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𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻: 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀? 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲

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Cassie slowed to a stop in front of Kiara's house. She had already dropped JJ, Pope, and Cleo off on the Cut since Topper didn't want to take them in his truck anymore, and now she was finally back on Figure Eight to drop Kiara and Sarah off.

When they first reached the Outer Banks, Cassie had dropped JJ off first and the two didn't even share a word. What was there to say?

She had been going over everything that had just happened in her brain. Stealing a fake cross, JJ stealing Mike Carrera's money clip, JJ almost dying, and JJ basically outing their relationship in front of them all.

It was safe to say she was pissed.

And it only pissed her off more when she could feel Kiara's stare burning a hole through her skin the whole car ride.

So once Kiara hadn't gotten out of the car yet even when they were parked for over thirty seconds, Cassie spoke up, "Hey, this is you, Kiara."

"What was that back there?" Kiara replied instead of leaving.

Sarah looked between the two girls from the backseat, biting her lip. Sarah wasn't dumb. She could tell Kiara liked JJ. It was Cassie, on the other hand, that had shocked her. But JJ calling her baby? Well, that was proof enough something was going on between them.

She couldn't believe John B was right. He was going to freak out once he found out.

"What was what?" Cassie played dumb.

Kiara wasn't having it. "What was that back there with you and JJ?"

Cassie sucked in a breath, glancing over at Sarah in the back who looked away and pretended not to be listening even though there was no way she wouldn't be able to hear them. "It was nothing."

"Nothing?" Kiara repeated and Cassie nodded reluctantly. "It didn't look like nothing."

"Well, it was. I was having a panic attack and he calmed me down. That's it," she shrugged it off.

"That's it? And what about him calling you baby?" Kiara tilted her head, crossing her arms. Cassie didn't answer as she glanced away. "Cassie, you have to tell me if something is going on between you and JJ."

"Why do I have to tell you?" Cassie spat, already getting fed up after everything that had just occurred. "Because you like him and you want to make sure I don't get in the way? Well, guess what, you don't have to worry anymore. I already got in the way of it myself."

It was more than clear JJ didn't want to speak to her or else he would have tried to once they made it back to the Outer Banks. But nope, he was dropped off without so much as a look back over his shoulder at the girl so her plans on getting him back had been foiled.

Maybe he realized that Cassie wasn't giving him the love he deserved. She just told him she hated him for crying out loud and even though she didn't mean it literally, those words cut deep.

Maybe he finally realized Kiara would be better for him.

Kiara blinked at her. "So...so there is something going on between you and JJ?"

"Use your brain, Kiara. I know you're capable," Cassie voiced condescendingly.

Kiara scoffed at her. "Okay, Cassie, no need to get snippy. I'm just asking you!"

"Okay, fine then! Yes! You caught me! Guilty! There was something going on between JJ and I, but not anymore!" Cassie confessed and Sarah eyes's widened in the back of the car. "There you go! Are you happy? Are you happy now to hear you can finally take him from me?" Cassie questioned and Kiara reeled her head back at the presumption.

"What? Are you serious right now?!"

"I mean, you had John B and then you had Pope, but that wasn't enough for you so you just had to go for JJ, didn't you? Didn't you?!" Cassie screamed.

She didn't know why she was going straight for Kiara's jugular. She told herself before that she shouldn't be mad at Kiara because she knew nothing about her and JJ. She should be mad at JJ for entertaining it, but perhaps she was redirecting her anger to an easier target.

A target that Cassie realized wronged her in the past with "taking" Sarah away, and shutting her out after she found out what she did with Rafe. Although Cassie never actually blamed Kiara for the Sarah situation and the Rafe situation had been settled ages ago...she couldn't help but let those two things fuel the fire that was already started her brain.

"Cassie, what the fuck? Are you-are you calling me a slut or something?"

"No, no, I'm not calling you a slut. I'm just saying, you couldn't be happy with two so you just had to go for all three right when he was with me?" she clarified, raising her brows furiously at the girl.

