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𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿: 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻

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"I just care about John B. Where the hell is he?"

"Give him a second. He'll be here," Pope told Kiara, an expressionless look on his face. After almost choking out Rafe and finding out what Cassie did with Rafe, he didn't even have the energy to react to anything anymore.

JJ sighed, not wanting to push the problem between the two girls any further. "He's coming. He'll be fine," he assured her as he made his way onto the boat before a cop car pulled up near the dock.

Cassie's eyes widened as she got up from the ground, backing away from the police car. "JJ!" She shouted from over her shoulder.

"Hey, yeah, get back on the boat. Get back on the boat. Untie it," JJ quickly instructed them and Cassie continued to back up toward the boat, a fearful expression on her face. There was no way they were going to get arrested before getting John B out of here.

"Shit!" Kiara exclaimed before the car door opened, revealing...not a cop?

It was John B Routledge, safe and sound. A little dirty and sweaty, but safe nonetheless.

"Wait. No way," JJ said, amazed to see that the boy was fine and he was walking out of a cop car no less.

"No. Effing. Way," Pope spoke slowly, finally showing some emotion.

"I'm sorry?" Kiara said in confusion as Cassie just scoffed in shock, blinking at the boy.

"You've gotta be kidding me," JJ voiced in relief as he began to make his way toward the end of the boat, closest to the dock.

"Shoupe let me take it for a spin," John B told them with a backpack on his back as he walked forward, fixing his messy hair.

"Okay," Kiara laughed, seemingly getting into a better mood now that she knew John B was safe. "That's believable. I'll buy that...for now," she said before she hugged the boy.

She then pulled away and John B stepped toward Cassie, seeing how there had been tears in her eyes. He didn't think he had ever seen Cassie cry before. Not with any people around, anyway. "Hey, were you worried about me?" He asked gently before he pulled her into a hug.

"Uh, y-yeah," Cassie choked out since that hadn't been the reason why she was crying even though she was worried about him. But as she hugged the boy, all she could feel was immense guilt. He had no idea what had just been revealed and he was hugging the girl that had utterly betrayed them.

Kiara fumed and went to go say something, but Pope placed a hand on her shoulder. She gave him a look, but he just shook his head at her. They were supposed to be saying goodbye to John B. They didn't have time for more arguments.

JJ watched the two embrace before John B pulled away, patting Cassie on the shoulder as she gave him a sad smile. "It wasn't easy, bro, but I got the Phantom for you, and she runs like she was made yesterday," JJ spoke up before he tossed John B the keys. "You ready to go?"

"Where's Sarah?" John B asked once he realized the Cameron girl hadn't been there.

"She's not with you?" Kiara replied.

"No, no, we got separated in the swamp. She said she was gonna meet me here," John B explained, pointing at the dock.

"No, no, we haven't seen her, man," Pope told him, shaking his head.

"Okay, well, I'm not leaving without her," John B voiced sternly, making everyone glance at each other nervously.

"John B, look at me," JJ said with a small pant to his words, looking down at the brunette since he was standing on the edge of the boat. "I know you feel bad for leaving, but there's no time, man. You've got plenty of gas, you've got plenty of food. Once you get around that point, it's a straight shot across the sound to Dismal Swamp, okay? Once you get there, lay low, all right? Hang out for a couple of weeks and then go overland, cross the border at Brownsville, you got that? Brownsville," JJ detailed while John B looked off into the distance, making the blonde grab his face to force him to look over at him. "You — Hey! You got that?"

"Yeah, yeah. Brownsville," John B whispered before thunder was heard in the distance. The storm had been coming in.

"All right. Saddle her up, saltwater cowboy. Let's do this," JJ said as he hopped off the boat at the same time John B got on.

"Hey. Hey," John B said, stopping in the middle of the boat and turning to look at them. "I'm sorry for basically...throwing us off a cliff with this whole treasure hunt thing," he apologized, sniffling.

"Hey, John B, yo...we were bound to run off a cliff at some point, right?" JJ pointed out, making them all sadly laugh in agreement.

John B looked down and cried, "Yeah."

"At least we did it together, though." JJ wrapped his arms around Pope and Kiara's shoulders as Cassie just watched from beside them, releasing a breath. She didn't know if JJ had meant to do that on purpose, but she had never felt so...excluded in her life. Not even when Sarah had dropped her. This was a different kind of pain. It only hurt worse when JJ said, "Pogue style."

Because she wasn't a Pogue anymore. She was a Kook. Just like she was born to be.

John B didn't seem to notice that the blonde girl wasn't included due to all of his emotions. "Pogue style," he repeated in a whisper.

"Get out of here! Please," Kiara then pleaded, not wanting to waste a second since the cops could have been there any second.

"Now," Pope added, pointing at the water. "We'll see you in two months, down in Mexico."

"Love you," JJ called out as John B made his way over to the wheel.

"Bye, John B. Be safe," Cassie said, refusing to look over at the others.

