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𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗬 𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘
revealing secrets

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The Pogues had been searching for JJ all night until the sun had come up, not getting any sleep whatsoever. Cleo had to split up from the group, however, to attend Pope's trial. The others weren't allowed to per his parents not wanting the judge to potentially give him a greater sentence, but they obviously allowed Cleo to show up.

The rest of them — Kyla, Rhi, Alex, Kiara, Sarah, and John B — kept walking through town, their feet tired from all the walking. But they were determined to try to find the boy, especially Kyla who had finally started to process everything that had went on earlier in the night.

"Oof. This place is trashed," John B commented, seeing all the shattered glass and trash everywhere. "JJ's long gone. We should get out of here."

"We can't just give up looking here. He could've found somewhere to hide," Kyla hoped for the best, although she wasn't too sure that was actually the case.

"And, also, where would we even go? They're probably already bulldozing Poguelandia," Kiara pointed out.

"That means JJ's slashing tires," John B sighed.

"That's actually pretty likely."

John B then stopped and turned toward Sarah, his brows furrowed since she seemed out of it. "Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm, uh, I'm-I'm — I have to — You know, I'll be right back," Sarah stuttered, quickly walking over into one of the destroyed drug stores.

"Is she okay?" Rhi asked Kyla, whose brows had knitted together suspiciously at Sarah's odd actions.

"I don't know," she answered quietly, tilting her head. "But we should keep our focus on JJ right now. I mean, he could be hurt right now or worse."

"What's the situation with his father? Luke?" Alex asked. "You think he tried to go after him after his whole...rage last night maybe?"

Kyla shook her head. "Probably not. He probably doesn't want anything to do with him after yesterday. His father and him...let's just say they don't get along very well. His dad was abusive, addicted to alcohol and drugs, and a criminal. He left, or we thought he did, a while back," she explained briefly, not wanting to go too much into it because she wasn't sure how much JJ wanted people to know.

"Then his dad comes back and the next thing you know, he sells the house right out from under him to the Kooks of all people," John B finished for her. "I mean, Luke makes my dad look like the father of the century. That's crazy to think about."

"And he might not even be his..." Kyla trailed off, realizing what she was just about to say.

"What?" John B said.

"Nothing," she quickly shook her head before she realized where JJ probably was, her eyes widening.

Kiara looked at her sister funny. "What did you say?"

"Goat Island. I think I know where JJ went," Kyla revealed.

John B scoffed, "What are you talking about?"

"Kie, go get Sarah," Kyla instructed her sister and Kiara nodded slowly in confusion before she went into the drug store, looking for Sarah.

"Ky, how do you know he's on Goat Island?" John B interrogated her quickly.

"Look, I don't know how much I can say, but I just have a feeling he's there. You gotta trust me, okay?" Kyla told the Routledge boy and he just sighed, running a hand through his hair and nodding.

"What's Goat Island?" Rhi questioned.

"It's where we went to talk about finding the treasure," Kyla told her, not wanting to go further into the whole Groff situation.

"And you think JJ went back there because...of the treasure?" Alex slowly asked, furrowing his brows.

"No, no, no, just — Look, just don't ask anymore questions. Let's just focus on getting to Goat Island and finding JJ first, okay?" Kyla quickly spoke, not wanting to betray JJ's trust if she didn't need to just yet.

"Ky, can I talk to you for a second? Alone?" John B asked, softly grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the siblings so they wouldn't be able to hear. "Look, are you not saying something because of them or what's going on here? Because the more information we have, the better."

Kyla sighed, looking down before she looked back up to meet John B's eyes. "I promised JJ I wouldn't say anything, okay? I'm not going to break my promise just because he's not here right now. I don't want him to think he can't trust me. Especially not after..." Kyla trailed off, glancing over at Alex who had already been looking her way before he turned his gaze away.

John B followed her eyes onto Alex before back to the older Carrera girl. "Does JJ think something happened between you and Alex?" The boy asked, his eyebrows raising.

Kyla rubbed her face. "Well, he thought Alex was into me. I tried to explain to him that he wasn't and even if he was, nothing would happen because I love him, not anyone else," she told John B. "I mean, am I not doing a good job at showing that? I feel like he thinks I-I don't love him as much as I actually do. First, he almost spends all of our money on the house and he tells me it's because he was going manic without me home. Then, this whole thing happens and I can't help but think it partially has to do with me and this whole Alex situation. It's just...I don't know what else to do."

"Kyla, no," John B immediately stopped her, placing both of his hands on his shoulders. "Don't blame yourself for this. You've actually been the one thing that's grounded him for so long."

