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𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝘄𝗼: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗼

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"What's up, y'all Kooks and Pogues? Welcome, welcome to this year's Kildare Enduro! What a fantastic day we got for racing today. You guys ready to burn some gas?" The commentator announced into the microphone as groups of Kooks and Pogues watched from the sidelines as people rode around on their motorbikes on the track made of sand. "The race is kicking off soon, so make sure you get your bets in, and then wave your flag, you know what I'm saying?"

Cassie stood next to Sarah and Kiara, wearing a short black skirt and a white top that hung low on her chest and that showed off her midriff. Her shark tooth necklace sat perfectly on her chest, her hair loose down her back with a black bandana tied around her head that JJ had given her.

She watched as JJ stood near his rickety bike, Cleo helping him make the sure the tire pressure was good. She took a sip of her drink, both nervous and excited to watch her boyfriend in action.

"Hey, Cassie!" She heard someone call out and she looked over, seeing Emery making her way toward her with a cheerful grin and a pink beach dress.

"Em, you made it!" Cassie greeted before she gave the girl a hug. "Guys, look, Em made it."

Sarah beamed, giving the girl a hug as well. "Hey, girl!"

"Sare Bear!" Emery giggled before she pulled away, looking at Kiara who just gave her a wave. "Hey, Kie."

"M&M," was all Kiara said in response before she took a sip of her drink.

Emery clicked her tongue, turning back to Cassie. "Don't mind her. She's just been mad lately because Pope got on our case about spending money," Cassie assured her.

"Oh. You guys ran out already?" Emery questioned.

Cassie shrugged. "Not yet. That's why Pope got on our case."

Emery hummed. "I see." She took a look around, spotting JJ and John B talking to one another. "Ooh, are they racing?"

"Should just be JJ," Cassie answered.

"Are you nervous?"

Cassie sucked in a breath. "Kinda. I have some...bad memories with him and that bike, but we're not running away from cops this time so we should be good."

Emery raised her brows, looking between her and the boys. "Right..."

"Should probably give him some luck, though. Yeah, I'm gonna go do that," Cassie spoke to herself before she started walking up to the boys. This was basically their first public outing as a couple and she was determined to prove to JJ that she meant what she said about not hiding anymore. She also wasn't wearing this outfit nothing!

John B had begun to walk away from JJ once she neared them both, so she sent him a wave. "Hey, JB— Whoa, you good?" she asked, seeing the pissed off look on his face.

John B forced a smile. "Just great."

Cassie hummed, looking over her shoulder to watch him walk past her before she set her eyes straight back to JJ. "Hey, baby," she greeted in practically a purr once she made it over to JJ, leaning on his bike's handlebars as he sat on his bike.

JJ's lips turned into his a smile. "Hey, Cass."

Cassie glanced over to her right, noticing Rafe and Topper on their bikes watching them. Rafe's eyes had been narrowed, putting the pieces together and realizing that they were together. Is that why she didn't want to start over with him all the way back in Barbados?

He couldn't dwell on it now. Not when that had been a while ago and he had his own girl. He turned his attention away from the couple, calling out, "Hey, Sofia!"

A girl with a short black hair and kind eyes came over to him, and he greeted her with a sweet kiss on the lips. Cassie raised her brows before she turned back to JJ. "Guess he moved on," the Blake girl noted.

JJ furrowed his brows a bit. "Moved on?"

"Well...when I was trapped with Rafe in Barbados...he said something about starting over with each other before I shoved him off his own boat," Cassie revealed to the Maybank boy, realizing that she never went fully into what happened with Rafe. She only mentioned having to act her way through her time with him there, but didn't go into specifics.

JJ blinked at her. "And you're telling me this...now?"

"I didn't think it was a big deal because obviously I didn't want to start over with him. There was nothing to start over from anyway," Cassie explained herself and JJ licked his lips, looking away.

JJ had never really viewed Rafe as a threat seeing as though he knew how much Cassie regretted sleeping with the man. She told JJ herself she never liked him that time they were in The Wreck when John B was on the run. He never judged her for sleeping with him and still would never. But hearing her say that Rafe was still interested in her, even if it was months ago now, it made him worried about what Rafe could do. Not Cassie.

He trusted Cassie.

