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𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝘄𝗼: 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

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"My parents are so paranoid of me being a Pogue, like it's the worst thing that could ever happen," Kiara voiced as they all sat on Heyward's truck, the cargo ship they were on taking them across the water to get to Charleston.

Kiara sat on the rim of the truck while Cassie leaned against the back of the truck, facing JJ who had been sitting on the roof of the car. Pope was standing on the ground, propping his elbows up on the rim of the truck as he examined the letter in his hand.

"Hey, I hear they got good weed at boarding school, though," JJ brought up, holding a joint between his fingers.

"I'm not going to boarding school," Kiara told them with a shrug. "They're gonna have to kidnap me, tie me up, and throw me in a van."

"Well, I say..." JJ trailed off, putting the joint in his mouth as he hopped off the roof of the car and into the pack of the truck, "...we just crumble some herb right now." He then took the joint out of his mouth and handed it to Kiara. He then sat down across the way from where Cassie was sitting, grinning up at the Carrera girl who took a hit.

"Hey, Kie, have you tried to hit John B back on that number yet?" Pope asked her.

"Like, twenty million times," Kiara told him, blowing some smoke out.

"That's a quite a few times," JJ commented with a chuckle as he fixed his gray cap on his head. Cassie kept her eyes planted on her best friend, not wanting to look the blonde's way. If he wanted to forget about last night, then that's what she would do too. Forget.

But it was all she could think about plus the information about her mom she found out before. What two wildly different things to be thinking about.

"Some random lady at a hotel keeps answering," Kiara said.

"Odd," was all Cassie said and Kiara nodded.

"Well, until we hear from them again, we gotta try and clear his name. Right now, this letter's our best bet," Pope said, holding up the letter in his hand.

"Right. Stay on task," JJ said with a few nods. "That's why I love ya, Pope."

Kiara then cleared her throat, standing up and handing the joint out to Pope. "What Pope are you gonna be today?" She queried.

Pope looked at the joint for a moment before he answered, "I'm good. I'm gonna try to focus."

"Good Pope," Kiara said before she sat down next to JJ. "Boring Pope."

Cassie frowned a bit at that. Although she was no stranger to weed, she thought it was a bit unfair of Kiara to be judging Pope like that when he obviously just wanted to focus.

"Give him a break, Kiki," Cassie defended Pope softly, but the girl just shrugged. Cassie glanced over at Pope, who gave her a grateful nod.

"I'll take that, though," JJ said, wiggling his fingers to get Kiara to hand him the joint. "Um, do tricks now! Roll over, boy!"

"Sit!" Kiara said with a laugh.

"Sit!" JJ goofily repeated.

"They to catch a fish! Catch a fish!" Kiara continued as JJ barked jokingly. "Fish on!"

Cassie glanced over at them, feeling...jealousy creep up in her chest? No, I'm not jealous. And besides, they're just friends anyway, she thought to herself, shaking it off.

JJ caught her looking over and decided to hand the joint out to her. "Want some, princess?" He inquired and her stomach swirled once more.

God, why does he keep calling me that if he wants to forget about last night?

Instead of answering audibly, Cassie just shook her head and looked out toward the ocean. She couldn't have her lips touch the same area of where JJ's lips had touched. She began to think about his lips touching her's in order to gave her mouth-to-mouth and, instinctively, her lip curled in order to push the thought away.

Kiara and JJ shared a look. "You good, Cassie?" Kiara asked gently.

"As good as I can be when it's possible my own mother and Ward Cameron murdered my abusive father," Cassie answered monotonously.

JJ clicked his tongue. "Fair point."

JJ, however, kept his eyes on the girl who continued to stare out into the ocean. He studied the way her nose had flawlessly curved upwards, the way her lips had been so pink and plump, the way her cheekbone had been so perfect.

He wanted to forget about last night, but he couldn't. It kept racing through his mind the entire day, even when it was clear they had more important things to think about.

