❪ 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗘 & 𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗘 ❫

𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝖾𝗇 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━
still the one.  ╱  season one, episode three.
❛ 𝗂 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗌𝗈 𝗌𝗍𝗎𝗉𝗂𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗅𝖾𝗍𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗀𝗈, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗂 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐
𝗒𝗈𝗎'𝗋𝖾 𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗈𝗇𝖾, ❜

HEARTACHE IS A common thing that flowed through Kennedy as she went through the haze she called her life. Smiling faces waltzed by her, making her wonder why she couldn't be like that. The bliss that others feel, the happiness, it was never something Kennedy was able to feel. Life should be filled with happy times, it should be memorable, and fond to look back on. But in the sixteen years of her life, Kennedy had nothing fond to look back on.

Every good thing, the lights in her life faded away into darkness. Things were never permanent, things always got ripped away from her. She was never safe from people taking away the things she loved. Relationships turn sour without hesitation, at first things can taste so sweet, but it all eventually turns bitter.

Kennedy wondered if she was cursed, forced to live in the false reality around her. Nothing was real, she knew that, but she wondered if other people knew that too. She looked around at all the smiles and joy around her, questioning if it was all false. People couldn't just be this happy, life doesn't work out that way. It just felt wrong.

It was all too much, she felt suffocated by everything. By the people, her friends, family, boyfriend, feelings, everything. She just wanted a moment where everything would be calm, that there would be a bubble she could be in that would make her forget about everything around her.

The waves crashed blissfully in front of her, lulling her drastic emotions further into the back of her brain. She sat quietly to herself, wondering if things would get better if she just swam away from everything. Maybe one day, she would buy a ferry ticket, and run away from these people, from this place. The thought gave her excitement. Leaving this place in the rearview is all she ever wanted. But how she could do that? She doesn't know.

Escaping to her secret hideaway was exactly what she needed, there was no other place that could be away from her family. No one knew about this place, only one other, but he'd rather be on the other side of the island than be in Kennedy's presence, so she wasn't worried about him. This secluded beach was found by the two last summer. Wanting to find a secret place for just them, they found this private beach hiding behind a path of trees. No one was ever insight, they stayed hidden to the reality of their lives every time they went here.

It was their bubble. They were able to be themselves here, they were able to stay happy with the summer love they shared. They didn't have to worry about the future, just the now. Kennedy loved this place, it was a reminder that this was a place she was able to be herself, she didn't have to fake anything, she was able to be authentically herself. He didn't want anything other than that. He didn't want to see the person she created, he wanted the real her.

"I never thought I'd ever see you here again,"

Kennedy jumped at the voice, turning her head, she saw the boy she'd just been thinking about stalking his way toward her. She sent him a wary glance, "Look Maybank, I'm not looking for an argument right now, I came here to get away from my problems, not bring them here,"

The blond plopped down next to her, too close for her liking but she didn't say anything. He pulled his knees up so he could rest his arms on them, "I'm not looking for that either, I just needed a break and when I need that, I come here,"

"You still come here?" Kennedy questioned, turning her gaze towards the boy who was looking out towards the ocean, "I didn't know that,"

"You're just too stuck in your own little world to notice the people around you," JJ replied, his words held no malice, it seemed more like an observation.

Kennedy sucked her lips into her mouth not knowing what to say, she pulled her knees into her chest, wrapping her arms tightly around them. There was a feeling of nostalgia coming off the two in waves, she didn't know if JJ noticed, but she certainly did. She wished they could go back to last summer, instead of having this intense hate towards each other. She didn't even know why she hated him, sure he'd said some unforgivable things, but so did she.

They created this relationship that was based on tearing each other down, and they're really wasn't a reason for it. All the hatred in her life was eating her up inside, she was sick of hating the people around her, and the pain of it all wasn't worth it. It was at a breaking point, she couldn't do it any longer.

"JJ, I'm sorry,"

The boy froze, shock filled his veins at the weak tone that escaped Kennedy, he slowly turned to her, "What?"

"I'm sorry," Kennedy sighed, her voice filling with regret, her eyes staring straight into his soul, "I'm sorry for everything I guess, all the things I said this year, how I've treated you, how I ended things last summer, just everything,"

JJ's mouth dried, and he was utterly stunned by the words that slipped past Kennedy's lips, the girl looked so fragile that if he touched her she would shatter. He had never seen Kennedy so exhausted, she looked like she was about to break. He placed a soft hand on her shoulder, shocking the girl with his warm sudden touch, "Kennedy, are you okay? Did something happen?"

