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Annabelle wasn't exactly happy when John B turned down her offer to throw the cursed compass in the ocean. Instead, the boy got the brilliant idea to not only keep it but do everything to find out more about it.

Now, the group was seated in John B's van as they rolled over the roads. The group of friends were chattering eagerly about the compass and Annabelle had to google if you could die from boredom. And if you want to know - it is very possible. Rare but possible.

"I mean, it's obvious, right?" John B said. "A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to me, right?"

"Yeah, it's possible." Kiara nodded along.

"You wanna know what else is possible?" Annabelle spoke up. "It could be cursed and I'm not planning on dying anytime soon so please for the love of God keep your eyes on the road, JB."

"It could also be possible that he's concocting wild theories to help, you know with your sad feels," Pope said, earning a hard look from both Annabelle and Kiara.

"Bro, you know how I process my sad feels, dank mugs, and the stickiest of ickiest, that's how I do it."

"I'm not concocting, okay?" John B defended himself while still keeping his eyes on the road, taking Annabelle's suggestions. "My dad's trying to give me a message."

"If it helps you believe, John B," Kiara said in a calm tone, looking at the boy with a sympathetic expression.

"Look, I don't need a therapy session, okay?" John B snapped back at her. "Look, I'm not tripping out."

"It's okay to trip out, but.." JJ said but the brunette boy was quick to interrupt him.

"Look, my dad's missing, okay?" He turned his attention off the road to turn and face the blonde who sat behind him. JJ mumbled something inaudible before letting his head lean back against the seat.

"You don't know what it's like to have to person closest to you vanish." John B said making Annabelle look up from the floor and at him, glaring holes into the back of his neck. If anyone understood what the boy was going through it was her and for him to say that none of them understood him was wrong and quite hurtful for her. Annabelle felt every pair of eyes turn to her but she ignored them, keeping her gaze plastered on the back of John B's neck as he spoke.

"Just wake up every morning wondering." John B said.

Kiara cleared her throat, hesitating before opening her mouth. "It's been almost a year."

Annabelle threw her a quick glance, unsure if her words were very helpful in this moment.

"Hey, he could have been kidnapped. That's definitely a possibility." JJ said as if that was any more reassuring.

"Yeah, he could be in a Soviet sub getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere." Pope chimes in.

"Absolutely. Or Atlantis." Jj nodded.

"That's... not very comforting," Annabelle said under her breath.

"What do you think the message is?" Kiara asked John B, ignoring the three idiots in the back.

"Redfield." John B said. Annabelle read the rusted sign by the side of the road that they passed. Red field lighthouse. Her eyes trailed down to the bottom of the sign. Closed due to hurricane.

The group parked in front of the fence that surrounded the tall lighthouse. Pope slid the car door aside allowing him and JJ to jump out. The blonde held out his hand, bowing as Annabelle took it, assuring her out of the car.

"My lady."

"Thank you," she bowed appreciatively before turning around, grinning as she muttered. "Weirdo."

JJ took notice in her words, letting a laugh escape his mouth as he closed the door behind her. The group gathered by the fence, staring up at the lighthouse for a moment before looking at each other.

"So, now what?" Annabelle asked, placing her hands into her back pockets.

"Right." John B turned around facing JJ. "You're gonna post up and look for bogeys, okay?"

JJ gazed around the group, baffled by the boy's sudden leadership acts. "Wait... why me?"

"Because you're not coming," Pope said stubbornly.

"Why?" JJ exclaimed.

Pope sucked in a deep breath before speaking. "There are independent and dependent variables. You're independent. We don't know what you'll do."

JJ yelled something back but it was drowned out by the loud arguing that erupted between the three boys in the group leaving Kiara and Annabelle to glance at each other rolling their eyes at the sight. Annabelle dragged her hands over her face, sighing deeply.

"Shut up!" The girl shouted making the three of them quiet down. "Gosh, you're acting like a bunch of children."

"Listen to me for a second." John B spoke to his two male friends. "Pope, you stand lookout with JJ. Okay?"

Annabelle tore her gaze from the ground as a sudden idea appeared in her head. "I'll stay back too." She said. Her staying meant that John B. and Kiara would get some alone time which they could use. Whether it was while chasing the ghost of John B's dead father or something else, they needed a minute alone.

The group stared at the girl who had the sudden urge to stay put instead of doing what she always did, and go on stupid adventures.

"That's good. Annabelle's the perfect babysitter for JJ." John B said, sending the blonde boy a quick glance making Annabelle furrow her brows. What was that supposed to mean?

"So it's me and John B then?" Kiara spoke up and Annabelle nodded eagerly, sneakily sending the girl an eye wink. Kiara rolled her eyes before turning on her heel. "Let's go then."

"Au revoir!" Annabelle waved goodbye at the two as they jumped over the fence, walking with an awkward distance between them. "Ahhh." Annabelle exhaled, smiling as she watched them walk off. "They grow up so quickly."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pope asked.

"Those two." She looked up at him but he still didn't seem to understand what she meant. "Don't tell me you've missed it."

"Missed what?"

"The tension!" She exclaimed like it was as obvious as the sun. "Those two love birds."

Pope's smile faded away as he stared at the pair as they entered the lighthouse and Annabelle suddenly felt bad. She knew that all the pouges had small crushes on Kiara but judging by the look on popes face it might have been something more than a small crush.

"Kiara and... John B?" He asked without taking his eyes off the door where the two had just walked through.

