POPE WAS PACING BACK AND FORTH ON THE PORCH. He had read almost all of the diary already and was now analyzing it closely like he had to write an essay for it for English class or something. He read to them, "Guys, this is from Denmark's diary. 'August 15th, set sail from Port-au-Prince on calm seas. Came upon the Spanish ship San Jose on fire. The entire deck was aflame, and we could hear the screams of men trapped below. The Spanish captain cared about only one thing, his valuable cargo, the Cross of Santo Domingo and countless bars of gold. Once the cargo was on board, we went to help the crew, but Captain Limbrey ordered us to pull bayonets and not to let any of the Spanish crew on board. He robbed them and left them to die.'"

"So it didn't go down off Bermuda," JJ concluded with a slow nod, listening to the reading more intently than he had ever listened to any reading ever.

Kie added bitterly, taking a sip from the beer in her hand and looking like she wanted to spit it in Limbrey's face, "And it was a Limbrey stealing shit again."

"This diary proves that both the gold and the Cross of Santo Domingo were on the Royal Merchant," the Heyward boy pointed out.

"Why didn't we find it in the well then?" the Maybank boy questioned. He had been playing with his lighter, but then, he sat up in his chair and looked over at them while he spoke. "I mean, if Denmark was able to get this, like, bedazzled cross off of the Merchant to shore, why didn't he just hide it with the gold?"

They all thought for a second before John B realized and answered the question. "Because it was too big."

"You're right. He had to hide it someplace else," Pope said.

"But where?" the brunette girl quizzed curiously because she was really confused. "I mean, where can you hide a giant, sparkly cross where no one will find it?"

Pope responded to her, remembering something from what he had read in the diary, "Right before he was hanged, Denmark said he'd buried the treasure at the foot of the angel."

"I thought this was about the key," JJ muttered.

Kiara nodded, taking in all of the information and trying to link it all together. She was failing, as were the rest of them. "Right. So what's the connection?"

"'The path to the tomb begins in the island room,'" Pope quoted. It had something to do with what happened when he went to his Mee-maw's pharmacy, but Bree was trying to bust John B out of jail at that point, so she was kind of behind on that part of the story.

Kie exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in frustration, "But what is the island room?"

"You know what helps me figure shit out?" the blonde boy asked them, standing up from his chair and causing them all to groan because they knew where this was going. He continued, "Smoking beers and drinking weed. The ideas just pour out of me. If we just sit here and try to figure this out, we're gonna get nowhere. But if we get creative and go to this bonfire tonight, maybe we get somewhere."

"Well, I just got disowned by my parents, and I'm an official member of the I-have-nothing-to-lose club," Kie pointed out, and Bree reached over to give her a fist bump as a welcome into the club.

The Maybank boy then raised his eyebrows at their smarter friend who seemed a little iffy about the whole idea. "Pope?"

"We're so close," the Heyward boy groaned.

JJ rolled his eyes and crouched down in front of his friend. "Look, look, think about how much you could think if you just gave your brain a rest." They all leaned in, waiting for his answer anxiously.

"Okay, fine."

《✵》

"OH, MY GOD, I MISSED YOU SO MUCH," JOHN B BREATHED OUT. He was looking at one of his friends that he had not seen in a while as he passed him and gave him a fist bump. All of them had just pulled up to the bonfire, and Pope and Kie were off arguing about her parents while the other three walked together. He then began telling them for the millionth time what Sarah said to him when they broke up. "She's like, 'That's it.'"

JJ nodded sympathetically before actually being sensitive and thinking about what Sarah was feeling. "I know. But, dude, her father blew up right in front of her. Just give her a minute, all right? In the meantime, shotgun right now. Like old days—"

"Hey, derelicts!" a girl called to them, cutting him off. Bree looked up to see a dark-haired girl sitting on the stone ledge and smirking at John B. The Callaway girl then drew the conclusion that this was the girl that gave the brunette boy that note in class.

"Whoa! Hey, there she is," the Maybank boy exclaimed with a chuckle, looking over at his best friend. As he was speaking, the Routledge boy elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to grunt. "That's you. I'm out of here. Good night."

He dragged the brunette girl to the other side of the bonfire where the music was a little bit louder. Night Moves by Bob Seger was blaring through the speakers, so, of course, he intertwined his fingers with hers and pulled her to his chest. He smiled at her as he started to spin them around, and she had to look away to hide the blush creeping onto her cheeks. He eyes landed on John B and the girl he was flirting with, and she commented, "Looks like John B and his friend are getting along."

