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𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲: 𝗶 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱

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Cassie and JJ arrived at the hangar that stored the Phantom. "Kie's not here," Cassie pointed out, frowning a bit. The girl had told them she would try to meet up with them, so Cassie had to hope her mother hadn't locked her up like Savannah had done with her.

Anna didn't seem like the type of mother to do that though. But then again, Cassie never thought her mom would do that to her either.

"She's gonna make it here. She always finds some way to slip away from her parents," JJ responded and Cassie had to agree with him on that one. "And besides, if we can't hook the boat to your car, then we're fucked."

The two then walked over to the door and JJ slid it open, causing the metal to scrape. Once the doors fully opened, the Phantom had been revealed in all its glory. The large, white boat sat there, staring back at them and not knowing it was about to be used as part of a getaway.

"There she be," JJ said in admiration before he walked towards it. "Hey, girl. A 1983 Formula 402 SR1." He took off a dusty sheet that had been on the end of it, making some of the dust fly into the air. "The Phantom."

"Interesting," Cassie commented as she examined it with her eyes, arching a brow.

JJ glanced over at her before back at the boat, clicking his tongue. "The first boat to make the run to Bermuda in under 16 hours, Cass." She was still getting used to that nickname. She didn't know why he had started to call her that. But for some reason, she didn't want to complain about it. "Forty years old! Forty. And still the fastest thing that Kildare's ever seen."

"Are you sure about that? Looks kinda...junky," Cassie admitted, seeing as though it looked like it hadn't been used in years due to all the dust.

JJ turned to her with wide eyes. "Really? She's right there, Cass. She can hear you," JJ whispered and she scoffed light heartedly at him. "Let's just put it this way. You would not be smokin' weed right now if she never existed, okay?"

"Hm, you got me there," she pointed at him and he grinned at her.

"I know you too well, princess," he teased.

Cassie felt the familiar flutter in her stomach like she had felt at The Wreck, swallowing hard. He did know her so well, that's what she had been grappling with before. But why had that made her so...nervous? "Let's, uh, just hope it runs," she voiced, ignoring his comment since she just didn't want to think about it anymore. Her brain hadn't been on her side lately.

JJ squinted his eyes a bit at her before he shrugged. "Oh, no, she'll run, all right. She's faster than any of the cutters the boys in blue got."

A motorbike then screeched outside the hangar. "Oh, that has to be Pope. Wonder if Kie's with him," she said as she began to walk toward the door.

JJ chuckled, "Don't know about that after their last conversation."

"True," Cassie agreed with that before her smile dropped and her face blanched at who she saw walk in right in front of her. And it hadn't been because of Pope or Kiara.

It was because of Rafe Cameron. The boy who she slept with, the boy who strangled her, and the boy who murdered Sheriff Peterkin.

"Hey, there. What's goin' on?" Rafe asked casually and Cassie let out a scared gasp. "JJ? How you guys doin'?" Rafe jumped up onto the boat as Cassie turned to meet JJ's eyes worriedly, her breathing becoming ragged.

"Whoo-whoo," someone whistled behind them and they looked over to see Barry appear, making Cassie's stomach drop even more. The last time she saw the drug dealer, she had hit him with a shotgun and spit in his face. It was safe to say he definitely wasn't happy with her. And he definitely wasn't happy with JJ either, who had stolen his stash of money.

"Well, well..." Barry drawled before he pointed a gun at JJ, making him immediately hold his hands up and suck in a breath. "See, don't think I forgot about me and y'all on the side of the road," he said, looking between the two blondes.

"Get the fuck away from him," Cassie sneered and Barry pointed the gun at her, making her tense up and hold her hands up as well.

"Oh, you really wanna talk, pretty girl? Well, you ain't gon' be so pretty with a bullet through yo head, don't you think?" Barry threatened and she glared at him.

