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𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝘅𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲: 𝘀𝗸𝘆 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲

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When Cassie opened the door, John B looked down at the Bobby pin in her hand. "Wait, did you have that on you this whole time? You could've gotten out this whole—"

Cassie wrapped her arms around the boy, not caring that he was about to insult her intelligence. She just desperately needed a friend. She needed a Pogue.

"Oh, oh, okay. We're hugging. That's fine."

"Yes, I forgot and I'm stupid. But I don't care. I think this is the most glad I have ever been to see you in my entire life," she breathed out into the crook of his neck before she pulled away from him.

He raised a brow. "Even more than when you found out I was alive?"

"Okay, so maybe this is a close-second."

John B laughed a little before he focused up. "Do you know where Sarah is?"

"No. No, I was knocked out the whole time because of Rafe. She's definitely here somewhere though," Cassie told him and John B nodded, mentally cursing. "Where are the others?" She inquired.

"Hiding in a storage container," he answered and she made a face. "It was our only option. Trust me, JJ kept shitting on me for it."

"He was?"

"Yeah. Kept saying how much he wanted to get you out," John B revealed and her face flushed, hoping the boy wouldn't notice. "But I'm not gonna question you about that now. We gotta get to the armory. I made the fire alarm go off as a distraction, but then I heard you yelling. Come on."

John B led Cassie to the armory, where the former had grabbed the axe on the wall. The two climbed down the steps, heading into the armory.

John B saw that a large, black container had been locked shut, so he brought the axe up and slammed it down on the lock to crack it open. He pulled the door open, revealing the large guns that had been inside.

"Holy shit," they both breathed out, sharing a look.

John B then slammed the axe down on the other lock, opening the door up to reveal pistols. "Pistols. Even better."

He went to go take some out before a man shouted behind them, "Hey!"

They spun around and ducked down just as the man swung his own axe at them. John B got back up and grabbed the man's arm, hitting it down to make him yelp. The man retaliated by hitting John B in the chest, sending him against the wall with a grunt.

Cassie backed away with wide eyes as the man swung his axe again, hitting the area right by John B's head. She released a gasp and looked around, spotting a fire extinguisher to her left. She looked back to see the man take his axe out of the wall to go after John B, so she quickly pried the fire extinguisher off the wall.

Right before the man could swing at John B, she brought the fire extinguisher up and bashed it in the man's side, making him fall down in pain.

The two stunned teens met eyes before Cassie dropped the extinguisher on the floor and rushed out of the room with John B.

They made their way outside on the deck, looking up to see two men talking. "Yeah, TJ said he saw two people."

"All right, let's get this place searched. Start on the port side."

"Shit," Cassie cursed before her and John B kept walking.

"Get back here!" Someone demanded below them.

"No!"

Cassie and John B looked below them, seeing Sarah and Ward arguing.

"You want them to take you because I won't let them—?"

"I didn't ask to be here!"

"You're here, and you're staying here! You're my daughter!" Ward raged as he grabbed the girl.

"Don't touch me!"

"You want me to carry you?" Ward questioned before Sarah pushed past him, walking away. Ward stared after her for a second before he followed her.

Cassie's nostrils flared before she looked at John B, realizing that he had no idea Ward was alive and this was him finding out. "Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. Ward's been alive this whole time."

John B slowly looked her way. "You...forgot to tell me that? Like, the most important thing you could've told me?"

"I'm sorry! My mind is, like, jumbled! I probably have a concussion. I'm s—!"

"Hey." Someone put their hands on the both of them, making them spin around in fear only for them to realize it was just Pope.

"Christ! What are you doing?" John B questioned as Pope shushed him.

"It's me."

"Jesus, you scared us."

"Cassie, thank God," Pope breathed out, giving the girl a hug.

"Hey, Pope," she smiled a bit before she noticed a dark-skinned girl standing behind him. "Uh, who's this?"

"Oh, right." Pope pulled back from the hug, moving out of a way. "I brought a friend."

"Cheese on bread," the girl said in shock.

"Cleo?" John B gaped.

"Wait, Cleo? From the Bahamas?" Cassie asked since John B and Sarah had told them of a girl named Cleo who helped them, and John B nodded.

"So it is you."

"What the hell? What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here? I work here. This is my boat. It got too hot in Nassau because of you and Sarah. I had to run," she explained

"It's not safe out here. We gotta go now," Pope urged as Cleo led the way.

Back in the storage container, Kiara and JJ waited silently for the others to return. There had been sweat dripping down their foreheads from the heat inside the container, but they soon learned to ignore it.

