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𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿: 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻

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Cassie, Kiara, JJ, and Pope quickly ran back over to the truck as JJ yelled, "Go! Go, go, go!" Cassie and Kiara went to the other side of the car to pull the door open while Pope opened the driver's seat door.

"Scoot over," JJ told Pope before the blonde got behind the wheel.

"Ow!" Kiara shrieked since she been pushed into the door. "Who were those people?" She questioned.

"Crazy bitches!" Cassie answered.

"We're getting the hell out of here!" JJ said angrily through clenched teeth. After seeing Renfield on top of Cassie, he had been livid. He wish he could have pounded the guy's face in, but they couldn't stay there. It was clear him and Limbrey were not to be trusted and who knew what other tricks they had up their sleeves.

"That was crazy as shit. Let's get out of here now," Pope voiced as the blonde quickly drove the truck away from the house as fast as he could, making the tires screech.

Cassie panted heavily, trying to catch her breath. "You okay?" Kiara asked and Cassie nodded rapidly, placing a hand on her chest. She could feel her heartbeat going a million miles per minute and she didn't think it would ever slow down.

JJ whipped the truck around the corner and yelled, "Here we go now!"

Kiara looked over her shoulder to see out the back window. "I think he's following us!" She told them fearfully.

"Are you kidding?!" Cassie exclaimed as she also looked over her shoulder, seeing Renfield in the smaller car tailing them. "What the fuck, man!"

"This is a one-way," Pope pointed out to JJ.

"Go left, go left," Kiara told the blonde.

"JJ, go left," Cassie repeated.

"This is a one-way. Go that way," Pope instructed quickly.

"Oh, I know!" JJ shouted as he kept on driving down the one-way.

"This is a one-way!" Cassie, Kiara, and Pope screamed at the same time.

"They're following us!" Kiara yelled at JJ. "They're following us!"

"Oh, my God!" Cassie screamed once she saw a car heading their way.

"Hey! There's another car! Turn now! Turn right! Turn right!" Pope shouted before JJ made a right turn at the last minute, making the tires screech yet again. "Jesus, look out!" Pope warned once he saw two people crossing the street.

"Oh, my God!" Cassie and Kiara exclaimed at the same time in shock before JJ swerved the car just in time, narrowly missing them.

"Get out of the road!" JJ yelled back at the couple, who had to dive out of the way so they weren't hit.

"Those were people! Jesus Christ!" Pope said, his voice cracking.

"Why is he driving?!" Cassie cried out seeing as though JJ had been the most reckless of them all, her being a close second.

"Do you wanna drive?!" JJ questioned her, giving her a wide-eyed glance.

"Well, no! But—"

"Exactly! That was evasive driving technique right there, y'all," JJ interrupted her as he continued to drive, causing her to let out a frustrated groan.

"Evasive? More like careless!" Kiara corrected him.

"Where we going?" Pope asked breathlessly.

"Hang on, I'm gonna lose him," JJ said before he made a sharp left turn into an alley, making their bodies all lurch to the side.

"JJ!" Kiara yelled.

"Asshole!" Cassie shrieked at the same time.

"Dude!" Pope howled as well.

When they turned into the alley, the engine began to hiss and the truck began to smoke again. "You said he fixed the carburetor. You said he fixed it!" JJ yelled.

"No, no, no!"

"He did!" Pope replied at the same time as the car slowed down into the alley.

"Shit! Damn it!" Kiara exclaimed angrily. "Okay, what now, Mario?" She asked sarcastically while they all quickly got out of the truck.

"Don't make him think he's the main character!" Cassie shouted as she barreled out of the truck.

"Number one rule. Never trust mechanics!" JJ told them as they started to get their stuff from the back of the truck. All of a sudden, Renfield's car pulled up behind them to block the exit to the alley. "We gotta go around!

"Let's go!" Cassie urged before they all started to run away.

"Come on!"

"Go, go, go, go, go!" JJ encouraged as they sprinted away from Renfield as fast as they could. Cassie looked over her shoulder, seeing the smoke flying off from the car and Renfield put something black in his jacket pocket

"Guys, I think he has a gun!" Kiara told them as they continued to run away.

"Shit, get down!" JJ directed, making them crouch down a little as they ran.