"Really?" Kyla responded, hopefulness in her voice.

"Yes, really. JJ — He's crazy about you. He's been crazy about you for a long time. Trust me, I had to hear it all," he began and she laughed softly, looking down in embarrassment. "Without you, he would've went off the deep end a long time ago. He loves you and he knows you love him. You don't have anything to worry about, okay?"

Kyla nodded slowly, looking back up at John B. "Thank you, John B," she said before she enveloped him in a much needed hug. "You've always been here for me, even when you disliked me. Thank you."

John B pulled back, giving her an incredulous look. "I never disliked you, Ky. I just had many generalizations about Kooks, that's all."

"Isn't it funny that you and JJ both ended up with ex-Kooks even when you both claimed to be the biggest haters of them?" Kyla pointed out, a sly smirk making its way up to her face since John B had made her feel 10x better.

"You and Sarah were never true Kooks anyway so that doesn't count," John B countered, his own smile making its way onto his face.

"Oh, there he is. King of the Pogues," someone spoke up from behind them and they both looked over to see that it was Topper, who had a bandage on his nose, instantly killing their mood. "Are you happy, man? Huh? You had your little freak-out and now we got to deal with it. I mean, do you ever think about the consequences of your actions?" He questioned, moving away from the two older men he was with who were helping clean up the place. "And, oh, hey, Kyla. My nose is fine, by the way, thanks for asking."

"Aw, man. That sucks," Kyla deadpanned, crossing her arms over her chest as she narrowed her eyes at the Thornton boy.

Topper went to go reply before John B quickly said, "You know what? I really don't want to talk about this right now, Topper."

"I can't wait til I take over Poguelandia," Topper said, patting the shoulder of an older man that he was with.

John B and Kyla both gave each other an angered look before they stepped forward. "What did you say?" John B questioned.

"Oh, all that yesterday? Whose idea do you think that was?" Topper said and Kyla tensed up. "Great piece of real estate sitting there. Just looking forward to tearing all that jerry-rigged bullshit down."

"So you burn my house down and now you want to take my business?" John B assumed.

"Well, I mean, somebody was gonna do it, right? You can go around busting windows and whatever, but at the end of the day, John B, Kildare is for the Kooks," Topper explained smugly.

"Hey, hey...is everything good?" Alex slowly asked as he and Rhi came up behind Kyla and John B after they noticed what was going on.

"You know, you're just like your sister, Topper. But honestly, you're worse. At least she embraces her psychotic behavior. You think that what you're doing is right. You're pathetic," Kyla insulted, ignoring the siblings behind her.

"Oh, I'm worse than Tara? How the hell am I worse than her when she literally got sent to a camp made to reform her?" Topper inquired, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, at least she admitted to me all the things she's done in the past that have hurt me. You still won't even admit that you tried to burn down John B's house," Kyla pointed out.

"Because I didn't," Topper continued to deny.

"And that's exactly what I'm talking about."

"Oh, hey, Kie. Hey, Sarah. Looking good," Topper greeted as the girls walked out of the drug store, ignoring Kyla's last sentence, and Sarah shook her head at him in disgust.

Kiara cleared her throat. "Guys, not a good time," she said, trying to pull them away from Topper.

"'Looking good'? The lamest thing you've ever said," John B told him before he flipped him off. "Bitch."

"Have fun with Ruthie and your matching wounds!" Kyla called out from over her shoulder and she watched Topper's lip curl.

"Go," Kiara pushed John B and Kyla away so that they were all walking away from Topper. "Wait, when are you gonna...?" She trailed off, whispering to Sarah but Kyla had heard it.

"I'll just tell him later," Sarah shook her head and Kyla glanced at the girl, wondering what she was keeping from him. She already had a few ideas in mind...

・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

After a bunch of begging and pleading from everyone to get Kyla to tell them why she thought JJ was on Goat Island, she finally let up. JJ would have to understand why she told them, to make sure that he was safe. That's all she ever wanted. And after her conversation with John B before, she felt a lot better about the whole JJ trusting her and knowing she loved him situation.

"Okay. So, you're telling me that JJ thinks that Chandler Groff, the heir to Goat Island, is his real dad?" John B questioned as they walked on the dock, down to the boat to get ready to go to Goat Island.

"I don't know, that's what JJ said. I already told you John B, I said I wouldn't say anything but...he's been freaking out ever since he got that letter and I just want to make sure he's safe. And he's definitely there. I know he is," Kyla went on, thinking JJ was definitely going to be a bit mad at her for this.

