001. ╱ 𖦹⠀⠀ ❝ here we go. ❞

HOW COULD I BEGIN TO DESCRIBE AMELIE HAYLAN? You could say that she is spontaneous, but she is rather swayed by the opinions of others. She could confess to being free, but she doesn't always feel she has the power to do as she pleases when she pleases.

⠀⠀Amelie Haylan is the very opposite of the idea of a Figure Eight denizen that has been drummed into us. When we say 'kook', we imagine a self-centred, arrogant, narcissistic, classist and selfish person. But, if we refer to our kook, we should imagine the opposite.

⠀⠀To his good fortune, his best friend, John Booker Routledge, appeared in his life at an early age. At the age of eight, to be exact. In those days, they were kids who didn't understand anything about social classes, let alone which ones they belonged to. John B gave Amelie the idea of hating any kook who came to attack her for defining herself as a pogue.

⠀⠀If you squint your eyes and see beyond the stereotypes that her economic status gave her, you would get to see the real Amelie that was hiding under all those expensive clothes and jewellery that, according to her, had never been of much importance.

⠀⠀"Earth to Ames."

⠀⠀Next to her, sitting on the scaffolding, JJ fiddled with a lighter while Amelie braided her long hair.

⠀⠀"What's going on?" Amelie questioned, giving JJ a short look, who laughed at Amelie's usual lack of concentration.

⠀⠀"You're doing it again," replied the blonde, as if it was already a habit to remind his best friend of that.

⠀⠀"What?"

⠀⠀"Thinking. A lot. Thinking a lot," answered JJ. "What were you thinking about?" He wanted to know.

⠀⠀"Nothing."

⠀⠀Amelie waited expectantly for the boy's reaction to her. She clearly saw JJ's two blue eyes move to her back, watching John B, who was trying to balance on the edge of the roof of the house under construction that they had snuck into.

⠀⠀"Tell that idiot not to drop any of the beer you bought," JJ asked, pointing with his can in hand at John B.

⠀⠀"Hey, you idiot!" Called Amelie, challenging the man. John B knew why she was calling, but he didn't seem to mind too much.

⠀⠀John B cared little for the unstoppable warnings coming from his two best friends, as, only seconds later, the can of beer he was holding in one of his hands fell to the ground, rolling off and wasting all the liquid left to drink.

⠀⠀"Of course you did. Just like I said," JJ challenged him now.

⠀⠀"Hey!"

⠀⠀Amelie and JJ stood on the scaffolding to lean out with playful smiles accompanying them.

⠀⠀"Hey, uh, security's here. Let's go," Pope ordered, patting the wooden fence in front of him a few times and then turning to his friends.

⠀⠀"They're early today," JJ pointed out, standing up. Once he did, he extended one of his hands towards Amelie after feigning a bow. "Your majesty."

⠀⠀"I won't fall this time, Fushi," said Amelie, standing up on her own, refusing JJ's help.

⠀⠀Many times JJ had offered to help her drop her to the floor when they held hands.

⠀⠀"You sourpuss," JJ muttered, earning a derisive smack from Amelie.

⠀⠀"Let's go, guys," Kie now ordered with an amused smile adorning her face.

⠀⠀"Gary, is that you?" JJ asked in a loud shout, grabbed from the metal railing in front of him, coming from the scaffolding to lean out.

⠀⠀"You know it's me!" Was the officer's reply, also in a shout.

⠀⠀Amelie, meanwhile, was calmly climbing down the scaffolding, enlisting the help of the very gentlemanly John B.

⠀⠀"Gary, good to see you, man!" JJ added sarcastically and amusingly, also climbing down the narrow ladder on the scaffolding, taking a small leap to finally reach the ground.

⠀⠀"Gary, is it time yet?" John B asked, remaining mocking.

⠀⠀Once John B was with his feet on the wooden planks that formed the floor of the large balcony, he approached Amelie to help her finish lowering the scaffolding, taking her by the waist and lifting her slightly into the air.

⠀⠀"Thank you," Amelie thanked, turning to John B, then looking to JJ and giving him an amused gesture, letting him know that John B had been able to help her and he had not.