John B then stopped again and looked back at them, leaning against the roof of the boat. "Hey, wait-wait a second. Tell Sarah I said goodbye, okay?" He asked, his voice cracking. They nodded slowly, watching him teary-eyed.

"Don't forget. Cross the border at Brownsville, okay?" JJ repeated as he saluted him, shoving away the tears that were in his eyes.

"Got it," John B said before he started the boat, pulling out of the dock with the help of the four of them pushing it out.

They watched as he drove the boat away, leaving the four on the dock. However, from any passerby watching, it would have looked like a group of three with a random stranger disconnected from them.

They heard sirens start to sound in the distance and Cassie wiped at her tears, turning around to distance herself further from the group. JJ had turned with her as he took his cap off and softly said, "Hey."

"JJ, no. Not right now. Please," she begged him in a whisper and he glanced down, nodding slowly as he put his cap back on. She didn't know what he had to say to her. She didn't know whether he was going to comfort her or add onto what Kiara had been saying about her before. She didn't want to know either way.

"You okay?" Kiara queried Pope from behind the two, and the two blondes looked over at them.

"I'm-I'm sorry f-for...acting like a dumbass," Pope apologized slowly. "I was just upset, and I was acting petty..."

"Yeah."

"...and I just..."

"It's okay."

"...just wanna be friends again," Pope finished, holding out his hand towards Kiara. Instead of Kiara shaking his hand, she pulled him into a hug instead.

Once Kiara had pulled away, however, she glanced between Pope's eyes and lips before deciding to kiss him. Cassie was a bit taken aback at that, especially since Kiara had explained she already rejected the Heyward boy the night before.

The Blake girl then subconsciously glanced over at JJ to the left of her and he had done the same thing, causing them to both look away right after.

JJ cleared his throat and looked over his shoulder, hearing the sirens getting louder. "Hey, guys, I'm sorry to ruin the party, but, uh, we gotta go right now. Come on!" JJ spoke quickly, but it was too late.

The cops had showed up at the dock, blocking them from all sides. Cassie shut her eyes and sucked in a breath, slowly raising her hands like Kiara since there was no use in trying to ruin. They were surrounded.

Pope just kept on walking forward even though the cops and SBI agents were coming towards them, so Kiara exclaimed, "Pope!"

"Hands up! Hands up!" An SBI agent demanded as he pointed a gun toward them. That made JJ raise his hands although he really didn't want to.

"Pope, hands!"

Pope raised his hands before Shoupe yelled, "We're too late! He's gone! God damn it! Bratcher, have your guys stand down! Let me talk to these kids." Shoupe went up to them, a scowl on his face. "All right, where the hell is he? Where the hell is he?! JJ? I see you're livin' up to your name. Pope, how about you? This isn't a fucking game! You can do the right thing now! Where'd he go?"

"Suspect has just left Station 26 in a small boat. Need marine patrol to respond," Bratcher said into his walkie-talkie.

Neither Pope or JJ replied, so Shoupe moved onto Cassie who was next to JJ. "What about you, Cassie? Your mom's been worried sick ever since she you said you snuck out of the house."

"Yeah? She tell you she locked me in there, too?" Cassie replied, holding her head up high as she stared Shoupe in the eyes.

However, Shoupe didn't seem to believe her. And even if he had, he would have assumed Savannah had done it to protect his daughter from a "murderer." They held eye contact for a few moments before Shoupe looked over at the other officers and ordered, "Take 'em."

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

The four teenagers had been forced into police cars that had taken them to a bunch of tents set up by the lighthouse. Cops and SBI agents had been crawling around everywhere, trying their hardest to locate John B.

They slowly got out of the car, Shoupe waiting for them outside. "Follow Plumb to that tent. Hold on. Wait for your friends."

Cassie got out of the car and looked around, seeing the flashes of red and blue from the cop cars surrounding the area. She had also noticed all of the news vans, trying to get their grubby hands on a good story.

A good story, but not a real one.

Officer Shoupe and Plumb guided them over into a tent. "Right to your left here."

"Right here."

"Sit down. Don't move. We got a lot to talk about," Shoupe told the four of them as they sat down next to each other in the order of Cassie, JJ, Kiara, and Pope. "Keep an eye on these kids," Shoupe directed to an SBI agent.

"Blockade is up at the marsh and Masonboro, and all other inlets from Shem Creek to Breach Inlet. I want eyes on all coastal access points, people. Let's get this guy," they heard an officer say into a walkie-talkie.

"Fuck," Cassie breathed out, leaning against her seat.

"You don't get to be worried right now, Cassie. You slept with the guy who caused this all to happen," Kiara snarled, causing Cassie to release a frustrated breath.

"Hey, Kie, quit it. Not right now, okay? We don't need anymore shit," JJ cut in and Kiara pursed her lips at the boy before she looked over at Pope, who gently grabbed her hand. JJ looked back over at Cassie next to him, who had been avoiding his gaze as she just stared off into the distance.

He glanced down at her hand that been laying on her thigh, debating about whether or not to hold it. But he decided against it, knowing that she probably didn't want him touching her. Why did he even think of doing that?

