vi. temporary fix

The bitter taste of iron coated her tongue. Biting through a forming scab inside her lip, Nova busted the skin, sending warm, red blood to sting the back of her throat. It was a nasty habit she had. Though it'd gotten worse since the death of her mother. When Nova became overwhelmed with any kind of feeling she'd bite down on the inside of her lip until the stinging sensation became too strong and the taste of her own blood was unbearable. And over the past few days the inside of her mouth had become a playground for her teeth to sink into.

Her relationship with John B. had been found out. And though Sarah had told Lincoln most everything she knew about what was going on between his daughter and the boy from The Cut, Nova was expected to recount her own version of the details.

Of course, she left out bits and pieces of the story. Like the treasure hunt and the gold. But everything else her dad knew. From the party on Boneyard to running off to the mainland with him on a random afternoon, after just having to patch him up when she found him running from the police.

Nolan thought every bit of this was hilarious. Laughing hysterically when Lincoln awkwardly cleared his throat to ask if John B. and Nova were being safe in their... endeavors. Absolutely mortified, Nova had to explain that she and John B. were not having sex. Lincoln seemed pleased by that and dropped the subject altogether.

John B. was being discharged today. Yet another thing that had Nova's nerves spilling over the edge. He'd been made to stay another night so that the doctor could monitor his concussion. Most of those hours Nova spent rotating between the hospital and setting up his new room at the Cameron residence.

The idea of Ward being John B's guardian still didn't sit right with Nova. Not that she didn't trust his intentions. It was just going to be a weird adjustment, seeing John B. around her stomping grounds. And she knew it was going to be weird for him too. They'd lived such separate lives, and now, they were colliding.

Ward had called about twenty minutes ago to let Sarah know that he was finishing up with some paperwork they had for him at the hospital and then he'd be home. When Sarah called to let Nova know, she'd just stepped out of the shower.

She now stood at the top of the Cameron's' driveway. Tugging endlessly at the end hem of her daisy-printed sundress and scuffing the tips of her new converses on the cemented ground.

Nova sighed, turning to Sarah, "This is weird for you too, right?" she asked, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders as she admitted her feelings of these sudden circumstances. "Tell me this is weird for you too, because I feel crazy right now."

"Yeah, it's a little bit weird," nodded Sarah, looking down her long driveway, waiting for a vehicle to turn into it any second now.

"It's like my boyfriend is your brother," said Nova, furrowing her eyebrows. She wasn't sure if she liked the sound of that.

Sarah scoffed, shaking her head, "John B. is not my brother, okay?"

Shrugging, Nova sighed, "Still, feels similar to the situation."

"Remember when you actually dated my brother?" Sarah laughed, turning her head so that she was looking to Nova, who stood, shoulder pressed to hers.

Rolling her eyes, Nova pretended to gag. Her fling with Rafe was one that she would like to forget. Because that's all it was. She'd painted a picture of idealized figure of Rafe in her head and thought he could be that for her. Plus, the forbidden romance trope had been her favorite at the time. And who is more forbidden that your best friend's cool older brother?

"I don't think what happened between me and Rafe can even be considered dating," Nova said, reminding Sarah of how awkward that relationship had been. "Besides, I always thought it would be you who ended up with my brother."

Sarah didn't have enough time to respond with anything more than a laugh. As a familiar custom painted convertible turned down the driveway. The freshly polished vehicle reflected under the sun. The rays of the sun bounced off the metal and onto Nova's now stiff and nervous body.

But then she saw him. Stepping out of the expensive vehicle with tousled hair and tired eyes, John B. smiled at Nova, making her breathe a sigh of relief. A low chuckle escaped the back of his throat, vibrating in his chest, when without hesitation Nova carefully threw herself into him. She nuzzled into his chest, arms around his waist, making sure not to squeeze the bruised ribs. Smiling, she breathed in, he smelt like hospital, but Nova didn't care.

Taking the hand that hadn't been encased with a ceramic cast, Nova led John B. into the large home, through the winding halls and past what seemed like a thousand doors, before stopping at the only one that stood open. It was at the end of the hallway. Some distance away from the other bedrooms, most likely an intentional doing, but Nova didn't see John B. caring. This would make it easier for him to sneak out, which he would be doing.

The room remained a dull white. As they didn't have the time to choose another color. Besides, no one knew the kind of room John B. wanted, if he cared at all. Some paintings Ward bought at art shows and auctions decorated the otherwise bare walls, the bed was pushed against the back wall, a full size with a navy-blue comforter topping it off. A brown leather chair sat on the other side of the room beside of desk. And besides a few dressers, that was it. It'd been left for John B. to decide what to do with it.

"Not too shabby, right?" asked Nova, stepping into the room with him after allowing him a minute to take in the scene from the hallway.

He seemed like an animal in unfamiliar territory. He didn't know what to say. Or how to feel. This all felt foreign to him. But he smiled, at least for Nova.

"Yeah," he threw a lazy arm around her shoulders, leaning down to press his forehead to hers. "Not too shabby."

And in some kind of random surge, John B. threw himself onto the bed, wincing as he forgot about his injuries. He groaned rolling over from where he landed on his stomach and onto his back. Nova watched as John B. clutched his ribcage and forced himself back into a sitting position.

"Jesus, John B," sighed Nova, shaking her head. "You have to be more careful."

"It didn't even hurt that bad," he told her, releasing the hold on his ribs so that he could attempt to make his lie believable. "I'm fine. I promise."

The deadpanned look on Nova's face was enough to tell John B. that she didn't believe him. Sighing he leaned out, reaching for her hand, which she allowed him to take so that he could pull her into him. When she was standing between his legs, he dropped her hand and brought his own up to cup either side of her face. They stayed like that for a minute or two, in complete silence, just enjoying the presence of each other. Enjoying the tug of the string that had brought them this close. And then he kissed her. Pulling her lips down to meet his own it started slow, each savoring the other. Nova sat, her weak knees threatening to give out, on John B's lap, her hands sliding slowly to the back of his neck. All she could think about what how happy she was that he was here. She was able to see him and touch him.

Suddenly someone cleared their throat. Loudly as to make their presence known. Quickly Nova and John B. pulled away from each other, Nova moving to take the spot beside John B. on the bed instead of his lap. They sat guiltily, their swollen, red lips being the tell.

"Nova Scott you are already breaking the rules," Ward stepped into the room, arms crossed over his chest. "I promised your dad I wouldn't allow any funny business to happen under my roof. I tend to keep that promise."

"Sorry, Mr. Cameron," mumbled Nova guiltily, not even being able to meet Ward's eye.

Thankfully his gaze shifted, eyebrows raised at John B, who Nova heard gulp from beside her, "Yessir, John B?"

John B. nodded, coughing, "Yessir, Mr. Cameron."

Seeming happy with their agreements, Ward patted Nova's shoulder so that she would look up at him, she did.

"You mind giving me and the inmate a moment?" he asked.

She turned to look at John B, his eyes had gone with panic, but there wasn't much Nova could do. She couldn't tell Ward no, could she?

So, she nodded, despite the pleading look from John B, "I was needing to talk to Sarah anyway."

And with that Nova stood from the bed and crossed to the other side of the room, before shutting the door she sneaked a glance back at John B. who was still seeming horrified at being left alone with Ward, but the best Nova could offer was a whispered sorry and the shrug of her shoulders as she left him alone. 

"You're leaving?" asked John B. as he followed Nova outside of the Cameron home. "You're leaving me alone? With them?"

Nova had agreed to stay for lunch. Even an hour after that to allow John B. time to settle into his new environment. But once the movie finished on the newly placed television in his room, she lifted herself off the bed, kissing him, and told him goodbye.

He panicked. Following Nova off the bed and through the halls, all the way out onto the patio, the entire way pleading with her to stay.

"Maybe you should go and visit your friends," suggested Nova with the simple shrug of her shoulders. "You haven't seen them for almost two days and a lot has happened since then. They're probably worried about you, John B."

It'd be good for John B. to see his friends. To talk to them and tell them everything that's happened since they'd last seen each other. Since they hadn't come to the hospital. Not with Ward Cameron circling John B's room. And Nova didn't think they trusted her enough to sneak them into see him. Not with Kiara in their ear.

He agreed, luckily. Though he still wasn't keen on the idea of letting Nova go. John B. kept ahold of Nova's hand, willing her to stay with him as she tried to move away. A tug was all it took, not a strong on either, to have Nova pressed into him again. He looked down, moving a piece of stray hair out of her face, tucking it safely behind her ear. She smiled as the touch of his finger left chills in their wake. Pulling herself onto her tiptoes she kissed him. Careful to keep it as PG as possible with Ward now watching them like a hawk. And then finally she was able to say goodbye.

The house was quiet with Nolan not there to fill the silence with his annoying laughter or the strumming of his electric guitar. Lincoln sat alone on the couch; one leg folded over the other as he channel-surfed through the television. He stopped, dropping the remote onto the plush couch when Nova walked in through the foyer.

"Hey, how's John B. settling in?" he asked, standing up and smoothing out his dress pants.

It was rare to ever see Lincoln in lounge wear. Mostly because he was always on-call. He had to be ready to jet set across the world at all times.

"Honestly, it's weird dad," said Nova blowing out an exhausted breath that she'd been holding in since the moment she arrived at the Cameron's household. "I'm not sure if John B. is going to be able to adjust."

"Hm," Lincoln nodded, and he put a hand on his daughter's shoulder before pulling her into a hug. "Are you sure it's John B. who isn't going to be able to adjust, or you?"

"Dad he didn't even want to let me leave," Nova explained, her voice muffled by her dad's chest. "Ward and everyone else, they're strangers to him."

