In a place where the light was dominant, darkness surely weaved over the heads of the Pogues like a blanket ready to inhale them. Silence crept over them these past few days. John B Routledge and Sarah Cameron had died in the storm. And life continued. Ward Cameron got away with the gold. And life continued. Rafe Cameron got away with murder. And life continued.

Even though life continued unhappily — miserably, the Pogues always survived. Maggie had her entire life planned before coming to the OBX. And look at her now. She needed to come up with a date. One not too far into the future (Because she needed to do this now), not too close to now (Because she still needed to be there for her friends).

Two weeks, she'd told herself. Two weeks, and she'd be gone. And after killing Daniel Berger, and stealing all his money, she might return to those friends. Maybe they wouldn't even notice her departing. But that was in an ideal world. And Maggie's world was far from ideal. It was messy, she'd learned. Chaotic. Restless.

She could only rest when Daniel Berger rested six feet under her.

She got mad then, thinking about how he lived in her town for weeks and she did nothing. He got the gold, and returned without a scratch on him. In hindsight, that might've been Maggie's worst predicament.

She stormed out of the small cabin, eyes on the floor. The Pogues offered her to accompany them when making an altar for their lost friend. In turn, Maggie nodded. She needed to get her rage out, yes, but they felt sorrowful, more than raged. Their emotions were more valid at that point, and, because of that, more important.

No tears were spilled from the brunette's eyes. Not when she looked at the hollowed out tree, or when her beloved JJ branded John B's name in it. Her heart was even more hollow than this particular tree. Nothing was left, except rage.

JJ stepped back, having finished his artwork. He lifted his arm and his hand, which held a flask of what was sure to be the strongest alcohol he could find on the small island. Kiara next to him held a box. They meant it as a surrogate for the coffin John B wasn't going to be getting.

"To John B," JJ spoke. His eyes were on the tree. His jaw tensed in a way it always did whenever he felt an emotion too strong for him to bare.

Kiara added to that weakly. "And to Sarah." This startled Maggie, since the two of them weren't such good friends. (She didn't move, though, it remained a thought.) She supposed death made one reconsider their motives. After all, that is the time the most people feel remorseful over something.

With the help of Pope, Kiara buried the box in front of the tree. It held reminders of their late friend. A bracelet, a letter he never finished, a bandana he used to wear. They buried it deep within the dirt, as well as in their hearts. Should that mean they were dirt? I suppose they were. They had been since infants.

Kiara had invited Maggie to go paddle boarding. She needed to clear her head, and noticed that it'd be good for Maggie to do the same. In the past days, she had tried talking to her, but she seemed more closed off since John B's death. Kiara supposed it was a reaction of grief, but really, it was a reaction of rage.

Rage.
Rage.
Rage.

The ride along the river was mostly silent as neither of the girls actually had anything to say. When the John B's old cabin came in sight, the girls sat down on their boards, letting the stream take them to their destination.

"I am glad we're doing this," Kiara spoke suddenly. "We barely do anything together these days."

Maggie needed to think about her answer for a little while. She looked in front of her. "You could've done this with Adriana."

In the corner of her eye, Maggie saw Kiara shaking her head. "Adriana and I are not talking."

"Could've sworn you two were together." Maggie replied coldly, still not looking at her confused friend.

"No," She said, her voice breaking. "There's nothing between me and Adriana."

            "You were, dare I say, in love with her, and I'm sure the feeling was mutual," Maggie tried to sound sincere, her arms already paddling towards the end of the stream. "What the fuck happened?"

Kiara shrugged her shoulders. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

"So . . . What? You're moving onto Pope now? Is that it? I thought you were gay." Maggie rolled her eyes, but did it so Kiara hadn't seen it. She was getting agitated with her friend. Pope deserved better than being a rebound.

            Kiara shook her head dramatically at that. "I— I'm still confused about that." She choked on her words.

            Maggie nods angrily, setting her jaw in an unnatural place. "I do think you need to reconsider," She spoke clearly. "Because this isn't cool."

She paddled away from Kiara, who was left stranded in the middle of the ocean. Kiara threw her hands in the air, letting them fall flat on her board. Maggie didn't turn around again to face her. If she wanted to be a bitch, Maggie would be a bigger bitch.

Once arrived at the cabin after what seemed like an eternity of doom, Kiara almost instantly grabbed Pope's hand and dragged him along to someplace Maggie wouldn't be brought to. She didn't wish to. She wished to be alone — for a while, at least. Even her beloved JJ couldn't satisfy her now. Thankfully, he was at work, and wasn't to be home until late.

            So, she sat down on the meager and archaic steps, a cigarette in one hand, her phone in the other. She wasn't sure if she was waiting for something or someone, or not, and she was simply there. A being without a purpose, wasting time.

            An hour later Kiara and Pope returned. Maggie was at her fifth cigarette at that time. They stepped up the porch and let themselves fall down on the couches. Kiara didn't dare meet Maggie's eyes, Pope greeted her, for whatever that's worth.

            Sounds of a motorcycle appeared, and the view of a head full of blond hair came closer. He was frustrated, Maggie instantly noticed. He tensed his jaw, and the minute he stepped off of his motor he brought his hand to his chest to circle it. This was something he'd picked up after John B's death, to ease himself back into calm.

