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𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗬 𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘
teenage dream...?

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・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

18 months earlier

To sum everything up, we all made it back to the OBX safe and sound. When we got back, Kiara and I tried reconciling with our parents but they were a bit hesitant at first, especially since JJ and I were together.

Apart from that, we found out that the gold equaled to $1,072,549. Yeah. You heard that right. We were ecstatic, but Pope and I made sure to explain how we had to save the money up without wasting it...mostly to JJ.

But do you think he listened? Yeah...no.

He spent $775,010 on his old house, way over price. I was pissed at first, but I came to understand why he was willing to spend that much. He wanted to remake the memories he had in there into good ones with the Pogues.

We just had to make sure we saved the rest...which is why we took the time to start building our own place to live and place to work.

It took awhile, but we all got it done. We had made our own place and made our own bait shop. Everything was great. It was like a teenage dream.

And once things started to get going, I decided to start applying to colleges. The others didn't really want to go back to school (apart from Pope), but I knew I wanted to pursue an education. It's just something I had always wanted to do.

And, somehow, I got in to my top choice, Davidson College. It was six hours away, but I promised all the Pogues I would come to visit.

JJ had been the most distraught about it, but I told him I'd call him everyday. And I did. We had been going strong despite the distance.

Until...I got a call from my sister saying JJ bet the rest of the gold on himself during a bike race and lost it all to the Kooks.

To say that I was furious was an understatement. It seemed like without me in the OBX, he had been acting more recklessly than usual. We had gotten into a huge fight...but thankfully, we made it out the other side.

That's when I got to typing our story about everything. The gold, El Dorado, the people who tried to kill us (without naming names of course, can't get sued for defamation)...everything. And then I sent it out to every major news organization in the OBX, praying that at least one would look into it and confirm it.

And so they did.

When archaeologists excavated the cave we blew up, we were suddenly regarded as heroes after months of being made fun of. Well, not so much me since I was in college for those months but JJ wouldn't stop with telling all the stories of how the Kooks would just taunt them at any chance they got.

I drove back home to be awarded along with the rest of the group where things were finally looking up again. We were finally being respected.

And after the ceremony, this older man named Wes Genrette came up to us and started talking about Blackbeard and how he wanted us to find an item for him.

That's when he invited us to his private estate to discuss his proposition. And there we were, 18 months later, me almost being 20 years old and most likely going to go on another treasure hunt.

Thank God I was on summer break.

・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

"Do you guys know anybody that's been here?" Kiara asked as we made our way to Goat Island on a small boat. "'Cause I don't."

"Nope," JJ shook his head.

"Hey, Sarah, Kyla...y'all must know somebody who's been here, right? I mean, like, all Kooks, they-they know each other. They go to the same parties," Pope assumed.

"We haven't been Kooks for, like, almost two years remember?" Kyla reminded him, raising her brows.

"Yeah, and you've heard the rumors, right?" Sarah added, scrunching her face.

"Oh yeah, about the daughter. I mean, that she drowned with her baby? That's what I heard," JJ recalled.

"I heard that, too, but I heard that she was possessed first or something," Kiara said.

"And then I heard that was all bullshit because...What?" Pope spoke, giving them a look.

"Okay, why are we doing this again?" Cleo questioned.

"We need the money," Pope and Sarah both answered.

As they made their way closer to the island, they noticed an older man working outside. "This place has been around for 200 years, and they still don't have a single road that doesn't go underwater twice a day," Pope pointed out.

"You check in and you don't check out," Kiara said ominously.

"Not right now, Kie," Kyla sighed, not wanting to get freaked out already.

The older man came walking down the ramp to the dock as the boat pulled in. "Afternoon, sir," JJ greeted as Pope handed the man a rope to tie the boat.

The man looked around at all of them, and Kyla and Kiara sent each other a nervous glance. "Welcome to Blackstone," the man finally greeted before he walked away, expecting them to follow which they did.

"So, uh, what ya been digging?" JJ asked and Kyla nudged him with her elbow, to which the blonde responded with a shrug and wide eyes.

"Ditches," the man responded.

"Ditches," JJ repeated.

"At least it's not graves," Kiara pointed out.

"All the same to me," the man said.

"What?" Kiara said, her voice growing higher.

"Why would he say that?" Pope quickly said.

"I don't know," Kyla whispered, gripping into JJ's hand as she grew more nervous by the second.

