She knew it was a bad idea. Oh, it was so bad. But did that stop her from preceding? Absolutely not.

            Maggie gave JJ his gun back, even though he had no training with it, whatsoever. She gave it to him, because she trusted him enough to think he'd be responsible for it. Stupid.

            No one was happy with it. Pope freaked out, thinking about his scholarship. The rest wasn't satisfied either, but it helped that they thought Maggie had no experience with guns.

            The five teens came back to shore, hanging out at some old place. Really, they only hung there because the cops were there. It wasn't that they knew why until they saw a body being taken away.

            Male. Late 30s to mid-40s. Beard. Average build. Maggie made mental notes.

            "Who's that?" John B asked a blonde girl hanging with them. Maggie didn't know her, but the rest seemed to do.

            "It's Scooter Grubbs," She replied. "He was out during the storm. Check out this pic I got," She showed John B the content on her phone. "Dead body."

            Maggie looked at the watch on her wrist, then at JJ. He was already looking at her, that same soft and longing stare in his eyes. "Oh, boy, is that the time? That's bonkers, I have to go to work." She scurried away, leaving the others to look after her running figure.

            Not even having arrived at the restaurant, she received a text:

kia 🫶
scooter had a grady white.
come to chateau

magnet 🪩
i cannot just leave work
i need the money

tell em ure sick
works every time

absolutely not
fuck off jj

            After working the 4-hour shift, Maggie returned to the chateau, where she knew her friends to be. JJ had called from Kiara's phone numerous times, because by now, her parents had set up something for her to have internet. Though Maggie never picked up, it was busy in the Wreck.

            She entered the broken down home of John B, finding the four teenagers on the porch. "Hey there, lads. Sorry I'm late," She said loudly, extending her hands as if she was about to hug the air. "No, I'm not sorry. I'm making money."

            She saw how JJ's face lit up the moment he saw her. He stood up because he took Maggie's extended arms as a sign that she wanted a hug, when in reality, she was just being dramatic.

            Within the hug, JJ reached out for Maggie's back and smoothly slid her backpack off of her back. She rolled her eyes, thinking he must've had a lot of experience with sliding things off of girls' backs. He was a real gentleman.

            "To come back to the topic," Pope dragged. He was the only one left to convince about this whole thing. "If that is a smuggling ship with illegal contraband on the inside of it, it probably belongs to someone else."

            "Minor details."

            "They could come looking for it," Pope continued, the stack of money in his hand. "Taking it would be catastrophically stupid."

              JJ and Maggie sat down on the couch, Maggie reached out to Pope. "Or catastrophically smart and fun!"

            JJ did the same. He slapped Pope's arm lightly, then grabbed the bills. "Right. Well, stupid things have good outcomes all the time," He held the bills in front of his face, flexing them to Pope to prove his point. "All we need to do is figure out a way to get into the cargo hold of that wreck. Until then, we just lay low. Just act normal."

            "What do you people even do to act normal?" Maggie asked around. "I mean, everyone knows you're all crazy as shit," She pointed at JJ. "Especially this one. Bonkers."

            "Oh, that hurts!" He screamed. He let himself fall back on the couch and pulled Maggie along with him, making her laugh.

            Kiara eyed the situation on the couch carefully. She guessed. "Kegger?"

            A kegger was the correct answer.

            John B and JJ took care of the beer. Pope brought the cups. Kiara got the tap for the beer, and Maggie? Maggie was allowed to take care of the music. She set up her dj station, feeling all professional, while the others set up the beer tap.

            Before the kegger started, Maggie received a beer from JJ to get her through an hour or so. The turn up in the boneyard was bigger than she'd expected it to be. Though most of the teenagers were on vacation with their families.

            No one had said anything about it yet, but practically all Maggie was playing was Taylor Swift. Typical. She was shocked they even agreed with her controlling the music. They could've seen it coming. JJ came walking up to the computer controlling the music with two cups of beer in his hand.

            "You gotta start playing something else!" He screamed over the loud music. "Like, Lady Gaga or Bruno Mars or something!"

            Maggie was barely paying attention to what he was saying. She was busy dancing to how you get the girl. A little further from the table, sitting on a tree, was a group of tourists watching her dance, but she hadn't noticed them. They had definitely noticed Maggie.

            "Maggie!" when JJ realised she wasn't going to respond, he climbed on top of the small plateau behind the music. Maggie's eyes were closed, but she felt the presence of a warm body next to her. She opened her eyes, finding that she was closer to JJ than anticipated.

            "I haven't even played Speak now yet!" She yelled back. She took a sip of her beer. "Better than revenge is a must!"

            JJ also took a big sip out of his cup, while Maggie continued dancing. She started dancing around JJ, hoping to get him to join. At one point, she danced against him, most likely because of the alcohol's influence.

            "Broke your heart, I'll put it back together. I would wait forever and ever!!" She more screamed than sang. Maggie was never a good singer. "And that's how it works! That's how you get the girl-irl!"

            JJ held Maggie's arms with both hands, putting her to a stop. He bent down slightly so he wouldn't have to yell. "There's guys staring at you, Mags, I don't trust them," His voice was now softer. "We don't know them."

            "Two things," Maggie held up two fingers. "TayTay has nothing to do with that. And I'll be fine," She smiled. "Let them stare." She continued dancing, this time in a more seductive way. To taunt JJ.

            JJ hated how other guys looked at her. He hated her for having such an attractive aura. He hated her for also being attracted to that aura. Maggie was one of those girls everyone looked at, boys and girls. And sometimes men. Old, greasy, fat men.

            He left the station to go to the group of boys. JJ told them some insane story about why they weren't allowed to look at her. When they got a defensive attitude, he lied. "Well, she's my girlfriend. So, tough luck."