But he just kept on thinking about it. How their bodies had been so close he could practically feel the heat radiating off of her. How he had looked down at her lips and she had done the same with his. How they were just inches away from pressing their lips together before...Savannah had to come and ruin it all.

God, he really hated that woman. He hated that woman for how she treated her daughter, how she had locked her up in her own room. And it wasn't even for Cassie's own good, it was for Savannah's own good. Cassie didn't deserve to be treated that way. If only he could just say that to her...but he couldn't. Not without admitting to some...other feelings he had been feeling lately.

That's why he decided to pretend that last night didn't even happen. That's why he had just hopped off the balcony before Cassie could tell him to hide. He didn't want to face the truth, he didn't want to accept how he had been feeling.

He didn't want to because there was no in hell he could like Cassandra Blake, and there was no way in hell that she could like JJ Maybank.

It just didn't work like that. It couldn't work like that. The two had hated each other from when Kiara had first introduced them and JJ had always made it his mission to annoy the hell out of the girl because he liked to see her all riled up.

Wait, he liked to see her riled up? No, no, not like. He just...thought it was entertaining. Yeah, entertaining...No other reason.

Anyway, JJ knew he was just thinking crazy. He knew he was just getting himself worked up over nothing. It was true that he found Cassie to be immensely attractive, as would anyone. But he didn't think that meant anything. Not to him, at least, when he found any girl within a mile radius of him attractive.

Everyone knew JJ was a fuckboy. It wasn't a secret to anyone on the island. He embraced it, actually. So why had he been so caught up on this girl that he never even actually kissed? Apart from giving mouth-to-mouth but that obviously didn't count.

Every girl he had ever been with was always just a one and done thing. Hookup, exchange numbers, and then never text or call again. It was impudent, but that's what he did. He never thought about them again.

But Cassie was different.

Ever since they shared that moment after the hot tub incident, she was always on his mind. He would fall asleep thinking about her, he would wake up thinking about her. He always just brushed it off, not thinking it was a big deal because his mind always raced with a bunch of things anyway. He was drunk when that moment happened and the second moment that happened between them, she was drunk. It couldn't mean anything.

But last night...last night made him start to think that her always being on his mind may have been a bigger deal than he originally thought it was. And that's what made him want to forget that it ever happened, not wanting to even venture over into the possibilities of what could be happening between them.

But what was happening between them?

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

"Guys, I've read this thing like a thousand times. It makes no sense," Kiara said as they drove on the road towards Charleston. This time, Kiara decided to slide in next to Pope which meant Cassie was smushed next to JJ.

She wanted to kill herself.

Her thigh had been touching his own and she refused to look over at him although she could feel his stare on her at times. She wanted to shut her eyes to just avoid seeing him altogether, but she knew if she shut her eyes, those fatal fantasies about him would start up again.

"I mean, the Limbreys own, like, half of Charleston. What do the Kook kings of Charleston know about a murder on Kildare Island?" Kiara continued.

"Yeah. Why you specifically?" JJ asked Pope. "That's the other creepy thing, you know?"

"'Please come alone,'" Kiara read aloud from the letter. "That's hella sus." Cassie snorted a bit at her language usage.

"I was thinking the same thing. I think it's because — Oh, come on!" Pope shouted in annoyance once the engine start to smoke and sputter, making them unable to see out the windshields.

"What the hell?" Cassie questioned, her nose crinkling.

"Pull over. That's a lot of smoke, even for your dad's truck," Kiara told the boys.

JJ started to roll up the window as he coughed. "Pope, I got sensitive lungs, man!" JJ said loudly.

"Just pull over!" Kiara shouted at Pope.

"I'm pulling over!" He told her as he swerved the car off the road rather harshly.

"Pope!" Cassie piped up, giving the boy a bewildered look at how reckless he was driving. This was some JJ level driving, not Pope level.

"Pope, just-just slow down! What are you doing, dude?!" JJ exclaimed as the truck went onto the dirt at the side of the road.

"Okay, sure. Yeah, right now!" Kiara shouted sarcastically before Pope was able to stop the truck. "Shit!"