⠀⠀JJ, for some reason, hadn't been able to avoid John B's generous act towards Amelie. It's not like he was jealous of it, but he couldn't help but feel the itch in his fingertips and the desire he had to know what it felt like to help her down from the scaffolding with his two hands around her waist.

⠀⠀Unlike Amelie, JJ was already clear about his feelings for her and the way his world spun around at the mere act of seeing her or playing a silly prank on her friends.

⠀⠀"Yes, you already asked," Kie reported amusedly to JJ, and then began to run after him, into the large house under construction.

⠀⠀Amelie took place behind Pope, staying at the end of the line made in order to escape from the house without being caught by the officers.

⠀⠀They turned towards the stairs and immediately ran down them, with JJ as their leader and guide. When they all went down the stairs, JJ went in the opposite direction to them, so his friends ran to the outside of the house. Seeing some policemen standing next to him, JJ had to quickly turn around and follow his friends, now that he was running last in line. Right behind Amelie.

⠀⠀"Come on, Ames!" JJ cheered as he ran after the girl, who was now waiting for Pope to cross the fence of that house, jumping over it.

⠀⠀Just waiting for Pope to finish crossing the wooden fence that stood in the way of his escape, he fell to the grass on the other side of it, earning derisive laughter and murmurs of complaint from some of his best friends.

⠀⠀"Pope!" Amelie called out, climbing over the fence and getting over it with ease.

⠀⠀Once she was on the other side, she approached Pope with the intention of helping him get back on his feet to complete the escape.

⠀⠀"Get up, Popie," commanded JJ, walking past Pope and Amelie, patting them on the shoulders and leaving them both there.

⠀⠀When Amelie and Pope were back on their feet, they continued running towards their friends, who were now inside the van. They quickened their pace for each new one.

⠀⠀"Come here, you little pricks!" Called Gary. "I know where you live, Haylan!" He shouted now.

⠀⠀Amelie turned to him in amusement.

⠀⠀"I'm going to sue you, Gary!" Amelie scoffed with a funny smile, listening to the laughter of her friends inside the van.

⠀⠀"We're off!" shouted JJ, taking the lead, while John B, in command of the van, repeatedly honked its horn.

⠀⠀"Come on, guys!" Kie ordered again, who was already sitting on the van.

⠀⠀Kie let JJ get into the van first, as he was at the front of the short line of escapees. Following him, it was Pope who entered the van with great speed, stepping aside to let Amelie do the same.

⠀⠀"Hey! Hey!" Gary's calls could be heard outside the van.

⠀⠀"Check out Gary, gunning for a raise," joked Pope now, who was sitting across from JJ and to one side of Kie.

⠀⠀"Is he running after the van?" Amelie questioned incredulously, leaning out of the still open door with the intention of corroborating this. "You've got a shitty job, Gary!"

⠀⠀"Wait. Slow down," JJ indicated to John B.

⠀⠀JJ bent down, as he couldn't stand up completely due to the height of the van's ceiling, and decided to lean out as well, keeping his balance with the help of the hand he left resting on one of Amelie's shoulders, which was pretending to be his support.

⠀⠀"You asshole!" Gary insulted, as the air and the urge to run were leaving his system faster and faster.

⠀⠀"Stop, guys, you'll give him a heart attack," ordered Kie, who now didn't sound as joking as she did seconds before.

⠀⠀"You're close, you can do it!" JJ encouraged, taking his hand off Amelie's shoulder to show off one of the beer cans. "There you go," he said, now tossing that can in his hand, causing Gary to lose his rhythm. "They don't pay you enough, bro."

⠀⠀"And you'd better not say anything about this!" Amelie now commanded with her amused laugh and smile, leaning out again as she pointed her index finger at Gary.

⠀⠀"Guys, stop it," Kie ordered again, pulling JJ into the car by the shoulder of his shirt. "Melie, stop."

⠀⠀Amelie snorted, but settled back into what little space was left inside the van, to one side of JJ.

⠀⠀"Oh, come on. That sort of initiative is just begging to be punished," complained the blond, also returning to his place.

