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𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻: 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁?

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The next day, the Pogues rode on the HMS Pogue adorned with their bathing suits and sunglasses to block out the shining sun. Cassie had on a black bathing suit with her hair tied back in a braided ponytail, nothing too uncommon for her.

JJ whistled in admiration once he noticed a boat going by in the opposite direction toward them. "You guys see that? That's the Malibu 24-MXZ, the world's finest wakesetter. Number one in luxury, quality, and performance. 200k, easy."

"We picked the wrong parents," Pope commented.

"I hate to break it to you guys, but that's Topper and his girlfriend," Kiara pointed out with an annoyed expression. As Sarah and Topper drove by, Sarah lifted her sunglasses up and gazed past them as if they were beneath her. "You don't have to act like you don't see us, bitch."

"I wonder how small Topper's dick is for her to be acting like that," Cassie insulted which made Kiara let out a snort.

"I mean, you're not wrong, but you're acting like you've ever even seen a dick in real life before," JJ arched a brow.

Cassie pursed her lips, knowing that he wasn't correct but he didn't need to know that. "Well, you haven't either because yours is practically micro," she countered, which made all the Pogues burst out laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, you wish you could see it," he replied, pushing his sunglasses further down on his nose.

She scoffed, "Guys, if I ever wish to see it, just know that I've been cloned and that it's not me."

After their much need relaxation time on the boat, they went back to the Château to grab the Twinkie. They needed it to drive to the Island Club to continue their little treasure hunt.

Cassie had now been sporting some jean shorts with a purple woven shirt pulled over her bathing suit, some sneakers to go with it since apparently they seemed to always be running away from something now.

John B pulled the Twinkie up to the Island Club. "All right, keep a lookout. We're behind enemy lines," JJ warned as he pulled out the gun from the front compartment of the Twinkie.

"No, come on, man. Just put it back," John B demanded.

JJ admired the gun. "What?"

John B turned toward him with a serious expression on his face. "JJ."

"You can never be too careful," the blonde shook his head.

Pope got out of the Twinkie and leaned his elbow where JJ's car window would've been if it had been rolled up. "Hey, I predict that bringing a weapon to a four-star hotel will likely cause more problems than they solve," he explained sternly.

"Thank you, Pope," John B said since he was getting tired of JJ always pulling out to the gun for every little thing.

Kiara leaned over JJ's seat. "I swear to God, I'm gonna throw that thing in the ocean, JJ. Put it back."

"Actually, can I have it so I can just shoot you with it?" Cassie added from behind JJ's shoulder. "Bonus points if I shoot your dick off?"

"Cassie," Kiara scolded, not wanting her to entertain it.

"Thought you said my dick was micro, so how would you aim at it? It's gotta be huge then," JJ countered with a smirk and she rolled her eyes at him, getting out of the Twinkie.

John B grabbed the gun and put it back in the front compartment. "There you go," Pope nodded.

"You can't grab a gun like that," JJ told him. "Can't forget my badge. Professional busboy." JJ got out of the car, holding his badge to get into the place.

"So, where are we going now?" Pope inquired as they followed after JJ.

"We're getting on the Internet because only rich people have electricity right now," he responded. "This way!" JJ led them into the Island Club, heading straight for the kitchen. "Andrew! What's up, bro? Mama L, good to see you!" He greeted before he tried to grab a shrimp from the bowl in front of her.

"Hey, no!" Mama L smacked his hand away with a wooden spoon which made Cassie laugh. "JJ," the older woman scolded him.

JJ hummed with a smile before they left the kitchen. "See, they got the backup generators going? Kooks don't miss a beat."

Once they finally made it the room with computers for them to use, JJ quietly pulled the door open for them so they wouldn't be caught. "Sweet Lord, the Internet!" Pope raved as he straight ran for the computer.

"John B," Kiara urged since he had been taking his time sneaking into the room.

"I've missed you," Pope breathed out as he sat in the chair, scooting it closer to the desk.

"Let me get in there. Gotta check out my Insta models," JJ voiced.

"We don't have time for that," Cassie rolled her eyes.

"Go, nah," Pope waved him away and JJ pouted.

"Hey, hey, hey! I got the map!" John B whisper-shouted as he took it out of his backpack, placing it next to Pope's hand at the keyboard.

"Coordinates, please?" Pope asked nicely.

"34° 57' 30" north. 75° 55' 42" west," John B gave him the longitude and latitude as Pope typed it into Google Earth, causing it to zoom into the exact spot. "Boom, continental shelf right there."

