──────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻: 𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀

──────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────

"I'm so glad that they're still doing this," Kiara gushed as she, Cassie, JJ, and Pope made their to the OBX Summer Series where people had chairs lined up to get ready for the movie to be projected. Since searching for the treasure had been a fail and John B wasn't at the Cháteau, Kiara decided to bring them all to watch the movie with her to fall back into normal habits. "Keep calm. Carry on. Back to OBX life. You know? Aren't you guys glad I made you come?"

"Ecstatic," Pope answered sarcastically.

JJ cleared his throat. "My couch was pretty comfy, I'll be honest."

Kiara gave the boys a look. "It's okay, Kiki. I'm glad to be here," Cassie assured the girl, placing her arm around the girl's shoulder.

"Thanks, Cece," she grinned. "Anyway, what do y'all wanna drink? I can go get it."

"Two Pepsis, please," Pope answered for both him and JJ.

"Ew, Pepsi?" She judged them with a face of disgust before she turned back to Kiara. "Uh, just a Coke is fine. Thanks," Cassie said to her before Kiara wandered off to go buy the drinks. The blonde girl began to set up her chair to face where the movie would be projected, trying to get a good angle so she wouldn't be blocked.

"There's no way you actually want to watch the movie," JJ said to her as he watched her setting up her chair.

She looked up at him. "Well, unlike you, I can actually sit still for an hour and a half," she replied, making Pope snort.

"I can sit still," JJ defended himself before he started fiddling with his red and gray cap on his head.

Cassie shared a look with Pope, who wore an entertained grin on his face. "Uh-huh. Sure..." Cassie trailed off and JJ rolled his eyes at her, sitting down his chair.

"Just saw Rafe, and he said, and I quote, 'Tell your boy that we know what he did,'" Kiara told them once she came back, handing them their sodas. "What is that?"

"Rafe?" Cassie said under her breath as she slowly sat down, her face blanching. What the hell is he doing here? She thought, not knowing why Rafe Cameron of all people would be interested in coming here to see a movie. Shouldn't he be playing golf or something?

Pope turned to JJ worriedly. "Um..."

"Where is he?" JJ questioned, his jaw clenching.

"Right there," Kiara looked over her shoulder, causing all of them follow their gaze to see Rafe, Topper, and Kelce standing next to each other as they stared them down. Cassie met eyes with Rafe, who was looking at her with narrowed eyes, and she quickly turned back around.

"Shit," Cassie muttered under her breath, sucking in a breath. She hadn't responded to any of his text messages and he was definitely pissed. And seeing how he reacted to her rejecting him the other night...Cassie really didn't want to have a run-in with him alone.

"Great, the whole death squad," Pope's voice cracked before JJ forced his head to turn back around. "Ah!"

"Don't stare, bro," JJ scolded him.

"Did he say anything else?" Cassie inquired to Kiara, pretending not to seem eager.

"No, that was it." The Blake girl released a quiet breath of relief. "Besides being his normal asshole self, of course. I swear, he's only nice to girls he wants to fuck. I told you should should be careful around him," Kiara continued in disgust and Cassie swallowed hard at that.

"Just warning you, bro. If they corner me, I'm coming out swinging, okay? Slice and dicin'. I'm on edge right now," JJ told Pope, cracking his knuckles.

"Yeah, yeah."

"If that doesn't work," JJ lifted his beige backpack up, "I got this right here, okay?" He said to him, causing Kiara and Cassie to slowly look at one another once they realized what JJ was referring to: his damn gun.

"Yeah, yeah. So, we just gotta stay in the group. They can't come here us if we're in the group," Pope spoke, trying to make himself feel better.

"Like a school of fish," JJ compared.

"Right. Stay in the school. Can't leave the school."

"I'm sorry, JJ...Please tell me that you did not bring a gun here," Kiara spoke up angrily. "JJ, there are kids."

"No! Kie, I didn't bring the gun, all right. Everything's fine, okay?" JJ assured her.