⠀⠀"You're a masochist," Amelie said, giving an amused smile to the blue-eyed.

⠀⠀They stayed for a long time doing that, just looking at each other. They didn't understand why, but neither seemed to want to break eye contact. In some quite unknown and strange way, they couldn't take their eyes off each other.

⠀⠀But that did not mean that the moment would not come to an end. Sure enough, it was Pope who interrupted them on this occasion.

⠀⠀"Yeah, JJ likes to be punished, don't you, JJ?" Pope scoffed, his comment obviously a double entendre.

⠀⠀"What?" questioned Amelie, who still didn't quite understand what her two friends had started talking about.

⠀⠀"Right," confirmed JJ, ignoring Amelie's recent question, despite having heard it perfectly.

⠀⠀"What do you mean?" Amelie asked again, sharing glances between JJ and Pope, who looked at her with amusement. "Oh, you idiots... Are you serious, JJ?" She questioned incredulously once she had understood. Her friends laughed.

⠀⠀"Hey, don't get mad" JJ pleaded falsely, moving closer to Amelie again, standing shoulder to shoulder. "Are you going to punish me?" He questioned.

⠀⠀Amelie was mindful of the little distance that had been generated by JJ, feeling the closeness of his breath against her ear once that haunting question was out of the blond's mouth.

⠀⠀Wishing it wasn't noticeable how very nervous JJ's closeness had made her and the likely redness that was spreading across her cheeks, Amelie shook her head.

⠀⠀"Stay away," she concluded, trying to keep her smile as she pushed JJ by the shoulder that hit hers. JJ restrained himself, giving her a smile just the same.

⠀⠀JJ had to go back to his place, which meant being forced to stay away from Amelie, something he was finding too hard to do lately. Being with her made the hair on his arms stand on end every second at the sight or touch of her.

⠀⠀The Outer Banks, paradise on Earth. It's the sort of place where you either have two jobs or two houses. Two tribes, one island.

⠀⠀Alright, so there's Figure Eight, the rich side of the island. Home of the kooks. So, guess where we don't live.

⠀⠀And then, there's the south side or the Cut. Home of the working class, who make a living busing tables, washing yatchs, running charters. The natural habitat of... drumroll, please... the pogues. That's us.

⠀⠀Pogues, poguies, the throwaway fish. Lowest member of the food chain. Okay. So, the dowside of pogue life is we're ignored and neglected. But the upside of pogue life? We're ignored and neglected, which means we do whatever we want, whenever we want.

⠀⠀We have JJ, my best friends since the third grade. He's about as local as they come. Latest in a long line of fishing, drinking, smuggling, vendetta-holding salt-lifers who made their living off the water. Best surfer I know, just don't tell him I said that. Mild kleptomaniac and a future tax cheat. Also, we think he's dying for Amelie, so don't say I told you that too.

⠀⠀And then's Kiara, or Kie, as we call her. When she's not saving turtles or listening to Marley, or getting a dolphin tatto, she hangs out with us. I'm not really sure why, though. So, she's a rich kid, actually, foot in both worlds. Her family owns The Wreck, all Outer Banks institution, total cash cow with the tourists. You know, I'm not really sure how her parents feel about us, they definitely don't like us.

⠀⠀And there's Pope, the brains of the operation, finalist for the Lucas T. Vanderhost Merit Scolarship... And the smartest person I know. Little bit of a weirdo. His father's a legendary character, Heyward. Anything you wanted on the island, Heyward could get it for you. Now, I'm not sure Heyward knew what to make of his oddball son, but it didn't matter. He was a pogue, just like the rest of us.

⠀⠀And last but not least, we have Amelie, Melie or Ames (nickname used exclusively by JJ). She's my best friend since I was eight. She is all kook, even though her family is prestigious, she never had a problem being with us, although I don't understand that either. We characterise her as a kind-hearted kook. She is friendly, charismatic and very affectionate. Add to that she is one of the most desirable girls in Figure Eight. Even of the Cut as well. I think we are all a little bit attracted to her.

⠀⠀So, that's my crew. And then it's me, John Booker Routledge, but you'd better call me John B, like everyone else does. I live in an old fish shack on the marsh, the Château, as my dad used to call it. 