"Uh, so how long have you been working for Mr. Genrette?" John B asked, changing the subject.

"As long as I can remember." They all looked at one another nervously before they followed him up the steps to the entrance of the house. "There," he pointed.

JJ nodded to himself. "Okay, thank you," he said before they all slowly made their way closer to the house, stepping onto the porch. JJ let go of Kyla's hand and used the knocker on the door to knock, calling out, "Hello? Anyone home?" When no one answered, he tried again. "Hello? Anyone home? Maybe? Oh, just a little quick FYI, they drug you before they chop you up. So...don't eat or drink anything."

"JJ, please..." Kyla trailed off, crossing her arms anxiously.

"Not funny," Cleo quickly responded.

"Yeah, guys, I think I've changed my mind about this one," Sarah spoke up nervously.

"Yeah, I-I really don't wanna be here," Kiara agreed.

"Can we go?" Sarah suggested.

"I admit the risk-reward is very off," Pope admitted.

"Hey, someone's coming," JJ quickly said once he heard footsteps.

They all tensed up as someone began to unlock the door, but it wasn't Wes Genrette. "Hi," the younger man greeted. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. It's quite a big house, and I'm-I'm afraid the servants have all gone. All except, uh, good old Demp. Just can't seem to get rid of him," the man chuckled. "Uh, you must be the...the Pogues. The Great Seekers."

"Yeah, I-I don't know about that," John B began to say.

"Oh, now, don't you-don't you be modest. I've read of your adventures. It's quite thrilling. Uh, come in, come in. I-I'm the son-in-law. Chandler Groff. Wes was really, really hoping you'd show. He's been waiting," Groff enthused.

JJ looked back, sending Kyla a look. She raised her brows at him before he nodded and looked back at Groff. "Yeah. Pleasure. JJ," he introduced before he walked inside. Kyla went in after, not wanting him to be alone in there for too long even though she was nervous as hell. "So...how we feelin' about this?" JJ whispered to Kyla as they walked side by side into the house.

"Not too good, but we gotta get our money back somehow after someone spent it all," Kyla retorted quietly, giving her boyfriend a look.

"How many times do I have to apologize for that? I-I...I was going manic without you here," he said, trying to guilt trip her jokingly.

"Okay, one, there's about 1,072,540 more apologies left for you to do and two, shut up, I called you almost everyday," she said, rolling her eyes playfully and nudging him. At least their banter would make her feel a bit better under the circumstances.

"This place smells like dead bodies," John B commented as they walked further into the rundown house.

Groff chuckled a bit. "I'll uh...I'll let Wes know you're here," he told them, opening up a set of doors into another room. "Wes, they've come."

"Oh, good, good. Bring them in. Come in. Please, please, warm yourselves by the fire," Wes said, gesturing to the couches. "Good to see you."

Cleo touched one of the cobwebs on the lamp. "Ew."

"I-I apologize for dragging you all out here, but I...I don't think I could speak about this in public," he began as they all slowly sat down on the couches. JJ decided to stand behind Kyla, placing his hands softly on her shoulders so they could both relax. "I know I mentioned Blackbeard, but I assure you all, my interest is not for treasure. My ancestor, Francis Genrette, was the British officer who caught and killed the notorious pirate."

"Wait. Your-your direct ancestor?" Pope wanted to clarify.

Wes hummed. "Yes, unfortunately. After he'd beheaded Blackbeard, he killed the pirate's wife, Elizabeth. And since then, for 300 years, generations of Genrettes have been haunted by Elizabeth's ghost and have died violent deaths, including my daughter," he explained, looking at a portrait of a beautiful blonde woman. "Larissa, Chandler's wife. My daughter saw Elizabeth...a week before she died. Now...I've had a visitation. So I know I don't have much time."

They all looked at one another, not sure if what he was saying was true or if he was just some crazy old man. John B cleared his throat. "Right, uh...so we're really sorry that that happened to you, but what do you want from us?"

"Of course, you're right. Let's get down to business. Chandler." Wes pointed at his son-in-law.

"We believe that we've found a way to break the curse on this family. Right before she was murdered, Elizabeth begged Francis to retrieve from her husband's ship a keepsake that he'd given her. Her most prized possession. An amulet." Groff pointed to Elizabeth's photo on the wall of her wearing an amulet. "He denied the request and then murdered her."

"But if we find that amulet, fulfilling Elizabeth's last request, I believe it will break the curse that has haunted my family for over 300 years," Wes finished. Kyla blinked to herself, not knowing if she was hearing any of this correctly.