Annabelle stared up at him, surprised by his reaction. "I'm sure it's nothing." She said, patting his shoulder gently. "I mean, John B's no scholarship student." She smiled up at him before turning to JJ who kicked a tennis ball with his feet.

"I think I just broke poor Pope's heart." She whispered, looking deeply concerned as she stared at the back of Pope's figure.

"Why?" JJ whispered back, leaning down slightly to hear the girl better.

"I talked about John B and Kiara. I think Popes likes her." Annabelle said, biting her nails.

"You just realized that?" JJ snickered.

"I'm such a bad friend." Annabelle sighed. "Why wouldn't he tell me if he had feelings for Kiara? I mean I'm his best friend."

"Because," JJ tilted his head down lower, whispering to make sure Pope couldn't hear them but in reality, it was mostly an act to get closer to the girl. And he did. JJ now hovered over her face, close enough for his breath to brush down her neck. "It's against the rules."

Annabelle tore her gaze from Pope, looking up at JJ slightly baffled by how close his face was to hers. If anyone who didn't know them would see them now, they could easily get mistaken for boyfriend girlfriend.

"But I think those rules are stupid anyway," JJ said, keeping his eyes plastered on Annabelle's.

The girl licked her lips, almost too stunned to speak. Her head was spinning, baffled enough to even be able to wrap her head around a concrete thought as she blinked up at the boy. Her eyes trailed over his face, dancing over his features. The pair was so close together that Annabelle noticed small features on the boy's face that she had never seen before. Like how his skin didn't have a single imperfection. Or like the gray fading coloring that circled his pupil. Her eyes traveled down to his lips and a sudden flicker of warmth spread through her stomach. Like butterflies. Or maybe the beans from earlier. Whatever it was, she quickly killed it as she tore her eyes from his lips, letting the heat of embarrassment color her cheeks.

She cleared her throat still baffled by what just happened. The boy stuttered something as he stood back up straight. Annabelle took a small step back, her gaze travling around her looking around at anything but the boy. Her best friend. But best friends are not supposed to give you butterflies like that.

She shook her head, convincing herself that it was just the beans from earlier. The girl sank down on the small step to the front seat of the car. "Has John B told you anything? Does he like her?" Annabelle asked, in an attempt to break the awkward silence between the two.

JJ looked up from the ground, staring at her with a puzzled expression, startled by her question. He stammered something before clearing his throat. "We've talked. Briefly."

"What did he say?" Annabelle asked.

"He's sort of denying it. But I can tell he's lying."

"I didn't know that the two of you talked about feelings like that." The girl grinned. The blonde smiled shyly as his mind trailed back to the conversation that he and John B had that morning and the accusations his best friend had thrown at him. The crimson color that flooded JJ's cheeks after the moment he and Annabelle just shared sort of confirmed that but JJ would never let John B know he was right.

"You're such softies." Annabelle teased and picked up the ball that JJ had been kicking around earlier. The girl tossed it in the air, catching it back in her hands before flinging it at the back of Pope's head, gently enough to not cause any damage. The boy groaned, spinning around as his hand rubbed the back of his head where the ball had hit him.

"What was that for?" He exclaimed.

"Play with us," Annabelle smirked, cupping her hands to signal that Pope was going to throw the ball back. JJ laughed and took a few steps back so that the three of them formed a circle.

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Not even five minutes later, Pope had managed to throw the ball into the bushes three times thanks to his horrendous aiming skills. Annabelle now stood in the shrubbery with sticks poking her as she hopelessly searched for the ball.

"Pope, I swear to god I'll kill you," Annabelle shouted, moving deeper into the shrubbery. She cursed to herself as the sticks and leafs got stuck in her hair. After searching for two minutes in the tight shrubbery she finally caught a glimpse of the lime green tennis ball but before she had a chance to cheer, Annabelle heard JJ and Pope's panicked voices as they called out for her.

"Get out here!" Pope shouted.

"Annabelle! Cops!" JJ whisper-yelled and Annabelle's heart sank. She made a desperate attempt to get out of the shrubbery but it was too late as she heard the sound of a car driving off. Pope and JJ had already left. Those bastards.

Annabelle watched the cop car as it circled the area in front of the big lighthouse with its blue and red sirens on. The girl caught a glimpse of Kiara and John B hurrying out through the back door and Annabelle immediately took of in their direction hoping to warn them about the situation.

She struggled to get out of the bushes and once she finally had freed herself from the sticks and leaves she sprinted to the beach behind the lighthouse where she had seen Kiara and John B last.

Once she made it to the pair, she widened her eyes seeing the intimacy between the two, standing not even two inches away from each other.

"Guys!" She called out, running up to them. "Hate to ruin the moment but...."

Annabelle didn't even get to finish her sentence before the blue and white car stopped next to them. Annabelle watched as Shoupe emerged from the vehicle, his eyes narrowed at John B.

"Routledge. I got you, son." The man said. Kiara was quick to stand behind John B and Annabelle watched him sneakily hand over the compass to the girl behind him.

"Now, why don't you just be chill and not make me cause you?" Shoupe took him as he walked up to the three friends. "Hands where I can see them."

John B placed his arms in the air and Kiara and Annabelle exchanged a quick look. For a moment, Annabelle considered running away as she knew that her father would lose his mind if he heard that she got in trouble with the cops again. But if she took off, it would raise even more suspicion towards John B and the boy couldn't afford that at the moment. He already had the cops and social workers on his ass.

"In the car," Shoupe ordered. "All three of you."

𝟐𝟐𝟖𝟕 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
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𝐀/𝐍
BUTTERFLIES.