⠀⠀Then's dad, he disappeared at sea nine months ago, looking for a shipwreck. Who disappears at sea these days? I miss him. 

⠀⠀And then there's mom. She split when I was three. Last I heard, she was in Colorado, I think it was Colorado. My uncle T was there. Since dad's vanished, he's supposedly my legal guardian. At the moment, he's in Mississippi, building houses... which means it's just me right now, on my own, hanging out with my friends.

⠀⠀Three days after my dad was missing, he was officially presumed dead. I refused to sign the papers. Until I see a body, I'm not giving up.

⠀⠀And that's where this story starts. My dad missing, my uncle MIA, and the Bride of Frankestein threatening foster care.

FOR AMELIE, it was horrible to always have that thought of knowing that your home was beginning to be a place you only came to at night or where you could only feel the confinement of those four walls you usually call your 'room'. That's how it was for Amelie. It was becoming unbearable and uncomfortable to be there. Where years ago she would have sworn she wanted to stay for days and nights, and now, it was never easy to wait for the sun to set before running away again.

⠀⠀Because that's how it was. Home no longer felt like home.

⠀⠀For her bad start to the morning, she had woken up with very little desire. During the day, she spent her time lying on the soft comfort of her bed. Her door was kept closed, it had been for days after that big argument she had with Jake, her mother's boyfriend.

⠀⠀Although she knew that not many people would like it, Amelie decided to stand up and start preparing to head to the beach, specifically the other side of the island. Figure Eight brought back memories that were not very happy for her, the ones she thought were buried and forgotten, the ones that made her feel guilty and disposable; cruel and selfish.

⠀⠀When she was ready, she gave herself a quick glance through the full-length mirror that rested its highest point on one of the white walls of her room. Thanks to her translucent white T-shirt, she could see from a distance the black bikini she was wearing. Her hair was arranged in two braids that fell over her shoulders.

⠀⠀As was obvious, she had plans for the boring day she was leading, plans that were quickly ruined by the four pogues who, though she didn't know it, were eagerly waiting for her on the dock at her house.

⠀⠀She heard those familiar voices and shouts, which brought out a hint of curiosity in her. She hurried to one of the windows in her room, looking out at the dock in the backyard of her house. They didn't see her, but they knew perfectly well why they were there, and Amelie would soon find out.

⠀⠀Unable to wait any longer, Amelie bolted out of her room and ran with the same speed down the stairs, so much so that one of them managed to laugh at her.

⠀⠀"Are you leaving already?" Questioned Jake.

⠀⠀Apparently, her mother was not at home that day, which made Amelie nervous.

⠀⠀"Yes, I'll go with... Rafe," answered Amelie quickly, as she was aware that her stepfather didn't like her hanging out with the pogues.

⠀⠀Jake didn't respond, making it much easier for her to escape from the situation and thus from her home.

⠀⠀Being already in the backyard, she ran the length of it, passing through the workers who were there to fix the damage that the recent hurricane 'Agatha' had done to the various flowers and plants well cared for by her mother.

⠀⠀She felt the old wood of the pier creak under her feet each time she stepped on each of them at a fast pace.

⠀⠀"Good morning, princess," saluted JJ as soon as she reached them, waving his hand as well, just as the other three did.

⠀⠀"Good morning, JJ. What are you doing here?" Questioned Amelie, giving a glance at everyone there.

⠀⠀"Isn't it obvious? We came to find you. We're going fishing," replied John B, raising his arms in obviousness, and then dropping them. Amelie shook her head repeatedly.

⠀⠀"Why not?" JJ asked this time.

⠀⠀"I told Jake I'd be with Rafe. The last time I lied to him and he caught me with you... You know what happened."

⠀⠀"Jake's an idiot," Pope complained, while Amelie nodded in agreement.

⠀⠀Jake was considered the king of the idiots.

⠀⠀"Rafe?" JJ remarked, with difficulty at any thought of Amelie approaching, again, to Rafe.

⠀⠀"Stop thinking about him so much, Melie," Kie joked, just as her two other friends joined her in laughter.