The concern in his voice made her resolve finally crack in two, a soft sigh escaped her lips, as she stared at the sea, "I'm just tired JJ, I'm tired of fighting with someone who meant so much to me, I'm tired of making a million mistakes and having to live with the weight of them. I hurt you so much last summer, there isn't a day where I don't go by regretting it, I created this hate between us and I don't even know why I hate you,"

JJ took a deep breath, feeling the weight of her words, he dropped his hand letting it fall into his lap. His heart was racing, his mind going over every single thing she said, "I-I don't know what to say,"

Kennedy felt her stomach drop, tears brimming in her eyes but she blinked them away, "It's alright, I just needed to get it out, you don't deserve the way I've been treating you. You did absolutely nothing, and I treated you like trash. JJ, you made me so happy and I ruined everything because of something stupid, I'll always regret it,"

"Why'd you do it?" JJ blurted, his eyes never leaving hers, searching for an answer that he had pondered about. "Why'd you break things off?"

"My mom," Kennedy answered hesitently, almost embarrassed by the answer. "You know how she is, there's wasn't much of a choice,"

"You broke things off because of your mother?" JJ questioned, betrayal bubbling over as he stood up, looking down at the girl in irritation, "You dropped me because your mother told you to?"

"JJ, you don't understand," Kennedy began, scrambling to her feet, worried JJ would walk away from her and end the confession of emotions that she built up for so long, "I didn't want to JJ, but my mom gave me no choice,"

"Kennedy, you meant everything to me, you made me feel things I've never felt before, and you left me because your mother made you," JJ exclaimed, his confession made Kennedy breathless.

The girl paused, a hand over her chest, his words hitting her like a freight train, "JJ, I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do, I didn't want to disappoint my mother, there was so much going on, my sister had just left, I had just stopped talking to Kie, Riley was mad at me because of that, and I had no one in my corner, it felt as if she gave me no choice,"

"I was in your corner, I was there for you," JJ seethed, making his way to Kennedy with a purpose, the girl felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest. JJ paused inches away from her, she felt the soft puffs of his angered breaths, the boy felt like he was finally letting out months and months of built-up emotions, "Who held you when your sister left? Who stopped you from completely ruining your relationship with Riley? Who helped you down from a multitude of panic attacks when things became too much? You act as if you've never had people in your corner, but Kennedy I was there for you every single moment of that summer. I cared more about you than you did. And you broke off what we had for your mother?"

"JJ-" Kennedy cried out, tears falling down her face with a purpose now, but the boy interrupted.

"And I'll bet that your mother made you break it off with me, then immediately made you get with Rafe, am I right?" The boy questioned, his eyes taunting, refusing to let the hurt seep into his glare. "Don't want anyone on figure eight to suspect anything, right?"

"I didn't have a choice, she didn't let me choose, you think if I had a choice, I would willingly choose that? JJ, I would've chosen you,"

The blond closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, taking it all in, "We could've made it work,"

Kennedy snorted incredulously, wiping away the tears, her body ached with the emotions that were trying to pry themselves out of her, "What? Us? JJ, how would everyone take that? How would your friends feel about that? How would my parents feel?  What about everyone in Outer fucking Banks?"

"Who gives a fuck about anyone else?" JJ exclaimed, moving away from Kennedy a bit, his hands rising into the air at the intensity of his emotions, "Kennedy, all that matters is how we felt, if they don't like it, screw them,"

"JJ, it's just different, things are different for me, image matters, and my mother would disown me for dating a pogue,"

JJ sighed, running a hand through his hair in annoyance, "Kennedy, who gives a fuck, none of this will matter in a few years, and creating this false narrative has gotten you nowhere, it's only made you miserable,"

Kennedy bit her lips harshly to avoid more tears falling, she looked at the purply sky to push away the tears, "I know, it's just hard to let everything go, caring about what people thought about me has been my life for so long, it's hard not to just care anymore,"

The blond walked up to the girl, running his hand down her arm to grab her hand tightly, "Sunshine, it's only gonna ruin you if you keep it up, I may act as if I hate you half the time, but watching you fade away hurts me, you can't keep doing this to yourself,"

The girl gripped his hand tightly, not knowing how to feel about his words, but she shot her eyes up to look at him, a slight determination suddenly flowing through her veins,  "Things will be different, and I promise things are gonna change like you said I can't keep doing this to myself anymore,"

"What're you gonna do?"

