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𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗧𝗬
spiraling

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・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

Since it probably wasn't a good idea to go back to Poguelandia, the Pogues sailed to March Point and set up a fire outside to try to just lay low and calm down.

John B and Sarah had went on over to the dock by themselves while the rest of the them sat around the fire.

"Let me know if this hurts," Kyla told the boy as she dabbed some disinfectant on his wound on his abdomen, making him groan. "Sorry," she said and he just shook his head. Thankfully, they had a medical kit on the boat so Kyla got to work in making sure the wound was cleaned.

JJ continued to groan softly as she patted the wound, trying to make sure she cleaned every last bit of it since it seemed to be kind of deep. She looked up at him through her eyelashes after few seconds or so, watching the way he tried to hide the fact that his flesh had been burning.

He then caught her eye one of the times she looked up and she gave him a sad smile, but he just shook his head, telling her not to worry about him.

Once she was done cleaning the wound, she moved on over to the log next to him as JJ began wrapping some gauze around himself to cover the injury. "You know what's the funniest part? Is that I actually thought he was coming back for me. But nah, he just wanted to get rid of me," JJ released an exhale. "And now Pope's a fugitive. Welcome to the club, bro. And we have nothing now. We lost everything and it's all my fault," he said, getting up and walking away since he was beginning to get worked up all of a sudden.

"It's not your fault," Kyla tried to tell him, following after him as he kicked at a plant.

"Yeah, it is."

"JJ, no it's not. How can it be—"

"Because it fucking is, Kyla!" He screamed, turning to face her with an angered expression on his face, which made her step back with a shocked look. "God, I am so tired of you trying to make excuses for me all the time!"

"JJ, don't talk to her like that," Pope warned, slowly getting up to make sure JJ wasn't about to spiral again.

Kyla held up a hand, looking over at Pope. "No, I want to hear what he has to say. I need to hear what he has to say. I told him he could tell me whatever is on his mind so now's the time." She looked back at JJ, her expression mixed with concern and frustration. "Now's the time, JJ."

JJ released an exasperated breath, running a hand through his hair. "Stop with the bullshit of saying it's not my fault. Stop with telling me that what I did at city hall and to the town was valid because it wasn't, Kyla! It wasn't! I ruined your fucking life because I don't know how to control shit! You should be with someone who does, who's not gonna fuck up your life even more."

"What, like Alex?" She questioned, raising her eyebrows in disbelief.

Rhi shared a confused glance with Kiara, wondering if that had been the reason for Kyla's anger toward her brother earlier. She had started also to question if that was the real reason Alex had left all of a sudden.

"I don't want him. I've only ever wanted to be with you," Kyla told him and he just shook his head, looking down. "JJ, I thought we stopped with this two years ago. I don't care what shit we're going through, I'm going to stick by your side. I've proven time and time again that I can handle this shit. You don't need to worry about me, okay? You're not gonna hurt me."

JJ began to break down, his lip quivering. "But what if I do, Ky? What if I do?" He cried and Kyla went over him, going to wrap her arms around him but he stepped back. "No, no! I-I don't wanna hurt you."

"JJ, you're not gonna hurt me. I promise," she said breathlessly before she reached for him again, enveloping in a hug in which he instantly melted into with a sob. "It's okay. Just calm down and then you can talk to us, okay? Just breathe."

The Pogues all watched with downtrodden expressions on their faces, not seeing JJ break down like this in a long time. It had usually been him reacting with red hot anger, not with tears. They had no idea what he could have been feeling in the moment, and they didn't know how to help him.

But Kyla was there. She was always going to be there no matter what. And JJ knew that, which was why he was terrified for what could soon become.

After JJ had calmed down, he grabbed a beer and the couple had sat down together with Kyla's arm wrapped around his shoulders comfortingly. They were just all staring into the fire in disbelief of everything, not knowing how they could have possibly ended up in this situation for the umpteenth time.

"Growing up, Luke would always tell me when he was drunk off his ass, 'If there's one thing I know, hell is other people,'" JJ spoke up after a moment, causing them to turn their gazes toward him as the orange hues of the fire bounced off his face. "When I was a kid, I didn't get it. It didn't make any sense to me. But then one day, I just decided to ask him. I said, 'What do you mean, hell is other people?' And he looked at me for a while, and then he just said, 'Just keep on living...and you'll find out.' Luke's been wrong about a lot of things, but, man, was he right about that one. Went from a fake dad...to a real dad who just tried to kill me. Yeah, Luke. Yeah, I found out. Hell certainly is other people."

JJ took a swig of his beer at the end of his speech, causing Kyla to release a sigh. She knew that JJ liked to drown his feelings in alcohol, which was something that worried her to no end. She didn't want to see him end up like his father, or well, his fake one.