Kiara found herself thinking about JJ's eagerness to get the girls back, specifically Cassie. She knew that they had come a long way from when they first hated each other, but she still found it a bit odd that he was so hellbent on getting her back that he was willing to go all guns a-blazing on the crew.

"Hey, Jayj?" Kiara spoke up, making JJ look up at her from where he was on the floor. "How come you're so worried about Cassie?"

JJ fiddled with his rings nervously at the sudden question. "I'm not allowed to be worried about her?" He responded nonchalantly.

Kiara shrugged. "Not when you don't like her," she pointed out. "Unless...you do like her?"

JJ swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "Nah, nah, are you crazy, Kie? I don't like her. Not like that anyway," he lied. "She's just...grown on me a little bit. I'll admit that."

Kiara hummed. "That's good. I've always wanted you guys to be friends."

"Oh, I wouldn't say we're friends," JJ denied and Kiara chuckled a little, rolling her eyes at him playfully. "Just...Pogues."

Kiara nodded slowly, obtaining her answer. She knew that JJ would do anything for a Pogue, so she assumed that was why he wanted to get Cassie back. Despite their differences, Cassie had been accepted as a Pogue for a while now. So JJ would do anything to get a Pogue back, just like he would have done for any one of them.

"So...what are you gonna do when all of this is over?" She changed the subject.

"When all of this is over?" He repeated and she nodded. "When all of this is over, and we're just rolling in the dough, I'm gonna get a new board. I'm gonna deck it out, and I'm gonna go on a surf trip," JJ spoke with a smile as he leaned his head back. "I don't know where, but, like, the world's calling. I don't know. Name a place."

Kiara blew out some air. "Spain."

"Then after Spain, South America or South Africa."

"You're gonna go to South Africa?"

"One of the-one of the South places. And then Micronesia maybe, and then — And just ride." Kiara smiled down at him. "Wherever the wave takes you, you know?"

"So that's the plan if we were to get a ton of cash? That's the dream? Surf trip?"

"Ripping jungle break all day long. Bamboo hut, cooking a fish on a fire, and after that, you go back out and just hit the waves again," JJ detailed excitedly. "That's the dream."

Kiara shook her head, looking away. "Sounds perfect."

"Yeah," he breathed out, dreaming of it.

Kiara looked down at JJ, seeing him in a whole new way that she hadn't thought about — or wanted to think about — up until this moment since they were always just friends. Best friends. But now...

"Got room for one more?" Kiara inquired.

JJ looked up at her. Of course he would want his best friend to come with him in this hypothetical surf trip, but he couldn't help but think about Cassie and how much he would want to do it with her.

But he didn't want to hurt Kiara's feelings. And he knew the two of them were just friends anyway so it'd just be a friendly little getaway they both very much deserved.

"You got your passport?" He replied.

"You don't have a passport."

"Hell no, I don't got a passport," JJ confirmed and Kiara laughed out loud. "Kookiest thing ever. You don't need—"

Back outside the container, Pope whistled to get Kiara and JJ's attention since they weren't sure where they were in the container. "Hey. Hey. Open it," Pope whispered from outside and the four of them waited anxiously for the window to be open. "Oh, thank God," he breathed out once they opened it up.

"You need help?" Cassie could hear Kiara ask from inside and she felt anticipation bubble up inside her. Not only to see her best friend, but also to see her...What were they allowed to call each other since JJ and her weren't exactly boyfriend and girlfriend yet?

They'd have to figure it out sometime when they weren't in danger of being killed.

"I'm good." Pope put his body through the window, grunting.

"I thought Rafe got you guys for sure."

"No, we're chill."

"Your turn," John B said to Cassie and she stepped up, climbing through the window to get inside the container.

Once she landed, Cassie's sky blue eyes met JJ's ocean blue eyes that she had been craving to see ever since she woke up from being knocked unconscious.

They stared at each other in shock for a few seconds, unmoving. The both of them knew if they so much as hugged, their whole relationship would be found out.

But right at that moment, the two didn't care. They were both blinded by how much they wanted to see each other. They had been waiting to come back to each other for hours now. They had wanted to hold, kiss, and just soak up each other's warmth.

They just wanted each other.

Needed, even.

However, before either could make a detrimental move to expose their relationship, Kiara had stepped forward and gave Cassie a hug instead. "Oh, my God. Thank god you're okay. When they told me you were kidnapped, I was so worried," Kiara told the girl as John B made his way into the container behind them.

Cassie stared at JJ from over Kiara's shoulder, seeing the way his whole body had started to relax once he finally processed that she was here, standing right and front of him and alive. Although she loved Kiara, she pretended she was hugging JJ instead.