"Fuck if I know," Kennedy sighed, dropping JJ's hand, running a hand through her hair in thought, "Try to get my life back, I guess,"

"You should start by breaking up with that loser of a boyfriend," JJ clipped, crossing his arms, a look of annoyance wafting on his features at the thought of her disgusting excuse of a boyfriend.

"Why Maybank, are you jealous?" Kennedy teased, an amused smile lifting on her lips. Preparing for JJ to shut right down and clip back at her.

JJ scoffed, smugness falling over his face, he really couldn't help himself, "Not really, knowing that I take up more of your mind than him, makes me not worry,"

Kennedy shoved him roughly, a scowl resting on her features, "You're such an asshole,"

Without thinking, JJ gripped her wrist pulling her into him, a gasp slipped past her lips as her chest met his. The boy stared at her unphased, tucking a loose strand behind her ear, "Yet, you still like me,"

"When have I ever stated that tonight?" Kennedy questioned, her glare teasing. Her stomach spiraled back to the giddy familiarity as JJ's hand ghosted her waist.

"Didn't have to Sunshine," JJ mused, wrapping an arm lightly around her waist to pull her even closer, the use of the usual condescending nickname this time making her stomach erupt into butterflies instead of the usual burning anger. "I can tell, you're really easy to read,"

"Ass," Kennedy rolled her eyes, pushing him away from her, so she could put some space between them. "You, JJ Maybank, are a dumbass,"

A goofy smile flooded and twisted onto his lips as he stared down at the girl with fondness. The tension that had built up for so long felt as if it had completely vanished. Kennedy looked so ethereal in the setting sun, the hints of orange and pink washed over her face, taking JJ back to all the bliss that last summer held.

Moments like this make the harsh animosity he usually feels for the short kook to be gone. The hate and annoyance that usually fills her eyes have disappeared, leaving JJ's heart to thud, the emotions of hatred getting replaced with happiness and tenderness that JJ never thought he would see again. But this could be just a weak moment for both of them. None of it could matter tomorrow, they were both so unsure of what was yet to come.

JJ coughed lightly, tucking his hands into his shorts' pockets, negative thoughts weighing more and more on his subconscious, now a serious emotion washed over their faces, "Where do we stand?"

"Friends?" Kennedy tentatively questioned, lifting her hand so he could shake it. A light, airy feeling squeezed in her chest, feeling as if they might actually turn a new leaf.

"Kennedy, you know we can't just be friends," JJ clipped warily, his eyes holding nothing but the truth, which made the girl's stomach drop as her hand lazily fell to her side, "Even after everything, we can never be friends, there's always gonna be something more between us,"

Kennedy sighed, running her hand down her face in frustration. Her heart pounded, while her stomach broke out into butterflies. She never thought she would hear something like that come from JJ again. She knew he wasn't lying, but things were far too screwed up to get into something like that right now. "I need time,"

"Time?" JJ questioned slowly, eyes glazing over in confusion.

"Time to figure things out okay? This is a lot for me right now, less than an hour ago we hated each other, now we don't. I just need to figure out how I can fix things,"

The blond nodded, moving further away from Kennedy, he felt like he was on the other side of the world. Disappointment washed over his features, sending Kennedy a false smile, her heart slightly broke,  "Well, when it's all over, you know where to find me, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon Thornton,"

With that, the boy stalked off toward the path, not bothering to look back at the girl he had left behind. She had a frown etched on her lips as she dug her bare feet into the warm sand. Her mind still racing over everything that happened, her skin still burned where he touched, it made Kennedy want nothing more than to tell him what he wanted to hear so he would come back. But she knew before she was able to be truly happy, she needed to break free from the things that tied her down.

She knew exactly what she needed to fix first.

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THE MASTERFIELD house was ice cold as Kennedy stepped into the foyer, with a smiling Raina Masterfield shutting the door behind her. The thought of patching things up with Riley was very obvious, she needed him back. Kennedy felt like something was missing without her second half, she felt bad that she didn't try enough to reach out, she felt selfish, so lost in her own world that she didn't pay attention to the person she cared most about.