Kiara scoffed. "Where is this even coming from? I-I had no idea you were with JJ! You never told me! If you told me, I would have never-I would have never felt this way!" she raised her voiced and Sarah swallowed thickly, wanting to get out and leave since she felt this wasn't an argument for her to hear. "What is with you and keeping so many secrets?! First Rafe and now JJ?"

"Oh, my God! Why does everyone keep bringing up Rafe?" Cassie complained since JJ had done the same exact thing.

"Because it's the same thing! You kept Rafe a secret and I got pissed, and now you kept JJ a secret! I mean—"

"Well, maybe if you didn't fall in love with him it wouldn't have been a problem!" Cassie interrupted her.

"I'm not in love with him, Cassie! I just-I just like him!" Kiara admitted out loud.

"Well, fine! Maybe if you didn't like him!" she corrected herself before she rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "You know what? You shouldn't even fucking like him! He stole your dad's fucking money clip!" Cassie revealed, reaching into her pocket and tossing her dad's money clip for her to catch.

However, as she did so, the shark tooth necklace went with it.

Kiara caught both, looking down at the items in confusion. Confusion from JJ stealing her dad's money clip and confusion from seeing the necklace since JJ definitely still had his on when he left.

Cassie's eyes widened once she realized she accidentally threw the necklace at her. She reached over and took it back, shoving it back into her pocket as her face reddened.

"Did JJ give—"

"Just go, Kiara."

Kiara scoffed, "Cassie."

"Just go." Cassie turned away. "Your dad's probably looking for that, wouldn't want him to get him more mad."

Kiara huffed, looking back at Sarah before she shook her head and got out of the car, slamming the door behind her.

Cassie shut her eyes once she heard the door slam before looking out the window, seeing Kiara enter her house. She licked her lips and started up the car, driving Sarah to her house since she didn't have somewhere to stay.

She could have stayed at the Château, but she didn't want to without John B there just in case something happened. The two girls got out of the car in silence as Cassie let Sarah in her home.

Sarah looked around the house, haven't been there in years. "You stay in the guest room. You know, where you used to sleep whenever you slept over," Cassie finally spoke up, causing Sarah to look over at her.

"Yeah. Yeah, I remember," Sarah answered before she chewed on her lip. "Look, Cassie..."

"If you're gonna talk about what happened before, I don't wanna hear it," Cassie immediately shut her down, not in the mood to rehash what happened.

She had probably just ruined her friendship with Kiara, her best friend. This is exactly why she was so afraid to be with JJ and tell everyone, but now everything blew up in her face.

She ruined everything she touched.

"I just wanted to ask if you're okay," Sarah told her softly. Although Sarah had been leaning slightly more toward Kiara's side due to Cassie's unnecessary harsh words toward the girl — and since Kiara had no idea Cassie and JJ were together in the first place — she could relate to the Blake girl.

She thought she lost John B after she wanted to take a break from him and then he was hitting on another girl the next day. This had almost been the same situation, but it was more so Kiara hitting on JJ.

Maybe it was worse since it was Cassie's best friend doing it.

As soon as those words left Sarah's mouth, Cassie broke down. Why was it when someone asks if you're okay, that's what makes you not okay?

Sarah immediately went over to her and pulled the girl into a hug as Cassie sobbed in her arms.

"I'm not okay," Cassie cried as Sarah rubbed her back soothingly.

She had meant it in more ways than one.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

The next day, Cassie and Sarah made their way up to the Château.

Sarah spent part of the night trying to calm her down as Cassie explained everything to her like she had did with Pope. Sarah had been shocked, which was an understatement, that they had been secretly together for that long and no one else had suspected it apart from John B.

But once Cassie detailed everything, Sarah began to put the pieces together in her brain. That's why JJ had been extremely about her being kidnapped and that's why Cassie had gotten so upset when he almost died both times.