⠀⠀"It was just an excuse," explained Amelie, not wanting to give the matter too much thought.

⠀⠀"Come on, what's better than spending the day with your friends?" Said John B with the intention of convincing Amelie to go with them.

⠀⠀Amelie hesitated a little at first, giving a quick glance at her house behind them a few yards away, then turned back to her friends, now adding a smile, indicating that she would go. John B also smiled in understanding.

⠀⠀"I'll help you," said John B, stepping to the edge of the boat, holding his hand out for Amelie to take and lower her down.

⠀⠀"Thank you," replied Amelie, already in the boat. She sat in the front of the boat, next to Pope.

⠀⠀"Rafe Cameron?" asked JJ again, who couldn't seem to stop thinking about what Amelie had said.

⠀⠀"Didn't you know? Rafe and Amelie..." Pope began to explain.

⠀⠀"Pope," Amelie called out. When Pope turned to look at her, she shook her head, telling him not to say anything.

⠀⠀"Am I the only one who didn't know that Amelie and Rafe hooked up?" JJ questioned incredulously, crossing his arms.

⠀⠀As his friends nodded, JJ turned his gaze to Amelie. He shook his head. And so, Amelie could feel the disappointment in his gaze, the one he had once given her that night.

IT HAD BEEN SEVERAL MINUTES SINCE THE GROUP OF TEENAGERS HAD LEFT THE HAYLN HOUSE, and to Amelie's good fortune, JJ had proven to be over the new information about her best friend and Rafe Cameron. Although knowing it didn't make him any less reassured.

⠀⠀"We're on top of the world. I'll show you a party trick," JJ spoke again, approaching the edge of the boat.

⠀⠀"Terrifying," replied Kie mockingly, nudging Amelie's leg so that she paid attention to her friend.

⠀⠀"Hey, Pope. Can you go a little faster?" JJ asked, already reaching the top of the boat, giving Pope a quick glance. "Watch this, Ames," he ordered, returning his gaze to the front.

⠀⠀"Oh, here we go," John B snorted, moving away from JJ's proximity.

⠀⠀"JJ, you've tried that a thousand times," Amelie complained, as she looked up at JJ beside her, covering her forehead with the palm of her hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight.

⠀⠀"Millions of times," corrected Pope from behind the wheel of the boat.

⠀⠀"I got this. It's gonna work," JJ encouraged later, then opened his mouth and raised the bottle of beer in front of him, waiting for the liquid to fall right into his mouth.

⠀⠀As was always the case, the beer didn't just land in JJ's mouth, but all over his sides, leaving those closest to him to get soaked in it. Amelie moved away to avoid getting drenched in it.

⠀⠀"You're getting beer in my hair," Kie complained, turning her face away from JJ's direction to avoid getting any of the liquid on her.

⠀⠀"JJ, stop!" Pope now ordered from behind the wheel, but JJ didn't obey any of his friends.

⠀⠀"JJ, that's enough," John B now said from the back of the boat. As with the others, JJ did not obey at any point.

⠀⠀Amelie decided to act, so she stood up and stopped on top of the front of the boat, standing next to JJ, grabbing his hand to pull him down, or at least trying to. As she did this, she reached out with her other hand for the bottle of beer that JJ was still holding.

⠀⠀Unluckily, JJ lost his balance due to the sudden braking of the boat. Without warning, he fell sharply and straight into the water, taking Amelie with him thanks to their intertwined hands.

⠀⠀"Jesus, Pope!" Complained Kie, still on the top of the boat, approaching the edge of it. John B and Pope followed her.

⠀⠀"You okay, JJ?" Asked Pope, who sounded familiarly concerned about his two friends.

⠀⠀"I think my heels touched the back of my head," JJ replied, sore for the impact.

⠀⠀"What about you, Amelie?" Pope questioned again, now turning his gaze and concern to his other friend in the water.

⠀⠀"I saw my life flash before my eyes, but I'm fine," Amelie said, then followed JJ across the water and climbed into the boat with him.

⠀⠀"Pope, what did you do?" asked JJ when he was inside the boat again, seconds later Amelie arrived too.

