XVIII.   falling like snow at the beach

Dylan didn't know how much longer she couldn't stand being in Kooklandia. The burnt orange dress swished around her feet. The flower crown was uncomfortable. As beautiful as she looked, Dylan didn't belong here. She was grateful for the life her parents worked so hard to give her but she was a Pogue. She loved being a Pogue. She wasn't a diamond. She was a pearl. She didn't like pretending to be something she wasn't.

She found Kiara from across the room and their eyes met. Kiara smiled at her. She understood perfectly. They lived a double life and were forced to partake in things they didn't want to do.

Dylan was standing around in the middle of the crowded party when her eyes spotted a familiar head of blonde hair. "JJ!" She shouted and gathered the end of her dress.

JJ immediately turned around and smiled brightly. "DJ, baby, look at you!"

She ignored his lousy attempt at flirting and jumping into his arms, making him stumble back. "I've been so worried about you!" She pulled back and cupped his face, examine the bruises and marks all over his face. "Did your dad do this? I'm so sorry. My dad tried so hard to get you out—"

"Hey, hey, Dylan—" he interrupted and grabbed her hands, pulling them away from his face. He smiled at her. "I know about your dad. I'm grateful for you guys, I really am. But I got it handled, okay?"

Dylan's eyes grew sad and she shook her head. "No, JJ, this is not okay. I should have said something to Shoupe. I'm so sorry,"

"You know I would've did something stupid even if you tried," he joked. "Stop worrying about me, Dylan. You've been doing it since we were kids."

She slapped his shoulder. "Because you're my best friend and I'm worried about you!"

"Well, you won't have to worry for long," JJ smirked and leaned closer to her. "We're back in the G-game,  baby. We're about to be fucking rich!"

Dylan's eyes went wide and she gasped. "What, we are? Seriously?"

He nodded quickly. "Seriously!"

"Oh, my God."

"Now, as much as would love to stay here and chat,  there's something I gotta do," he explained and pointed behind him. "But I know a certain mathlete who is dying to get his hands on you. Figuratively and literally."

Dylan rolled her eyes at his crudeness. "You're a pig."

"That's why you love me," JJ smirked again and pecked her cheek. "I'll be back. You look gorgeous!"

She watched him walk off and she shook her head. When she turned around, she saw the said mathelete standing at the grill. A smile curled on her lips. Pope lifted his head and saw her walking towards him and he got nervous. "Having fun?"

"If you count feeding rich people fun, then I'm having a blast," he responded sarcastically.

Dylan chuckled. "Well, I happen to think the oysters are perfect."

Pope grinned. "I'll tell dad."

She looked over her shoulder and saw everyone start to dance. She could see her father take her mom's hand and pull her to the middle of the dance floor. She turned around and smiled. "Do you want to dance?" She blurted out.

His eyes went wide. "W-What?"

"Do you want to dance with me?"

He blinked rapidly and his mouth gaped open. "Oh,  uh. . . I-I'm not sure if dad will let me,"

She turned her head slightly and saw Heyward. "Mr. Heyward, do you mind if I borrow Pope for a while?" She asked kindly.

Heyward smiled at the girl. "Take him for as long as you want, honey."

Pope's jaw dropped and she grabbed his hand, dragging him away. "Come on, hot shot."

The man watched her drag away his son and he smiled to himself.

Pope's hand grew sweaty in hers and Dylan turned around, smiling. "I know you're not the best dancer so we can just sway side to side."

Pope rolled his eyes at her mocking. "Wow, you're too kind."

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. Pope hesitantly sat his hands around her waist and he tried his best not to appear nervous. "Y-You, um. . . I know I've already told you this, but, you look beautiful."

She blushed red. "Thank you. Again."

"L-Like really," he stuttered. "But you always look beautiful."

They got closer. Dylan felt her heart quicken under his stare. Pope felt entranced by the way the glowing lights reflected in her eyes. Her warm brown eyes. He didn't know how it was possible that someone like him was dancing with someone like her, especially around a bunch of Kooks. He could feel their eyes on them as they danced. They would never accept him. Rafe made that very clear.

