad." They Heyward boy panicked, his voice suddenly becoming higher as Topper sent a small smile to him. JJ grabbed his hat-clad head and turned it back around to face the front.

  "Don't stare, bro!" The blonde scolded, taking a moment to process before releasing a breath. "Just warnin' you bro, if they corner me, I'm coming out swinging, okay?"

  "Yeah, yeah—"

  "Slice and dicin'. I'm on edge right now, alright?" JJ lifted his rugged brown backpack, a heavy load weighing the fabric at the bottom down. "If that doesn't work, I got this right here."

  "Yeah, yeah." Pope confirmed, nodding. "So, we just gotta stay in the group. They can't get us in the group."

  "Like a school of fish."

  "What the fuck is this conversation even about anymore?" Sierra asked, and although she had her own taste in the secret that they held it didn't help the fact that Pope and JJ had created their own sort of language.

  "Stay in the school, can't leave the school." The Heyward boy chanted quietly, attempting to relieve his heavy and anxious breaths.

  "I'm sorry, JJ..." Kiara began, looking at the boy incredulously. "Please tell me that you did not bring a gun here. JJ, there are kids!"

  "No, Kie!" The blonde immediately protested, "I didn't bring the gun, everything's fine, okay?"

  "Wow, thank you, that's really convincing, I love that, JJ." Kiara sarcastically smiled as she spoke, clearly giving a sign that she felt the opposite of her words.

  "Could've fooled me."

  After a thick tension of silence filled the air the Carrera girl looked between the two boys suspiciously. "Founding principle, you guys: No secrets amongst Pogues. What is Rafe talking about?"

  "Kie." Pope began dramatically, "It might go down tonight."

  The look on Kiara's face wasn't any less confused nor aggravated as before. "What does that mean? Might go down tonight. What did y'all do?"

  No answer came directly to her and eased her questions, JJ choosing to look at Pope, whispering his infamous line. "Deny, deny, deny."
 
  A couple of hours had passed by, the night growing dark, the black and white movie being hard to focus on due to JJ's hand. It grazed Sierra's thigh casually, not daring to move any farther up. It was killing her, slowly and painfully.

  "JJ." Whispered Pope suddenly, his fidgeting getting the best of him as he leaned over the girl.

  "What?" The blonde responded swiftly, he too leaned over Sierra like she wasn't even there.

  "Gotta take a piss."

  "Hold it."

  "I can't hold it, I drank to much soda." Pope stressed, desperately looking at the Maybank boy for a solution.

  "It's too exposed, they'll totally see us."

  "I gotta go." The Heyward boy snapped, twisting his head to look back. All three Kooks were lined up next to each other, and just so happen to be in front of the restroom. "They're blocking the bathrooms."

  "Will you two be quiet." Sierra admonished quietly, pushing the two heads that invaded her space away. "Hold it!"

  "Sierra, my bladder is about to explode." Pope argued, glaring at her. "I can't just hold it."

  "That's disgusting."

  "But you know what would be more disgusting, me pissing in this damn seat."

  "Alright, alright, come here. I know where." JJ affirmed, standing up and nodding for Pope to follow along. The whole time he wasn't been really paying attention to the movie because he had also drunk the whole bottle of Pepsi without thought. His eyes were scanning at he field for a perfect relief spot in the hour and thirty minutes that the movie had been playing.

  "Great, the father taking his lovely son to go pee." Sierra rolled her eyes at boys as Kiara finally acknowledge the fact that they were leaving with confusion.

  "Hey, where y'all going?"

  "We gotta wring it out." JJ replied casually, shrugging like it was nobodies business before continuing to walk away. The two were crouched down, both in respect for others trying to see the screen and to keep hidden from the three wealthy boys in the back.

  "What, are you gonna hold it for each other?" Kiara disgustingly replied as they disappeared, the comment making Sierra snort with laughter.

  Boy's were mysterious creatures, Sierra liked to think, and being around so many only proved her theory more. But one thing was for certain, guys didn't take so long to take a simple piss. And when the Ray girl to a look behind her to find three lawn chairs empty she wasn't wasting anytime before grabbing JJ's backpack and standing up.

  "Kie, let's go." Sierra demanded without any explanation, tossing Pope's bag into her hands and rushing past the rows of people just trying to enjoy the movie.

  "What, why?" Kiara didn't receive an answer, the Ray girl being to far ahead to turn back and say anything.

  The sight she walked into was one she expected but not one she really wanted. She was paused for a moment, just staring at the fight and unsure where to start.

  "Let go of him, Topper!" Kiara yelled, not wasting a second before striking the teen with Pope's bag. "You fascist asshole!"