"You okay?" He mouthed to her so the others wouldn't hear, pointing to his own head to represent the bruise on her head.

She grinned. "I'm good," she mouthed back. Kiara then pulled away from Cassie, looking her in the eyes. "Oh, yeah, no, I'm okay. Just bruised from Rafe, but I'm fine," she assured the Carrera girl in front of her.

Kiara nodded before she saw that John B had made his way inside, grabbing the grate she had set down. "Okay, let's put the grate back on."

"No, wait. Hold it," Pope instructed.

"What? No. Put it back."

Cleo stuck her head inside the container, looking around. "Jesus Christ! I kill you, John B!" She whisper-shouted.

"Who is this?" Kiara questioned breathlessly.

"Just-just relax. Just relax, okay? I told you I had a surprise, right?" John B said.

"Who is she? What's going on, John B?"

"Hey, hey. Kie, Kie, relax. Relax. Remember I told you about the girl we met in the Bahamas that saved us?" John B reminded her, trying to jog her memory.

"Uh...Cleo, right?"

"Cleo," John B confirmed, looking up at the girl. "She's gonna help us, all right?"

"Next time, ask me," Cleo told him with a nod before she hopped down. Kiara scanned her suspiciously before she handed Pope the grate, and he quickly put it back on.

"So, what'd you guys get? Pistols, knives, anything?" JJ inquired since he hadn't seen them holding anything. He was also still thinking about Cassie and how she had been okay, but he knew he couldn't say anything to her just yet. He would just have to wait until they were alone.

"Uh, about that..." John B trailed off.

JJ scoffed. "You seriously didn't grab nothing? Not one single gun?"

"We tr-we tried, okay? We got attacked, all right? John B told him, gesturing between him and Cassie.

JJ blinked. "This is why I should've gone with," he pointed out, making them shush him. He sighed to himself before he moved to stand next to Cassie, brushing against her arm on purpose since he just had to feel her, just a small part of her.

She stared straight ahead, trying to be nonchalant about his close presence next to her. But all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and hug him, press his body into her's.

But she didn't. She kept her demeanor calm and collected, looking anywhere but at JJ's ocean eyes so she wasn't tempted by them.

"Let me get this straight," Cleo spoke up, causing them all to look at her. "You five, with no weapons, decided you were gonna hijack this tramp steamer on...your own?"

"Hey, don't rope me into this. I was kidnapped the whole time," Cassie piped up, crossing her arms.

Cleo narrowed her eyes. "Fine. You four," she corrected and Cassie forced a grateful grin at that before it fell. "Do you have any idea who these people are? Eberhimi, if he catch you, he's gonna kill you. Dead. Cut off your fingers."

"Can he cut off Rafe's dick instead?" Cassie muttered and JJ snorted quietly next her, making her blush a bit.

"Okay, what about waiting until we get to port?" Kiara suggested. "At least then, if something goes wrong, we have a place to run."

"No. No, we can't do that," Pope said.

"Why?"

"Because I've run this scenario over 1,000 times in my head, and our best chances are on this ship," Pope began. "There's fifteen crew members and six of us."

"Exactly!"

"Three-to-one odds. That's the best it's gonna get. If we wait till we get there, they're gonna trap us," Pope explained.

"We have no chance," Kiara argued.

"No, Kie, there's something else," John B cut in. "Ward's alive," he revealed and the air in the container suddenly shifted at his words. "He's alive, and he's on this boat."

"What?!" Kiara exclaimed.

"Yeah."

"You gotta be kidding me," JJ muttered angrily.

"Are you serious?" Pope asked breathlessly.

"It was all a setup," Cassie told them. "Him and Savannah told me themselves." She didn't want to say her 'mom.' It didn't feel right anymore. "Blowing up the boat, the confession to Shoupe...That was to clear Rafe and Savannah's names. He went on the Druthers and right before he blew it up, he took scuba and dove right in the water. Right under everyone's noses."

"So, Ward's alive, huh? And he has the gold...and the cross...and Sarah," JJ listed bitterly.

"Thanks for rubbing that in," Kiara said sarcastically.

"So he's just gonna get away with everything again, huh? Not happening. We're not watching this movie again, right, Pope? You said we need the win, and with her," JJ spoke, pointing at Cleo, "we're going to the bridge, and we're gonna take it right now. You with me?"

"Let's do it," John B agreed.

"Hell yeah," Cassie began to grin determinedly.

"I'm with you, and I wanna be the one to take that bridge," Pope voiced confidently.

"That's what I'm talking about," JJ responded as they did their Pogue handshake.