Cassie noticed the look on his face and she leaned closer to him. "All I thought about was you," she assured him, booping him on the nose.

JJ seemed satisfied hearing that since the smile that had faltered made its way back to his lips as he looked back at her. "Oh, really? You thought about me the whole time you were there?"

"The whole time," she confirmed before she started to smirk alluringly. "Which is why, if you win this thing...You might get a little treat tonight."

JJ's face reddened as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down before he cleared his throat. "A treat? What-what kinda treat?"

Cassie shrugged coyly. "One that'll hopefully give you some extra motivation to win."

JJ raised his brows before he rubbed his chin. "Now I'm gonna get distracted thinking about it the whole time."

"Maybe this can hold you over for right now then." Cassie leaned forward, planting a quick kiss on his lips. When she pulled back, she could see the way the color JJ's face had deepened even more. "Did that help?"

"M-Maybe just one-just one more," he asked for before he brought his hand up, grabbing her chin and pulling her in for another kiss. She tittered a bit into the kiss before he pulled back, her chin still in his grip. "That should do it."

She rolled her eyes playfully at him, backing up to get out of the raceway. "Good luck, Jay," she told him before she saluted him.

"Thanks, princess," he replied and she turned around, giggling to herself as she blushed.

"Now it looks like we're just about ready to get started! So, empty your bladders! Fill up your cups! The Enduro waits for no one!"

"You guys are literally so cute together," Emery gushed once Cassie made her way back over to her.

"Oh, stop," Cassie brushed off.

"No, seriously! I can't believe you guys hated each other at one point. That seems unbelievable," Emery shook her head.

"Oh, they did. And it was bad," Kiara confirmed and Cassie gave her a look. "What? It was. I'm not gonna lie about it."

Cassie laughed before she heard the commentator announce, "Check this out! Looks like we've got a late entrant! John B Routledge on a bucket of bolts! He's gonna need a miracle!"

"Wait, what the hell? I thought John B wasn't riding," Cassie spoke in confusion.

"It's because JJ bet the last of our gold," Sarah piped up as she walked toward them, making the three girls look over at her with wide eyes. "He thinks he has this in the bag, so he bet our last nugget."

"He did what?" Kiara responded.

"Bet the last of our gold," Sarah repeated, giving her a sarcastic smile.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Cassie questioned her, sharing a wide eyed look with Kiara.

"So you didn't know about it then?" Sarah tilted her head.

"No, what? I didn't know about it. If I knew about it, you would've seen me slapping him over there, not kissing him!" Cassie told her and Kiara let out a groan. "I swear to God, he's dead if he doesn't win this shit."

"Does your boyfriend ever think before he does anything?" Sarah asked her.

"Clearly not or else he would've thought about what's gonna happen if he loses," Cassie said as she shook her head. Not only would he lose out on that special treat she promised him just before if he lost, but he was also going to get a stern talking to. Well, maybe a stern yelling to.

"All right, guys! Listen up!" the girls heard Ruthie's, Topper's new girlfriend, voice cut through the air. "Race is to the old buoy and back. Other than that, no rules. We all good? This is for all the money and respect! Go get it, y'all!"

Emery started cheering before Kiara sent her a scary look, telling her it wasn't the time now that JJ could have just really screwed them over. "Oh, oops..."

"On your marks!"

The boys revved the engines of their bikes.

"Get set!"

Cassie and Sarah shared a nervous look since both of their boyfriends were now partaking in this.

"GO!"

The boys all took off on their bikes, causing the sand to kick up. However, JJ's bike seemed to have a false start so the others were able to get ahead of him. "Come on, JJ!" Cassie bellowed just as his bike started to move, causing her to release a sigh that vibrated her lips. Now she was extra nervous for him.

"Rafe Cameron gets the holeshot, beats the pack out front, and boy, he is blazing down the straightaway!"

Cassie watched as the boys drove their bikes all the way down the sand before she took a long sip of her drink. It was only a hard lemonade, so it wasn't going to do much. She told herself she would limit how much of hard liquor she would be drinking, knowing it wasn't good for her. She hadn't really had the urge recently to do it anyway and now she was just socially drinking.

However, Kiara noticed the way she had been downing the drink. "Hey, you good?" she inquired, causing Emery to glance over at the girls.