She had started to see it, their love for each other. Cassie wasn't sure if there would be any love after what happened, but Sarah tried telling her that everything would work out in the end for them. If JJ was willing to offer himself up as a hostage back when Cassie got kidnapped, she didn't think the boy would magically stop loving her just because Cassie couldn't say it back.

Sarah was going to hear it from John B telling her, "I told you so." She was not looking forward to it. Especially since she hadn't spoken to John B in what felt like ages.

The girls walked up to John B's house, seeing the other Pogues gathered around outside.

Neither JJ nor Kiara would look at Cassie.

Cassie tore her eyes away from them once she heard the sound of the screen door opening and out came Big John Routledge.

She had only seen the man once in person at a store when she first arrived at the Outer Banks, where he was trying to plead with the cashier to let him to buy the product because he was short of money.

That was where she learned the difference between Kooks and Pogues in the Outer Banks.

"Big John!" Pope exclaimed excitedly as Big John made his way toward him, a bright smile on both of their faces.

"Look at you, big man! Look at you!" Big John said as he embraced Pope before JJ jumped onto his back, messing with his hair. "JJ, come on, come on," the older man laughed.

A small smile made its way up to Cassie's face as she watched the both of them. She knew JJ always had it rough with his dad so the fact that he was able to do this with Big John and be happy, it made her heart swell.

Even if everything between them had been ruined because of her.

Cassie looked past them, seeing John B standing by the door with a few beers in hand and a blank expression on his face. She furrowed her brows, thinking he would look beyond ecstatic to have his father back and his best friends be excited, but he didn't. He looked the complete opposite.

Cassie pulled her eyes away once JJ finally jumped off from Big John and the older man said, "Kiara!"

"Big John," she replied with a smile before she hugged the older man.

"Good to see ya. The boys still raving about you?" the man asked and Cassie swallowed hard at the question. She knew JJ used to flirt with Kiara because that's what he did, flirt with any pretty girl that breathed. But now it just seemed like bad timing to ask.

Kiara just laughed awkwardly in response before Big John turned to Sarah. "Sarah, we've met," he teased and the girl chuckled before he looked at Cleo. "And you are?"

"Cleo. I'm new," she answered, twisting her knife around like she always did.

Big John nodded. "I see, I see. Well, welcome!" He held his hands out and Cleo gave him a grin. Last but not least, he looked at Cassie. "Now...why do you look familiar? What's your name?"

Cassie swallowed thickly, having a feel why she looked familiar to him. "I'm Cassie. Cassie Blake."

At the last name, Big John's smile faltered. "Blake? Did you say Blake, as in—"

"Kevin and Savannah Blake, yes," she confirmed.

Big John hummed, looking at John B who poked the inside of his cheek. Big John never met Kevin, but he knew he worked with Ward, so he must have been slimy.

But Big John knew Savannah. She was there when Ward and Big John worked together to find the gold and he knew Savannah was not to be trusted.

The Blake family line was not to be trusted.

So why the hell was his son friends with one?

"Look, Dad, you can trust her. I promise," John B began, stepping down onto the grass to join the others.

"Oh, I can trust her? When she's a Blake?" Big John tilted his head at his son, gesturing over to Cassie.

Cassie's face twisted at the assumption that she was not to be trusted because of her parents. God, she was never going to escape them, was she?

"Yes, Dad. She's been with us since the beginning. I mean, she had no idea her parents were ever interested with the gold or were working with Ward. She found out the same time as us," John B explained, but Big John just narrowed his eyes, looking back at Cassie.

"If you can trust Sarah, you can trust me," Cassie pointed out, crossing her arms.

Big John stared the girl for a few moments down before he began to nod. "Okay," was all he said in response.

But the truth was, he never trusted Sarah to begin with.

John B started to nod as well. "Okay, okay, yeah. I'm telling you Dad, she's with us." He then sucked in a breath, preparing for what he was going to say to them about his little MIA moment in Charleston with his father.