Kennedy was nervous about this interaction, while one part of her was relieved that she was finally going to fix things, the other was nervous that he would turn her away. There was underlying tension that Kennedy felt as soon as she stepped in, guilt and empathy flooded her veins seeing the bruise dark in contrast on the skin of Raina's wrist. Knowing what that was, she pushed it off before she would say anything about it.

The woman ignored the stare of the small kook and sent her a smile nonetheless, gathering the small blonde in her arms, "Kennedy dear, it's been so long, I've missed you,"

Kennedy smiled up at Raina as she got released from the hug, "I've been oddly busy lately, trust me as much as I would've loved to be a stowaway at your house for the rest of the summer, life's been annoying,"

"Well, you always know you're welcomed here, I know Riley's been missing you, he's constantly been stewing in his room, since he's been on lockdown for the past few days,"

Kennedy nodded at her words, but she glanced at Raina with a pleading stare, "Do you mind if I go up and see him? I know how Mr. Masterfield is about someone visiting when Riley's grounded,"

Raina smiled, gripping Kennedy's shoulder fondly, "Well, you're in luck, Jason's out of town at the moment, and today's Riley's last day of his grounding, so knock yourself out hun,"

The small girl hugged the woman tightly, "You're the best,"

"Anything for my favorite girl," Raina joked, ruffling Kennedy's hair lightly.

The blonde grinned at the words, before she thudded up the stairs, her heart pounding with each step she took, knowing that in seconds she would be standing in front of Riley's door and having no choice but to fix things between them. Music thumped lightly behind the door, she swallowed lightly as she knocked, hoping that he would hear it. Her stomach dropped, hearing the music pause, causing silence to wash over in its wake.

The door swung open, Riley took in the hesitant Kook and noticed how small she looked. Not saying a word, he opened the door more and moved out of the way so the blonde could nervously stride in. The room was the same as it was a week ago, only piles of clothes were scattered across the floor in a fashion that was effortlessly Riley.

"Hey," Kennedy greeted, turning to see Riley examining her at the door.

"Why are you here?" Riley quipped.

"To apologize," Kennedy began, plopping down on his king-sized bed. With her fingers intertwined in her lap, she continued, "I hate fighting with you, I'm sorry I freaked out on you so much, I was just paranoid and scared after what just happened at John B's. I miss my best friend and I just want you to not hate me anymore,"

"Kennedy," Riley mumbled, throwing an arm over her shoulders, and pulling her into him. "I could never hate you, sure the things you said were shitty, but I could never hate you over them. We're a packaged deal. I love you, you're the sister I've always wanted, you could never get rid of me,"

"Riley," Kennedy sniffled, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck as she hugged him with everything in him, "You're the brother I wish I had,"

"Girl, you're gonna make me cry, shut the hell up," Riley clipped, moving away from the blonde to get a better look at her, he furrowed his eyebrows, wiping away the stray tears on Kennedy's cheeks, "What the hell has been going on? It looks like you've been to hell and back,"

Kennedy snorted, falling back onto Riley's plush bed, "I have,"

"Kennedy, if you don't tell me everything I swear,"

Kennedy gave him a teasing smile, "I don't think you're ready for it,"

Riley flicked her nose in annoyance, "Spill now, or else I'm kicking you out,"

"Okay, okay," Kennedy laughed, sitting up against the wall, her hands falling to her lap, her thoughts finally coming together, "You just have to promise to not get mad at me,"

Riley scrunched up his eyebrows, "Why the hell would I get mad at you?"

Kennedy sighed, her head leaning on the wall behind her, anxiety pummeled her heart, with each second the thumps became more and more powerful, "I'm just gonna tell you something I should've told you a long time ago,"

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KENNEDY'S HEART WAS about to break through her chest, each passing moment of silence being too deafening for her to handle. She never thought she would see her best friend in a fugue state, she never thought her being honest would do that to him. His features were lifted in surprise as he covered his mouth in shock. Kennedy stood in front of him, chewing nervously on her nails, afraid that his reaction was going to get worse as time went on.

She was able to get through her entire story without a peep from him, and she should've known that was a bad sign. Kennedy expected Riley to at least gasp and yell at her for keeping this from him for the past year, but all she got was a stoic Riley that made her want to run away.

Granted, maybe this wasn't the best time to tell him about how she had a summer fling with JJ Maybank and kept it from him until the relationship was long gone. But she needed advice, this new awkward energy between her and JJ was something she couldn't deal with alone. With the way Riley was acting, she had no idea if she was gonna get any sort of advice anytime soon.