Pope laughed deeply in disbelief. "No. No. No. No," Pope began to repeat as he took his seatbelt off. "No. No. No."

"Oh...my," JJ commented before he quickly opened the car door, getting out of the car followed by Cassie and Kiara.

"Fuck!" Cassie cursed.

"It's gonna blow up. It's gonna blow up!" Kiara said in a panicked tone as Pope got out of the car.

"No, it's not gonna blow up," JJ told her with a laugh. "You probably unhooked the radiator, Pope. I haven't seen this before. You knocked the entire hubcap off!" JJ pointed out as Pope opened the hood. Kiara and Cassie walked away from the car, the former with her head on her hands and the latter with her hands on her hips. JJ began to clap sarcastically, making Cassie side-eye him. "Whoo!" He yelled before he picked up the hubcap. "You might wanna reschedule your meeting tonight, Pope."

"Uh...Plan B? We could, um...public transportation," Kiara suggested as JJ walked over to help Pope out. "We could hitchhike. We could rent bikes."

"Bikes?" Cassie repeated. She was not biking miles to get to Charleston. Sure, she was athletic, but that just didn't seem doable.

"Yeah, it's the radiator," JJ confirmed while he looked inside the hood of the truck.

"My dad's gonna kill me," Pope spoke up with a blank expression.

"Yeah, he might. He might," JJ confirmed as looked back the boy.

The four Pogues were able to call a tow truck and bring the truck to a mechanic, where Pope had been conversing with the man since he was the most knowledgeable. Although JJ knew a lot of cars, they didn't think it would be a good idea for him to speak to the mechanic.

He would probably fuck it up, knowing him.

Cassie and Kiara had been sitting in the back of a random truck, frowns on their faces for different reasons. Kiara was still upset about what her parents had said to her and Cassie was still upset about her mother.

She didn't want to believe anything that she suspected, but how could she not? With how her mother reacted when Cassie accused her...it just seemed like there had to be at least some truth to what she was saying even if she wasn't entirely correct.

JJ walked away from Pope and the mechanic, going over to Kiara and Cassie. "Middle of nowhere," JJ commented before he leaned against the rim of the truck. "Dude's in heaven right now. 'Gotta know the calibration point before you do anything with the intake valve, JJ,'" he said in a mock voice. "'You do the—'" He paused, noticing the girls' sad expressions. "Hey. You guys all right?"

He reached over and tapped Cassie's knee, which made her look up and make eye contact with the boy. She then flicked her eyes downwards to break eye contact, instead focusing on his hands and the rings around his pinkie, thumb, and ring finger on his right hand.

That's not helping.

She decided to look at the flask in his hand, suddenly making her crave the taste of alcohol. But then she began to think about her father, how apparently he was an alcoholic with abuse issues. She wanted to throw up. "Just thinking," she answered quietly before she pursed her lips.

JJ hummed, not wanting to push it. He then looked over at Kiara. "Kie?"

Kiara shrugged lightly and shook her head. "My mom is so worried that I'm gonna be a Pogue that she's willing to send me to boarding school."

"Well, I guess that's what you get for hanging out with the wrong crowd, Kie," JJ replied before he took a swig of the alcohol inside his flask.

"I mean, I'm not gonna go. It's too late anyway. I already am who I am," she said quietly, looking down at her hands.

JJ twisted the cap to the flask back on. "Ain't all that bad." He then looked past Kiara and at Pope, gesturing to him. "Just look at the guy over there." The girls slowly looked over her shoulder, watching Pope talk to the mechanic. "He would do anything for us. That's a Pogue if I've ever seen one. Bone-deep." Kiara smiled lightly before she looked away from the boy. Cassie also grinned, thinking about how the boy had saved her from Rafe at the hangar. He did that for her.

She realized that all of the Pogues had done something for her and would continue to do it no matter what. And she would do the same for them.

"That's just one man's opinion, though." JJ raised his flask up towards the girls before he took another sip of the drink. Kiara looked back over at Pope and they made eye contact, sharing a smile with one another.