But Dylan accept him for who he was. He wasn't a Kook. He would probably never be a Kook. His parents worked their asses off to make sure he had a good life. Dylan thought they had more honor than any kook could ever have. She suddenly chuckled. "Remember when we were thirteen and I dragged you to that party on Figure Eight with me and my parents?"

Pope laughed at the memory. "Oh my God, I do. I remember bawling my eyes out cause I didn't want to go,"

"And then you accidentally spilt that drink on me?"

"I still blame you for that,"

Dylan gasped. "Why me?"

"Cause you made me go!" He laughed.

Their laughs mixed together and Dylan tightened her grip on his neck. Since they were kids, it was always Dylan and Pope. For worse and for better, it would always be them. It was weird and fucking beautiful at the same time.

It could be heard in the silence, in the dark, and when the sun came and disappeared again. It could be heard in the smallest of things. It could be heard in the way they laughed, the way they touched, and the way they simply looked at each other. The best friends of our childhoods are the loves of our lives. 

Dylan looked at him through her eyelashes. "Pope?" She spoke gently.

"Yeah?" He responded back, his tone the same

She pulled him closer to her till their chests were almost touching. "Why did you ask me if I like JJ?"

"W-What?"

"The day at the golf course, before. . .  you know what?" She muttered. "You asked me if I like JJ. Why?"

It was almost like she was begging to hear the answer.  Pope stared down at her with a gaped mouth. He had wanted to shout to the world what he felt for her since they were children. Every day, every minute, every second, he wanted to shout it forever. He got his answer. What more did he need? "I—"

The suddenly pulled apart when they heard shouting.  Dylan turned her head around and saw JJ being dragged out by a security guard. "Oh God, what did he do now?" She groaned.

Pope cursed him in his head. "It's always something."

"Oh, Mr.  Dunleavy, I see you for your drink. Good,  that's really nice of you. I'm actually going to down that!" JJ rambled and took Mr. Dunleavy's glass, finishing it off.

Dylan watched him like he was insane.

"It's okay, everybody! Do not panic!" He carried on and caught more people's attention. "Leave it to the men and women in uniform. Let's hear it for them! Rose, you look like lady liberty!"

She couldn't help but laugh. "Is he actually doing this?"

Pope shook his head. "I don't know what to believe anymore."

"Let go of him!" Kiara shouted from the crowd. "You can't just boot him!"

"Excuse me, ma'am?" The security guard questioned.

"I invited him here. I'm a member of this club." She carried on and her parents tried to stop her.

JJ spotted Logan and Ainsley in the crowd and pointed to them. "Logan, Ainsley, there you guys are! Looking as amazing as ever!" He hollered.

Ainsley covered her mouth to hide her laughter and Logan's eyes were wide. Braxton stood beside his mom and laughed. "He's awesome!"

JJ shoved the security guard off of him and made him crash into a table. "Sorry about that—Hey, mandatory power hour at Rixon's, Kie!" He shouted. He spun around and saw Pope and Dylan. "Pope, DJ, you as well, all right?"

The pair glanced at each other and smiled.

"Rixon's Cove. Let's roll! All right, Kie, come on.
Workers of the world unite."

Logan spotted his daughter from across him and shook his head. "Dylan Celeste, you better not." He warned

"No, Pope. . . Don't, Pope. . ." Heyward started to say.

"DJ, darling, I'm waiting for you!" John B shouted and widened his arms.

"Dylan!"

A sudden rush of adrenaline came over her.

"Dylan, no—Ainsley, stop her!"

But Ainsley was too busy laughing.

Smiling widely, Dylan sprinted to John B and jumped in his open arms. He spun her around. "There you are. Look at you! Espléndida!"

She laughed her heart out and Pope and Kiara came running with them. Dylan let go of John B and held her hand out to Pope. He smiled like an idiot and took it.

Together, the group of friends ran away from the world of Kooklandia and to their own private adventure.

When they arrived at Rixon's Cove, Dylan collapsed on one of the logs and let out deep breaths, releasing the adrenaline. She knew her parents were going to be furious (Well, maybe her just dad.) so she hoped whatever the meeting about was worth it.