"Okay, well, if it's off the deep end, it's not gonna be much of a treasure hunt, is it?" Pope pointed out.

John B shrugged and sighed. "Come on, baby," JJ muttered. "Come on."

All of a sudden, Cassie felt her phone get a flood of vibrations in her back pocket. My phone must have connected to the Internet here, she assumed since it wasn't her first time at the Island Club, and she had been on The Cut earlier today with no Internet.

She pulled out her phone to see that she had gotten a bunch of text messages from...Rafe?

Rafe Cameron
12:00 PM
Hey, can we talk about the other night?

12:47 PM
Please

3:43 PM
Please just text me back.
I want to talk about this.

4:57 PM
Cassie, there's a party tonight at Topper's
We can talk there

5:26 PM
Please

Cassie cringed as read the text messages to herself, wondering why he had just been texting her now. And why he seemed so desperate after he had been the one to call her a slut and all that.

"Cece, you okay?" Kiara asked, noticing the look on the girl's face.

Cassie quickly pocketed her phone. "What? Yeah, I'm good. Just was, uh, checking Instagram."

"Hey, why is she allowed to check Insta?!" JJ complained, but they all quickly shushed him before anyone could hear them outside.

"Shit, it's on the high side. It's only 900 feet," John B said after a moment while he looked at the computer screen. Pope gave him a look of disbelief.

"That's not too deep," JJ added.

"Is that doable or something?" Kiara asked since she wasn't sure.

"Yeah, totally doable," JJ nonchalantly nodded.

"Okay, will we be taking your personal submarine?" Pope sarcastically questioned him.

"How do you know this, Mr. Dive Master?" John B gestured toward the blonde.

"The salvage yard. They got a drone that can drop 1,000. It has a 360 camera and everything. It's for, like, deep dives and stuff. It's exactly what we need," he told them.

"And can your dad get his grimy little hands on that?" John B inquired.

"Well, my dad's grimy little hands got his ass fired. I guess the salvage captain frowns on showing up shitfaced, turns out," JJ revealed, making John B sigh. "But the drone's there. It's in the impound yard out back."

"How much did you say was on the Royal Merchant again?" Kiara asked, tilting her head.

"400 million."

"400 mil."

Pope immediately got out of his seat, rushing to block the door. "400 million dollars?" Kiara repeated before she rushed over to Pope. "Pope."

"No. Absolutely not," Pope sternly said.

"Absolutely yes," JJ argued.

"Pope, move!" Kiara pushed him out of the way.

"Guys, that's too—"

"400 mil!" JJ reminded him as Kiara opened the door to leave.

"Can't we do anything legal for money?" Pope questioned.

"Not if you want 400 mil worth," Cassie shrugged as she walked past him out the door, making the boy groan.

"Go," John B pushed him out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

John B drove the Twinkie to the impound yard after they devised a plan for Kiara to distract the security guard, saying her car tire was flat.

"Pope, we're not stealing the drone. We're...borrowing it," John B tried to reason since Pope was still against using the drone.

"'Humans are the only animal that can't tell fantasy from reality,'" Pope quoted with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Wait, did you come up with that?" John B asked, slightly impressed.

"No, Albert Bernstein came up with that, but it applies to this whole treasure-hunting thing," Pope told him.

John B nodded for moment. "Oh."

"So, which is it? Fantasy or reality?" Pope asked them, holding his hands out to represent both sides.

"Fantasy's always fun," Cassie answered, staring out the window. She always liked to get lost in her mind's thought, thinking about what "could have" been instead of what there actually was.

"Not when you let it destroy your mind," Pope countered, making her look over at him with pursed lips. He honestly wasn't wrong. Thinking too much about what "could have" been had made her go crazy in the past. Even now.

"Why are you so weird, Pope?" JJ questioned as he admired the joint in his hand. Pope didn't answer as he just rolled his eyes.

"It's fantasy, but possible reality," Kiara shook her head.

John B looked at Kiara and said, "Reality." Kiara smiled at him, which made him smile back. Cassie arched a brow at the two since she knew Kiara friend zoned him.

"Virtual reality," JJ muttered with the joint in between his lips, getting ready to light it before Pope took it out of his mouth.

Pope then tossed it away. "Keep the signal clear."

JJ pursed his lips at the boy angrily, shutting his lighter. "You know what your problem is?" JJ said as John B stopped the Twinkie with Kiara hopping out.

"You?" Pope guessed, making the blonde girl snort.

"No! It's that you need to relax, man. You're always so tense!" JJ told him.