"JJ, maybe you should hold off on the drinking?" She whispered to him, not wanting to cause a scene again. JJ just ignored her as he kept on drinking his beer, making her sigh again.

She then felt her phone buzz on her pocket and she took it out, reading a message from Alex that said, 'Hey, I think I'm gonna stay back at the rental. Don't wanna get in the way. Text me updates to make sure you guys are safe.'

She furrowed her brows a bit, looking up to meet Rhi's confused gaze. "I'll be right back," Kyla whispered to JJ and he just nodded while she got back, moving away from the group to speak with Rhi.

"Okay, Ky, what happened between the two of you?" Rhi asked right away, wanting to know why she had been so mad at him earlier.

"He told me he liked me, Rhi. That's why I got so mad," Kyla revealed her and Rhi's eyes widened. "I know he's your brother and all, but he told me he came here because he thought I felt the same way about him which pissed me off."

"Wait, what the fuck? Why would he think that?" Rhi spoke.

Kyla shrugged. "I don't know, I don't know. I just don't know why he would have left before without saying anything until now."

"You know what, I don't wanna question it. It's probably better for him if he's not here. It's not safe," Rhi sighed.

"Yeah, maybe you should go, too, Rhi. You shouldn't be caught up in this."

"I know I'm not a Pogue, Kyla, but I feel like I can't just abandon you guys. Especially since..." Rhi trailed off, her eyes moving over to Kiara who was busy staring after the fire. Rhi then looked away before Kyla could notice her staring. "...Since I've gotten to know you all. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you guys with me not being there. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if there was something I could do to help."

Kyla smiled sadly. "You sound like me when I first started getting caught up in this mess when I was seventeen."

Rhi laughed softly. "I guess the Pogues just attract strays." Rhi had friends back home and in college, but she had never been surrounded by a group of people who seemed to genuinely care about the others so much. It felt like they would do anything for each other and honestly, she adored it.

Kyla looked over at JJ, watching him continue to drink. She frowned a bit. "Yeah. Yeah, they do." She would have never considered herself a stray back then, but coming to think of it, she was always so alone without ever realizing it.

Rafe had been cheating and lying to her, Tara had been a fake friend, and all the Kooks only liked her for her popularity. The only person she had was Sarah and even with that, she never felt like truly fit in with the Kooks.

But with the Pogues...it felt like her life just made sense despite all the running from the cops, the murder, and the sadness.

It felt like she should've been a Pogue all along.

・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

Alex had been pacing around his rental place a bit earlier, unsure if he should go back to Poguelandia or not. He hadn't received any texts from Rhi or Kyla, and he wasn't sure if that had been a good or bad thing. He wanted to make sure they were okay, but at the same time, he was scared shitless about what JJ would do to him.

After seeing the way he crashed out a couple days ago, Alex knew the boy was capable of hurting him. And he really didn't want to put it to the test.

All of a sudden, the doorbell rang and he immediately went over to it, thinking it had been his sister. But when he pulled the door open, he was greeted by a girl with brown hair and striking eyes. "Uh, hello, can I help you?"

The girl smiled. "You can, actually." She then pulled out a gun from underneath her shirt, pointing it directly at Alex. "If you try to scream for help, this bullet is going straight through your fucking head."

Alex gasped in shock as the girl stepped forward into the home, making him put his hands up and back away. She shut the door behind her, keeping her eyes locked on Alex. "Who...who are you?" Alex breathed out, swallowing hard.

"Oh, you don't know? I thought Kyla would have told you about me," the girl spoke with a devilish gleam in her eyes.

Alex's blood ran cold. "Tara?"

"Bingo," Tara smirked.

"What the-what the fuck? What are you doing here? Why are you doing this?" The boy questioned, his eyes darting around to try to think of a game plan.

Tara ran her tongue across her teeth, moving closer to Alex so that he had continued to back up. "I'm looking for the Pogues. Well, specifically one. Do you know where they are?" She questioned him.

Since Groff hadn't reunited with the Corsairs yet, not knowing that he had even gotten the scroll back yet, Tara had took it upon herself to find the Pogues. Not because they were getting in the way of their treasure hunt, but because she wanted to finish the job that she should have two years ago.

Alex started to shake his head rapidly, backing up until his back finally hit the kitchen table. "No, no. I left them a while ago. I-I didn't want to be apart of this. Please."

Tara began to chuckle. "Now, Alex, didn't your parents ever teach you not to lie to a person who has a gun pointed to your head?" She asked, flicking the safety off which made Alex flinch. "Wanna try again?"