"Oh, wow, thank you. That's really convincing. I love that, JJ," Kiara deadpanned and JJ avoided her eyes. "Founding principle, you guys. No secrets amongst Pogues." Cassie's stomach dropped at that, knowing that she was keeping a terrible secret that involved one of the guys JJ and Pope seemed so worried about. "What is Rafe talking about?"

"Guys...it might go down tonight," Pope told them darkly.

"What does that mean? 'Might go down tonight.' What did y'all do?" Kiara pressed, sharing another look with Cassie.

"Deny, deny, deny," JJ whispered to Pope.

"JJ, just tell us, we already know something is going on," Cassie pointed out, her nose flaring at him. She didn't need to be caught in the crosshairs between the Pogues and Kooks, not when Rafe could expose her of what she did with a snap of his fingers. She almost wanted to vomit at the thought of his fingers, recalling the night with him before she quickly shook it out of her brain.

"It's nothin', okay? Just don't worry about it, it doesn't involve y'all at all," JJ kept on shaking his head. "Let's just enjoy the damn movie. That's why we're here, right?"

"I swear to God, JJ, I'm gonna take the gun, which we know you have, and shoot you with it," Cassie threatened through clenched teeth.

"Okay, maybe, let's not do that," Kiara cut in, not wanting her blonde friend to make this worse for them. "Can we all just be pacifists tonight?" She pleaded.

"No promises," Cassie and JJ both muttered quietly under their breaths, unbeknownst to one another.

Once the sun had set, the movie was projected onto the big, sheet screen in front of them. They all tried watching it to keep their minds off things for different reasons. JJ and Pope had been trying to distract themselves from the fact the death squad of Kooks wanted to murder them; Kiara had been trying to distract herself from the fact that JJ definitely brought the gun for a reason she had no idea about; and Cassie had been trying to distract herself from all the guilt she had been feeling with Rafe's presence looming over her.

"Hey, where are y'all going?" Kiara asked JJ and Pope once they had gotten up to go leave.

"We gotta wring it out," JJ answered.

"Are you gonna hold it for each other?" Kiara gave them a look, causing Cassie to snort. The boys ignored her and kept on walking away. "I swear to God..."

"I thought girls only went to the bathroom together," Cassie pointed out.

"Yeah, you would think, right?" Kiara shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Hey, earlier today though, on the boat, I heard you trying to help Pope out. That was nice of you."

Cassie shrugged, wondering why she had been bringing that up now. "He's a nice guy. Thought I would try to help him out since I've never really see him be with other girls. Not like JJ and John B."

"Yeah, he's not really that kind of guy," Kiara confirmed. "But I know he definitely appreciated it. I can tell he likes you." Cassie gave her a look. "Not like that. Like, as a friend. Actually, I feel like they all do."

Cassie's heart swelled at that for some reason, but she tried to not let it show on her face. She had never wanted to be friends with the Pogues, but here she was, melting at the fact that they seemed to be liking her more than they previously had. And she was starting to do the same.

She let out a scoff, pretending to take it as a joke. "Oh, come on. Even JJ? Yeah, right."

"You and JJ are always gonna fight, but that doesn't mean he doesn't not like you," Kiara pointed out.

"He thinks of me as just a Kook, Kiara. And there's no way of changing that," Cassie explained, shaking her head.

"If he can see me as a Pogue, then he can see you as one," Kiara countered.

Cassie shook her head. "The difference is, is that you've been friends with him way longer than I have. He sees you differently because of it. He's known me as a Kook way longer than I've been friends with you. Ever since I moved here."

Kiara bit the inside of her cheek, knowing she had been right. Out of all them, JJ had been the most against the Kooks and the reason why he had been so cool with her was because she never wanted to be one in the first place. Cassie was different. She had wanted to be one and maybe she still did, Kiara wasn't sure. But it seemed like JJ was sure of it. Or, at least, he used to be sure.

"Okay, where the hell are they, though? It doesn't take this long for them to pee," Kiara voiced, changing the subject as she looked around.