She felt her dad nodding. His chin then coming to rest on the top of her head, "I don't doubt that his adjustment will be difficult. It's quite the change from how he's used to living, isn't it?" Nova nodded. "But if he is going to adjust, you're going to have to help him. You're going to have to adjust to this change with him."

Nova rolled her eyes. She hated when her dad was right.

The questions finally stopped and Lincoln released his hold on Nova, allowing her to escape into her bedroom. She fell, relieved onto her bed. Usually around this time Nolan would walk through her door bothering her about something unimportant. But he'd left already for band practice. With Lincoln home Nolan wouldn't practice at the house. And not because Lincoln was some hard ass who didn't like the noise, because even if he was, there was a soundproof room for them to practice in. What kept Nolan and his friends away when Lincoln was home was the fact that they liked to get high before practice. Apparently, it helped them write new music.

But even with Nova home Nolan kept that part of his music writing process far away from her. She'd never been high. By the time she was old enough to witness it being smoked at parties she'd already been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It was a mind-altering drug, dangerous to someone like Nova. It could affect her medication or even her mental state. So, she had to refrain from trying it.

Nova ended up falling asleep after throwing herself into her bed. She'd been so tired that she couldn't even bring herself to turn on her tv which usually served as background noise. She'd left her lights on to which her dad hated. Her mom hated it too. When someone was sleeping with their lights on, or when they left a light on in an empty room. It'd stemmed from her childhood. The more electric they used the more the bill would be at the end of the month. She carried that and many other rules with her to Figure 8. And Nova's dad adopted them as well.

She woke dreamlessly to her phone vibrating on her chest. Yawning, she sat up letting the phone fall onto her lap as she stretched out her arms. She'd missed four messages. Three of the four of them was John B. willing her to answer his texts.

John B: Meet me in your backyard.

Nova was too tired to argue. She willed herself out of the bed and pulled a cardigan over her cold, bare shoulders. She tiptoed down her steps and quietly slipped out of the kitchen door that led into her backyard, which was a small portion of grass, but beyond the aged gate, it was sand and water.

John B. stood, back facing to her, further down the beach. His hands shoved into his tan shorts and his blowing with the directions of the wind. Nova unlocked the old gate with chipping paint and stepped onto the warm sand.

"I thought you were with your friends," John B. turned at the sound of Nova's voice behind him.

He shrugged, "I was."

"I'm surprised your back so early," she noticed that it'd only been a few hours since she left him at Ward's house. "Is everything alright?"

John B. held out his hand, waiting for Nova to take it, when she did, he laced his fingers through hers. He began leading her further down the beach, in the direction of her grandparent's house.

"I wanted to walk with you," he said sweetly.

Nova smiled, and though she didn't believe John B. she followed him, keeping her fingers laced through his. It was quiet except for the crashing waves and seagulls flying above them. The beach was deserted, no one but them occupied the sand or waters. It was a hidden beach. One that sat behind a high stone wall that separated them from the outside world. This was Nova's backyard, but certain trespassers never cared.

Trespassers like JJ Maybank. During the summer months JJ was known to be a tourist attraction to teenage girls. He wooed them with sights and the promise of a summer romance that he never fulfilled. One of the sceneries was behind the wall. The Scott property. He'd been seen and caught numerous times, especially by her grandparents since he chose their wall to jump. But they never bothered him and his dates. As Penny and Max believed the sentiment to be romantic. And they remembered what it was like to be a teenager in love.

Love made people crazy.

The sky was a darkened blue, the shade it becomes just before the colors of the sunset begin to paint to sky shades of pinks and orange. It was a relief, the sun wasn't shining as harshly, and Nova forgot to put on sunscreen. Growing up on an island she should know by now to put on sunscreen before leaving the shaded roof of her home, but always she still forgot.

Talk of the gold was the main topic of their conversation. John B. carried it thoroughly, telling Nova that they'd located the gold on the map. Unfortunately, he believed it to be under the house of an axe murderer. That did sour the plan a little. But he still talked so passionately about it all and spared no detail. Even when discussing the possibility of confronting an axe murderer, Nova smiled, because she liked seeing John B. like this.

"So, you do know where the gold is?" asked Nova, just refreshing on earlier parts of the conversation to make sure that she didn't miss anything in the jumbled mess of John B's ramblings.

"Yeah, we found it," John B. nodded surely.

Nova nodded, biting the inside of her lip, "But you believe that it's hidden under an axe murderer's house?"

She did not seem as scared of that possibility as she should be, and it left John B. a little confused, and only slightly afraid.

"Also yes," he said.

"That does put a damper on things, doesn't it?" asked Nova, though she could no longer conceal the excited grin that she'd been holding back since the mention of the axe murderer.

"You're enjoying the fact that there's an axe murderer involved with this, aren't you?" asked John B, finally catching on.

While nodding Nova's grin only widened, "I think it's so cool," she confessed, "It's like I'm living in a true crime podcast."

It scared others, mostly Nolan, that Nova was so into true crime. When in her car, instead of music, sometimes she'd turn on a podcast about a gruesome killer, or alone in her room, he'd find her asleep with a true crime documentary playing on her tv.

"Yeah, I guess," said John B, brows furrowed and slightly confused, but he went on talking about the gold. "The only issue is that the well under the house is super, sketchy deep."

"All of this is so exciting," gushed Nova who found herself becoming jealous of the adventures John B. was going to have in retrieving this gold. "I wish I could be there with you. At least just to brave the axe murderer's house."

"Babe," laughed John B, stopping suddenly so that he could step in front of her. Nova looked up at him, eyes wide, that was the first time he'd called her that. "You're going to be there with me tonight."

He spoke with such ease and certainty that Nova almost believed that it'd be that easy to include her.

"Are you sure that's alright?" asked Nova, meaning is everyone else on board with her tagging along on their gold retrieval mission.

John B. knew what she meant.

"Of course," he shrugged, pretending that he wasn't seeing the issue that Nova was trying to present to him. "We're Vlad and Val. We're a team."

Sighing, Nova took John B's hand, "Yes, I know that," she told him, "But I thought you intended to keep this team and the team you and your friends created separate," Nova's gaze fell to the sandy ground. "I don't want to impose."

Of course, Nova wanted to be there with John B. finding the gold under an axe murderer's home. She could already imagine the thrill that'd come along with that. But she didn't want to be that person. She didn't want to be the one to impose on something that she wasn't wanted at. She didn't want to disrupt whatever system was already in place.

And, what if his friends hated her? Despite Kiara, she already did hate Nova.

"Okay, Nova, look at me," cupping either side of her face John B. lifted her gaze so that it met his. "You're going. I want you there. That's all that matters."

Nova nodded in his hands, and while grinning, John B. leant down a placed a soft and quick kiss on her lips.

"What about Sarah?" asked Nova.

"What about her?" John B. furrowed his eyebrows.

"Can I bring her with me?" she asked, not wanting to leave her best friend out of anything else. "I mean, she has saved our asses multiple times already."

"You're right," said John B.

And though he nodded, agreeing with Nova, she could see the doubt written all over his face. He was already testing untreaded waters with bringing Nova. But if he allowed Sarah to come with her, that could start a war, not with Pope or JJ, but with Kiara.

"Dammit, it's Kiara, isn't it?" Nova assumed, and did so correctly. "She said something to you, didn't she? I mean, I wouldn't put it past her, she hates Sarah, and me for no good reason."

John B. tightened his lips together and shook his head. He was lying so poorly that he couldn't even bring himself to speak.

"You are a terrible liar," said Nova.

John B. scoffed, "I'm not lying."

And yet, another terrible lie.

Nova rolled her eyes. Honestly, she had no problem with Kiara. There was no bad blood on her end. In fact, she missed being Kiara's friend. But it was Kiara who ended things. She was the one who brought Nova into the middle of the fight she and Sarah were having at the time and demanded she choose between them. Because according to Kiara, she wanted no more ties to Sarah Cameron. It was selfish and inconsiderate and Nova refused. She didn't want Kiara to do the same thing to John B. and make him choose between them.

"You know, she always does this bullshit," said Nova, obviously annoyed, and obviously still talking about Kiara. "She's always wanting someone to choose between her and someone else. She's so selfish, I swear. And I won't let her, John B, I won't let her try and make you ─"

"Hey, hey, Nova, hey!" said John B. once again her head between either of his hands so that she was made to look at him. "I'm not going to choose. I won't have to. You and Sarah found Tannyhill map. You two saved me from DCS. And once we get with everybody, they're going to be excited."

Nova stayed quiet, not able to believe a word that John B. was saying to her.

He stroked her cheeks with his calloused thumbs, trying to soften her into him, "I promise."

She did give in. But not because she believed him. She'd be a fool if she did. It's just she didn't want to argue about his friends anymore. She didn't want to make him see Kiara as the bad guy. Because despite knowing how selfish Kiara can be, she didn't want to even accidentally turn John B. against his best friend.

So, she let him comfort her, and she lay her head on his chest, fearing the moment when she was standing before his friends.  

"No. Fucking. Way."

Nova was right, as she expected she would be. Kiara was livid. Red cheeks and smoke blowing out of her nostrils, livid. It wouldn't be a surprise if she blew fire out of her mouth. Nova was right, obviously so, Kiara was not happy with the presence of her former friends.

She'd sat on one of the dry-rotted couches pressed against the house siding. The porch squeaked and creaked under the weight of everyone. Glancing down every so often at the cracked wood planks, Nova feared that within any second, they could fall through. Sarah barely sat, only perched on the couch arm rest beside Nova, arms crossed over her chest and eyes staring down Kiara, twinkling with amusement. With all the pacing that Kiara was doing it'd wear the old wood out and she would be sent falling through.

"So, what, you brought them here?" Kiara stopped pacing so that she could yell at John B. again. "Are they just in on this now?"

"I mean, we have known about this little treasure hunt for a while now," Sarah confessed, not afraid to speak up to a fuming Kiara. "I'd say we've been in on this."