"I can't believe this," Riley exclaimed, running his hands through his curls in amazement. His eyes snapped to the small girl in front of him, "I can't believe you are working with the pogues, I can't even believe they found the royal merchant. And I especially can't believe you and Maybank, that is literally so outta left field, holy shit!"

"Riley I'm sorry I didn't tell you about everything, and about the JJ thing, it just hurt too much to talk about," Kennedy began, but Riley's shit-eating smile made her pause.

"You loved JJ,"

Kennedy widened her eyes, not daring to ever admit something like that, even to herself, "No I didn't,"

"Yes you did," Riley laughed, his tone holding no anger, just purely surprise and intrigue, "If it was just a fling you would've told me in an instant, you were in love with JJ,"

"Shut up, no I wasn't," Kennedy exclaimed, her heart pounding heavily in her chest, watching the amusement waft off of Riley.

"Kennedy loved a pogue," Riley sang teasingly, watching in enjoyment at the glare glued to Kennedy's features, "I'm like so fucking freaked out by this, like you screwed one of my best friends...a lot."

"Riley-" Kennedy started, a wave of uncomfortableness washed over her.

"It makes so much sense now, I can't believe I didn't connect the dots, they were literally right in front of me,"

Kennedy grimaced, crossing her arms into her chest to feel a little bit of comfort, "We didn't want anyone to know, you're the first person I told about last summer,"

"You both were so screwed up after it," Riley said to her, but it was more to himself as if he needed to get his thoughts together, his face fell as realization just dawned on him, "That's why JJ got so pissy whenever he saw you with Rafe, he was jealous. I always thought it was because you guys hated each other, but now it's all making so much sense,"

"Riley, as much as I love to reminisce on the pain we both felt after the breakup," Kennedy began, plopping down next to Riley, "I would really like some advice on more pressing matters,"

"That part is excruciatingly obvious,"

"Literally how?" Kennedy blurted out hopelessly, her body flopping down on the comforter under her.

"Hunnybun, you are both showing interest in getting back together, don't be shy, do it," Riley concluded, sending her a serious glance.

"What am I supposed to do about Rafe? Or my mom? They would literally kill me, my mom has already given me a taste of what she can do and I don't want to go through that again,"

Riley sent her a sad gaze, "Kennedy, if you want to be truly happy, you have to let go of the things that hurt you, break it off with Rafe, dump your mother, go live at Maggie's, she's told you a million times that you could live with her, get your sanity back babes,"

Kennedy wiped the tears that fell without her knowledge, smiling at her best friend, "You'll be there with me? I can't do this on my own,"

"I'll be with you every step of the way, we're gonna get your man back and most importantly, we're gonna get you back."

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THE CLOUDS SHADOWED the island the moment the blonde enigma opened her eyes, today was the day she was dreading. Not only was she with people who weren't too fond of her general existence, she was also attempting to find a ship that hadn't even been found by archaeologists. She was scared to be out in a boat with JJ, she didn't know what would happen, she knew he wasn't happy with her at the moment and she didn't know if he was gonna be mad or upset.

Luckily, she wouldn't be alone with him, four others would give her something to do rather than worry about how JJ feels. When Riley got out of lockdown, he immediately was caught up with what was happening with the pogues and was cut a proper amount of the gold. Kennedy was fine with not receiving anything but John B insisted that she got cut into the deal also. The frown that Kie had when he told her didn't make her feel any better.

Being cut in might not be such a horrible idea, especially now that Kennedy was about to have it out with her mother and dump Rafe to the curb. Kennedy didn't know what the future held in those categories and she dreaded when those moments would erupt. She could tell that it would be the downfall of the enigma of outer banks. She would no longer be a spectacle that people poked and prodded, she would soon be just plain old Kennedy, something she had been waiting for.

The cool breeze flooded her hair as she sat quietly near the back of the boat, as the people around her talked. The sun dived in between clouds throughout the day, so soft pink shades rested on the tip of Kennedy's nose as she stared out at the vast sea in front of them. Riley was making small conversations with John B and Pope as they told him about the days that he missed.

"Wow, you guys are literally an off-brand version of the goonies," Riley exclaims, his face struck with amazement as John B tells him how he found the coordinates to where the royal merchant is.