"Okay. Um...I'm sorry, where did you say that the necklace thingy is?" Kiara inquired.

"Oh," Groff chuckled, "Blackbeard's last ship, the Adventure."

"Perfect," Kiara whispered sardonically.

"According to all records, the amulet was still on it when it was scuttled right off Goat Island."

"Right, yeah, but the Coast Guard excavated that site years ago," Pope pointed out.

"The excavation team didn't know what we know. They didn't have this." Wes pulled out an old journal, handing it to Pope. "There's a secret lockbox hidden behind the headboard in the captain's chamber. Do you dive?"

"We dive. All-all of us do," JJ quickly answered and they all sent him a look. "It's just, we only do it if the price is right."

"Excellent. We are prepared to offer you a premium for your services. Fifty thousand, plus expenses. Five thousand up front. And we would very much like your immediate answer," Wes revealed.

"Well, I think we—" JJ was cut off by John B getting up and grabbing his mouth, covering it so he would stop speaking. They all began to speak quickly before Pope excused them into the other room so they could speak privately.

"Okay, guys, what was that?" Sarah questioned as John B shut the door.

"I literally have no idea what I just heard," Kyla commented and Sarah nodded along with her in agreement.

"This is weird. We could just slip out through the back," Kiara brought up.

"Are we really going to listen to the guy who should be in a white padded room?" John B pointed out. "Visitations? Curses?"

"He's a madman," Cleo agreed.

"No! Obviously, he's batshit, but he's in there crying about his daughter. Like, he needs help," Sarah reasoned.

"He needs therapy, Sarah, not a necklace thing," Kiara replied.

"Obviously this guy is nutty. We don't even know if anything he's saying is true," Pope pointed out.

"Yeah, exactly, what if this is all made up?" Kyla sided with Pope since last time she checked, she didn't know that ghosts and curses were actually real things.

"We cannot ignore the fact that there is a ghost and a curse. Y'all aren't getting a weird-ass vibe?" Kiara spoke in concern.

"Okay. Guys. Let's just say we take this job. Is it even possible?" Cleo said.

"Yes," JJ answered right away.

"I knew what you would say. Everybody else?"

"That shipwreck is probably 80 to 100 feet down. The currents are probably ripping," Pope measured.

"Guys. Are we really gonna worry about the details right now?" JJ cut in.

"Yes!" Cleo and John B exclaimed.

"That's 100%!" Pope whisper-shouted in annoyance.

"Guys, in our time of need, are we really gonna turn down free money? No. That's not like us," JJ began.

"It's not free!" Kiara said, but he ignored her.

"The worst that can happen is we walk out of here with five Gs in our pocket. End of discussion."

Kyla pointed at him. "Okay, that's also true..."

"Well, of course you're gonna say that since you're his girlfriend," Kiara said, raising her brows.

"Hey, no, that's not why!" Kyla began to argue before they all started to argue with each other, but JJ just walked past them and back into the room that Wes and Groff were in.

"Excuse me, sir, we've come to our conclusion, and we'll do it. We'll take the job. Now, that initial 5k, is that that right there? You can go ahead, fork that over to me."

"Welcome aboard," Groff grinned.

"Hey, you know, what? Actually, I think I'll take this for safekeeping," Pope said, taking the envelope away from JJ. "Huh? You know?"

"You won't regret this, sir. I promise you," JJ shook Geoff's hand. "We'll get the job done."

"Hey, JJ. I believe in you," Groff said to the blonde and Kyla furrowed her brows a bit at his sincerity.

"Thank you," JJ gave him a nod.

authors note
hey guys, long time no see!
i decided to just keep the new season
with this book to make it easier to
find and stuff and just make it easier
to write. but now i have some things
to say: the first part of the chapter
is basically being told from kyla's
perspective, which is why it's in first
person, if you couldn't tell. i thought it
would be cool to do bc that's how the new
season started off with john b. secondly,
im in college now (ik crazy right) so not
sure how often im going to be able to
update. i want to try to since i love this
book and i love reading ur comments, but
i have had tons of work and today was like
the only day i didn't which is why there's an
update lol. so just keep that mind if i dont
update for a long period of time. and thirdly,
i added some new characters, yes. im
hoping to bring them in soon and im hoping
to fit them into the storyline the best that i can!
i hope you all enjoyed this chapter!