Reaching over Nova discreetly slapped Sarah's arm, willing her to play nice with Kiara. They needed her approval, despite everything. Nova knew that it would be tough keeping Sarah at bay, she was a naturally confrontational person, it only amplified when it came to defending Nova.

John B's gaze crossed over the deck, landing on the couch sitting adjacent to them. JJ and Pope had been enjoying the scene before them, sharing bets and hushed whispers. It was a pleading look that John B. gave them, one willing them to help, to tame Kiara.

Sitting up from the couch, JJ cleared his throat, "Look, recruit all the cute girls you want to," he winked at Sarah and Nova, earning a scoff from the both of them. "As long as their cut comes from your share."

"That actually brings up a great point, thank you, JJ," said Nova, mocking JJ's movement in sitting up on the couch. He grinned, offering a finger gun in her direction. "Sarah and I don't want a cut of your money."

Having talked over the money beforehand it didn't take long before Sarah and Nova decided they didn't need it. Nor did they want it. For them it was about the adventure. The summer of being involved with something other than the country club and lame Figure 8 parties. For Nova it was about being with John B.

JJ stood up from the couch, clapping his hands loudly, "Then it's settled," he announced. "I cast my vote in favor of Nova Scott... and her friend too."

A sense of triumph that made Nova smile crossed over her after gaining JJ's support, though the grin was wiped clean when she noticed the murderous look Kiara was giving them.

"I don't remember even taking a vote," Kiara continued to find things to argue about. "Besides this is our thing. A Pogue thing."

"Oh, and here we go with this again," murmured Nova before turning her gaze upward. "Kiara, you are a Kook. You, just like me and Sarah, live on Figure 8."

Nova had never understood the Pogue vs. Kook mentality. Their rivalry was based on nothing. But people like Kiara thrived over it. It was one side or the other, and Nova knew how much Kiara liked making people choose. Except for her, of course, Kiara was allowed to live on the line that separated the Pogues and the Kooks. She was allowed the best of both worlds. But as soon as someone else dared to step over that line she went up in flames and demanded it be Pogues or Kooks.

"Hm, you're right Nova," Sarah smirked, raising her eyebrows at Kiara. "Seems a bit hypocritical of her if you ask me."

"Ease up, Sarah," warned Nova.

But her eyes remained daggers that fixed on Kiara. She wasn't going to bend to her. And she wasn't going to let Nova bend either. She may be John B's best friend, or one of them, but Nova was with him now and she deserved to be here too.

"Okay, I'm just going to say it ─ I am just a tad but uncomfortable with all of this," Pope finally included his voice on the matter from the spot beside JJ.

Scoffing, John B. rolled his eyes, "Pope, when are you not uncomfortable?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. "I rode here on the back of JJ's bike pretty comfortably."

"It's true," JJ confirmed, nodding along with Pope. "It was the most comfortable I've ever seen him."

"Yeah, okay," John B. nodded, sarcasm laced in his tone as he refused to find the humor in JJ's words. "Real cute guys."

He was annoyed, and maybe even a little angry.

"You know, John B, we were all extremely comfortable until you brought them," and if looks could kill then Nova and Sarah would be dead.

"Okay, you have got to stop talking about us as if we aren't sitting right here," snapped Sarah, rolling her eyes.

It was a childish move. To deliberately talk over them instead of to them. But it was Kiara. This is how she acted when she didn't like someone.

"Okay, then leave," Kiara shrugged.

At least she finally talking to Sarah.

Laughing, Sarah shook her head, "I told you."

She shrugged, turning back to look at John B. and Nova.

"Told them what, exactly?" asked Kiara in an accusatory tone. "That you're a liar?"

"No Kiara," Sarah shook her head, her tone scarily calm. "I told them that you're a shit-talking bitch!"

Nova's eyes shot open and her head snapped in the direction of Sarah. JJ and Pope could be heard whispering and laughing from their end of the deck. Nova stood; the inside of her lip already being taken between her teeth. She deliberately blocked Sarah from being able to see Kiara.

They'd talked about this. Sarah wasn't supposed to engage. She knew that Kiara was going to be deliberately provoking, but Sarah had promised to not entertain her. Nova made her promise a thousand different times. And for a while she was doing well. Until now. It wasn't the right moment to rehash old fights, even if Kiara was a shit-talking bitch.

Though Sarah, being past the pushing point, continued yelling at Kiara over Nova's shoulder. Kiara fought back. It was going to be hard to stop them. They were alike in the worst parts of themselves.

It was chaos, pure chaos, so much so that it resembled the noise that never quieted in Nova's head. Constant. Loud. Tiring. It was obvious there was going to be no middle ground found on this dry-rotted porch.

"Okay, everybody shut up!" John B's voice yelled over everyone else.

It echoed over the yard, shaking the trees, but it worked. Everyone became silent. Their gaze turning to him.

"Kie," John B. said, voice exhausted. "You're my best friend, right?"

Though she still refused to speak him, Kiara nodded.

John B's gaze then found Nova, "And Nova, you're ─" he paused, taking a deep breath and looking around at everyone sharing the porch with them. In the end though, his eyes found her again. "You're my girlfriend."

A smile pulled at the ends of her lips. She nodded. That was the confirmation she'd been seeking from him. No longer did she have to wonder what she was to him. She didn't have to worry about being his secret or his summer fling. They weren't without a label anymore.

"Yeah," nodded Sarah, speaking when she shouldn't. "And I'm Nova's best friend."

John B. nodded, though rolling his eyes, and Pope and JJ shared questioning looks from the sudden outburst and need to be included.

"Oh, she's your girlfriend now, huh?" Kiara laughed humorlessly, even a little maliciously, as she quirked a teasing eyebrow at John B. "What happened to having just used her to get into Chapel Hill and to get you the map of Tannyhill?"

Nova's head snapped in the direction of John B, her eyes already glassy and voice breaking, "What?"

It was a malicious way of announcing. But that's what Kiara wanted. She wanted this tidbit of information to hurt. And she got what she wanted. Nova's heart sank.

"Really, Kie?" asked JJ, seeming to be just as disappointed in her as most everyone else standing on the porch.

"You said you were using her?" Sarah yelled, her glare no longer pointed at Kiara but to the other side of Nova, who she then pulled behind her in an attempt to move her further away.

"No, I didn't say that," said John B. in a quick attempt to save himself.

But Nova already knew, he was a terrible liar. And now it felt as if her heart was truly shattering inside of her chest.

"No..." Pope shook his head slowly. "You definitely said those things."

And though Nova was on the verge of tears already, she appreciated the honesty.

The inside of her mouth stung. Filling with the familiar taste of iron. Her eyes burned with unshed tears and her chest ached to the point where it was hard to breathe. And she couldn't look at him. Nova couldn't bring herself to lift her gaze from the rotting wood holding them up.

"Love just walked in, okay? I didn't expect it. It just ─ it just kind of happened, y'know?" John B. shrugged, he was smiling, and his voice wasn't shaking when he found Nova's gaze. Not like it would be if he was lying. "And I'm not going to deny it anymore."

Nova was still. Not being able to comprehend the words she just heard. Had John B. really just admitted to loving her? She was convinced she heard him wrong. Her body wouldn't allow her to react. She was at war with herself. Was he using her or did he love her? That's the word Nova longed to hear every time, but it'd been tossed around so carelessly that she didn't know if she would ever be able to recognize the real thing. He loved her though.

John B. loved her.

And it was breaking her heart because she didn't know if was real or not. Nova was left to drown in the wonders of if he loved her or if this was his Hail Mary attempt to keep her around for whatever he needed to use her for next.

Kiara scoffed, obviously not buying any of what she was seeing, "Come on John B, cut the bullshit. If they're in, I'm out."

There it was. The moment that Nova knew would arrive. Kiara was going to make him choose.

"No, Kie, I'm not doing that," said John B.

"Yes, you are going to decide," the annoyance inside Kiara was growing with every second that John B. didn't choose her. "I'm actually really interested to know... me or her?"

Kiara's gaze snapped in the direction of Nova. She chewed down on the inside of her lip, eyes widening in disbelief. She couldn't understand why Kiara wanted to see her hurt. Nova hadn't been the one to create the tension between her and Sarah. Nova even remained friends with Kiara for months after the blowout. She couldn't remember a moment that made her deserve this hatred that Kiara holds for her.

There was no right choice that John B. could make. Either way he'd lose someone. Someone would end up hurt from this.

"Jesus, Kiara just stop it, okay!" Nova yelled before John B. had the chance to even think about his dilemma. "I'm not letting you put this on him. So, I'm out, okay? I'm finished with all of this. I'm walking away."

Terrified that he was losing her, John B. reached for Nova's hand, "Nova..."

But she pulled away before he had the chance to touch her. Her hand was shaking, visibly so when she ran it through her frizzy hair.

"God, I'm so tired of this Pogue vs. Kook bullshit. I'm so tired of being told you have to choose a side," said Nova, finally turning to look at John B. but still not taking the hand that was still waiting for her. "I'm not going let you choose between me and your best friends, John B. I wouldn't do that..." her gaze shifted slightly to Kiara. "Ever."

Kiara glared at Nova. Though she didn't say anything Nova knew that she wanted nothing more than to slap her. Because now she'd never know. Who would John B. have picked? She was hellbent on finding out the answer, but Nova, she hoped that the question would never have to find an answer.

She stormed off. Her feet stomping against the wooden deck as she pushed her way past everyone when no one immediately came to her defense. No one ran after her. No one spoke. It was weirdly quiet. A heavy air formed over all of them. Everything that's been said, it'd take time to digest, to understand.

Clearing her throat, Sarah was the first to break through the barrier of silence, "Well that was fun. That was exciting!"