            "Sorry, guys," JJ spoke as he marched towards the porch. "Got fired. Those Kooks don't want me there anyway."

            He stepped up the porch, and in passing Maggie, he ruffled the hair on top of her head. She liked it. And she hated that she liked it.

"It's no surprise. What were you thinking?" Maggie said, turning her body to lean against the railing with her back.

"Maggie." Pope scolded. His tone was more desperate than anything else.

But Maggie wouldn't have anything of it. "What? No, I'm serious. What were you thinking? You're the literal definition of a Pogue, and John B's best friend. Surely you couldn't possibly have thought you'd be able to work there without issues." Her accent rose more than ever.

"Okay, I know that you're angry. We all are. But if we start fighting amongst each other, we're doomed," Pope said. "Let's just focus on school tomorrow."

"Speaking of that, did you register?" JJ asked Maggie. He'd only been glad he'd gotten the chance to even ask this in the first place. He'd imagined she'd have left by the time school started again. She had to live somewhere, he thought.

Kiara added to that, lowly. "I thought you'd be gone by now." She voiced the group's concerns.

Maggie shook her head. "I finished school last year," Sensing their confused looks, she elucidated further. "Homeschooled. Continued to work through vacations, so I would finish early.I graduated last year, a little before I came here."

            "Huh," Pope quipped. "Interesting."

            "You know, guys, I think we should head home," Kiara said to the boys. She turned to Maggie. "Mom'll be expecting us for dinner."

            Maggie nodded, and with a quick goodbye to the other two left the porch along with Kiara to walk to the rich side of the island. Figure Eight had never looked better. It was as if the tragedy that had bestowed them hadn't even happened. It didn't exist. Or maybe it had existed, but it had only benefited Figure Eight.

            They passed Adriana's new house. It was even bigger than Maggie had heard Kiara describe. Maggie guessed that was the reason Kiara hated Adriana now. She felt she abandoned them. Her. Adriana's mother had picked up a cash flow during the days of John B's pursuit, so it all felt a bit convenient. Like the Reyes's became rich again, profiting off of John B's death, along with the rest of Figure Eight.

            Maggie kept her mouth shut about it. Truthfully, she simply didn't want another argument. She'd had enough of those lately.

            Crickets whispered in the night when Maggie made her last round through the house. She'd gone downstairs to get some tea, then realised it was later than she'd like to admit. Everyone had gone to sleep, especially Kiara, who had school in the morning.

            But then, there was another sound. An unnatural one. Maggie's instincts immediately grabbed a knife from the drawer next to her, holding it in the professional way that she'd been taught. Another sound coming from the window.

            Clack! Clack!

            Maggie wandered over to the source of the sound. Readying her knife in her hand, she pulled open the curtain from the big window in one swift motion. The porch lights were all that gave her sight. Beyond the porch, nothing was visible. However, Maggie did see a head of blond hair standing beyond the porch.

            She opened the door, and multiple other lights automatically turned on. Now she was sure of the stalker's identity. Maggie took a step outside, leaning her free hand against the railing, the knife in her other hand dropping next to her body.

            "I thought you were a bloody burglar," She confessed. "Though you wouldn't be a very good one if I heard you."

              "Not a burglar," JJ slurred his words. "I am— I— No."

              "Are you drunk?" She asked him with furrowed brows, walking down the steps.

              JJ almost fell on the floor walking closer. "Yes," He bluntly stated. "Listen, Mags, I've been thinking . . . I'm not very big on this usually but this feels right right now . . . I love you, Maggie Clarke. And I think I have loved you for a while."

            "You don't know what you're saying," She told him, heavily shaking her head. "You are drunk."

            "I know what I feel." He was quick to reply.

            Maggie took another step forward. Her eyes softened in a desperate cry for him to say sike and walk away. "You just made things so much harder . . ."

            "Why?" JJ asked then, his voice sounding begging. His eyes dropped. "You don't have to say it back if you don't—"

            "No," Maggie almost cried out. "That's the problem. I love you too . . . And I hate it," She felt close to tears, if there'd been room for tears. It couldn't be happening that he finally told her his feelings right after she's decided to leave. She was silent for a minute, then spoke up again. "I've never told you where I'm from and—"

            "And I don't care."

            "No, but that means you don't know me!" She wept. "You don't know if you love me, because you don't know me. Now, please, go home. Because I fear if I look at you too long, I won't be able to keep this up. Please."

"We could figure something out!" JJ attempted. She loved him too. That was all that mattered. But maybe that was the booze talking.

"I'm doing this for your own good," Maggie said, walking up the stairs backwards. Daniel Berger's voice boomed in the back of her head. "And you'll have forgotten this tomorrow. Good night, JJ."

As JJ returned to his designated side of the island, he knew. He wasn't going to forget this. He wasn't going to let himself.

first chapter of act 2 !!!! im so excited to start this bc s2 is my favourite season and its also such an important season for maggie's relationship with the group as you'll soon see.

i wasnt initially going to put the last conversation in this chapter but i had room left and i wanted to do it before they found out john b was alive. thats the whole reason jj said it in the first place. jb dying made him realise how precious life really is and he wanted to have said this before it was too late

you might have noticed that adriana is only mentioned and not seen. its explained briefly in here further towards the end but itll be explained fully in her book (which'll probably take a while though)