"Yeah," he chuckled out, his eyes glancing over to the two talking and drinking by the fire. "My boy is about to get laid tonight."

She giggle a little bit before her eyes wandered off again and landed on none other than Sarah Cameron, and she was dancing with Topper Thornton. Now, that was a sigh that you do not see every day. "I'm a little worried about Sarah."

"She seems to be getting along just fine with Topper," he muttered a little bitterly, following her gaze up to the two that were on the tier above them.

She shot him a look, telling him to be more delicate like he was earlier with JOhn B considering the situation the blonde girl was in. "Her dad just died."

"Sometimes people just need to get drunk and forget about everything for a little while," he informed her with a small shrug. Then, he pointed a finger at the girl in front of her, taking it off her waist. "Like you should right now. I'm going to get you another beer."

He was about to pull away when she grabbed his shirt and pulled him back against her. Their faces were inches apart, and she could feel his hot breath fan across her lips. She whispered, "I'm okay."

His eyes flickered down to her lips and back up to her eyes as she felt her heart beating faster and faster. His hands wandered from her waist to her hips as hers played with the hair on the back of his neck. It was like they were staring each other down, waiting for the other to make the first move.

JJ gave in.

He pushed her back into the wall behind her and connected their lips swiftly. She moved her hands so that her thumb could stroke his jawline as their lips moved in sync. Bree swore that she could feel the fireworks going off as they kissed for the first time. She stood on her toes and pulled him closer as his fingers danced along the exposed skin above her shorts.

"You wanna start shit right now?" came a yell from behind them, causing them to break apart quickly and whip around. There, Topper and Sarah had somehow gotten down to the main tier, and the Cameron girl was now in between the blonde boy and a very angry John B.

The blonde boy turned around completely, the brunette girl right behind him as he muttered, "Fuck."

"Do I wanna start some shit?" the Routledge boy repeated, taking a step toward the Thornton boy, and he looked like he was ready to swing at him. It seemed like the four of them — Sarah, Topper, John B, and the girl that he was flirting with — had all gotten into some sort of argument.

Topper threateningly reminded him, referring to the time at the beach, "They all know what happened last time." Bree wondered why he used that as an example considering the fact that it did not really end well for the Kooks.

"Get out of here, Topper! Don't even think about it," the brunette boy yelled at him.

"Hey, she don't want you anymore, bro," Kelce informed John B who was trying to calmly walk away and not start a fight. The other boy kept on taunting him, though, so Bree did not blame him for what he did next. "What you gonna do, John B, kill me like you killed Sheriff Peterkin? Do something!"

John B threw the first punch.

They were on the ground in the blink of an eye, and at some point — Bree could not tell because it was happening so fast — Topper switched out with Kelce and started beating on John B. Other people started to join the fight, hitting and shoving each other. The sound of Sarah screaming caught Bree's attention, and she turned her head just in time to see the girl that John B was flirting with shove the Cameron girl to the ground.

"Sarah!" John B shouted when he saw her hit the floor.

"Move, bitch!" Kie yelled, shoving the girl that hurt Sarah as bree rushed over to her friend. "What's your problem?"

The Callaway girl helped the blonde girl to her feet and questioned with a concerned expression and raised eyebrows, "Are you okay?" She nodded in response, and Bree's attention turned back to the fight between the two Pogue girls.

"Hey, what the hell? Whose side are you on?" the girl shrieked, and she was really starting to get on the brunette girl's nerves.

The Carrera girl answered defensively, "She's my friend."

"You belong with us!" the girl yelled as she got caught in the crowd of people behind her, struggling to get back at the girl that shoved her. "Fuck your little Kook friends!"

"Remember what happened on the beach? Do you wanna go through that again?" Topper asked John B from on top of him. Again, that fight ended with him having a gun against his said, so it was not the best example.

Bree stood up and gestured to Pope that they needed to move. "Guys, let's go!"

"JJ!" the Heyward boy called, and the blonde boy came sprinting toward them but not before running straight into the fight first.

He tried to tackle Topper, but Kelce grabbed him from around the waist and held him back. So, the Maybank boy settled with yelling. "Get the hell off of him! Get off of him!"

"It's not worth it!" Kie told them as the boys grunted and rolled on the ground before climbing to their feet and running toward the girls. "We gotta get out of here! Come on!"

"You good? You good? All right," the blonde boy questioned his best friend as they jogged toward the Twinkie, and he sighed in relief when the other boy nodded. Everyone behind them was either yelling for them to get out or cheering for them.

JJ groaned as they dove into the vehicle. "Well, that was a little unexpected."