Each word was targeted as she turned to glare at John B, she'd been using his own words against him. The words he used when promising this meeting would go well.

Scuffing the toes of her shoes on the dirty porch, Nova shrugged, "I didn't have much fun."

Sarah took Nova's hand squeezing it to provide her sympathy and comfort, "We're gonna head out now."

She nearly sighed in relief when she felt Sarah tug her away from her spot. Nova hadn't been able to move since they began fighting. So much revealed. Was she being used? Or did John B. love her? It was too much for her to think about while standing only a few inches away from him.

But John B. didn't seem as ready to let Nova go. Following after them, Sarah turned, hair whirling around. She stood in front of Nova, blocking his view of her, "Later John B," she told him. "We're leaving you guys to talk. I'm getting Nova out of here; lord knows she needs to take a breath after all of this."

He didn't want to take Sarah's word for it though. John B. needed to hear from Nova. He needed her to tell him what she wanted. Not what he, Kiara, or even Sarah wanted. Of everyone who had an opinion today, he found that Nova had the least to say.

"John B," she sighed, stepping past Sarah so that she could look at him. He nearly melted at the sound of her tired, cracking voice. Again, he reached for her hand, and again, she didn't let him take it. "I think I just need a little bit of time, okay?"

And before he had the chance to say anything else, anything that may change Nova's mind, Sarah took her hand again and led her off the porch. She fought every instinct inside of her to not look over her shoulder. But Sarah's voice helped will her away from the temptation. John B. had a serious hold over Nova Scott, and it was finally starting to be seen by the people around her. But now they knew, it wasn't only him who had the hold on Nova, she too had a strong hold on John B.

She didn't talk in the car. Her head rested against the cool glass. Eyes drifting closed as every word said today made her body ache.

He loved her.  

The night was spent sulking. Sarah remaining close at her side. They refused to tell Nolan the reason of Nova's current woes, and Nova refused to leave her bed for the better part of the evening. Until the small pitter patter sounded outside her balcony doors drew her from her endless thoughts. She and Sarah shared a look, thinking maybe it was rain, weirdly timed rain. And then she saw the small grey pebbles scatter about her wooden balcony. Someone was throwing rocks at her doors.

Throwing the covers aside Nova stood from her bed for the first time that evening. Walking outside, she furrowed her eyebrows, hands clasping the balcony edge and she looked down upon John B. Routledge, a hand full of pebbles.

"You're going to crack the glass," she stated simply.

John B. looked up, dropping the pebbles to his feet, his gaze lifted, eyes widened as the small light from the balcony haloed around Nova, announcing her presence.

He cleared his throat, wiping the sand coating his hands on the sides of his shorts, "Sorry, didn't really think this one through."

"What're you doing here?" not wishing to stall any longer, Nova moved past the pleasantries. "Besides playing Romeo outside my balcony in the middle of the night..."

"I need to apologize to Juliet," he shrugged.

Nova tilted her head downward, attempting to suppress a smile, "They both die in the end, you know that, right?"

"Shit! Really?" John B. asked from below.

"Unfortunately," she nodded.

Nova heard John B. let out a long sigh. She watched as he paced in a circle, running a hand through his tousled hair. Curls falling just under his ears. It took everything in her to not turn and run to him.

"I'm a fucking idiot, alright," John B. finally yelled, breaking the small interval of silence that had fallen over them. "Because ─ because I did tell my friends that I was using you," Nova heart sank, and no more did she have to suppress a smile, because it left all on its own. "But only because I'm a coward, Nova. I was afraid of what they'd think ─ what they'd say if they found out how I really feel about you."

Sighing, Nova dared a glance at him, and though he seemed genuine, Nova didn't trust herself enough to listen to her instincts, "How do I know you aren't lying to me?"

"You don't, I suppose," he said, shrugging. "What do you want me to do Nova?" John B. asked. "Do you want me to stand down here and profess my feelings to you? Because I will. If it gets you down here, in my arms, I'll say everything I've felt from the moment I spoke to you at Boneyard."

Nova hated how well this was working for him.

"You don't have to say anything else," she told him.

"Come to me?"

And she did. Ignoring the hurt still burning inside her from earlier in the day, Nova went to him. Running right into his arms as if there stood no barrier between them. With ease she forgave him, just as she would every time. But this wasn't like every other time, or at least it didn't feel like it. John B. seemed genuine in his apology.

But still, Nova couldn't trust her own instincts. From all the hurt before. All the heartbreak and lies. It'd tainted her. A once beautifully naive girl with an open heart, now with skepticism and built gates around all the shadowed naivety.

Nova wanted this one to be different. That's why she ran to him. That's why she forgave him.  

By morning all was good again. The night had been spent with a million apologies. Though she only needed that one. Never before had someone stood beneath her balcony asking if she wanted them to profess their feelings for her. It was nearly dawn when Nova found her way back to her bed, collapsing onto it and falling into a deep sleep.

They hadn't talked about his profession of love from earlier. Said in the heat of the moment, Nova feared it might've been a product of stress. And she didn't want to talk about it. Not yet, because she was saving hers. This time she would wait. Nova would know when she felt it. This time she wasn't going to be careless with her feelings.

Woken from a deep sleep Nova had been made to get ready before she was ready to. Calling before she could sleep a full four hours, John B. insisted that she go with him and JJ on the boat for the afternoon. He said Sarah could come too. Telling Nova that this would be fun and a good chance for her to get to know his oldest friend.

And though she'd been reluctant to agree, Sarah even more so, the afternoon ended up being a good time spent. JJ, having already made up his mind about Nova, was fine with her presence. Even offering to shotgun a beer with her, and when she declined asked her to time him while he shot-gunned one. She agreed, and ended up doing so three other times. He'd also been the one to push her into the deep waters when she insisted that she didn't want to swim. And yet, she swam, for another hour with him, John B, and Sarah.

"See, us Pogues aren't all bad, are we?" said JJ, who'd managed to cram himself into the small cabin with Nova and Sarah to make himself a sandwich.

Scoffing, Nova put her own half-eaten sandwich on the paper plate sitting on her lap, "I never said you were all bad, JJ," she told him. "If anyone was making preconceived assumptions about others it was you."

He nodded, biting into his sandwich, "You're right," he spit crumbs of bread out of his mouth when he spoke. "I guess you guys are kind of fun and not all uptight."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Nova thanked JJ, though she wasn't sure if what he said should be taken a compliment or not.

Shoving the last bit of his sandwich into his mouth, JJ grinned, before climbing up and out of the cabin, leaving Sarah and Nova alone, finally able to rest. Nova tossed her tanned legs over Sarah's lap, head resting on the back of the couch. The silence created by the two of them was comfortable and the gentle rocking of the boat was almost enough to lull Nova to sleep.

Until the sound of an engine cutting off sounded from outside. Then footsteps, loud ones, pattering across the deck, sharing a look of discomfort and confusion Nova and Sarah stood from the old couch and began climbing back up toward the deck.

From the noise they'd expected to see a crowded deck. Instead, it was empty. JJ and John B. had gone. Leaving Nova and Sarah alone on the boat, except for one more person. Kiara.

"When did you get here?" asked Nova, making her way toward the nose of the boat to stand beside Kiara who stared angrily out at the water. "And what's going on?"

"What the hell?!" Kiara yelled, not at Nova, but at whatever it was that had her glaring out over the ocean.

She waved her hands like a madwoman. Nova had no idea who or what she was yelling at until she made it up to stand beside her. Crowded in a small speedboat a little ahead of them was the missing JJ and John B, now joined by Pope.

"Guys, are you kidding me?" Sarah yelled, walking up beside Nova.

"Seriously! Get your asses back here!" Kiara demanded.

It didn't take long for Nova to decipher what was happening. From the amused looks on the boys' faces, Nova knew, this was purposeful. Not a joke either. It'd been their plan all along to leave them on a boat alone to hash whatever it was that had caused the tension between the three of them. It'd been the plan all along. Since they agreed to spend the afternoon on this stupid boat.

"We can't come back," John B. shrugged sitting easily on the other boat across the way. "Not until the three of you figure out how to get along!"

"Three?" asked Nova, stepping up, using her hand to shield her eyes from the glaring sun. "I'm hardly a part of their spat."

"Then you can be a mediator," Pope yelled at her.

Nova rolled her eyes. She wanted off this boat.

"I will seriously kill every single one of you!" Kiara yelled, sounding deadly serious.

"Come on," scoffed Sarah, refusing to see the dire part of the situation they were currently in. "You guys aren't really going to leave us here."

They would. And they are. Nova could see it on their faces.

The engine on their small boat roared back to life, Pope stood up, "There's food in the cabin," he informed them. "And JJ rolled a blunt."

"Hydroponic," added JJ, giving himself a thumbs-up for his contribution.

Despite it being very, little comfort to Nova.

Pope turned the wheel attached to their boat. She stood, listening to Kiara and Sarah call after them, but despite their pleas and promises to murder them, the boat turned away from them and eventually disappeared into the horizon.

"Shit," cursed Nova, becoming nervous. "Well, this is just great ─ perfect, even." She sighed, biting the inside of her lip. "I need to get off this boat. I need to get home."

Scoffing beside her, Kiara rolled her eyes, "Oh, does the Kook Princess need her castle, already?"

Nova rolled her eyes, "Shut up, Kiara!"

"Can't rough it, even for one night?"

"Dammit, I don't have my medication, okay?"

Kiara's taunting grin disappeared.

"Are you serious?" asked Sarah, eyes wide.

Nova nodded. She hadn't been told about this dumb plan ahead of time. How would she have known to bring her pill for the morning? It was important that she take the pill at the same hour every morning. It created a schedule. A habit. The messed-up wiring in her brain relied on the routine. Breaking schedule, even if just once, could mess up her moods. It could send her into a spiral.