Cassie turned to her, wiping at her lips. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Kiara swallowed thickly. "You don't need me to...cut you off, right?"

"Wha— Kie, no, I'm good. I'm fine. Just nervous for JJ, that's all," Cassie assured her before she turned her head to the track, seeing the boys had now disappeared. "Shit."

"Hey, is everything okay?" Emery whispered next to Kiara.

Kiara gave her a glance. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, you were asking if she needed to be cut off and—"

"It's fine, Emery," Kiara cut her off and Emery nodded slowly, chewing on her lip.

"It looks like Rafe Cameron is first into the trees. He is gonna be tough to catch in there!"

Cassie started to make a talking motion with her hands. "Rafe, Rafe, Rafe! God, no one cares," she spoke mockingly, rolling her eyes. "Let me hear about JJ!"

"Inward, we got some serious contact in the brush. Oh, and it sounds like Topper didn't like Maybank crowding him there. Taught him a little lesson."

"Oh, stuffed him like a turkey!"

The girls all looked at Cassie, seeing how her jaw clenched. "Well, that's not what I meant."

"It's fine, it's fine. If JJ can't make it through, John B's got this," Sarah tried to think of the positive, nodding her head at herself.

"It looks like they're turning around the buoy. We've got Rafe Cameron still in front ahead of the group of riders. Cameron seems to have things well in hand."

"Now he's just gotta coast it home from here. No mistakes, and he should take home the Kildare Enduro."

"Shit, guys. If Rafe takes this, we lose all our money," Kiara pointed out.

"You think we don't know that, Kie?" Cassie snapped at her best friend and Kiara raised her brows at her. "Sorry, sorry. Just worried."

"Yeah, I can tell," Kiara blinked before she looked at Sarah, who just shook her head and shrugged.

"Are you guys gonna be able to keep your house if you lose this?" Emery asked in concern.

Kiara sucked in a breath. "Don't know."

"Well, if you guys need help, you could always stay at me and my mom's. I mean, it was Cassie's first anyway," Emery offered.

Kiara licked her lips, glancing at the girl. Why does she have to be so nice? "Thanks..."

Pope and Cleo made their way over to them. "Guys, it's not looking good..." Pope trailed off nervously although he had no idea what JJ had done with their gold. He just thought it wasn't looking good for JJ's or John B's bragging rights against the Kooks.

"We know," Cassie answered bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"There's Maybank bringing up the rear."

"Yeah, tough race for him— Oh! He's down again in the deep sand!"

"Cameron and the other riders are probably halfway back through the trees at this point."

Cassie cursed under her breath as she squinted her eyes down the sand track, seeing JJ getting back on his bike and trying to catch up to the other riders.

"Wait, hold on! What are we seeing, ladies and gentlemen?" The commenter questioned once JJ seemed to not be changing direction, going straight toward the inlet.

"What's he doing? No, no, no, no," Kiara muttered before looking at Cassie, whose eyes were glued to her boyfriend.

"Looks like he's gonna try to jump the inlet. That's a 50-foot gap!"

"Jay..." Cassie trailed off breathlessly before she sucked in a breath, holding it.

They watched as JJ sped up his bike to jump over the inlet. He soon reached the ramp made out of sand and his bike flew over...before it landed safely back on the sand and now in front of the rest of the riders!

Cassie released her breath, jumping up in the air along with the Pogues and Emery as they celebrated. "Yes, JJ!"

"Oh, my God, JJ Maybank! Absolutely full send!"

"No regard for personal safety! He has gone worst to first and leapfrogged the entire pack!"

"That's some Pogue shit, right there, baby!" Pope whooped, doing the Pogue handshake with his girlfriend.

"And Rafe Cameron's closing fast. Looks like it's gonna be chippy here."

Everyone watched as the boys came riding back, trying to beat each other to the finish line. It was hard to tell who was who, but it was clear they were trying to get into each other's way.

"They are banging! They're hitting!"

Once they got closer, Cassie realized it was Rafe and JJ trying to hit into one another. She licked her lips, sharing another wary look with Sarah.

"Coming down the final stretch! Maybank is in the lead."

"Come on, JJ!" Cassie screamed, clapping her hands.

"Cameron's close, but he's not gonna be able to overtake him."