"I'm the one who stole your money, not her. Don't involve her in this," JJ told the man, keeping his eyes trained on him. Cassie glanced over at JJ since he had been willing to solely go down for this instead of her. Barry had every right to involve her after she hit him with a gun, spit in his face, and then destroyed some of his belongings. But JJ seemed to not want that to happen.

Barry pointed the gun back on JJ. "Oh, that's funny, since I'm here because I want my motherfuckin' money!" Barry shouted before her took a step forward towards JJ, punching him in the stomach before he grabbed his shoulder and pushed him down the ground.

"JJ! JJ!" Cassie cried out before Rafe grabbed her and lifted her up by the torso, pulling her away from the two. "Rafe!" She snarled as he forced her back, her legs kicking up to try to wriggle out of his grasp but he had been too strong.

"That's what I'm here for, ain't it?!" Barry yelled in JJ's face before he slammed his head down on the floor, causing him to groan.

"JJ!" Cassie called out worriedly, seeing him lay on the floor without getting up to fight back.

Rafe finally let go of her and stood in front of her, separating her from JJ and Barry. She tried to push past him, but he stepped in front of her to block her. "Now, now, all you gotta do is stay put, all right?"

"I'm not letting you do this. I'm not letting you hurt me," she stated, her jaw clenching.

"Well, lucky for you, it's not you we want, Cassie. Where's John B?" Rafe interrogated her.

"I don't know!" Cassie screamed before she slapped Rafe in the face, making his head whip to the side. "That remind of you something?! Huh?!"

"Stay down, boy," Barry said as he lightly kicked JJ, making him roll over on the ground. "Phew!"

Rafe held a hand up to his face in surprise before began to chuckle crazily at her. "I really wish you didn't do that, Cassie."

"And I really wish you didn't do that at Midsummers, either. Guess we both couldn't get we want," she countered with a scowl, trying to show she wasn't scared of him. But she had been scared of him. The only person who she was ever scared of. And it wasn't even because he had choked her at Midsummers. It was because he was capable of so much more than that.

"Oh, Midsummers? Really? You know, you looked hot in that dress. I really wish you would've just been a good girl and decided to be with me," he said to her as he stepped toward her.

"Shut up, man!" JJ demanded in a strained voice from the floor before Barry kicked him again. Cassie looked past Rafe in concern for the blonde boy before she looked back at Rafe, seeing the smirk grow on his face.

"Oh, would you look at that? Seems like you really are in Maybank's pants after all. You know what they say, birds of a feather and all that. Or should I say, whores of a feather," he insulted.

"Fuck you!" She spat, not even bothering to correct him since he was just being a jealous dick. "I know what you fucking did."

"What? What did I do?" Rafe questioned in her face.

"You murdered Peterkin!" Cassie announced as she stared into his eyes, trying to assert her dominance over him. However, when she had subconsciously glanced over at JJ getting beat up by Barry, that's when Rafe had grabbed her neck. She yelped, her eyes going wide.

"Don't you ever say those fucking words again," he ordered her as he squeezed the top of her neck, bringing her closer to his face.

"Rafe!" Cassie choked out, trying to claw at his hand.

"Do you understand?! Where's John B?!"

"Stay down boy!" Barry yelled at JJ, who had been groaning on the ground in pain from Barry's punches and kicks.

"Where's John B?!" Rafe repeated.

"I don't know!"

"You fuck me and then ghost me. The least you can do is just tell me where John B is, Cassie!" He bellowed in her face.

"I don't know!" She shrieked right before Pope came up behind Rafe, hitting him with a metal pipe he had found in the hangar.

Rafe had dropped Cassie from the pain in his back, turning around to see the Heyward boy. "Don't touch her!" He shouted before the two started to fight one another.

Cassie touched her neck and backed away, hitting into someone and she turned around to meet the eyes of Kiara. However, she had noticed the way she had been looking at her, like she had just been utterly betrayed by her best friend.

Oh, fuck. She heard him. She heard Rafe say we slept together, Cassie realized but she didn't have time to dwell on it as she turned around and saw Pope punching Rafe in the face.