⠀⠀"Sandbar. The channel changed," Pope reported from behind the wheel of the boat, feeling guilty.

⠀⠀"No shit," he ironised, sitting down next to Amelie.

⠀⠀"Ugh, this is probably gonna mess this whole place up," Pope replied again, this time approaching the edge of the boat, where JJ and Amelie had recently been.

⠀⠀"Hey, I saved the beer, though," JJ celebrated, raising the bottle in one hand.

⠀⠀"How thoughtful, JJ," Amelie congratulated sarcastically.

⠀⠀"Congrats, JJ," said John B incredulously as well, clearly siding with Amelie and everyone else present.

⠀⠀"Guys... I think there's a boat down there," Pope called for their attention, as his friends listened attentively.

⠀⠀"No way," Kie said uncertainly, not believing Pope's words.

⠀⠀"Impossible," stammered Amelie now, also unsure of Pope's comment.

⠀⠀"No, no, guys. I'm serious. There's like a boat down there," Pope indicated again, now pointing his finger, finally drawing his friends, who walked to his side. "For real. It's a boat!" He pointed again.

⠀⠀"Holy shit," Amelie muttered and then walked away from the group.

⠀⠀Without the need for much thought, Amelie grabbed the edges of her translucent T-shirt, folded her arms over herself and pulled it off, dropping it on the floor of the boat as soon as she had removed it. Following this, she took care of removing her black shorts.

⠀⠀JJ wouldn't admit it out loud, but he had to confess that even though maybe, just maybe... he was in love with Amelie, it wasn't just because of her remarkable beauty, but he couldn't let go of the good body she had, even though she didn't believe in it.

⠀⠀"Amelie, what are you doing?" Pope questioned, following Amelie's gaze.

⠀⠀Amelie felt the powerful stares of her friends until she reached the edge of the boat again.

⠀⠀"Let's go," ordered the brunette, and then jumped straight into the water.

⠀⠀Her friends were uneasy about it, exclusively JJ, but not for the same reason as his friends.

⠀⠀When they were all underwater, they swam towards the indicated boat at the same pace as each other.

⠀⠀Pope was definitely right.

⠀⠀As soon as they had all confirmed that they had seen the sunken boat announced by Pope, they took off to ascend back to the surface together. When they were all up again, they spoke again, this time showing the emotion that the scene had conveyed, even more so after recognising the boat's prestigious mark.

⠀⠀"You guys saw that?" JJ spoke excitedly as he shook his head to get his wet hair out of his face.

⠀⠀"Yeah, it's a boat," Kie said with equal excitement, scanning her gaze over everyone present.

⠀⠀"It's not just any boat..." Amelie started, giving JJ an excited and amused look.

⠀⠀Thinking back years, they could easily revisit the moment when Amelie and JJ made sure to grow up and buy that boat, so they could run away and travel anywhere in the world.

⠀⠀JJ flashed a side-to-side grin as soon as he got her point across.

⠀⠀"It's a Grady-White!" Concluded both friends in unison, squealing as they would as children.

⠀⠀"A new one of those is like 500 Gs, easy" said John B as he climbed back into the boat, with his friends behind him doing the same.

⠀⠀"It's nice," Amelie said, resting her hands on the edge of the boat to push herself up. JJ helped her with the latter, as she didn't have much strength.

⠀⠀"It's a beauty, isn't it?" JJ questioned, looking at Amelie, who for only a second doubted.

⠀⠀She knew that wasn't the case, as JJ had always made it clear to her that he didn't see her as anything more than just his little sister.

⠀⠀"Yeah. That's the boat I saw when I surfed the surge. Maybe it hit the jetty or something."

⠀⠀"You surfed the surge?" questioned Kie with a frown and a confused look, worried.

⠀⠀"That's my boy. Pogue style," JJ congratulated excitedly, walking over to John B and patting his shoulders in amusement.

⠀⠀"What the heck?" Kie asked again, as she seemed to be the only one who cared about John B at the moment.

⠀⠀"Why didn't you invite me?" Amelie raised her voice in mock rancour, even though everyone there knew how little she knew about surfing.