The four of them continued to wait in the tents for what felt like hours, bearing the sounds of walkie-talkies every five seconds. Apparently Sarah had been on the Phantom, too, meaning she must have found John B before he took it out to sea.

At some point, there seemed to be talk of the agents spotting the Phantom, but the four had no idea what had been going on since they weren't allowed to leave the tent. All they could see was that the storm outside was getting worse, which only made them more worried for John B if he had still been out there.

A little while later, Officer Shoupe, Plumb, and Thomas, who had been wearing bright yellow ponchos, walked into the tent the four were waiting in. Once the teens saw them, they all stood up and went over to them.

"Did you find them?" Pope asked immediately once Shoupe pulled his hood off.

Shoupe slowly shook his head and said, "No." Cassie blinked rapidly at that. Did that mean they got away?

"So, they got away?" Kiara voiced Cassie's thoughts, glancing at Pope and JJ with a look of hope on her face.

"We, uh...we lost them," Shoupe told them slowly after a moment. Cassie froze, seeing the way that Shoupe had said it. By lost them, he didn't mean get away. By lost them, he meant they were...dead. "I'm sorry."

"You lost them?" Pope repeated in confusion. "What do you mean you lost them? Like, they're gone? What are you talking about?"

"They took an open boat into a tropical depression, Pope," Shoupe tried to explain.

"So, they're dead?" Kiara assumed.

Shoupe paused for a moment before he answered, "We don't know."

"They're dead," Cassie realized her shock turning into anger. "They're dead and you fucking killed them!" She screamed as she pointed a finger in Shoupe's face.

"You drove them straight through the storm, man! Are you kidding me? Come here, man!" JJ yelled since he had been even angrier than the Blake girl. He rushed forward and grabbed Shoupe, trying to fight him. "I'm gonna kill you!"

"JJ, stop!" Kiara cried.

"I'm gonna kill you, you bastard!" JJ barked as Thomas, who had been a lot bigger than him, grabbed and pulled JJ away from Shoupe.

"Get off of him!" Cassie demanded as she tried pulling Thomas away, but Plumb had pulled her away from behind. "Stop!" She shoved off of her before turning around, meeting Plumb's narrowed stare. She then looked back at JJ, who had been released by Thomas once he stopped tussling.

"You killed him! He didn't kill anyone, and you know it!" Pope shouted in Shoupe's face.

"We're still looking for him, all right?" Shoupe tried to assure the boy.

"Pope. Pope, just stop. Please, stop," Kiara pleaded as she started to cry. She then looked over to see her mother and father enter the tent, taking their hoods down. She sobbed as they walked over to her, wrapping her in a hug.

Pope's mom did the same to him once she entered as he started to cry. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" He apologized once he saw his father, who also joined in on the hug. Heyward then pulled away and saw JJ, who didn't have anyone there for him. He reached out to the boy and JJ hugged him, which the boy needed desperately.

Cassie watched all of her friends embrace their loved ones, her face scrunching up as her eyes watered. They all had someone. Someone they could trust. And she just stood there. Alone.

However, that soon changed when her mother entered the tent with Ward Cameron standing behind her. "Cassie," Savannah breathed out in relief as she rushed toward the girl. Despite her anger of finding out Cassie had managed to sneak out of the house, she didn't want to find out her daughter had been hurt or worse.

"No, get away from me!" Cassie instantly backed away, holding her hand out.

Savannah took another step forward. "I'm sorry, honey—"

"Just get the fuck away!" Cassie demanded as a few angry mixed sad with tears fell from her eyes, her nostrils flaring. Savannah stopped in her tracks, her brows knitted with a frown on her face. "You caused this. You and Ward," Cassie accused, looking past her mom to see Ward standing there with a solemn expression. "It was all you."

Her eyes then darted over to her friends, seeing Pope wrap his arms around a sobbing Kiara. JJ had pulled away from Heyward, meeting eyes with Cassie. And once they had, that's when she took off. She couldn't stand to be there anymore. Not when she had to watch her friends cry and hug each other without her, and definitely not when her mother was trying to weasel her way towards her.

"Cassie, wait!" Savannah called out after her, but Cassie just kept on running without looking back. Once she had made a decent distance away from the tents, her legs collapsed from underneath her and she let out a choked sob on the wet ground.

She had nobody left anymore. Her mother was helping a murderer and his murdering son, her best friend had hated her, and the person who had first accepted her as a Pogue — the person she could relate with the most — was dead.

Cassie was alone.

Again.

authors note!
not sure if i like this chapter but
whatever. i wanted to get an update
in before my math final (wish me luck,
im gonna need it 😬) but anyway that's
the end of season one!!! cant believe it
i had so much fun writing the scenes i
didn't get to write for my other obx
fic and i cant wait to write season 2 hehe.
sorry for like the ultra slow burn, i physically
cannot write books without it or else i get bored
LMAO but dw the next chapter is very cassie
and jj heavy hehe