  Sierra ran towards Rafe and JJ, pushing the Cameron boy back. He turned around in confusion, angrily flaring his nostrils with each heavy breath at the sight of the girl. Kelce stepped in, throwing JJ off to the side carelessly, the boy being too weak to attack.

  "Yo, watch it out, man, she's got a—" Rafe attempted to warn, a hand stretched out to pull the boy back before a familiar crackle sounded.

  "Fuck!" Cried Kelce, gripping his stomach and falling to the floor with a pained look. "She fuckin' tased me, man!"

  Sierra held out the weapon threateningly towards Rafe, her thumb caressing the button that triggered the electric shock. "Back the fuck off."

  Before she could make a move she was brought down, a rugged on her ankle making her crash into the grass. Rafe took the opportunity and stepped past her to help Topper.

  "Stay out of this Kiara." Sierra heard him warn, a grunt followed afterwards as he pushed her aside.

  Kelce was slowly standing back up, looking over Sierra's body, making sure she didn't try to grab for the fallen taser just a few feet away. 

  "You're lucky you know the Sheriff, Pogue." The boy sneered, going to say something else before being knocked down once more. JJ had finally recovered, though still in pain and slightly woozy he managed to throw a hard punch.

  By then, Rafe was coming back and couldn't even reach the blonde before Sierra was at his side, forcing a well known painful sensation through his system.

  "Fuckin' bitch." The Kook muttered through a pained groan, catching himself with an extended hand before crashing into the grass.

  "Asshole." Sierra spat back, glaring down at him and shoving the taser into her pocket once more. A sudden flame illuminated the dark night, expanding into the white screen and cutting off the rest of the movie.

  Sounds of panicked cries were heard from the other side, people rushing out and screaming. The three Kooks started to back off, standing slowly and running away from the scene.

  JJ collected himself, taking in deep breaths and wiping the oozing blonde from his facial wounds. Sierra approached him, gently putting his hat back on his head and caressing the side of his face with widened, worried eyes.

  "You okay?"

  "I'm good."

  "You're a freakin' idiot." Pope chuckled, looking at the Carrera girl and at the situation she'd caused.

  "I saved your ass." Kiara wrapped an arm around his waist in support of his limping steps.

—

  "DON'T LET IT GET IN YOUR HEAD, dude." JJ encouraged from his spot, leaning up against the counter whilst Kiara helped out a customer. "Three of them and two of us. That's typical kook shit right there."

  It was the next, all cuts and bruises fixed up, left for time to cure. In an act to remain protected, given that the only two moments that they were apart lead to some sort of fighting, they'd gathered at Heyward's. Hiding the fact that they were only there to stay far from any Kooks, Sierra and Kiara worked behind the counter as cashiers.

  "Hell, yeah." Kiara mumbled in agreement, closing up the register as she handed a kind man his change.

  "What was your thought process, using your head?" The blonde chuckled, a sneaky hand coming up to grab one of the sweet treats offered by the registers.

  "You used your head?" Sierra raised a brow, smiling as she slapped JJ's hand away before he could steal the lollipop.

  "I don't know, man." Pope sighed in embarrassment, looking down as he did some calculations on the profits that they'd made that day. "I just kinda acted off instinct. I was a cornered animal."

  "Hey, Pope, someone here to see you." Heyward announced, walking into the shop. A rag tossed over his shoulder, sweat gleaming on his wrinkled forehead, ever the hard working man.

  His thumb pointed behind his other shoulder to reveal deputy Shoup, a stern look painted on his face. "Evening, officer." Pope spoke in his best attempt to seem confident and not guilty in anyway, his hands already beginning to tremble with anxiety.

  "I have an arrest warrant for felony destruction of property." The officer stated, almost hesitantly as he reached for his handcuffs on his belt. "Keep your hands on the counter where I can seem 'em."

  Pope's head snapped back to look at JJ, eyes widened and petrified at the accusation he knew was true. But nobody else watching in the shop seem to, Heyward himself having a scrunched up expression of confusion.

  "What?"

  "Young lady, out of my way." Grumbled the man, passing by Kiara behind the counter and grabbing Pope's wrist.

  "Woah, woah, woah, wait." Heyward began to argue, "Shoupe, what'd he do?"

  "Take a look at the warrant." Shoupe replied simply, planting a piece of paper on the counter top.

  "Sorry, you're arresting him?" Kiara stepped up, looking at the officer with confusion and rising aggravation. She was never one to like cops, or any sort of authority. She'd be the first at the sight of a protest against police brutality.

  "You're just arresting my boy!"

  The shouts of defense fell upon Shoupe's deaf ears, cuffing the boys risk and clicking it tightly shut.

  "Be careful!"

  "Shoupe, are you listening?"