"I mean, yeah," said Nova, shrugging. "I didn't think I'd have to bring them."

That was all it took. That's all Nova had to say before Sarah jumping into the calm waters and began swimming forward. Kiara and Nova both calling after her.

"Really? Sarah, get back on the boat," Nova yelled for her. "You'll drown before you're able to swim home."

"Do you even know where you're going?" Kiara asked.

Sarah never got the chance to come back at Kiara. Instead, a shrill scream took the place of the expected insult. A shrill yelp before she sunk beneath the water.

"Sarah?" Nova moved to the edge of the boat; eyebrows furrowed as she scanned the waters for any sign of her best friend. "Sarah, where are you?"

It was a stupid notion, yelling for her. How was Sarah supposed to answer while she was under the water. Nova looked back at Kiara, who stood in her same place, though her eyes had a glint of worry in them. Turning back around, Nova studied the water again, willing herself to jump in after her best friend. Sarah would do it for her. Sarah had done it for her.

Just as Nova had one leg hanging over the edge of the boat Sarah's blonde hair broke through the surface. She was gasping for air as she desperately flopped around in the water, coughing, and screaming. There was no sign of blood though, which was a good sign. No sharks.

Reaching her hand out from the ladder, Nova took Sarah's hand to help pull her back into the boat. "Are you alright?" she asked, almost falling under Sarah's weight. "What happened to you?"

Gasping, Sarah fell onto the ground, she pulled herself up so that her back would rest against the boat, "I was stung by a fucking jellyfish!"

Looking at the side that Sarah clung onto, Nova noticed the growing sting mark, a pink welt formed on her smooth skin. It looked bad, but it wouldn't kill her. Small jellyfish always floated about the sound waters on the island. Spending her entire life here, Nova has seen plenty of people stung.

Kiara scoffed noticing Sarah's tear-filled eyes, "Oooh, does it hurt?" she cooed.

Sarah rolled her eyes, too focused on her burning skin, "Guys, you know what they say about curing the burn of a jellyfish sting, right?"

"No," shaking her head, Nova even refused to hear Sarah's suggestion. "Absolutely, not," she continued to decline the pleading look her best friend gave. "I'm not peeing on you!"

Sarah cried out in an agitated pain, "Then what am I supposed to do?"

With her arms crossed, still keeping a safe distance, Kiara cleared her throat, "I have an idea." 

The sky had turned gold as the rays of the sun began to set behind the sound waters. Nova, Kiara, and Sarah were sat in a circle, legs crossed over tucked under them. Though she would not be a participant in what could be considered a bonding activity, Nova watched intently as Kiara prepared the singular blunt gifted from JJ.

Holding the lighter up to the tightly rolled papers Kiara took a long drag before removing it from between her lips. She forced the smoke into her lungs before releasing the rest through parted lips.

Clearing her throat she reached the paper toward Sarah, "It's for the pain," she told her, voice now hoarse.

Hesitantly, Sarah took the rolled paper from Kiara, putting it between her own lips. Instead of watching anymore Nova once again checked her phone. For the millionth time it showed that she had no signal in the middle of wherever they were. Sighing dropped it back into her lap, wishing there was a way she could get ahold of her brother, who'd likely ring John B. by his neck if he found out about this idiotic plan.

After taking her own hit, Sarah fell into a coughing fit. She held her chest as Godzilla-like eruptions sounded from her throat.

"Jesus, this isn't your first-time smoking, is it?" asked Kiara, taking the joint back into her own hands before Sarah ended up dropping it.

Still coughing, Sarah shook her head, "No," she said in-between breaths. "Just don't do it regularly."

Rolling her eyes, Kiara reached out, offering the smoking paper to Nova.

"Oh, I can't," she said.

Kiara pulled back, furrowing her eyebrows.

"It's her medication," Sarah clarified when she noticed the odd look on Kiara's face. "Mixing the two can create a bad reaction, right?"

Nova nodded when Sarah looked to her for clarification.

"What's the medication for, anyway?" asked Kiara, taking another long hit. "You aren't sick or anything, are you?"

It had just dawned on Nova that she'd never told Kiara about her disorder. For the year that they spent practically joined at the hip it'd never been brought up in conversation. And for a moment Nova thought she might be hallucinating, because she thought she sensed worry on Kiara's expression.

"I mean, I don't consider it a sickness," she shrugged. "It's more a disorder..." Nova went on to explain, only confusing Kiara further. "I have bipolar disorder. The medication helps regulate my moods and quiets all the noise in my head for a little while."

"Shit..." Kiara sighed.

"It runs on my mom's side of the family. It's rare, but my kind of disorder was passed through genetics," Nova told her. "It's manageable, though," she added quickly, not wanting sympathy from Kiara, or anyone else for having bpd. "With medication and therapy, I've learned to live with it."

The sky had blackened overtop of them. The girls sat lit up by the moon and the stars that glistened onto them. Kiara and Sarah had finished their joint a while ago, silently passing it back forth until it became a nub and Kiara tossed it over the side of the boat. A silence fell over them too. Not comfortable, but not quite uncomfortable either. It was a bearable silence.

"Why'd you do it, Sarah?" asked Kiara, surprising all of them, even herself it seemed like.

Nova turned, Sarah's pointless giggling had stopped and she'd sat up from where she once laid on her back, staring up at the night sky.

"Why'd I do what?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

Kiara scoffed, rolling her eyes, "We were best friends, the three of us. We stole beers from Lincoln Scott's fridge, we watched movies together, we cried about boys..." she sighed sadly, even Nova felt a guilty lump forming in her throat. "And the next think I know, I'm watching your birthday party happen from Instagram."

It'd never really been talked about much. The party incident. Not even between Sarah and Nova. There was a party that everyone at school had been invited to, at least Nova thought everyone had been invited. When she got there, she realized Kiara wasn't there. And Kiara wasn't answering any of her texts that evening and Sarah dodged any question Nova had about her.

Nova would stand by her claim that she was innocent in their squabble. She didn't know what had happened between the two that made Sarah not invite Kiara, but Nova had tried to get an answer out of one of them that night, neither of them though thought to include her.

"Kiara," sighed Sarah, hoping not to make this a big deal. "It was one party. It wasn't personal."

"You invited everyone but me, of course it was personal," said Kiara, knowing better. "And then you let everyone believe that I was the reason that the party got busted."

"Who else would've been able to call the cops?" Sarah asked, refusing to take accountability for her mistakes.

"You never even asked me," Kiara reminded her. "You just let everyone go around calling me a rat. You and Nova were my only friends at that school and then you just ghosted me. And as expected, after a while, Nova followed."

Nova agreed with most everything Kiara had been saying to Sarah. But Nova wasn't going to let Kiara create a false narrative about her.

"That's not true, Kiara," she called her out calmly. "I didn't ghost you."

"You hardly ever hung out with me after that night," Kiara defended her stance.

"Because I was having to split my time between you and Sarah, of course I wasn't going to be around as much," explained Nova. "You're the one who ghosted me after accusing me of choosing Sarah over you. When I never chose anyone. You know that, too, because you asked me to make that choice."

Kiara shook her head, "I didn't ask you to choose."

"You did, Kiara," argued Nova. "And now you're doing the same thing with John B."

"She's right," Sarah nodded. "Nova was trying to keep us both as friends. I know because she refused to say or hear anything negative said about you."

Kiara was quiet for a moment, she wasn't used to this ─ being wrong, "Then what about you?" her attention once again on Sarah. "What did I do to make you suddenly stop talking to me?"

Sarah sighed, hesitating, "It's just... I mean ─ you liked me..."

"What?" Kiara deadpanned.

"When people get close to me, I feel trapped, then suddenly, I bail," Sarah explained, rolling her eyes at her own self, knowing how ridiculous she sounds. "And then I blame the other person for it."

Even Nova was confused by that confession. Because no one was closer to her than Nova, and she was still around.

"I think Nova's the only person I've kept around," said Sarah. "I don't know what's kept me from pushing her away. Maybe it's because of how young we were when we became friends, or because Nova was there when my mom left. I don't know," she shrugged. "I sometimes think it's because she's my lifeline. Without Nova I wouldn't be able to think straight."

Sighing, she looked back at Kiara, eyes focused, "I am truly sorry, and I do miss you."

"Same here," said Nova, jumping in on that notion. "I miss you too, like a shit ton!"

Even though she was trying her hardest not to, Kiara's lips twitched upward into a small grin.

"Do you think we could ever be okay again?" Sarah asked the deciding question.

"I honestly don't know," Kiara shrugged, smile gone. "All I see is the two of you now, already friends, and I don't want to feel like the one who's just strung along."

Kiara was right, and Nova and Sarah needed to hear that. The two of them had been friends for so long it sometimes felt like they lived alone in the world and they tended to forget to include others into their bubble.

But Nova could understand Kiara now. She felt that same fear. Being brought into John B's world she was completely unfamiliar, an outsider trying to step in on friendships that had been formed years ago. She didn't want to be the person strung along either.

"I get it," said Nova.

If they were going to want to try and mend what was lost with Kiara, they needed to pop that bubble they'd put themselves in.

And that bubble had to pop sooner than expected. Because when the need for sleep came, they had to find shelter beneath the captain's room. Seeing as the cabin was far too small for the three of them to attempt to sleep in together.

Blankets were laid beneath them and they used life jackets as pillows. And once again Nova had been put in the middle of Sarah and Kiara. Though the reasoning this time was because she was the smallest of three and could deal with being squished in-between the two of them.

"Hey Nova..." Kiara whispered while facing away from her.

"Yeah?"

Turning onto her back, Kiara sighed, "Promise that you won't run from John B." she was still whispering. "He isn't just some guy that's going to play with your feelings. I think he really likes you," she said, remembering all the times Nova spent crying over being used by a boy. "He isn't pretending either. I was only saying that to try and hurt you."