"I'm not too tense," Pope argued.

"Hey, don't worry. You got this," John B assured Kiara.

"It's not me that I'm worried about," she replied as she gestured to Cassie, JJ, and Pope.

"Uh, excuse me?" Cassie scoffed at her friend since she had heard her and Kiara giggled as she turned away, walking toward her car.

John B gave her a thumbs up. "Got it. Let's hope this works."

Once Kiara had walked toward the entrance of the impound yard, the four others all got out of the Twinkie to hide behind a plank of wood with a bunch of tools on it.

"How's it going with Kiara?" JJ asked John B curiously, and Cassie resisted the urge to laugh at the question.

"It's, uh, not awkward, weird, or anything," John B shook his head.

JJ snorted. "Yeah. Honestly, I did not think you were gonna actually listen to me." Cassie gave the blonde a glance, wondering if he had been the reason why John B had thought it was a good idea to kiss her best friend. Knowing JJ, it was probably was his fault.

"What?"

"I was 100% sure that she was into you. Pope would agree."

"Ehh..." Pope tilted his head from side to side.

"So, like, Kie, she, like definitely gave you the Heisman?" JJ pressed further.

"Oh, no question. Yup," John B confirmed.

"Gotcha. Hm," JJ chuckled.

"Maybe she's just into somebody else," Pope thought, making all their heads turn to him. He didn't realize they were all staring at him until he glanced over, making him blink rapidly. "Well, I'm-I'm just saying. That-that could be it. I'm sure Cassie knows!" He quickly said, reverting the attention off of him.

Now, they all turned to look at Cassie. "What?" She laughed nervously, meeting all of their eyes one by one since she had been at the end.

"You're her best friend. You definitely know," John B pointed out, having to agree with Pope.

She scoffed at them. "Okay, first off, if I did know, why would I tell you? And second, I honestly don't know so..."

"She told you that John B kissed her, so why wouldn't she tell you if she's into someone else? Y'all are best friends," JJ pointed out and the boys nodded along, all eager to know.

"She just didn't, okay? I'm literally being so honest right now, it's crazy," she shook her head, getting annoyed. Do they all want to get in Kie's pants? Jeez...

JJ just shrugged before he looked forward, seeing that Kiara had managed to get the security guard away from the front and that the fence was slowly shutting. "Go, go, go, go!" He whispered and they all ran over, just barely making it inside before the fence shut all the way.

They followed JJ as he ran toward the storage container, putting in the code he managed to obtain. Once he was able to input the numbers, he pulled on the lock but it didn't open. "Do you have the right numbers?" Pope quickly asked.

"All right, so I might have the wrong numbers," JJ conceded.

"Idiot," Cassie whispered.

"Ah, damn it!" Pope cursed before Cassie quickly shushed him, hearing the sound of a dog barking.

"Oh, hey! Hey!" JJ tried to calm the large, grayish brown dog that had bounded toward them aggressively.

"That's a cougar! Never mind!" John B spoke with wide eyes before he ran away.

"John B!" Cassie seethed before she looked back down at the barking dog, not knowing what to do.

"Hi! No, stay there! Good boy!" JJ continued before he ran in the opposite direction, followed by Cassie on instinct. He then stopped and turned around, making her hit directly into his chest.

"Shit!" She spoke, pushing away from him.

"Oops," JJ breathed out before he grabbed her shoulders to move her out of the way so he could watch the dog continue to bark at Pope

Cassie's face scrunched up at JJ's touch. "Hey, wait, what are you do—"

"Pope, run!" He yelled, cutting her off as he released shoulders.

She turned around to see Pope pick up a metal pipe, waving it at the dog. "Back off! Back off! Back off!"

"Fuck," JJ whispered under his breath before he spotted a red rag in the boat next to them, picking it up. "I got a toy, boy!" He waved it which made the dog immediately starting running toward them. "Wait, no, I was just kidding! Shit!"

"JJ, you fucker!" Cassie screamed as she and JJ sprinted away from the dog as fast as they could.

"Sorry!" JJ panted as they continued running, the adrenaline starting to course through their veins at the thought of getting mauled by the dog. "Sit, boy!" He tried calling from over his shoulder. They kept on running before JJ spotted a ladder that led up to a large boat. "Go there! Now! Go, go, go!"

Cassie ran right behind JJ since he had been faster than her, but when they reached the ladder, he let her go up first. She quickly climbed up, looking down to see JJ following her with the dog right below.

"Hey!" JJ shouted when the dog bit his shoe, trying to pull him down with its strong jaw. "Shit!"