  Instead of giving a response the officer began to recite the Miranda rights monotonously. His voice went overpowered by the continuous calls of the four.

  "How much did they pay you, man? How much?"

  "How do you even know that he did it!"

  "So what, you're just gonna take him?"

  Pope's face remained frozen, a locked expression of wide eyes and an open mouth, completely shock ridden. No amount of force that JJ gave against the police seemed to do any good, so he did what he knew best.

  The blonde had sent Sierra a look. She saw in a simple glance. He was going to do something stupid, so fucking stupid. But, it was the only way he believed he could save Pope in that moment.

  "JJ." Sierra whispered, a stern and harsh tone that contrasted against her usual one when addressing the boy. "JJ, please."

  "I'm sorry."

  "No." Sierra loved Pope as much as any of the other Pogues. Nobody could deny it. But standing there, getting a glimpse into the future she knew was to come. JJ would take the blame, get sent to jail, either due time or fall in the hands of Luke Maybank. It depended on what mood that man was in.

  Sierra Ray absolutely despised Luke Maybank, she absolutely hated his guts since she found out what happened behind closed doors of the Maybank residence. Nobody told her, she figured it out. The new cuts and bruises that would suddenly appear on JJ's face every week, it was all too familiar.

  Being begged to cover up those same purple marks so nobody asked questions, it wasn't long before she knew how he'd received them. Her theories were confirmed when she was a receiver of the abuse. It happened once, only once, then JJ never allowed her near his house ever again.

  The thoughts struck fear into her veins, halting her in her steps as she stared at the boy step up. Mouth opening before Sierra could stop him.

  "It wasn't him!" JJ shouted firmly, causing all the noise to become silent, all steps to pause, all eyes falling on him. "It was me. e tried to talk me out of it." The blonde explained, a finger pointing at his chest before turning over to Pope. "But I was mad because he'd just been beaten up. I was so sick of those assholes from Figure 8 that I lost my shit. I can't let you take the blame for somethin' I did. You've got too much to lose."

"JJ, what are you doing?" Pope looked at him incredulously, only a few feet away from being put in the back of the police pickup truck.

"I'm telling the truth. For once in my goddamn life I'm going to tell the truth." He chuckled, his tone dripping with irony. His proclamations of honesty being an outright lie themselves. "I took his old man's boat too."

"What the hell?"

"JJ, come on." Pope attempted, sighing as he turned his body as much as he could with Shoupe's continuous tight grip.

"Just, shut up, Pope! Just, shut up!" JJ snapped, looking at the Heyward boy with those reassuring eyes before they flitted away. "He's a good kid. You know where I'm from."

"Yeah." The officer looked down, pondering a decision in his mind. Maybe deep down he knew that it was an action of bravery. But, he did have his own bias towards the Heyward family. Either way, his final answer was starting to form.

"This was all me"

"That's the whole truth?" The deputy questioned, looking towards Pope for affirmation.

"Whole truth, swear to God." Answered JJ, his voice tainted with faint desperation that Shoupe believed him.

"I know what you think, damn it, I'm asking Pope." The older man shouted aggressively, too stressed out by the whole thing to bother being peaceful.

A brief moment was shared between the two Pogues, the slightest nod of confirmation that would end the debate. "Yeah, that about covers it." Pope confirmed, his dark eyes meeting JJ's for a final time, guilt swirling in them.

  The handcuffs clicked as they were removed from the Heyward boys wrist and put on JJ, a tense silence filling the air. He glanced over his shoulder to look at Sierra, just to get a look for comfort before he shoved in a cell for god knows how long.

  It broke his heart to see her so upset. Her mouth opened agape with wide, glossy eyes. Sierra really admired his loyalty, but now, she despised it. It intertwined with his stubbornness, she knew the moment he made up his mind that she couldn't change it.

  His eyes tore away once his head was pushed into the back of the pickup truck. With a slam of a door and the start of an engine the, he was off.

In a fit of anger Pope ripped his cap off his head, gripping in before tossing it onto the ground. "Shit!"

"Pope." Heyward muttered worryingly, looking at his sons figure stomp away and into into the shop once more. "Pope."

"Si." Kiara whispered carefully, two hands coming up to comfortably lay on her  shoulders. "Sierra, he'll be okay."

The girl sighed, covering her face. "No he won't, Kiara."

"Yes he will, hems JJ." Kiara softly spoke, "Let's just go home and take a moment to relax. I'll let you use whatever products you want."

A wave of comfort washed over Sierra as she inhaled deeply, looking to her best friend gratefully. "Okay."

NATTI SPEAKS:
Edited July 2, 2024

I never realized js how hot JJ looked in this scene I had to take a moment to admire.