"Come on, Kie!" Pope yelled.

"Go, go, go, go!" Kiara said.

"Where do we go?!" Cassie questioned in a high voice.

"Get to the alleyway. Come on!" JJ said, pointing at it as he ran towards it.

"Let's go! Come on!" Pope yelled. "I think I'm cramping!"

"Well, stop cramping!" Cassie shouted back frantically.

"I can't just stop cramping!" Pope groaned back.

"Go, go, go, go, go, go!" Kiara continued to scream.

"This way, this way, this way!" JJ said as they took a left turn, sprinting down the side of the house. "We might have to split up!" JJ yelled back to them because he was at the front.

"Split up?!" Cassie repeated in disbelief.

"I don't know where to go, okay? We gotta lose him!" JJ said before he ran into a person holding boxes, making them drop it everywhere. "Whoa!"

"Jesus! Shit! Watch out!" Kiara exclaimed in surprise before they continued on running.

"Sorry!" Kiara and Pope yelled back at the person at the same time.

"Sorry about that!" JJ added.

Cassie looked over her shoulder again to see Renfield hop over the boxes on the floor, still pursuing them. "He's right behind us!" Cassie told them, looking back in front of her to try to run faster but her lungs had started to burn.

"Right here! Here, here, here!" JJ pointed out, running into a narrow alley next to a brick wall.

"Okay!" Kiara panted.

"Guys, he's right there! Go, go, go!" JJ told them as they kept on sprinting, but they were beginning to tire out.

"How the fuck can he run like this?!" Cassie rhetorically asked seeing as though he had been much older than the teens, but he was still able to keep up.

"Go, go!" Pope yelled. They continued running down the narrow alley, checking over their shoulders to see if they got away but he was still following them. "He's gaining! Let's go!"

"I am going, Pope! I know, I know! You guys gotta keep up!" JJ replied.

"We are!" Cassie yelled back before they ran out of the alleyway, sliding to a stop once they saw who was right in front of them on a motorbike and carriage.

Cassie's eyes met the brunette one's first, his lips quirking into a stunned smile. Her eyes then flitted over to the blonde behind him, whose eyes and mouth had been wide.

It was John B Routledge and Sarah Cameron.

Cassie let out a shocked breath at the two of them right in front of her, sunburnt to a crisp but alive. Pope started to smile as JJ blinked in realization and Kiara's wide open mouth turned into a smile.

Despite the city of Charleston being huge, they had somehow aligned as if they were the stars. Like they were all meant to be together even though the universe tried splitting them apart. But the universe had been no match against the sheer power of their unbreakable bond.

They couldn't stay staring as each other for long, however, so John B urged, "Get in! Get in! Get in! Come on!"

"Get in!" Sarah said before Cassie and Kiara hopped into the small carriage next to her.

JJ and Pope ran behind it, pushing it forward to help John B move it faster. "Oh God, you guys are so heavy!" John B commented.

"Hey!" Cassie took offense.

"Sorry!"

"Push! Push! Push!" JJ shouted as he and Pope pushed the small carriage that the girls were sitting in.

"Pedal faster, John B!" Sarah told him and the Routledge boy started to pedal faster as he turned onto the street. "Oh, my God!" The blonde exclaimed as they were able to get away from these two random guys chasing them. However, Renfield was still keeping up with them.

"Go, John B! Go!" JJ said.

"Oh, shit!" Pope said breathlessly as he and JJ continued to push the bike, seeing Renfield nearing them.

"Come on, Pope! Push! Come on!" JJ urged as the bike kept on getting faster and faster as they continued to push. JJ hopped onto the side of the carriage, making Pope be the only one to push.

"Come on, Pope!" Cassie encouraged, seeing Renfield getting closer.

"Pedal, bitch! He's gaining!" JJ screamed at John B.

"I'm pedaling!" John B shot back, leaning forward as he pedaled as hard as he could.

"He's gaining, man!"

"Oh, my God!" Kiara shrieked.

"Oh, man!" Pope groaned before he let go of the carriage, crashing onto the ground.

"Pope!" Cassie hollered.

"Pope, get up! Let's go!" John B shouted as Pope rolled over and bounced back up from all the adrenaline, sprinting back towards the bike.

"Kie!" He said as he grabbed her hand.