The Pogues all made their way over to the tree adorned with fairy lights and sat around each other, listening to what John B had to say. Big John sat on the hammock a few feet away, just watching his son explain with a beer in hand.

"Yeah, yeah, so we, um...we went to the archives in-in Charleston, and, uh...it was-it was a dead end," John B revealed disappointedly. "A dry hole. So..."

"So that's the gold, the cross, and now El Dorado. We're three-for-three, guys," Pope pointed out to them before he threw a stick at the tree angrily. He scoffed, "The streak continues. That's great."

Kiara's lips turned downward as she looked down. "See you, John B," she said, walking away from them since she knew her parents would be waiting for her and there was no point in sticking around.

JJ pursed his lips, looking around at the others before he sighed, "I'm going fishin'. Thanks for the beer." JJ got up and walked away.

Cassie watched him walk off and something in her heart told her to follow after him.

So she did.

"JJ, wait," she breathlessly said, but it wasn't loud enough for the boy to hear.

"Lovers?" Big John asked once they were far enough, arching a brow.

"Worse," Sarah answered and John B gave her a wide-eyed look. "Long story."

Cassie followed the Maybank out to the dock. "JJ, wait, please," she tried again louder and JJ stopped, turning around to face the girl. "Please."

He sucked in a breath, taking in the girl's appearance. It looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep and her eyes had been slightly puffy and yet...he still thought she looked beautiful. She always looked beautiful to him.

Tragically.

"What, Cassie? What do you want?" he questioned impatiently. "You here to tell me how much you hate me?"

She blinked at him, not expecting him to start off so harsh. She was trying to apologize, trying to fix things. But she guessed as soon as she touched something, it could never be fixed ever again.

"No. No, you know I didn't mean that," she began.

"Oh, you didn't? And I'm supposed to believe that?" JJ raised his brows. "After everything, I'm supposed to believe you don't hate me? After-after you hit me and then say it to my face right after I helped you calm down?"

She sucked in a breath. "I just said it without thinking. I meant it as, like, I hate you for scaring me like that. I mean, I thought you died again!"

"Well, you see, Cassie, when you think someone died, you don't start hitting them right after. Don't you think?" he sassed and Cassie looked down, thinking back to JJ's father and what he would do to him.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hit you. That was...that was wrong," she apologized. "I was just...I was just upset at you."

However, it seemed like JJ didn't want to accept the apology. "Upset at me? You were upset I almost died so you start yelling at me and hitting me? Yeah, okay, that checks out for you. I mean, you really are just the most confusing person I've ever met."

She narrowed her eyes. "You don't need to tell me something I already know," she responded darkly.

"Oh, but I don't think you do because you just don't seem to get it. I mean, you're the one who told me to leave your house after...after I said what I said, but now you're mad at me for not talking to you. And then, you say you want to talk and then go to yelling at me right after," he recalled. "Like, what is that? What does that mean?"

"I told you to leave, JJ, not go off and start talking to Kiara to get back at me," she pointed out.

"Oh, what? I'm not allowed to talk to Kiara? Thought you weren't my girlfriend so why do you get to tell me what to do?" He tilted his head.

Cassie scoffed at him. "You're just twisting my words now. I never said you weren't allowed to talk to her. It's just— Don't you think it's disrespectful to talk more to the girl who wants you instead of the one you already have? Putting ideas in her head that shouldn't be there?"

"Do I have you, though?" he inquired and she made a face. "Because last time I checked, you wouldn't even wear the necklace I bought you because you were afraid of others finding out about us."

She glanced away from. "Well, now they know, so..." Cassie trailed off, shrugging and shaking her head. "You got what you wanted."

"No, no, I didn't! I didn't get what I wanted!" he raised his voice and her eyes widened a bit. "I was never gonna force you to tell them about us. Not until you were ready. What I wanted was for you to be proud of us. About our relationship. And you're not. You're still not. Not even when I've almost died for you! You know why? Because you're a Kook! You're a Kook who will never be proud of us because you know you can have so much better than me!"