"We'd like to say we're a more talented and better version of the goonies," John B joked, the wind whipping his hair into a messy form.

Kennedy snorted, her voice teasing, "Please, the original goonies had that super smart kid that invented things, what do you have? Kids who smoke too much weed?"

"We have a super-smart kid," John B quips, pointing a finger at a smiling Pope.

"I'd like to think I'm this group's version of the super-smart inventor type,"

Kennedy laughs, her voice shining as her smile was contagious and felt by everyone in the boat, "What have you invented dear Pope?"

The boy snorted, shaking his head at the nickname, "I haven't invented anything, but I have stopped JJ from almost dying on multiple occasions,"

"Would all the times include, his stupid ideas that would've gotten him killed in the first place?" Kennedy questioned, making everyone snort at her words.

"You would be correct," Pope answered, his tone amused.

Kennedy waited for JJ to clap back teasingly, knowing full well the boy steering the boat heard the entire conversation, but he was silent. The blonde glanced toward him and saw his stoic face that never stopped looking forward, the gaze made her stomach drop and her comments stopped completely.

The others around her erupted into conversations and she stayed quiet, eyes focused on the ocean in front of her. The salty air stung her nose, but she didn't mind, enjoying her time on the boat. This had been the first time she had been out in the water with people that she was able to relax in front of.

Being around the kooks made her stiff and ridged, she couldn't be relaxed with them, as if she always had to be on high alert to be the perfect person everyone wanted her to be. The lack of suffocation from the people around her made her feel comfortable and free, the air was lighter and the smiles and laughs she gave were all real. For the first time in a long time, she actually feels good, there's no substance or person that she needs to distract her in order for that to happen.

"Alright JJ, pin it here," John B ordered, getting up from his seat to get the drone ready.

"Roger that! x marks the spot," JJ quipped back, sending the boat to a halt.

Kennedy's body leaped forward lightly, but she instantly caught herself and stood up to examine the station that the pogues had set up.

"To going full kook," John B concluded, instantly sinking the drone down into the depths below them.

Kennedy pulled her hair into a messy ponytail, annoyed by the whipping wind sending her hair to fly in her face, she tucked the loose strands behind her ear so no hair was in her face. She watched on the sidelines as Kie fed the wire into the ocean so the drone could further descend. Pope's eyes were locked on the machine watching the fish that were shown in the drone's camera. His fingers were glued to the controls as he directed the drone to go to the proper coordinates.

"Alright, JJ, we're right over it, ten seconds northwest,"

The blond boy nodded, hands quickly moving the steering wheel to where he needed it, "Got it, ten seconds northwest,"

"One hundred feet," Kie called, focusing on drawing a tally mark with chalk, but she soon went back to feeding the wire.

Kennedy's eyes never left the screen, she stood next to Pope, waiting for something to show up on the screen. A fish swam instantly in their view, making the two jump in surprise. John B was instantly by their side with a questioning gaze, "What? What, what, what, what?"

Everyone stared at the two with intrigue, but Pope sighed, "It's nothing,"

"God guys," John B groaned, moving back to the tablet that he was looking at moments before.

"Don't do that to me, guys," JJ blurted, giving them a quick glance before going back to keeping the boat in place.

"Sorry, a giant-ass fish popped and scared the shit outta us, how are we supposed to react?" Kennedy snipped back, making the two boys send her small glares.

"And to quote the hobbit, down, down to goblin town. Down, down, you go, my lad,"

Kennedy snorted, her features amused as she glanced at the boy next to her, "Got any more hobbit quotes in the lineup?"

Riley snorted, "That boy has more hobbit quotes than you can imagine,"

"I'd like to think I have a normal amount of hobbit quotes," Pope remarked, making the smile bigger on Kennedy's face. She did enjoy Pope's company, he was a sweet guy, and honestly, she wouldn't mind being friends with him.

"Four hundred feet!" Kie announced, thunder rumbling above interrupting her, but her eyes were instantly on the water, "The tide's turning,"

"Hey JJ, ten seconds easy, alright south-south-east," John B mentioned to the blond pogue, and the boy instantly nodded.

"Copy that,"

Kennedy chewed on her nails watching the four teens nervously, the girl turned to her best friend, eyes questioning, "Do you think the wrecks gonna actually be here?"