"Come on!" Kiara said to him, pulling him closer towards the bike.

"Pedal, John B!" JJ ordered once Pope hopped onto the carriage with Renfield grabbing onto the end of it.

"Get off, asshole!" Cassie bellowed as they all pushed his head back, making him fall down to the ground harshly. "Yes, bitch!"

"See you later, alligator!" JJ waved happily.

"See you later, asshole! Oh, my God!" Pope cheered.

"Let's go!" Cassie screamed, wrapping her arms around Kiara, who was whooping excitedly.

"Blowin' you a little big kiss!" JJ taunted at the man as he flipped him off.

John B continued to drive the bike to the boat that he and Sarah stole apparently and they sailed across the water, trying to catch up on everything they had missed out over the last few weeks.

They shared everything: how they thought Sarah and John B had actually died, how John B and Sarah ended up in the Bahamas, how they saw Ward shoot Gavin and Savannah finish the job, how Ward and Savannah were potentially having an affair, how Cassie almost drowned, how Rafe shot Sarah...

That led to Cassie admitting what she had done with Rafe to Sarah and John B since they still had yet to know. Although they had been shocked about it, they understood after she explained the whole story. They didn't blame her. It made them despise Rafe even more, actually.

Suddenly, everything felt right in the world even though it really wasn't. But with them all together, it made it feel like it was.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

John B had slowly sailed into a marsh, trying to navigate their way back to the Outer Banks. They had continued to catch up into the night before the sun had come back up, but none of them had been tired. They were too fired up about being all together to be tired.

"Anybody else starving? We need to grab some sort of breakfast," JJ spoke up since they hadn't eaten anything since yesterday.

John B steered the boat to a random dock. "We're gonna find some food," Sarah told the boys as she, Cassie, and Kiara got into the dock with the help of Pope.

They wandered around an area with lots of foliage and plants until Kiara found some watermelons. "Ugh! Jackpot!" Kiara exclaimed, holding the watermelon up like it was a trophy.

"Fuck yeah," Cassie breathed out before the girls ended up cracking it open, feasting on what was inside.

They found a space to sit as they dug in, practically groaning with each bite. Even though it was just some random watermelons, it tasted like the best things in the world to them at that moment.

"Holy shit," Sarah said as she ate the watermelon.

"Okay, so you really got married?" Kiara asked out of the blue since Sarah had told the girls that her and John B got married while they were gone.

"It wasn't exactly legal, but..." Sarah trailed off, looking over at the girls. Kiara and Cassie sent each other a knowing grin. "Yeah," Sarah confirmed, beaming.

"And to think this would have never happened if John B never macked on you at Chapel Hill," Cassie recalled, wiggling her eyebrows teasingly at the girl.

Sarah blushed. "I know, I know," she brushed it off shyly as Cassie took another bite of her watermelon. "Am I crazy, or is there definitely something going on between...you and Pope?" Sarah queried Kiara coyly, taking a bite of her watermelon with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh, girl, don't even," Cassie breathed out.

Kiara gave the Blake girl a nudge at her comment before she shrugged, "Maybe."

"That's not a no," Sarah pointed out.

Kiara shrugged again. "It's not a no," was all she told them before she ate a piece of her watermelon.

"Girl," Sarah said, making Kiara laugh.

"She's been doing this all week," Cassie complained and Kiara giggled at that.

"What about you, Cassie? Any guys catch your eye when I was gone?" Sarah inquired curiously.

JJ had been the first boy to come to her mind, but she quickly shoved the thought of him away. There was nothing going on between them, she had to remember that. But why was she having such a hard time accepting it?

"Nah. Haven't really had the time for that," she said and it wasn't exactly a lie. She technically hadn't done anything with any guys.

"That's not true. You and JJ kissed," Kiara brought up and Cassie's eyes widened at her as if she were crazy.

"What?!" Sarah exclaimed. "You kissed JJ? I thought you hated him!"

"Hold on, hold on, hold on," Cassie raised her hand toward Kiara. "Since when did we kiss?" She questioned. The blonde was trying to wrack her brain of her and JJ kissing since as far as she knew, they had been almost kisses.

"When he gave you mouth-to-mouth, duh," Kiara revealed before she bursted out laughing. Cassie's eyes narrowed and her lips pursed in annoyance at the girl for getting her worked up for nothing. "Oh, come on, that was funny."