"Come on, come on, come on..." Cassie muttered before her eyes widened once she saw Rafe hit into JJ from behind. JJ's bike flew up in the air as he fell off of it with Rafe falling off his bike and laying on the ground behind him.

"Oh, mayhem, carnage! They're both down!"

Cassie gasped as JJ rolled across the sand, parts flying off of his bike. "No, no, no..."

"And here comes Routledge in the lead now! Topper tight on his tail!"

"But oh no! Maybank is in the way!" JJ tried to get up to get out of John B's way, but he was too slow from getting the breath knocked out of him before. "He's opened the door for Topper."

Topper almost hit into JJ before he dodged out of the way, allowing Topper to keep going. "It's gonna be Topper!" The commentator announced right before Topper crossed the finished line. "Topper takes the win!"

Cassie shut her eyes, pursing her lips as she tried to remain calm. But it was getting harder to as the commentators kept going.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Topper Thornton is your Enduro champion this year!"

Cassie reopened her eyes, seeing JJ still on the ground. She quickly rushed over to him, the anger still coursing through her veins, but now concern for her boyfriend had taken over.

"Jay!" Cassie called out as she and the others rushed over to him. As they tried to beat the crowds over to the riders, she passed Rafe who was still on the ground. She looked down at him as she passed by before she shook her head, trying to find JJ.

However, John B had beat her to him. "Hey, JJ. Come on." He pulled him up from the ground, the blonde boy groaning. "You good? You good?"

"Just get off me, man," JJ spoke through clenched teeth.

"Look, I tried, man," John B told him.

"Oh, you tried, huh? Look where that got us," JJ raged as he took off his helmet, dropping it to the sand.

"JJ. Are you okay?" Cassie breathed out once she reached him.

"Fuckin' fine," he answered, not looking her in the eyes.

Her chest heaved. "Hey, no, you can't get to be mad."

He turned to her, pointing to himself. "Oh, I can't get to be mad?" he responded, his voice going up an octave.

"John B told me what you did with the gold," she revealed and JJ shut his eyes, releasing a breath. "That's your fault. Not his. Not ours."

"Look, I was trying to do us all a favor—"

"A favor?!" Cassie raised her voice. "You were doing us a fucking favor by betting what we have left?!"

JJ scoffed. "You're acting like you won't still have money after this."

Cassie gaped at him, not believing what had just come out of his mouth. "I don't care about myself! I care about you and-and Pope, and the others who aren't as lucky! What's wrong with you?"

"There's nothing wr—" JJ stopped himself, laughing ironically. "I'm not talking about this anymore."

"Oh, you're not talking about this anymore?" Cassie questioned as he turned his back on her, walking away. "JJ, what?!" she exclaimed, but he didn't listen as he kept on walking away.

Kiara came up next to her. "What happened?"

Cassie rubbed her face. "He's being a total dick right now and he can't accept that this is his own damn fault."

Kiara sighed. "Figured that."

Suddenly, they heard the sound of Rafe's voice yelling, "Get used to it!"

They both turned, seeing that Rafe had gotten up from the sand and had been walking toward the crowd. "What'd you say?" John B questioned before he grabbed him. "Hey, no, what'd you say? Huh? What'd you say?"

Rafe tilted his head before he shoved the Routledge boy back. "Get used to it." Cassie and Kiara quickly jogged over to the Pogues, their eyes wide as they watched the altercation.

"Hey!" Sarah screamed, pushing Rafe back before the boys could get into real fight.

"This is forever, all right? Y'all don't get to win!" Rafe shouted.

"You could've killed each other!" Sarah argued.

"Yeah, like you give a shit," Rafe replied. "You gonna kill me like you killed Dad?" he questioned, which made the Pogues all share gaping looks since that wound was still pretty fresh although it had been months.

"Excuse me?!" Sarah yelled as Rafe walked away, meeting up with his girlfriend. "What did you just say?!"

"Sarah, how's that, uh, Pogue life treating ya?" Topper asked as he passed by with Ruthie hanging off of him, smug smiles on their faces.

"Screw you, Topper," Sarah said.

"Pogue life, baby!" Topper taunted.

"Eat a dick, Bottom!" Cassie called out after him, rolling her eyes. Topper looked over his shoulder, sending her a dirty look. She stuck her middle finger up at him and he scoffed, turning back to the other Kooks who were congratulating him.