"I'm not going to run," said Nova.

Kiara nodded, now turning her head slightly so she could look over Nova and at Sarah, "And Sarah, I'm sorry for calling the cops."

It became apparent that Sarah had been pretending to sleep all this time as suddenly she was giggling, voice muffled by her pillow, she turned, now facing Nova and Kiara, "I knew it! I knew it was you. Bitch."

"Well," Kiara shrugged, laughing. "You should've invited me."

"I should also confess something," Nova sighed, surprising a smile. "I also called the cops on the party that night."

"Nova!" yelled Sarah.

Kiara laughed harder, "Why on earth would you have called the cops?"

"I was so tired," tears streamed down Nova's aching cheeks. "I just wanted to go to bed."

And in that moment things were good. It was like the past year had never happened. Nothing changed between the three of them. This is the way things should've stayed. This is how things need to be again.  

The sun had just begun to rise. An orange glow lit the sky. The water sparkled under the morning light. And small droplets of water glistened on the skin of the three girls. They'd found themselves sitting on the ledge of the boat awaiting the approaching boat that sounded a little while away. Nova crunched on a Nature Valley bar found in the cabin that tasted to be over twenty years old.

Already the three boys were laughing. Nova though did not see the humor in her current situation. She was far too tired to be in a good mood. Being woke with an aching back she was happy to agree with Kiara's plan to let the boys think that their plan failed.

"Okay, you have to admit, this was a little funny," John B's tone sounded hopeful as he stood up on their small boat.

Sharing a bored look, the three girls shook their heads.

"You're the mastermind, huh?" asked Kiara, standing up from the ledge.

John B. grinned stupidly, "You know I'm always planning."

"Some patriarchal bullshit," Kiara rolled her eyes though she accepted Pope's hand to help her step across the water and onto the small speedboat.

Sarah followed suit, agreeing, "Yeah, that sucked!"

"What about you?" John B's gaze met Nova for the first time this morning. His eyes sparkled under the morning light. "Do you hate me too?"

His arm stretched over the open waters, reaching out to her, with the roll of her eyes, she took it, allowing him to help her step over the small gap between the boats.

"I spent the night on a boat floor," Nova turned on him once her two feet were safely into the other boat. "What do you think?"

"And for that, we're going to be getting the three of you back when you're least expecting it," Sarah yawned, sounding not at all threatening.

"Yeah, so you guys better watch your back," Kiara chimed in, sounding threatening enough for her and Sarah.

JJ laughed, encouraging their challenge.

"So," said Pope, just as the engine of their boat roared to life, "Did the three of you... y'know?"

"Reconcile our differences?" asked Kiara, cutting in.

Pope nodded.

"Unfortunately, not," sighed Sarah.

"Yeah, not at all, actually," said Kiara.

All eyes then fell to Nova who still ate on her aged granola.

She shrugged, "There was no differences to reconcile with me. I'm good."

"But..." Sarah said, gaining the attention once again. "Kiara and I are willing to work together."

"For Nova's sake, we are," Kiara agreed. "She can't be a child of a messy divorce any longer."

The three boys in the boat with them each gave Nova a curious look.

"I used an analogy and they couldn't drop it," she told them.

"You know what?" JJ sounded, a victorious smile on his face. "I consider this a win!"

"Alrighty then," John B. sighed, tossed a lazy arm over Nova's shoulders. "Are you guys ready to jack someone up?"

That would be their real test. Sure, Sarah and Kiara could say they would be able to work together when stuck in the middle of the ocean on a boat without keys. But when it came down to it ─ to the real thing, when they'd actually have to work together, would they be able to do it?

Their new partnership could work great or this entire thing could go to hell because of them. But Nova couldn't bring herself to worry too much about the outcome. She was still too tired to think.

The pillow was tempting her. Sitting untouched atop her bed looking more comfortable than ever. Her aching back and tired eyes pleaded with Nova to curl into a ball under the comfortable covers on her bed. But she did not give in. Instead, she made her way into the bathroom where the shower water was turned to a near boiling point, hopefully enough to scrub Nova of the smell of murky saltwater.

Though once inside her shower she began to wonder if a thirty-minute nap would've been a bad thing. As she didn't remember any of the shower until her eyes opened and her head had been leaned back against the tile walls. She'd been asleep. She didn't know for how long either.

Her phone lit up with what seemed like never-ending messages from John B, who sent her instructions to help better prepare her for the evening. Once out of the shower Nova allowed herself a few minutes to read through the boring details. One caught her eye though. Dark clothing that you could run from the police in.

Nova ended up spending nearly an hour looking for a suitable outfit. Clothes to run from the police in... that wasn't a style that Nova had worn before. She had plenty of dark clothing but infuriatingly so, they were all dresses or skirts. Her normal attire. After a while of whining and deliberation Nova ended up wearing a large sweater that Sarah had left at her house over Christmas Break, and stealing a pair of joggers from Nolan's incredibly unorganized drawers. Since they were Nolan's pants that she was wearing she not only had to tie them until the strings threatened to tear but also roll them at the waist over three times.

Unfortunately, Lincoln caught Nova just as she was slipping on a pair of old sneakers beside the door. He'd apparently just been returning from Gemma's where he'd spent the night.

"You look like you're about to rob a bank," he commented, taking in her unusual outfit choice.

Nodding, Nova laughed, "I am."

This way she wasn't completely lying to him.

"Well then," Lincoln nodded, not catching the bit of truth in Nova's confession. "You have fun tonight. And be safe."

Before seeing herself out, Nova made sure she told her dad goodnight and that she loved him. She waited for him to return the sentiment before walking out one of the large double doors that led into the foyer of her home.

The sun had almost completely set behind the high hills where Nova lived. She watched the small line of orange disappear completely as she made the mile long walk down her driveway. John B. and his van was already sat waiting behind the gate. Nova had told him earlier he could park out front, but he didn't want to take any risks. Whatever those risks were.

They all matched. Wearing dark, unassuming clothes, even Sarah who sat excitedly in the back of the van, beaming. Pope pushed the two back doors open, helping Nova step into the van that faintly resembled the Scooby van.

"You know," said Nova, once she was safely sat on the floor of the van and the loud engine sounded over them. "My dad thought it looked like I was going to rob a bank."

"So, what'd you tell him you were doing?" asked Sarah, laughing.

Nova shrugged, "I told him that I was going to rob a bank."

"So not too far from reality," said Pope.

Nova nodded. It'd been intentional. She hated lying to her dad. Really, she hated lying to anyone. So, in telling her dad that she was robbing something, she wasn't a complete liar.

"I can't believe your dad just trusts you to go out like this," Kiara said, a hint of jealousy detectable in her tone. "I had to sit through an entire interrogation before my parents let me out of the house."

Kiara was right. There was a lot of trust between Lincoln Scott and his kids. And it's because there was a mutual respect between them as well. Nova was no stereotypical good girl or rule follower, she'd been grounded a fair amount of time. She'd also been sat through lectures. But in the end, Lincoln knew that his kids would have to make mistakes to grow, he could not be the kind to hover over them. Not like his father did him. Talulah had taught him a lot, but the best thing was showing him how to allow their kids to grow into their own person.

They could not suffocate their kids. They could not pave a path and expect them to follow without straying. They always got a choice. And a safe space to express how they were feeling.

"I've never really given my dad a reason to not trust me," said Nova.

Laughing, JJ turned around from his spot in the passenger seat up front, "Yeah, well that's about to change tonight."

He winked and Nova grinned, rolling her eyes.

The rest of the car ride was spent listening to John B's nervous ramblings. He listed off everything they'd need to accomplish to get the gold a million times. Hearing this list over and over became tiresome, and finally Pope raised up and assured John B. that they knew the plan, and they were going to get this finished.

The van finally came to a slow but very loud stop. They'd parked behind a wall built of stone. John B. and JJ were first out of the vehicle so that they could round back to the double doors. Opening the back doors, Nova noticed the flushed, nervous look on John B's face.

"Alright, everybody just wait..." John B. stopped them all from standing up and crowding out of the van. He cleared his throat and ran a nervous hand through his long hair. "I wanted to thank you guys," he said sheepishly. "It means a lot to me that all of you are here tonight."

There was a short, fleeting moment that everyone's nerves subsided. They all smiled, nodding, because where else would they all be tonight?

"Always," Kiara spoke first.

"Yeah man, we're always here for you," Pope offered, reaching out to pat John B. on his shoulder.

John B. smiled in thanks. His gaze, seconds later met Nova's. She nodded, assuring him that she wasn't planning on being anywhere but with him. He seemed to understand her silent notion as he mouthed a thank you to her.

"Okay! Are done with this circle-jerk?" JJ clapped loudly as the silence slowly started to become a little awkward. "Can we do this?"

"I mean, now or never, right?" asked Nova, taking in a deep, but once again nervous breath.

JJ nodded, he motioned for her to go ahead and move out of the van. Both him and John B. offered a supporting hand to help her safely onto the ground.

Kiara and Sarah followed close behind, both moving to stand beside Nova to watch Pope help himself out of the van, swatting at the helping hand that Pope held out for him to take. Before Pope could fully move to the wall the back doors were slammed shut, and they were actually going to do this.

The stone wall was quite a bit taller than Nova originally thought it'd be. Overgrown with vines and moss from the humid days on the island. The twings allowed for some footwork to be practiced while climbing over the grey stones. Though it still took a lot of upper body strength for Nova to pull herself over the wall.

The wall dropped yards before the house. A field of overgrown grass, weeds, and twigs awaited their steps. The home was large, built in an old, Victorian style. Beautiful but unkept. Some parts of the siding had started to fall off, windows were cracked, dirt and pollen coated the white siding that did remain. White paint chipped off the sides of the home and the entire porch was dry-rotted. This house hadn't seen any care in many years.