"It was not," Cassie denied, rolling her eyes at the girl.

"As if you would ever kiss JJ, let's be for real," Kiara chuckled before she ate another piece of watermelon.

Cassie forced out a laugh as she looked off into the distance. "Yeah. As if."

If only she knew.

Once the girls were done eating their watermelons, they found some more to bring back to the boys. They carried them back, seeing the boys sitting and chatting on the boat.

"Hi," Sarah greeted, making the boys all turn to them. "What y'all talking about?" She inquired with a slight shrug.

"Uh...fishing," John B answered and Cassie tilted her head a bit at his answer.

"Dropping lures," JJ added before he looked up at the girls, meeting eyes with Cassie. He quickly glanced away, shaking his head. "That's that, you know?"

Cassie arched a brow as Sarah hummed, "Okay."

"Need help?" JJ asked.

Sarah grinned at him and handed him the heavy watermelon. "Thanks," she said.

"Goodness gracious," JJ groaned at how heavy the watermelon was.

"What's that now?" Pope asked Kiara who stepped into the boat.

"I got breakfast," Kiara said as she held up a watermelon with a proud grin.

The Pogues were finally able to make it back to the Outer Banks, seeing John B's house at the Château. Just the way they had left it. "There she is," John B said fondly since he had greatly missed it by being gone so long.

"Bet it's good to see her old bones, right?" JJ said. "Welcome home, guys." JJ placed his hands on John B's shoulder, squeezing them encouragingly.

John B pulled the boat up to his dock before they tied up and got out, walking back on land. "You know, I gotta be honest. Not exactly looking forward to a check-in at home," Kiara brought up as they stood underneath the roof of the dock. "My parents probably already arranged my funeral."

That made Cassie think about her own mother and she shuddered a bit. Could she even go back home with what she knew? Surely not. She no longer felt safe at home. She felt safe with the Pogues, her new home.

"I predict unpleasantries at the Heyward household after I left the truck in Charleston," Pope added and John B hummed, looking down.

"Yeah, I don't think I should go back home any time soon," Cassie spoke up.

"Me either," Sarah agreed as the two sent each other a look, making the others nod in agreement.

"No one knows we're here, right? And you two aren't gonna get into any more trouble for showing up 12 hours later," JJ said to Kiara and Pope. He then looked at Sarah and Cassie. "And y'all can just avoid trouble altogether. Am I right, or am I right?"

"I mean, you're not wrong," Pope told him.

"So that means we have 12 hours to do whatever we want. Huh? A little Pogue fellowship. How does that sound?" JJ planned out, but Sarah started to shake her head. Cassie thought about it, actually not thinking it was a bad idea. She mostly just wanted to have some relaxation time since she desperately needed it. She couldn't remember the last time where her body wasn't in fight-or-flight mode.

"Let the shit hit the fan tomorrow, come on," John B agreed with a smile.

"Yeah!" JJ exclaimed excitedly.

"The cops could be looking for us. It could be really stupid," Sarah cautioned them, an apprehensive look on her face.

"Sarah Cameron..." JJ started to say, walking over to where she had been sitting, "You've heard of my philosophy, right?"

"No," Sarah said with a laugh in her voice, turning away from the blonde boy.

JJ smirked at her before he told said, "Stupid things have good outcomes all the time." The others mouthed it at the same time he said it, rolling their eyes at his antics. Cassie caught herself smiling tenderly at the boy before she shoved it away once he turned around. "Who's with me? Let's get some beer!"

Cassie raised her hand. "Can we also get some Vodka?"

Kiara lowered her hand. "No, babe."

Cassie pouted.

Pope drove the Pogue to Geechie's and they sent JJ and Kiara inside to retrieve the alcohol. Once they had, they brought it back to them excitedly. "Ooohh!" JJ whooped as he handed John B the box of beer.

John B made eye contact with each of them, a smiling growing on his face. "Let shit hit the fan tomorrow?"

"Let shit but the fan tomorrow!"

authors note!
stop bc the pogues may never be happy
like this again and it breaks my freaking
heart UGGHHGGGHH next chapter is
a LONG one and lemme just say, be
prepared bc yall r not ready 😝