⠀⠀"Wait, wait. Do we know whose boat that is?" Pope asked as he approached his friends.

⠀⠀"No, but we're about to find out," said John B, opening the small boot of the boat, more specifically where the boat's anchor was.

⠀⠀"Dude, it's too deep," JJ warned, peering back over the edge of the boat, seeing, or trying to see that sunken boat.

⠀⠀"Oh, for the weak and feeble, JJ," John B differentiated, hugging the anchor in his hands, letting the rest of the rope that held it follow him.

⠀⠀"I'd resist," said Amelie with obvious confidence. From her point of view, it looked like fun.

⠀⠀"No," JJ quickly shook his head, earning an annoyed and offended look from Amelie.

⠀⠀"I'll do it, don't worry," John B reassured him.

⠀⠀"Well, I'm not resuscitating you by giving you mouth-to-mouth, I'm just making that clear up front," JJ clarified, standing close to John B.

⠀⠀"That's fine," he thanked, sarcastically.

⠀⠀"I'll do it," said Amelie, with her most sincere desire to do it.

⠀⠀JJ just looked at her, his brow furrowed and his desire to be the one to jump in the water appearing above his thoughts. He'd be lying if he said it hadn't made his stomach churn, that hearing Amelie confirm that she'd let John B taste her mouth didn't make him a little jealous.

⠀⠀"John B," Kie called out again, still looking more than worried.

⠀⠀"What?" John B asked, turning back to the brunette with an amused smile. The anchor was still between his two strong arms.

⠀⠀"Diver down, fool," Pope joked. The other three laughed along with him.

⠀⠀"Diver down," copied John B, accompanied by an amused smile on his face.

⠀⠀"Jump in," Amelie now ordered, with a chuckle, as did her three remaining friends.

⠀⠀"Yeah, he is," JJ confirmed, shouting in amusement and victory. The instant he did this, he pushed John B out of the boat, causing him to fall swiftly into the water.

⠀⠀After John B had disappeared into the depths right under their noses, his four friends still on the boat came up to the edge, hoping for some sign that their friend was still alive, even though they couldn't see anything, but at least they were trying.

⠀⠀A few seconds and minutes later, Amelie began to feel that strange feeling of worry growing immensely for every minute that passed without a sign of John B. Although she would never mention it, since her friends didn't either, she knew that they thought and felt the same way.

⠀⠀"Should we go get him?" Spoke Kie when she also saw no sign of her friend under the water.

⠀⠀"I'll revive him," Amelie reminded herself, she would never refuse a small approach to her best friend.

⠀⠀Just as Amelie spoke, John B came out of the water abruptly, causing his friends to pull back just a little from the edge thanks to the shock of his sudden appearance.

⠀⠀"Oh my God. That took forever!" Complained Kie, raising her voice in annoyance at her friend, while him and the three others just laughed at her concern.

⠀⠀"Any dead bodies?" Pope questioned, not caring how John B might be.

⠀⠀"Any treasure?" asked Amelie now, following John B's gaze still in the water.

⠀⠀"Looting potential?" JJ ended up asking his question, as did his other two friends.

⠀⠀"No. No. I found this motel key," John B let those named keys show by sticking his hand out of the water.

⠀⠀"Uh, a key," Pope replied, not giving much thought to the object he had found.

⠀⠀"Yes, a key, Pope."

⠀⠀"Very exciting, John B," complimented Amelie, somewhere between incredulous and sarcastic. She had really expected more.

⠀⠀"You should have gone down," reproached John B, as he finished climbing back into the boat.

⠀⠀Once he was back on the boat, John B took care of leaving the anchor in place.

⠀⠀"Are you joking? You didn't let me do it," Amelie defended herself with annoyance.

⠀⠀"Guys, we should report it to the Coast Guard, maybe we'll get a finder's fee," Kie devised, as everyone resumed their previous places.

⠀⠀"Yeah, and not work all summer. Thanks, Agatha, ya bitch," JJ snorted.

⠀⠀And so they set off for another destination, more specifically requested and indicated by Kie, yet without complaining about this, as they did not disagree too much with her friend's request.