Cassie's stomach dropped and she immediately looked over her shoulder, seeing that Rafe, Topper, and Kelce were also gone. "Kie," she whispered and Kiara followed her gaze, her eyes widening.

"You gotta be kidding me," Kiara breathed out before she shared a wide-eyed look, knowing something bad was going down like Pope had warned them about. "Come on." The Carrera girl grabbed JJ's bag as they got out of their seats, looking around to see where they may have gone. "Shit, where are they?"

"Sh, sh, sh," Cassie quickly shushed the girl, trying to listen in on any sounds of fighting or yelling since she assumed that was what was going on.

"Hey, kick his ass, Top!" She heard the sound of Rafe's voice muffled by the movie. She realized that they had been behind the screen.

"Kie, come on, they're over here!" Cassie urged the girl and the two girls ran behind the movie screen, seeing that Pope had been fighting Topper while Kelce held JJ as Rafe punched him. "Oh, fuck!"

"Let go of him, Topper! You fascist asshole!" Kiara immediately ran to Topper before she started hitting Topper with JJ's bag. Topper quickly grabbed the bag from Kiara, tossing it away from her.

"Rafe, stop!" Cassie yelled as Rafe continued to hit JJ, making the blonde boy cough. "Let go of him, you dick!"

"Hey, listen, Pope. All you gotta do—"

"Topper, stop it!" Kiara yelled as she jumped onto Topper's back, making Cassie widen her eyes at the girl. It seemed like her aggressiveness was rubbing off on Kiara.

"—is accept personal responsibility, all right?" Topper finished as Kiara began to hit him on his back.

"Screw you, Kook!" Pope growled before he punched him in the face.

Rafe then quickly punched JJ and moved over towards the others, not noticing Cassie just yet since he had been so wrapped up in his bloodlust.

"Oh, let go of me, Rafe!" Kiara shouted as Rafe pulled her from Topper's back and threw her onto the ground.

"Stay out of this, Kiara!" Rafe shouted.

"Rafe!" Cassie barked after she watched him throw her best friend to the ground, causing him to turn around and meet eyes with Cassie who had been blocking him from JJ and Kelce.

"Kie! You okay?" Pope frantically asked before Topper put him in a chokehold, taking advantage of him getting distracted.

"Come on, man. Just admit it!" Topper yelled at Pope. "Admit you did it, bitch!"

"Get the fuck out of the way, Cassie," Rafe demanded her. "You don't want to be part of this. I don't even know why you're even here with them."

"You're a piece of shit," Cassie seethed, looking past him to see that Pope was struggling against Topper's grasp around his neck. She tightened her fists, her blood boiling

"Fine. Be that way, bitch," Rafe responded angrily as he tried to push past her, but Cassie started to push and claw against him as best as she could. "Get off!"

Cassie continued to hit him, trying to prevent him from going back to over to JJ who had been trying to weasel himself out of Kelce's grasp. However, even though she may have been strong, Rafe was stronger. He was able to grip her wrists and shove her to the side so he could go back to punching JJ.

"Rafe!" JJ snarled after he watched was just occurred as Kelce continued to hold onto him. Cassie fell onto the grass with a groan before she quickly recovered and looked up, seeing Kiara searching JJ's bag.

"You don't mess with me, Pogue! You hear me?" Topper continued as he kept his bicep curled around Pope's throat. "I'm gonna give you one chance."

Cassie quickly rushed her way over to Kiara, staying close to the ground. "Give me the gun, Kiara," she insisted once she saw the gun in Kiara's hand, although she didn't really know what she was about to do with it.

"One chance, Pope! One chance. Come on! One! Got anything you wanna say, bro?" Topper continued to choke the Heyward boy as Rafe went back to punching JJ across the face.

"Kiara, the gun!" Cassie pleaded again since the Carrera girl had hesitated. "Shit, come on!" Cassie reached for the gun before Kiara quickly shook her head, dropping it back in the bag. "What the fuck are you doing?! They're gonna kill them!"