"How-how do you know my name?"

Tara scoffed at him. "That's what you're fucking focused on right now? Are you fucking stupid?" She questioned him and he gulped. "Kyla has you tagged in one of her Instagram highlights, dipshit. She may have blocked my old account, but that doesn't mean I can't create a new one."

"Kyla was right. You are psychotic," he told her and she growled before she hit his face with the gun, causing him the cry out in pain.

"That's your final fucking warning. Tell me where the Pogues are or you're fucking dead," she seethed, watching as he placed a hand to the fresh wound that was created on his eyebrow. "Three...two..."

"Okay, okay!" Alex held his hands up and Tara smirked, waiting for his answer. "They're at...Poguelandia," he grumbled.

She gave him an incredulous look. "What the fuck is that?"

"Kyla told me it was JJ's old house and they fixed it up. I-I don't know, I just know they call it Poguelandia, okay? Please don't shoot me," he begged.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Give me your phone."

"W-What?"

"Give me your goddamn phone!" She shouted, hitting him in the face again.

"Ow, please!" Alex yelped, more blood seeping down the side of his face as he felt his vision start to turn blurry. He then scrambled for his phone in his back pocket, handing it over to the girl with a shaky hand.

Tara took it from him and turned the phone to unlock it using his Face ID. She then went to his text messages, texting his group chat with both Kyla and Rhiannon. "'Hey, I think I'm gonna stay back at the rental. Don't wanna get in the way. Text me updates to make sure you guys are safe,'" Tara said aloud as she typed the message. "That sound like you?"

Alex panted heavily, trying to stop the bleeding that was falling down his face. "Y-Yes."

"And send!" Tara said, sending the message before she placed his phone in his back pocket. "Thanks for the cooperation, Alex."

"Just don't hurt them, okay? Please don't hurt them," he pleaded before he winced in pain, on the verge of passing out because of the amount of blood was dripping off of him.

Tara chuckled darkly. "Sorry, but I don't make promises I can't keep," she told him before she spun on her heel, walking toward the door. "Oh, and Alex? Don't you dare try to warn them," she said before she walked out. "If you can even stay awake," she muttered to herself afterwards.

Alex tried to follow her out the door but as soon as he took one step, he collapsed onto the floor and passed out.

Tara drove on over to Poguelandia or whatever the hell the dumbass Pogues decided to call their home. She tried to see if she could find Kyla's location using Alex's phone but they didn't have it shared, so she decided going to Poguelandia would be her best bet.

She pulled out her gun and searched every square inch of the home, only to find nothing. "God fucking damn it," she cursed before she heard police sirens outside, her eyes widening.

She quickly placed the gun behind her back, moving her shirt so it covered it. "JJ Maybank, we have a warrant for your arrest," she heard the officer say and Tara furrowed her brows. "Hello? Anyone there?!"

"I'm here!" Tara called out, holding her hands up. The officer went inside, his brows knitting together at the sight of the girl.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" The officer interrogated.

"I-I'm friends with Kyla Carrera. After I heard everything about JJ, I wanted to go check up on her. I don't know where she is and I'm worried he may have done something," Tara lied through her teeth, pretending to be concerned.

The officer nodded slowly, seeming to believe the girl. "Okay, just come out here."

Tara walked outside behind the officer. "They're not here, Shoupe. But this girl claims she knows Kyla Carrera."

Shoupe turned around and his eyes widened at the sight of Tara. "Tara Thornton? What the hell are you doing here? I haven't seen you in two years."

"After everything that happened here, I had to leave for a while. I was staying with the cousins down south," Tara told the man, hoping he bought it. "I heard about what was going on with JJ. I needed to see that Kyla was okay."

Shoupe narrowed his eyes at the girl. "You're still friends with Kyla?" He asked her, knowing some of the accusations he had heard been thrown around years ago. And she had also once been dating Kyla's ex boyfriend, too.

Tara exhaled. "We've had our differences, but I do still care about her."

"Uh-huh..." Shoupe hummed, not knowing if he could trust the girl. She had been arrested with Rafe two years ago before Ward confessed to killing Peterkin, but he always felt like Rafe and Tara were still involved. "Why don't you get on out of here, Tara? We'll make sure Kyla gets home safe, all right?" He said to the girl after a moment, knowing he couldn't focus on his suspicions right now when he had other important matters.

Tara gave him a smile. "Thank you, Shoupe. That's all I want," she said before she turned around, the smile on her face turning to a scowl as she walked back over to the car. Once she was inside, she dialed Dalia's number. "Hey. They're not here. Come pick me up where you dropped me off."

authors note!
i feel so bad for jj :( he
needed a chance to live
a good life man