Cleo started to chuckle. "He's gonna take the bridge?" She questioned, pointing at Pope.

"Yeah."

"He couldn't even take me," Cleo pointed out.

"Okay, first of all, I was going easy on you," Pope told her.

"Seriously?" JJ said at the same time.

"I went easy on you," Cleo countered before Cassie, Kiara, and John B shushed them so their stupid argument wouldn't get them caught.

"Shut up—"

"She didn't even—"

"Relax, all of you," John B demanded, and Cleo and Pope shut their mouths.

"If you're really with us..." JJ began as he looked at Cleo, "if we use that knife, we can go up into the bridge, hold it up against the captain's neck, then we go on the intercom and make him tell the rest of the crew to meet up in the forward hull. Once they're in the same place, bam, we lock them in there, and we take back what's ours," he planned.

"I like it. It could work," Pope expressed and Cassie nodded along.

JJ turned back to Cleo. "Are you with us, then?"

"No," she answered bluntly and Cassie scoffed at her. "This is stupid!" She told John B.

"All right, let's open these things up!" A man called out from outside, making them all look toward the grated window and tense up.

"They're checking the containers," Kiara whispered worriedly.

"Uh-oh," Pope muttered before Cleo quickly went over to the grate, taking it off. "Wait. No. Cleo."

"What are you doing?"

Cleo quickly shushed them before she climbed out of the window. "Macias!" They heard Cleo shout from outside.

"She's gonna tell them. Shit!" Pope cursed as Kiara quickly put the grate back on.

"Hold up! This one's clear, sir," Cleo lied to the men outside, making JJ and Cassie send each other a surprised look.

"Are you sure?" The man asked.

"Went through it inch by inch. Nothing but tubing and plastics in there," Cleo told him, making Pope nod his head with a grin on his face.

"What if the stowaway had been in there?"

"Well, he wasn't, so...Come on, man. We got work to do. Move your bumper, man."

"Okay, she's on our side," Pope spoke up quietly as they others all shared relieved looks. "That's good."

"I think I'm starting to like her," Cassie smiled. She could tell the girl didn't take shit from anyone and although they meant she wouldn't take shit from Cassie, she could understand since she was the same exact way.

"Okay, Pope, you're up. We'll wait for your signal, okay?" JJ told him and Pope nodded before they heard Cleo whistle outside. Pope took the grate off, climbing out and leaving the four inside to wait for Pope's signal.

Back inside one of the rooms on the boat, Savannah came marching into where Rose and Rafe were after finding that Cassie had somehow escaped from her room. She had went to go check on her after Sarah had tried to make an escape, only to see that the door had been opened and there was no one inside.

Rafe and Rose looked at her expectantly, waiting for what she had to say. Savannah huffed, "Cassie's gone. I don't know where she is."

Rafe let out a frustrated groan at that, running his hand through his hair exasperatedly. First Sarah and now Cassie? What the hell were they supposed to do now?

Rose thought for a moment. "Look, if we can just get them back and explain—"

"They're never gonna be on our side, Rose!" Rafe raged, interrupting the older woman.

"Rafe," Rose warned, sharing an uneasy look with Savannah.

"They..." Rafe trailed off before he slammed his fist down on the table. "They think they're Pogues now, right? Just...transformation is complete, okay? So as long as they know where we are, we are never gonna be safe. When you think logically about what we need to do to contain them—"

"Attention, all passengers and crew, report to the tween forward hull," Eberhimi said over the loudspeaker, interrupting Rafe as the three of them looked at the speaker.

Back inside the container, the four of them made their way closer to the window so they would be able to hear him better.

"Attention, all passengers, all crew, report to the tween forward hull. That's an order. Repeat. All hands and all passengers report to the tween forward hull immediately."

"They did it. They took the bridge," John B said excitedly as JJ smiled toothily.

"That's our boy," JJ commented before he and John B began to pull the grate off. "All right, split up. Once they're all in the hull, Cass and I will lock them inside."

"Kie and I will find Sarah," John B said.

"And then get the lifeboat," Kiara added and John B nodded.

"And then we'll meet you, load up the cross, and get out of here," Cassie finished.

"Okay, let's roll."

authors note!
i just want to remind yall that the
reason why cassie is so keen on keeping
their relationship a secret is bc she's never
been good with expressing her emotions
so the thought of showing herself being
so lovey dovey and vulnerable with jj scares
her. especially bc she doesn't want to be
viewed as just this love struck girl who
suddenly needs a man. this plot is
extremely important for s3 along with...
another plot that was introduced in this
chapter so like hopefully that explanation
makes sense. also dw next chapter is basically
all cassie and jj!!!