            That made the boys leave, and JJ felt better about himself. He looked back at Maggie, who hadn't seen anything.

              Flash forward to hours later, the music had died down to a more relaxed melody. The sun had set and it was dark. People were slowly starting to leave, it was a successful night.

            It was calm, but then her attention got brought to two voices being louder than the rest. She squinted her eyes to try and see whose voices they were. "Shit—" Maggie jumped down from the music panel, landing steadily in the sand.

            She ran towards JJ and Topper who were close to fighting each other. John B was there too, holding JJ back. "You're so funny, man!" JJ yelled sarcastically at Topper.

            "Dirty Pogues!"

            John B's last string was pulled. When Maggie arrived at the scene, it was him fighting Topper. JJ was the one trying to remind him that they were trying to not pay attention to themselves. Sarah, too, was trying to stop Topper, so when his fist collided with John B's cheek — John B fell down in the water — she gasped loudly, along with the rest of the crowd.

            Topped careened to the water, to John B laying there, processing the punch. Topper bent over John B's body, punching him continuously. Maggie knew she had to do something, but just like during the incident, she stood nailed to the ground.

            Watching.

            JJ stood next to her, yelling. Pope was beside him. Kiara stood to her other side, doing the same. Next to Kiara stood a mystery girl Maggie did not know. All wanted Topper to stop punching, they weren't cheering John B on to fight back. They wanted it to stop. Meanwhile Topper's friends were encouraging him to continue.

            "Hey, John B, don't make me drown you like your old man, all right?" Topper belted. Foul. Under the crowd's chants to fight, Topper hit him again. But then, slowly, but surely, John B rose from the water and charged at Topper, taking them both down.

            Maggie desperately wanted to help her friend. She knew she could. If she wanted to, Topper would be down with one punch of hers. The crowd yelling wasn't helping much, it only made John B's adrenaline go higher, if anything.

            They punched each other in their abdomens a couple times, then broke apart. Now that John B stood an equal chance, JJ's attitude turned, he cheered his friend on. "That's what I'm talking about!" He yelled after John B made a critical punch.

            Though John B's punches were better, Maggie saw the fight in a strategic way. John B was closer to the water, he kept getting closer to the water.  He was in the worst place he could've been.

            John B threw Topper in the ocean, catching him off guard. "Come on, Topper!" He yelled. "Let's go! Come on!"

            Topper stood up, now being on the side of the water. He dared John B to charge at him. John B reacted, but before he could do anything, Topper flipped him over. John B was back in the water.

            This time Topper wasn't going to let John B get up so easily. He held his head underwater. Shit. He was drowning him and did not give Maggie the impression he was going to stop anytime soon.

            "He's drowning him!" Pope stated the obvious. Maggie could only watch. She tried moving her feet towards Topper and John B, but it was as if her brains were disconnected from her legs.

            It was weak and she knew it. She was weak.

            JJ could move his feet and so he did. Maggie saw the gun in his hand, but she registered it too late to stop him. JJ stopped by Topper and clicked the gun against his head.

            "Yeah, you know what that is," He replied to Topper's sudden gasps. "Your move, broski."

            Faster than Maggie could process, the crowd began to disperse, screaming about his gun. Until eventually, all that were left were the Pogues and Sarah.

            "Come on. Chill, dude!" Pope desperately attempted to stop JJ from doing anything stupid.

              Sarah said something about it too. If JJ couldn't take it from anyone, it was Sarah. "Did you say somethin', princess?"

            When he didn't respond at Pope nor Kiara's attempts to stop him, Maggie finally opened her mouth. "Put it down!"

            As simple as it was, JJ turned his head in her direction, looking into Maggie's pleading eyes. It was as if he got snapped out of a trance. His eyes softened and he lowered his gun.

            Sarah came closer to Kiara and Maggie, almost touching Maggie when she was still fixated on JJ. "Kie! Can you check your psycho friend, please?"

            The girl standing next to Kiara went to stand in front of Kiara in a protective way. "You want something, blondie?" Sarah backed down at her angry gaze.

            The girl had skin that made Maggie guess she was latin. Her dark brown hair flowed in waves until just above her shoulders and her dark brown, almost black, eyes shone brightly in the light of the bonfire's flames.

            She was beautiful. With her self made necklace and her small nose piercing. Maggie also took the time to look at Kie beside her. A flower was tucked behind her ear messily, making it look like someone else put it in there.

            JJ's eyes hardened again as he remembered where he was. "Okay, everyone, listen up! Get the hell off our side of the island!" He shot the gun in the air twice. The people that hadn't left at the sight of a gun yet, made their way out at the gunshots.

            "Are you crazy?" Pope pushed his blond friend. "You idiot! Why would you do that?"

            JJ pushed his shoulder, light enough to not cause pain. "I'm saving his life, okay!"

            Maggie zoned out. She wasn't in the mood to yell at anyone, or get anyone to come to her to side with them. As she zoned out of the conversation, her focus got brought to the ocean.

            John B.

            John B fell down in the water, passing out. She sped to him. One of the most important lessons at the Academy was to know how to save someone drowning or having been drowned, naturally.

            Maggie sank on her knees next to the passed out boy. She placed him in a supine position and tilted his head to the side to apply the Heimlich manoeuvre. "Come on, B!" She yelled more at herself.

            It took a few tries, but finally, John B spit out the water left in his lungs. Maggie looked back to the others, where a silence had fallen as they watched her save a live.

            If this was also one of her skills, what else did they not know about her?

omg this took long

i hadnt expected that lmao

also tell me why the first chapter has 100+ reads and chapter three has 6. whats that about?

i did really like writing the party scene bc i feel like it shows how jj changes his behaviour to maggie. i love it when men have soft spots for someone 🫶