"Rafe!" Barry called out, going over to help him but JJ had grabbed his foot and tripped him. Cassie and Kiara both turned at the same time, seeing the gun fall out of his hand to clatter against the floor.

"Kie! Kick it!" JJ shouted since she had been the closest the gun and she immediately stepped up, kicking the gun away before Barry could grab it.

JJ then got up from the ground and grabbed Barry, slamming him against the side of the boat before punching him in the gut. He threw Barry onto the ground, making him yelp.

Cassie looked back over her shoulder, seeing that Pope was still punching Rafe. "Pope. Okay, Pope! Pope!" Kiara warned shakily since Rafe hadn't even been fighting back anymore.

JJ moved away from Barry, seeing that Pope kept fighting. "Hey, Pope!"

"Pope, that's good! Stop!" Kiara bellowed as he punched Rafe again, making him fall back into some boxes. Cassie just watched, not wanting to say anything because Rafe had deserved it. He deserved all of this. He was a murderer.

"He's had enough, dude!" JJ told him.

However, Pope continued to go toward him. "He's good!" Kiara tried again as Pope had grabbed a thick wire, wrapping it around Rafe's neck.

That's when Cassie stepped forward, not wanting Pope to go too far and become a murderer just like Rafe. "Pope, wait!" She called out.

"Snap out of it, man. Snap out of it, dude!" JJ snapped in his face, but Pope had brought Rafe up with the wire, making him choke.

"Pope, that's too much! Pope!"

"Dude! Dude, come on! Stop! Stop, dude!" JJ demanded as he ran behind Pope, trying to pull him back.

"Pope! Get off!"

"Pope, please!"

"Let's go, dude, come on!"

"Look at me!" Kiara shrieked and Pope had finally dropped the wire, making Rafe crash down to the ground. He stared at the Carrera girl as he breathed heavily, in shock with himself.

"Shit, dude. Oh, shit," JJ breathed out, looking at the two girls, stunned, before back at Pope.

"It's okay," Kiara whispered as Rafe coughed and wheezed on the ground, blood splattered across his face from Pope's punches. "Okay, we gotta go. We gotta go." Kiara made her way over to her car, having to hold onto the side of the boat so she didn't fall over from the shock of it all.

Cassie watched as Pope stood over and Rafe, looking down upon him menacingly. This was a whole new side of Pope that she had never seen before. And she wasn't sure if she should be proud or worried.

"Stay off the cut."

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

They made it to the dock and Pope had started to unload the boat into the water using Kiara's car. Kiara had gotten out of her car at the same time Cassie and JJ got out of Cassie's car. The Carrera girl immediately stormed up to the Blake girl, anger written all over her face.

Cassie knew exactly what was coming. Kiara had heard what Rafe said. Now all she had to do was hope Kiara could somehow forgive her. But she had a feeling this was unforgivable.

"Kie—"

"What the fuck did Rafe mean by that? What the fuck did he mean by you sleeping him and then ghosting him?" Kiara instantly interrogated.

Cassie's mouth ran dry before she started to shake her head. "Kiara, please, you have to hear me out," she began.

Kiara scoffed at her. "Are you fucking kidding?!" She screamed in her face. "You slept with Rafe? A murderer?!"

"It happened before he killed Peterkin, Kiara, I swear!" She tried to explain.

"That doesn't fucking matter! He killed Peterkin and framed John B!" Kiara bellowed.

"You don't think I know that?!" Cassie shouted back. "You don't think I fucking regret it?! I made a mistake! It was before we even knew about the gold!"

"How long before?" Kiara questioned and Cassie pursed her lips, looking down since she knew this wouldn't help her case. "Cassie, how long before?"

"It was the night of the kegger, okay? It was night of the fucking kegger," she admitted in defeat. All Cassie wanted to do was just crumple up into a ball right then and there. Or better yet, take JJ's gun and shoot herself with it. She knew she deserved it.

Kiara stared at her best friend in disbelief. She had known Cassie and Rafe had been texting prior to that party, but she never knew the girl actually did something with him. Especially as far as sex.