"I got a better idea," Kiara said breathlessly before she pulled out JJ's lighter with his name etched into the side.

"Come on! You got something you wanna say, bro?! Come on!" Topper bellowed as Pope strained to breathe. "You got something you wanna say?!"

Cassie gave Kiara a bewildered look, but didn't have time to question her as she made her way toward the movie sheet.

"Pope!" JJ called out, spluttering blood from his mouth. Cassie's eyes widened before she looked back down at the bag, deciding if she should take the gun back out even though Kiara said she had a better idea.

"Finish him off, Top!" Rafe yelled, and that was Cassie's final straw. She quickly reached into the bag and pulled out the gun, getting ready to point it at one of the Kooks before the movie sheet went up in flames, heating up the place even more than it already had been.

Rafe had been the first one of the Kooks to notice, backing away from JJ. "Guys! Guys, fire!" Rafe told his friends.

"Get off of him!" Kiara screamed at Topper before the blonde finally dropped Pope to the ground, making him cough and wheeze as he tried catching his breath. "Kelce, let go of JJ!" Kiara shouted, making Kelce let go of the Maybank boy.

"Let's get outta here! Let's go!" Rafe said to them as Topper moved away from Pope, running a hand through his frosted tips. "Hey, let's go, Kelce!"

"Cassie!" Kiara warned the girl once she noticed the gun in her hand, making JJ follow her gaze to see it as well. The blonde quickly realized she was still grasping onto it and she grabbed JJ's bag, placing it back inside.

Cassie swallowed hard as she looked at Rafe, who had been eyeing her from over his shoulder. There was a smirk on his face that read this was only the start for what was to come. Her chest rose and fell deeply, glaring daggers into his eyes before he turned back around laughing.

Kiara then went over to Pope, helping him up. "You good? We're okay."

"You're a freakin' idiot," Pope said to her, groaning in pain.

"I saved your ass. Come on," Kiara replied, placing his arm over his shoulder as she helped him walk away from the flames.

Cassie watched them walk away, JJ's bag still in her hands, before she looked back at JJ. His face had already been bruising and there had been blood splattered on the side of his mouth.

He tore his eyes away from the flames, his blue ones meeting hers. "Are you okay?" She asked him, standing still as she stared at him.

JJ fixed his cap on his head, spitting out some blood onto the ground which made her wince. "Fine," he answered and she nodded slowly, breathing out a sigh. "So were you just gonna shoot them or...?" He trailed off after a moment, a small smile making its way up to his lips.

Cassie released a shocked laugh, prompting her to walk closer to him. "I-I don't know. I don't know what I was gonna do, but I was gonna do something," she replied honestly. She had never fired a gun before but in that moment, all she wanted to do was save the two Pogues boys from the grasps of the three Kooks.

JJ also released a breathless laugh. Was I...wrong about her? He thought to himself, knitting his brows together ever so slightly. If Cassie was going to pull a gun on the Kooks, people that she had been friends with not too long ago, did that mean she truly was done with them? JJ was starting to believe so even though he didn't want to.

Once JJ didn't answer, Cassie looked at him in concern. "Are you sure you didn't get hit too hard on your head? Well, even harder than when you were a baby?" She cracked a joke slash insult.

JJ shook his head, licking his bottom lip before he winced and realized there was now an open wound there from Rafe. "I'm good, Cassandra. There's no way I can get even dumber than you," he shot back and she rolled her eyes at him, shoving his bag into his chest. "Ow!" He yelped since Rafe had just been hitting him there, most likely causing bruising.

"Oh, shit, I forgot. My bad," Cassie quickly said and JJ just shook his head, waving it off. "Okay, come on. Let's get out of here before the cops come."

authors note!
this chapter was so fun to write
hehehe it seems like jj is starting
to have some second thoughts about
her. dw that's gonna change bc, like i
always say, im a whore for slow burns 😈
im so excited to write the midsummers
chapter u have no idea