The whisper caught the attention of Riley, he quickly dove down to answer her, "I hope so, I'd like to get some money so my mom and I could finally leave my dad,"

"That'll happen with or without gold," Kennedy reminded, knowing that will happen nonetheless. "I'm just worried that they're gonna be disappointed when the wrecks not here,"

"Is the Kennedy Thornton caring about pogues? The people she so desperately hated three days ago?" Riley teased, making Kennedy send him a glare.

"No," The blonde hissed under her breath, glancing away from him to avoid his eyes. "I just don't want them to get their hopes up is all,"

"It's alright Kenn, you can tell me whatever you want, but I can still read right through your glares,"

Kennedy shoved the boy, her features filling with annoyance knowing he was absolutely right, "Shut up,"

"JJ, twenty seconds mid-speed, alright? South,"

"Copy that, aye-aye,"

Kennedy was pushed back into the moment once the Maybank boy called back to John B. There was a layer of tension filling the small boat as the weather progressed more and more. Anxiety bubbled in Kennedy's stomach watching the storm clouds come tumbling closer to them.

"Keep the tether out of the prop!" JJ snipped at Kie, making the brunette groan.

"I'm trying!"

Kennedy moved away from Riley and Pope so she could help a struggling Kie feed the tether into the water. As soon as her manicured hands touched some of the wire, Kie sent her an annoyed glance, "I don't need you-"

"Just shut up and accept my help," Kennedy concluded, smiling triumphantly to herself knowing that she won and was able to let this operation run more smoothly.

"John B is that good?"

"We're good, we're good!"

Kennedy's soft breaths turned heavy as she fed Kie more of the wire, sweat built up on the back of her neck, but she didn't dare move her hands to wipe it away.

"Okay, seven hundred feet,"

The weather was getting more violent by the seconds, and concern began flooding Kennedy's veins, watching the dark clouds come closer and closer to their boat. A wave crashed into the boat making Kennedy sway slightly at the impact.

"JJ, hold it steady," John B ordered.

Kennedy handed more of the wire to Kie, relief flooded her knowing that they were almost reaching the end. When Kie announced they hit nine hundred feet, orders were given left and right, while Kennedy paid attention to finishing up movements of the last of the wire. She tried her best not to focus on the storm that they in no way would escape from, she swallowed her fear and focused on the task at hand.

"John B, there's too much current, we're gonna lose it!"

Kennedy's grip was tight as she pulled the wire towards the boat, afraid that they might lose her father's drone and get her deep shit.

"What do you got Pope? Come on man, what do you see?"

"Nothin', a whole lot of nothin',"

"You should be right above it brother,"

Kie switched back into lowering it down, and they were close to the end, and in seconds they reached the end of the wire, "nine-eighty,"

"I'm at the bottom! I'm at the bottom," Pope exclaimed, his eyes never leaving the screen.

"Okay, steady here JJ, steady here, quarter speed, alright?"

Kennedy jumped up and rounded to where the screen was, eyes wavering to a frantic John B, "You should be seeing something man, you should be seeing-"

"I know, I know! Wait, wait," Pope replied, his tone calm as his attention was glued to the images in front of them.

Kennedy let out a small cry of excitement seeing an algae-covered bow coming into view, without thinking she gripped Kiara's hand, needing something to hold onto. The girls made brief eye contact, bright smiles protruding onto their faces, Kie squeezed her hand back, feeling no malice in the moment.

John B chuckled in amazement, "It's the royal merchant,"

Kennedy was stunned by the commotion all around her, she couldn't believe random and inexperienced teenagers found an infamous shipwreck that actual professionals weren't able to find in the years they tried. She couldn't believe that they were all about to get rich as hell, and at that moment, as it all dawned on her, she felt finally free.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

↝↝↝↝↝ 𝐓𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐀𝐘𝐒... ↜↜↜↜↜

𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝗕𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗟𝗬 silverfalcons

HEY BESTIES SURPRISED????

This chapter has so much going on like I can't even, like can we talk about Kennedy and JJ??? 😳😳

So they found the merchant and yada yada yada, Kennedy's working her way to liking the pogues and I'm so ready, looks like pogue life will be in her near future!

SPICY DRAMA NEXT CHAPTER, THE MOVIE NIGHT IS NEXT CHAPTER, WHICH MEANS KENNEDY'S GONNA KICK SOME ASS!!

Hope you enjoyed!

BUT IMPORTANT THING.

What did you all think?

I really would like your feedback on this, so please leave a comment.