"At least you guys didn't have to go to school with them the whole year," Emery piped up, making them all look at her. "What? They were terrible. I'm so glad I'm done now."

Cassie just shook her head, turning her attention back to JJ who was separated from the group. "Goddamn it!" he yelled at himself.

"We are so screwed," John B realized slowly.

"Yeah," Kiara nodded. "We are."

"Why are we screwed?" Pope asked since he hadn't known what JJ had done yet.

"We'll let you tell Pope," Kiara said to John B.

Pope turned to John B. "Tell Pope what?"

"Just come on, let's go."

"Tell Pope what? Hey!"

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

They waited until they were back home to tell Pope the news about what JJ did. And it was safe to say he was not happy.

"I said it. I said it again and again. I said don't touch the last of our nugget. That was it," Pope reiterated angrily to JJ, who had still been dirty from falling over a bunch of times during the race. "That was the last of our savings. Do you not care?"

"Pope, you saw what happened, man!" JJ snapped, turning to face him. "He stole it. Okay? He cheated and he stole it. That's not my fault, Pope!"

"Do you know how selfish you sound?" Pope questioned.

"I sound selfish? When I was trying to help us out!" JJ exclaimed.

"You helped us. You just cost us everything. Thank you!"

JJ turned away from him, placing his hands down on his bike. "JJ, why are you making it sound like you had nothing to do with it?" Kiara asked sternly.

"Okay, Kie, Kie," JJ began harshly before he caught the eye of Cassie, whose nostrils were flaring. He looked back to Kiara, sucking in a breath. "You know me, okay? I was gonna bet it all. That's who I am," he told her more calmly since he didn't want to upset his girlfriend further.

"You should've talked to us first," the Carrera girl pointed out. "It's too risky this time."

"All right, and what were you doing?!" Pope pointed at John B. "You knew he had it and you just let him race?"

"He told me last minute, all right?" John B defended himself.

"John B, look, man! You were supposed to cover, and if I didn't make it—"

"I did cover!"

"What you were supposed to do was not take the last of our savings—"

"Hey, enough!" Cleo screamed, shutting them all up. "How bad is it, Pope?"

"How bad is it?" Pope repeated. "We have a $13,000 property tax payment due in seven days. And we have zero working capital. There is nothing. And you took the last of our savings. So thank you!"

Cassie started to shake her head before she walked off toward Emery's pink Jeep, who had been waiting inside since she didn't want to get caught up in their argument.

"Hey, wait! Cass, wait!" JJ called out after her as he jogged up behind her, grabbing her shoulder to turn her around. "Where you goin'?"

She sucked in a breath. "I stayed quiet for the sake of your ego back there," she began and JJ ran his tongue along his top teeth, "but I'm pissed, JJ. Okay, I'm more than pissed. I told you, after the auction, not to do anymore crazy shit. And then now you lost the rest of our money. Not just my money. All of our money. I may not need it as much as you guys, but everyone else does. Especially you. I thought you would know that."

"I-I do know that," he tried to argue.

"Did," Cassie corrected and JJ poked his tongue on the inside of his cheek. "And now because of your stupid idea to bet the last of our money, we may not even get to keep this place we worked so hard to create. This place means so much to you and-and you go and do this? You know how much this place means to me, too? We finally have a place where we can all be ourselves and be happy and now...now it might be taken from us."

JJ licked his lips, trying to think of what to say that would fix this but he wasn't sure. "Cassie, come on..."

"Save it. I'm sleeping at home tonight," Cassie told him.

He furrowed his brows. "Where else would you sleep?"

"I mean, my other home," she clarified.

JJ seemed to understand. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." She then turned back around, heading to where Emery was waiting in the Jeep.

He quickly shook his head, trying to follow after her once more. "No, Cass, please, come on! We can talk about this!"

"Not tonight!" she yelled back without so much as a look over her shoulder and he stopped walking, watching her get into the car before it drove off.

He placed his hands on his hips, trying to think of how to fix this. "Fuck."

authors note!
dw they're not gonna stay fighting
for long!! i just thought it wouldn't
make sense for cassie not to be upset
at him for this but dw it's gonna be
fixed lol. ig this is technically their
first real fight as an established
couple tho :/