"You slept with the Rafe the night Topper tried to drown John B?" She slowly pieced things together. All of a sudden, this was starting to feel like JJ finding out at Midsummers all over again. "Do you-do you even care about John B?!"

Cassie let out a choked gasp. "Of course I care about John B, Kiara! I made a fucking mistake and I'm sorry! I'll admit that!" Cassie cried out.

"No, you don't care! How could you care when you slept with the guy who caused all of this?!" She sneered before she pushed Cassie by the shoulders, causing her to stumble back. "You're a fucking Kook!" She yelled as she tried going at her again.

"Hey, hey!" JJ quickly jumped in along with Pope. JJ pulled Cassie back and Pope pulled Kiara back, trying to stop the two girls from having an all-out fight.

However, for the first time ever, Cassie hadn't even tried to fight back. Honestly, she thought she had deserved it for what she had done. But what hurt the most was Kiara accusing her of not caring about John B and calling her a Kook, something she had never called her in years. Maybe even ever. And hearing it come out of her best friend's mouth was something that shook her to her core. Especially since the others had finally accepted her as a Pogue, even...JJ.

"I never want to speak to you again!" Kiara pointed her finger at her as Pope continued to try to hold her back, telling her to calm down.

Cassie felt tears start to form in her eyes as her lip quivered, watching as Pope pushed Kiara away. All of a sudden, JJ had stood in front of her, blocking her view of them. "Cass, I'm—"

"No, I don't wanna hear it. I deserve all of this," she interrupted as she pushed off him and went to go sit against a random tree, placing her head in her hands.

This had never been her when it came to a fight. She would have been up in arms, yelling to her heart's content. But here she was, sinking down to the ground and crucifying herself for her actions because she knew she was wrong. She had wronged the Pogues because of what she did. And there was no coming back from it so there was no point in bringing out the Cassie they were all used to.

JJ sighed to himself as he watched her walk off. He knew he wouldn't be able to say anything to her. Why would she listen to him of all people? He had reacted the same way when he found out about Rafe. And besides, shouldn't he still be mad at her as well? So, instead, he turned around to go towards Kiara and Pope. "Kie, what the hell?"

"What, JJ? What, you don't think this is completely fucked?! I mean, how are you not shocked?" Kiara responded, but JJ just licked his lips and looked down. "Wait...did you...did you know?"

"JJ?" Pope spoke up, his brows furrowed. He would have thought that if JJ knew this whole time, Cassie would have been out of the friend group a while ago. Not that he wanted her to. Of course, he felt totally betrayed but there had to be more to the story. He knew Cassie wouldn't just do that to them.

"Yes, I knew, okay? I knew," JJ admitted and Kiara scoffed at him. "I didn't want to say anything to distract us from getting the gold, okay? And it didn't even fucking matter anymore, it happened before Rafe tried screwing with us."

"You're defending her?" Kiara asked in a high voice, taken aback. Cassie could hear their conversation go down, and she swallowed hard as she tried to fight back tears. Am I even allowed to cry over this when it's all my fault?

"No, I'm-I'm not defending her. I'm just saying what's true," JJ clarified. Cassie slowly looked up from her hands at his words, feeling hurt by them for some reason. If he hadn't been defending her, did that still mean he was mad at her for her actions? "She's your best friend, Kie," he reminded her.

"I don't care anymore."

That's when Cassie's heart shattered into a million pieces and she couldn't stop her tears from falling. She had never cried this much in a while but everything had just come crashing down when they found out Ward killed Big John and knew about the gold.

She didn't even want to go on this stupid treasure hunt in the first place, but when it happened...she wasn't even that opposed. It had granted her friends in these people that she never thought she would have befriended before.

All she ever wanted in life was to have friends and now after this, she would have none left. All because she decided to stupidly sleep with Rafe Cameron since she couldn't control her anger.

She hated everything.

She hated herself even more.

authors note!
angst is my favorite word 😅