"Why would the Genrettes keep that a secret for so many years?" John B asked.

"People keep secrets for a lot of reasons," Kiara cut in and Sarah sent the girl a look, which didn't go unnoticed by the older Carrera girl.

"Okay, well, it's the last place we've looked, so dealer's choice."

"Hey, Ky, before we go...can we talk?" Alex spoke up quickly.

"Right now?" Kyla replied, just wanting to get to Goat Island already.

"It shouldn't be that long," he assured her and she nodded slowly, stepping off the boat and back on the dock. She passed Rhi as she did so and sent her a look, to which the ginger girl responded with a shrug as she stepped on the boat and began conversing with Kiara.

"What do you wanna talk about?" Kyla said before Alex grabbed her wrist and pulled her further away from the group. "Hey, hey! What's going on?"

Alex sighed, rubbing his face as he tried to figure out how to word this. "You and JJ..." he began.

"Me and JJ...what?"

Alex sighed again. "Are you sure...he's good for you?"

Kyla's eyebrows raised, scoffing at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's just...it's clear that he's unstable right now. I don't want you getting hurt because of someone who can't control themselves," Alex tried to explain.

Kyla began to grow offended. "JJ is not unstable. He's just going through something that, quite frankly, warranted that whole reaction," she defended her boyfriend.

"It warranted him destroying a whole town and then letting his own friend get arrested for him?" Alex pointed out.

Kyla blinked at him, not believing what she was hearing. "First of all, JJ never asked Pope to do that. Pope was trying to save him because he thought JJ was gonna get shot. Second of all, JJ grew up differently from us, Alex. He had to deal with an abusive father for years. He could've given up, but he didn't. He kept going. And then he had to deal with almost dying for the past two years along with the rest of us. How would you feel if your abusive father, who may not even be your actual father, showed up and sold the house you fought to get just so you could remake memories and build a home with your true family?"

Alex stayed silent after she said that, not really knowing how to answer that. "Exactly. You have no idea what he's been through. I know people who haven't been through the same amount that he has and have killed or have tried to kill someone. Trust me, what he did last night wasn't even bad compared to some of the people here," she continued and Alex looked away, feeling embarrassed. "Why are you even saying this? Are you trying to say that I should break up with him?"

"No, no, that's not what I'm trying to say. I'm just saying...maybe you deserve someone who's willing to put you first instead of putting his emotions first and almost being arrested by the cops multiple times," he admitted.

"And are you saying that person is you?" She dared to ask since both Rafe and JJ had mentioned him being into her which couldn't have been a coincidence now even though she would have liked to believe so. She watched as his face burned red and he began to stutter, not knowing how to answer. She scoffed, turning around and shaking her head, "God, JJ and Rafe were right. Jesus, how could I not see this before?"

"Look, Ky—"

"I mean, is that why you came down here to visit me? Because you-you want me?" She questioned as she turned back to face him, her nose flaring angrily.

"Okay, no, that's not why. I just thought, I mean, why else would you invite me here unless you also thought there was something there, you know?" He tried to justify.

She scoffed at him again. "I didn't just invite you. I invited you and your sister! And hey, Jenn was supposed to come to and she didn't make it. You seriously thought I invited you down here so I could be with you? Even when you knew I was dating JJ?"

"Look, it was clear JJ wasn't a responsible boyfriend. I mean, you told Rhi and I everything that happened to you here. And you expect me to believe he's a good boyfriend to you?"

"I can't believe this. And to think I thought you were my friend, God!" She exclaimed, placing her fingers on her temples for a few seconds. "JJ is the best thing that's ever happened to me and if you actually listened to anything I had to say about him instead of thinking about how you wanted to fuck me, then you would understand that," she voiced viciously before she turned around, walking back toward the boat.

"Ky, come on, this is just a misunderstanding!" He called out after her.

"You can stay here and go to another fucking darty or whatever!" She shouted, not even looking over her shoulder at him.

"Ky, what the hell just happened?" Kiara questioned her sister since everyone had just heard the end of that conversation.

"Yeah, are you good?" John B asked her.

"Just go, John B. Alex is staying behind," Kyla said, not wanting to explain what just happened to complicate things even more. Especially when Rhi was also on the boat.

"What, why?" Rhi asked, looking over to see her brother walking away and shaking his head.

"He said he'll cover for us," she lied and Rhi glanced at Kiara, who just shook her head in confusion. "Now let's go before it's too late."

authors note!
kyla and john b are such an
underrated duo, i had to do them
justice in this chapter 🙏