JJ moved to stand beside a shell-shocked Nova, his eyes just as wide as her own, "Holy shit..."

"I know," nodded Nova.

The house was gorgeous but horrific in its demolished state. And JJ and Nova was stunned by the beautiful horror that surrounded them.

They remained standing like that for a few seconds more. Both of them suddenly having to drop to the ground when a light under the porch roof lit up bits of the yard. Nova gasped when she felt JJ's hand wrap around her own to pull her into the tall grass so not to be caught in the light.

The ground was damp and she landed with a slight oomph into JJ's chest. She scrunched her nose at the smell of wet grass and damp ground as she moved to crawl so that she could sit beside Sarah.

"Flashlights! Flashlights!" Kiara yelled at them all in a harsh whisper, with a pointed look in JJ's direction.

"It's on strobe!" JJ panicked, hiding his flickering flashlight beneath his shirt so that he could get it turned off without being detected.

In a fit of his own, Pope tore his hoodie off his sweaty body, "Okay, so crazy lady has motion sensor lights."

"We could uhm ─ we could move really slow..." offered JJ.

Tilting her head, Nova furrowed her eyebrows at JJ, wondering if he was joking. Because there was no way that had been a serious suggestion.

"No," Pope shook his head, the same look of disbelief written across his face as well. "That's not how it works, JJ."

"We could ─ Shit, we could throw a rock at it!" suggested John B.

Her eyes widened even more as she turned to look at John B. in utter horror. How had he been able to offer up an idea just as unachievable as the first?

Nova nodded, "Hmm, yes, that's perfect..." Her tone had fallen flat. "Let's all throw rocks at the axe murderer's house."

"Yeah," Kiara scoffed, rolling her eyes. "That'll end well."

Nova shamefully began to wonder if it was Pope that she should've gone after instead.

"Do either of you have a better idea?" John B. asked, glaring at Nova and Kiara who were now using sarcasm to poke fun at him and JJ.

"Literally anything but that," said Sarah.

"You guys do know that there's a breaker, right?" Nova asked them, and by the stunned looks on their faces, they did not know. "It's in the circuit box on the porch."

"Nova's right," Sarah was quick to side with her best friend. "As kids we'd play hide-and-seek around here, and if we were brave enough, we'd go all the way up to the porch," she went on to explain. "Nova's been up there more than once. She's never been able to back down from a dare."

"Yes! See, I told you guys," JJ cheered, pointing at Pope and Kiara. "John B. I've known she was a good one from the beginning."

"No," John B. shook his head, not at all as excited as JJ was. "You aren't going in the house alone."

"Hmm, I don't think I have to listen to you," hummed Nova, grinning.

Wincing, JJ sided with John B, "Crane chops people into pieces, Nova..."

"Yeah, well I think I've watched enough horror movies to get me through it," said Nova, only kind of joking. "Besides, the woman is like 85-years-old. No way she's catching me without breaking a hip first."

JJ snorted at Nova's joke, muffling his laugh with a hand. But neither him or John B. stepped up to defend Nova's idea.

"Okay, listen up you two dipshits," Sarah rolled her eyes. "She won't be going alone. Obviously, I'll be with her."

Nodding, Kiara agreed, "I'll go with them."

Looking, Nova silently plead with John B. to get on board with her plan. He still didn't seem fully convinced, though when he looked to Pope for help, he nodded, agreeing with Nova's idea. It's been the only viable one offered up.

Sighing, John B. nodded, giving in, "Okay, we'll wait for your signal."

"Okay, good," nodded Nova.

She moved to stand up from the root-covered ground, but before she could bring her feet beneath her, John B. caught her wrist, stopping her.

"Just be safe," his eyes were pleading.

Nova rolled her eyes, but smiled, "Well, duh."

He once again stopped her before she had the chance to go off. Pulling her toward him, John B. kissed her. It was a quick peck on the lips. Not meant to be special. But as she wandered off toward the house, listening to Pope and JJ tease and poke at John B, she couldn't wipe the grin off her face.

Dying branches and twigs snapped under the weight of their feet. They didn't talk, too focused on getting to the porch unnoticed. Only their nervous, jagged breathing could be heard, along with the rustling grass, which could easily be shrugged off as the wind.

"She must have a generator plugged into the main power supply," said Kiara, looking between Nova and Sarah.

Nova shrugged, the language sounding foreign to her, "Sure, whatever that means."

The rotted steps leading onto the porch creaked and cracked beneath their weight. Loud, bone-chilling creaks, the kind that would normally give up a victim's hiding spot in any horror movie ever written. But this wasn't a movie, Nova had to keep reminding herself, she was doing this for real. This was all reality.

The circuit box was right where Nova remembered. At the beginning of the porch. Kiara pushed past, Nova and Sarah allowing it as she began to open the metal door. She'd know plenty more about whatever the wires meant than they would. If left up to Nova, the house would have likely went up in flames, and her along with it.

"What?" she heard Kiara's confused whisper. "Where are the breakers?" Nova and Sarah stepped up to look over either of Kiara's shoulder, hoping that they might be able to see what was wrong. "What is this? No. No. No!"

Nova would be the first to admit she was no electrician. And she didn't quite know what it was that she was looking for. But looking in this particular circuit box she'd strongly guess it was the wires that were missing. As the tin box sat empty.

"Oh boy..." whispered Sarah.

Using her flashlight Nova followed the large, protected wire that ran through the circuit box. She followed it up the old, stained siding, it went higher, Nova followed, finally finding it, and her stomach dropped. The wire led right into the home.

"It's inside..." she whispered, which got the attention of the other two girls standing beside her on the porch. "The wire leads inside."

"Shit," Kiara gulped while, just as Nova did, following the circuit box wore up the siding and into the home. She turned, looking at Nova, eyes wide and a little afraid. "Alright daredevil, you up for another adventure?"

"Sure, why not?" Nova sighed, knowing now that there was turning back.

Looking back at Sarah she raised her eyebrows. Sarah's eyes were wide and full of fear. But she nodded, agreeing to follow them in, rather than taking the out that Nova just offered her.

When twisting the doorknob, Nova did know whether to be relieved or frightened that it'd been left unlocked for the night. Carefully, she pushed the door open just a crack, wincing at the old creaking that followed.

There was a moment when no one moved. Not one of three of them. They stood silently deliberating. Was this really worth risking their life? Apparently so, as they all moved to step inside of the dark home.

No turning back.

Nova blinked nervously, following Kiara into the home, her nose began to tickle, threatening a sneeze. Dust swarmed around them. Glass trinkets clinked from the movement of the door closing. Cats meowed in various rooms, some running across their feet as they passed further into the home.

Hitching a scream in the back of her throat, Sarah jumped back as a cat ran across her pathway, "I don't think I like this adventure, guys."

Sarah squeezed Nova's shoulder to the point that it began to ache. Nova kept a pace behind Kiara, her flashlight pointed toward the ceiling so to follow the wire that ran across it.

Kiara followed, leading them into a small room at the back of the house. Opening the door they noticed, at the same time, the breaker resting against the back wall. Smiling, the three girls let out a small breathy laugh, relieved at their find. And for not getting caught.

Nova and Sarah stayed put behind Kiara. Nova only there to provide the light so that she could work. A few switches clicked as Kiara worked her way through them. Suddenly, from the small window on the adjacent wall, Nova watched the light in the yard diminish, leaving the outside in complete darkness.

That had been their signal. The boys would be on the move now.

Shutting the breaker box with a relieved sigh Kiara turned ready to get out of the house. All of them ready to get back outside. But just as they moved to leave the room, from the hall sounded a loud whine.

Eyes widening in fear the three girls slammed their backs to the wall beside the door, hoping they wouldn't be caught by whoever, or whatever, lurked in the dark hallway.

The sound of a cane slamming onto a wooden floor grew closer to room they hid inside. Nova cursed, muffling her jagged breaths with a hand tightly clasped over her mouth.

Nova's chest had tightened as a cry built inside her. Her eyes began to water with nervous tears and her entire body shook out of fear. All she wanted was to see the outside of an axe murderer's home, not become a victim of it.

Feeling her shaking body, Kiara reached down, taking Nova's hand into hers and squeezing it, she too was shaking.

"It's late, Leon..." they listened to the old, tired voice croak from the hallway outside the room they hid inside.

Sarah too was shaking like a chihuahua, eyes closed tightly as she murmured silent prayers to herself, despite not being a very religious person.

Nova never thought she'd be the kind of person to wish blindness on another. But as the old Mrs. Crain stumbled into their doorway and staggered further into the room, they remained unnoticed. Mrs. Crain was blind and Nova had never been so happy for someone being blind ever.

"I can hear your breathing, Leon," Mrs. Crain called out, turning to face the three girls who attempted to press themselves through the wall.

Nova had a thought. A terrible, awful thought. She wanted to kick the cane out from under the hobbling woman. Kick it and run. It'd certainly give them a window to escape. Did that thought make her a bad person? Nova almost didn't care.

"I've been waiting all night," the old woman continued talking to no one.

Suddenly Mrs. Crain snapped. Turning around to face them in a flash. Eyes glowing in the light of Sarah flashlight that she never turned off. Mrs. Crain's wrinkled, dry lips turned upward into a smile in the light, her yellow, rotted teeth right in their face. It was a horrific sight to behold.

Screaming, the three girls shoved one another out of the room. They ran down the long, dark hall, now becoming known to the accused axe murderer. Nova no longer wished to be a part of a horror movie.

When the three girls made it out of the hall, they ended up splitting up. Each of them searching for a door that led to an escape. Sarah ran for another back hallway, Kiara found herself in a dusty library, and Nova stood in the center of the kitchen where the door to outside had been heavily boarded up. To keep people out or in, she did not know. Nor did she wish to know.

"Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding me!" Nova kicked the door, unable to get the wooden planks to budge from their nailed place.

Kiara's sharp shrill of a scream pulled Nova away from fighting the tightly locked doorway and running for the library at the sound of shattering glass. Throaty yells came from Mrs. Crain as Nova pushed her way into the library, dodging a iron steel fire-poker being swung by a blind Mrs. Crain.

Now having Kiara and Nova backed into a corner of the room with her hand reared back she went to swing on them. But the pain of steel rod never swung down onto them. Sarah, upon hearing their shared screams ran into the room and behind Mrs. Crain, taking the poker from her hand.

Using the distraction of the old lady, Nova took Kiara's hand and with her, ran out of the room, closing the door behind them, and locking it. But the old wood proved no match for the old Mrs. Crain and her fire-pokers. Hearing the hits from inside and watching as holes formed into the wooden blockade between them and the axe murderer, the girls ran.

"Jesus, what kind of meds is this woman on?" Nova yelled, making sure this time to stay with the group.

"Here! This way!" yelled Sarah, taking Nova's wrist and pulling her to a staircase hidden in a back hallway. "It goes underneath the house."

Opening a painted white door, Nova was the first to run down a steep set of dry-rotted steps. Sarah and Kiara making sure to stay close on her tail.

"Guys! Help!"

"We have to get out of here!"

"The old lady is going to kill us!"

Their high-pitched yells echoed off the stone walls, entrapping them. None of them knew who exactly was screaming, they just all knew that there was screaming, a lot of it, and all very loud.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Pope said, being the first to approach the three panicking girls, hands held high in the air as to indicate surrender to them. "What's going on?"

Nova huffed, holding her chest, she just might be in shock, "That blind bitch is trying to kill us with a fire-poker!"

"We have to get out of here now," said Kiara, huffing like Nova, hoping to catch her breath. "We locked her in the library but the old lady is crazy strong."

"Okay, yeah, that's a code red," said JJ, who'd been listening from his place beside the well and the pulling rope.

It was at that moment that Nova noticed the rope falling deep into the well. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized John B. was at the other end of the rope. Sitting at the bottom of some well while they were being chased by a murderous old lady.

Leaning his head over the edge of the well, Pope's voice echoed downward, "John B! Man, get bac on the rope!"

"Pope! JJ!" she heard the echoes of John B's voice travelling back up to the well. "Hold on guys, I'm coming."

Lining up behind JJ and Pope, the three girls took a piece of the rope, knowing that with their help they'd be able to pull John B. out of the well a lot faster. JJ counted down from three, and then they all began to pull on the rope. The harsh pull of the rope sent each of them stumbling back. There'd been no weight on the other end of the rope, no one was attached to it.

Taking Nova's wrist, JJ ended up catching onto Nova before she fell backward onto the concrete floor, risking a harsh hit on her head. And just as the back of her head hit his chest instead, a loud hollering bounced off the walls inside the well.

"What is it?" Pope asked, scurrying to stand from the dusty ground. "What's he saying?"

Following Pope's lead each of them hurried from their spot on the ground to look over the well, despite knowing there was no chance of them catching a glance at John B. who nearly bottomed out of the well.

"Yo, I think he's drowning down there!" Kiara panicked from the sounds of John B's screams. "We have to get him out of there."

They lined back up, taking hold of the rope, as if preparing for a game of tug-o-war.

Before taking his spot at the front, Pope leaned back over the well, "John B! Get back onto the rope. We're going to pull you up!"

Listening to JJ once again count down from three, Nova sturdied her stance, making sure her feet were firmly placed, and began to pull on the course rope material. It burned the skin of her palms. The tight grip made her fingers ache, but she didn't let up as she followed the lead of everyone else and pulled on the rope, which now felt to have a weight beneath it.

They'd all been focused so much on getting John B. out of the well that none of them thought to listen for the approaching footsteps of the woman that had once been chasing Nova, Sarah, and Kiara. Nor had they thought to worry about the blind woman being in possession of a shotgun.

The blinding light was followed closely by a deafening blast. Nova stumbled forward from the shock of it all. Nearly right into the well if Sarah didn't catch onto her sweater. Clueless, Nova looked up, her eyes widening in fear-stricken realization. Had she really been shot at just now?

"Shit! Old bitch has a gun!" JJ yelled, as if to warn the others, despite them all having been in the room where the gun was shot.

He was the only one still holding onto the rope. The bottoms of his feet pressed against the side of well. He was struggling to keep it up. Pope was behind him again in seconds, helping JJ keep ahold of the rope, all the while tying the back end to a metal pipe behind them.

Nova and Sarah took shelter behind crates of what seemed to be old Christmas decorations. Nova only daring to peak her head out for a second at a time, not wanting to risk being shot in the face.

The gun blasts never seemed to stop. As the old bat waved it around in every which direction. Not caring who or what she hit in the process. The moved quickly to help Kiara who'd fell behind a stack of old, wooden chairs, narrowly missing a blast from the gun. Nova's eyes scanned the room, wide and fast, looking for a way out of the cellar.

And it wasn't until the cool blast of air slapped her in the face that Nova knew she'd made it out of the cellar. Nova had found the exit, leading Sarah, Kiara and the others out of the home that'd quickly became a warzone. They were back in the tall grass, running for the grey stone wall. Screaming, all of them, at the tops of their lungs. High on adrenaline.

Nova, though terrified, was laughing, she couldn't stop. It was crazy. And she felt more alive now then she ever had before.

Kiara made it to the wall first, quickly pulling herself onto the top it, straddling it. She held a hand out, helping Nova and Sarah jump over before she did too.

"Get in the van!" Sarah yelled, pulling the back doors wide open for the rushing to it behind her.

John B. was the last to throw himself over the wall. He ran behind the already moving van, as JJ had taken the driver seat this time in their getaway.

Sarah and Nova held either door open, willing John B. to run faster, Pope reached his hand out the doors, trying to grasp onto John B's slippery wrist. Finally, he managed to get a firm hold on John B, and he pulled him inside the van. Nova and Sarah pulled the doors shut behind him.

He landed on the ground with a huff, his chest heaving with every breath he attempted to take. He was dirty. Covered in mud and sewage from the bottom of the well. His skin wasn't visible beneath the grime that coated him.

"Hey man, are you okay? Are you shot?" turning back to look at him from the front of the van.

"Is anyone shot?" asked Pope, concerned.

Everyone began to check themselves for a possible gunshot wound. Their high of adrenaline slowly coming down.

"I'm not sure," Nova moved.

Her entire body ached and burned from scratches and bruises. In the wake of the pain and adrenaline she feared she wouldn't be able to find if she was shot.

"We're good... I think," said Kiara, looking over her limbs, checking for blood or a gunshot hole. "I think ─ I think we would know if we were shot, right?"

Laughing Pope nodded, his gaze focused in on John B. who still lay breathing heavily in the middle of the van floor, "You look disgusting!"

"And you smell like ass," Kiara added, scrunching her nose up in disgust.

It was true. John B. looked and smelled horrendous. He seemed to know this too as he nodded, agreeing with his friends' remarks.

"Oh my god..." Sarah breathed, sitting against the wall, her head turned upward, and a small, nervous laugh escaping her lips. "Guys, what the hell just happened?"

Nova allowed her back to drop against the side of the van, breathing heavy, also laughing, "I think we almost just died!"

"That old bitch was possessed," Kiara nodded.

Sarah laughed, genuinely this time, "That old bitch can't aim!"

"How does she move that fast?" Pope laughed with them.

"She's possessed!" Kiara yelled at him.

"But she's blind," tears streamed down Nova's cheeks and her sides ached from laughing too hard.

"She's like Master Yoda..." Pope nodded. "But it makes no sense, scientifically."

"Maybe she does yoga," Nova shrugged. "Pilates, maybe?"

They were all laughing. Trying to drown out the terror they all felt. But John B. still lay alone on the floor, being uncharacteristically quiet. While laughing Nova looked at him, nudging him with her foot. He turned his head, leaving a stain of mud in its wake. He moved his hand ever-so-slightly so to show her something he hid in his hand.

Nova only caught a glimpse of what he held, but the shine was enough to tell her what he'd found.

She gasped, "You didn't..."

He nodded, moving his hand completely. It was covered in mud and sewage but the glint of it caught the light of Pope's jacket zipper.

"John B..." Kiara whispered, eyes solely on his hands. "What do you have?"

"We did it, baby!"

"No..." Pope shook his head in complete disbelief. His eyes widened as he moved closer to John B. so to see what he held in his hands. "No, you did not!"

John B. grinned, his white teeth shining against the dirt coating him, "I found it!"

And that was it. The van erupted into excited screams. Everyone wanted to see or touch the gold. They were all in complete disbelief. It'd actually paid off.

"Wait! Wait! Guys, wait!" Kiara yelled over all of them. When they quieted, she smiled, a glint in her eye. "Guys, we're gonna be rich!"

Nova nodded, knowing that if there was more of the gold down in the well, the same size as the one in John B's hand, they would be more than rich. They would be...

She smiled, "You guys are going to be Kook rich!"

They all began to chant excitedly.

"Full Kook! Full Kook! Full Kook!"

It went over and over. All of them too excited to stop. They'd found the impossible. They got the gold... they did.

And for that moment, nothing could bring them down. A group of misfits inside a getaway car living on a temporary high that they never wanted to end. 

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( nova's outfit inspiration )

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author's note://

It's a long one. I don't know whether to say sorry or thank you, haha.

I really hoping you guys are enjoying this. For those of you re-reading, how're you liking the rewriting? Let me know! Feedback helps.

Remember to vote and comment :)

edited: 1/04/2022