"JJ!" Cassie exclaimed once she made it onto the boat, instinctively reaching down to pull him from the dog's grasp. He quickly took her hand as she pulled him up, making the dog release his shoe from the power of both of them. "Come on!"

JJ hopped onto the boat where the both of them crouched down side by the side, hearing the dog continue to bark. "How do we shut it up?" JJ questioned through clenched teeth.

"I don't know, I don't know," Cassie breathed out, trying to catch her breath as some of the adrenaline wore off.

"Is there like a stick or something in here? Like-like we can play fetch?" JJ frantically asked, trying to come up with something.

"Fetch?!" Cassie repeated with wide eyes at the boy. "Are you fucking stupid?"

"What?! I'm sorry, I'm the only one coming up with shit! You come up with shit!"

"I said, I don't know! It's a fucking attack dog!"

"What's that, huh? What's that, Tebow?" They heard the security say, immediately causing them to pipe down. "What you got, huh? What you got? Whoever's up there better come on out! I mean it! Don't make me go up there and get your ass!"

JJ thought for a moment before he turned to her, whispering, "Stay here."

"JJ, wha—"

"Wait, Bobby!" JJ called out as held his hands up, making Cassie shut her eyes and purse her lips together. "Don't shoot." He slowly rose from his crouched position, revealing himself to Bobby, the security guard. "It's me, JJ. Luke's kid?"

"What are you doin'?" Bobby questioned.

"I swear, okay? I didn't want to, okay?" JJ began, his voice shaking which made Cassie furrow her brows and look up at him. "My dad made me."

"Don't you lie."

"He told me that Captain Leo kept his cutting torch. You know, after he got fired." JJ sucked in a breath. "He said if I didn't get it for him, he was gonna...he was gonna hit me again."

Cassie froze, her mouth parted as she watched JJ breathe shakily above her. Although she knew he was lying, she couldn't help but feel like there was some sort of truth to what he was saying based on how he was saying it. That, or he was a really good actor.

Bobby sighed, "Son of a bitch."

"I'm sorry," JJ apologized, releasing a breathless sob.

"Come on down," Bobby let up, making JJ glance at Cassie below him who nodded. "I almost killed you."

JJ sniffled as he went down the ladder, "I know."

The dog barked again. "Here, boy! Come on. Come on."

"I'll just come up with somethin'. Tell him I couldn't find it," JJ said.

"Mhm. All right."

"Sorry." Cassie heard JJ's footsteps walk away, waiting to hear any sort of movement from Bobby and his dog.

"Okay, come on, boy. Come on," Bobby urged to the dog and she heard the dog run back to wherever it came from, Bobby following behind him.

Cassie slowly stood up, looking over the edge of the boat to make sure they were really gone before she began climbing down the ladder. She looked around, trying to see where JJ had gone.

"Psst, over here," JJ called out quietly and she looked over at him, seeming him by a container. "Come on, let's get out of here before the dog comes out again."

"How did you come up with that?" She asked him as she made her way next to him to walk out of the lot.

"Come up with what?" He replied, glancing away from her.

"That...story," she clarified, hesitating before saying the word "story" because she still wasn't sure if it was made up or not. "How'd you come up with it?"

JJ shrugged, fiddling with his cap on his head. "Just did, I guess," was all he said and Cassie nodded slowly, knowing that there had to be more to the story but she didn't want to pry.

And it was JJ. She wasn't supposed to care what went on in his life...right?

"Why did you help me up the ladder?" He decided to ask after a moment.

"What?"

"You could've let the dog pull me down. But you didn't. Why?"

Cassie thought for a moment, making it her turn to fiddle with her braid. She didn't know why she helped him. She could have just let him deal with it himself, which was what she probably would have done earlier in the week. But instead, she pulled him up.

A devious smile then made its way up to her lips once she thought of what to say. "I owed you," she answered.

JJ scoffed, knowing what she was referring to. "Oh, come on, that was you owing me? I saved you from a gunshot. That's very different from a dog."

"What were you expecting me to do? Pull you away from a bullet? Sorry, but I don't plan on trying to get shot at even more," she responded, shaking her head at him.

"Well...okay, yeah, whatever. Just know that I'm still expecting something bigger." He nudged her with his arm.

"Oh, shut up, dipshit." She nudged him back.

authors note!
dw the "i owe you" thing is gonna
come up again later in the story
hehehe also sorry if there r spelling
mistakes, i wanted to get a chapter in
quickly before going to class. hope u
liked it!