Her face twisted at his choice of words. He hadn't called her that in months. "JJ, that's not true! I'm a Pogue, and you know it! You told me so yourself! I've just never done this before! I don't know how this is supposed to work!" she argued, not wanting to give up on him.

She told herself she wanted to get him back and that's why she came over here to talk to him. She couldn't just give up, not that easily. Not even when he called her a Kook.

"I haven't done this either!" he shouted back. "I don't know how this works either, but you don't see me telling you I hate you."

"JJ, I told you, I didn't mean it like that!"

"Yeah, but you still said it," he shrugged, making a face. "You still said it. You said that and you can't even tell me you love me. So, what else is there for me to do?"

She swallowed thickly. "What else is there for you to do? You start by telling Kiara you don't like her, which is what you should have done from the beginning."

"First of all, why does it matter now? She already knows about us and probably assumes I don't like her like that. And second of all, I didn't want to tell her from the beginning to ruin the friendship between you two," he explained, "but it seems like you already did that yourself."

She laughed ironically, "She told you about what happened last night?"

"Yeah. Yeah, she told me right before you came actually."

She hummed, pursing her lips. "If you seem to like talking to her so much, then why don't you go be with her instead then? Seems like you're done with me."

He let out a frustrated groan. "I don't want to be with her! I want to be with you, but it's you who's not letting me!"

"How am I not letting you?!"

"Because you say you want one thing and then you don't actually mean it! You say you like me but everything you do tells me you don't, and that you're embarrassed to be with me. And yeah, we both don't know how this works, but I was willing to do what I had to do to be the best guy for you. And you didn't even appreciate that. You couldn't even wear a goddamn necklace because you were so worried about other people when you should've been worried about me. Like, the only thing that's ever on my mind ever since we kissed— No, you know what? Even before that, even before we kissed, all that was on my mind was you, but you're so preoccupied with what everyone may think of you that you couldn't stop for a second and think about how I could have felt about everything," JJ ranted. "So, you're right. I'm done. I want to be with you, but I'm just...done."

She felt her chin start to wobble. This sounded like a break up. Was this even a break up if they were never really together in the first place?

"So-so we're done then? We're done with whatever this is?" she asked, gesturing between the both of them as her eyes started to water. She looked away from him, not wanting him to see.

He scratched his head, placing one hand on his hip. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess so."

She sucked in a breath, forcing herself to look at him. She tried to get him back, but it just blew up in her face. Again, and again, and again. No matter how hard she tried, it always blew up.

Everything you touch...

"Fine. You know what? Fine." She dug into her pocket, pulling out the shark tooth necklace that she placed back in it again. "Take your goddamn necklace back then!"

She threw it at him and he caught it, his mouth parting at it. He didn't know she had been walking around with it despite her not wanting to wear it around her neck. Why would she be carrying around if she didn't love him? Unless...

"Cass—" He stopped himself short once he saw she was already walking down the dock to get as far as she possibly could from him. "Fuck."

Cassie marched on back to get to her car, seeing John B standing near it. Everyone else must have left while her and JJ were busy "breaking up."

"Cassie?" John B furrowed his brows, seeing her demeanor.

"Not now, John B," she instantly shut him down, walking past him to get to her car. As soon as she got inside of it and drove away, she started to sob.

She lost the love of her life and she couldn't even tell him that.

She couldn't get him back.

authors note!
does this count as a triple update?
not sure but...guyssss im so sorry but
ngl you can think what u want about kie,
but i truly believe that cassie is more in the
wrong in this situation. she never told
kie about jj so how was she supposed to
stop herself from liking him? and then
cassie goes on to scream at her so idk,
i think cassie is more wrong and that jj
also has a right to be mad. but i love my
complex characters so i still love my
girl cass and i hope u all do too even
tho these past few chapters havent
been good for her. i just like flawed
characters sue me