Kiara then got up from the truck. "Should probably go see how much I need to pay for this," she told the two, getting off the truck.

"Are you sure you don't want me to pay?" Cassie inquired.

"No. If your mom finds out, I don't want you to get in more trouble. Your mom is scarier than my parents," Kiara told her and Cassie nodded, agreeing with her on that one. Although Kiara's parents could get loud, they never actually killed anybody so...

Kiara then walked away, leaving the two blondes to stay there in silence. However, this silence hadn't been a comfortable one. Not like how it had been when JJ drove her back to her house last night.

Cassie still kept her eyes away from his face due to the fact that he had constantly been popping up in her mind. With his beautiful eyes and golden locks that radiated even more in the sun. Why did he have to be so good looking?

JJ noticed her reluctance to look his way. It was hard not to notice when all he did the past few hours was look at her. "Cass, you sure you're good?" He decided to ask again.

She felt her throat constrict. "Told you, JJ, I'm fine."

The way she said his name just felt so right. Get it together, man, he demanded himself.

"I mean, you don't have to be fine. After what you told us, I'm not sure I'd be fine," he pointed out and she poked the inside of her cheek. "You can talk about it, you know."

She blinked, finally looking over at him. "Oh, like how we talked about last night?" She shot back before she immediately regretted what she said. Now it had looked like she had been thinking about last night which she didn't want him to know about. Fuck.

JJ felt his stomach do somersaults. "Last night?"

She had to save herself here. "Yeah. Last night," she confirmed. "You know, I was upset and I needed someone and you were there, so...thank you. But whatever happened, or whatever you thought happened, it meant..." She trailed off, not sure if she could say the last word out loud because she wasn't sure if it had been the truth or not.

"It meant nothing?" He finished for her. JJ didn't know why, but saying that felt wrong. Which made him start to believe that it really did mean something. But maybe it had only meant something to him.

Thank God. She didn't want to say it herself, so the fact that JJ had said it just proved it really did mean nothing. Or that's what she tried to convince herself. "Yeah. It meant nothing. It was just me being grateful for you saving my life. Again. Like you had been grateful for me saving yours."

JJ ran his tongue along his front teeth as he began fidgeting with the cap of the flask. "Yeah. You're right. It meant nothing," he said in a whisper as he looked down and Cassie furrowed her brows a little. He then let out a breathless, ironic laugh, "It meant nothing."

"Mhm. You don't need to keep repeating it," Cassie snapped a bit and JJ looked up at her, and she noticed that he had almost had a hurt look in his eyes.

"My bad. Won't do it again, princess," he replied, but the tone on the word "princess" had been anything but teasing. It had almost been venomous. Not like how he had usually used the word. He then started to walk away, pretending to be interested in something else.

"What the fuck," Cassie whispered to herself. Had she been wrong? Had JJ been thinking about last night in the same way she had? No. No, she was just being delusional. JJ was just being...JJ.

Right?

Later in the night, they had pulled the truck off the road to a field underneath a large tree to get some rest. Kiara had secretly asked Cassie if she could sleep next to Pope, meaning she would have to sleep next to JJ.

Cassie reluctantly agreed, wanting to be a good wingwoman for whatever the hell was happening between Pope and Kiara.

So, she laid down next to JJ who had his feet propped up on the rim of the truck and his hat pulled down over his eyes, already sleeping. She released a quiet sigh of relief and turned her back to him, not wanting to face him as she slept.

"Good night, everyone," Pope mumbled.

"Night, Pope," Cassie replied since she had still been awake. She then watched as Kiara leaned down over Pope and planted a kiss on his cheek, making her eyebrows raise a bit. Guess that's why she wanted to sleep next to him.

"Good night," Kiara sweetly said.

JJ, who actually hadn't been asleep, saw the action and glanced down at Cassie next to him who had her back turned to him. He frowned a bit before he recovered his eyes with his cap again, turning the other way to have his back face her.

authors note!
yall im so sorry i'll make it up to
u in a few chapters i promise 😥