"Hey, guys. So, like, my dad's already gonna kill me.  So what's this mandatory meeting about?" Pope asked and sat on the log beside Dylan.

"Yeah, and I'm sure my dad's going to kill all of us." She laughed slightly.

They sat around the growing fire and John B's eyes trailed to JJ. JJ glanced at Pope. "Might as well tell him, man, before we're gaffed."

"You ready for this?" John B asked.

"Yeah." Kiara quickly responded.

"So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant,"

Pope groaned. "Oh my God. Here we go again with this."

"No. All right, wait. Hear him out, all right?" JJ stated.

John B started to smirk. "It's been here the whole time."

Dylan's eyes widened and she shared a look with Kiara. "Wait—What are you talking about?"

"It's on the island."

"Are you serious?" Kiara asked. "Oh my God."

"I'd like to voice my skepticism," Pope chimed.

"I'm sure you would, Pope, but can so please present you with my evidence, sir?" John B dismissed.

He quickly looked to Dylan and she shrugged, hinting a smile. He sighed. "Proceed."

She patted him on the back.

"All right. So, in my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny." John B continued and pull a letter out of his bag.

"Who the hell is that?" Kiara questioned.

"Denmark Tanny was a slave that arrived the Royal Merchant wreck." He handed her the letter. "Okay,  slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad, he found the complete manifest.  That was his big discovery. So, Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom,"

"Whoa." Dylan muttered to herself.

Kiara whispered and passed the letter across to JJ.

"After that, he bought his farm. Drumroll, please,  because the farm is. . ."

The Pogues slapped their knees.

"Tannyhill Plantation."

Kiara's eyes went wide. "Tannyhill?" She repeated.

"You mean, like, where the Cameron's live?" Dylan added, equally as shocked.

John B nodded. "Yeah. So, after that, he used his money to free even more slaves, and then he sold a shit-ton of rice, which pisses off all the white planters,  and then they decide to lynch him."

Dylan scoffed under her breath in disgust. Black American history was always a touchy subject for her.  She felt her heart sink at the information. 

"So on the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of that letter, he leaves a coded message about where to find the cold."

Dylan leaned closer to Pope and scanned the letter.  She found herself growing more and more interested as she soaked in the information.

Kiara smiled liked a child. "Where?"

"Harvest the wheat, in parcel nine, near the water,"  John B informed. "Except. . . there's no wheat,"

Dylan rested her chin the palm of her hand. She pinched her brows together.

"You see, wheat is code for gold. Check this out," he elaborated and stood over Pope to point at the map. "The gold is in parcel nine, near the water."

"Holy shit." The brainiacs said together.

"JB, you're a genius." Dylan added with a bright smile.

"All we need is an original survey map of the property, and we've found the gold!" John B finished with an accomplished chuckle.

Dylan hit JJ on the shoulder in excitement. "Can you believe this?"

"I told you!" He exclaimed back.

"Okay, so this might have a small chance of being actually true," Pope proclaimed.

"Dude, it's like King Tut!" Kiara blurted out.

"I'm a genius—Whoa, whoa!" John B uttered when JJ lifted him up into a hug. "Hello! Fire! You're near the fire. You're gonna burn."

"I'm so proud of you right now."

"Thank you. That's really sweet of you."

Dylan laughed. "Okay, so, guys. What's the plan?" Pope asked the serious question.

"Good question, Pope."

"Very good question," John B pointed at him. "So, Sarah Cameron's coming tonight. She's going to bring an original survey map—"

Kiara was taken back. "Wait, wait, hold on. Sarah? W-Why Sarah?"

"Um. . ."

"This is gonna be good." JJ muttered.

"Sarah, um. . . She—She for me into the archives in Chapel Hill yesterday and that's where I for the letter." John B stammered.

Dylan's eyes narrowed. "Since when do you talk to Sarah?"

"You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah Cameron?" Kiara asked like she couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, um—"

"He was mackin on her." JJ butted in.

Dylan gasped. "You were?"

"No, I was not macking on her."

"You were totally macking Sarah Cameron."

She gasped again and looked at John B. "Wait, you're the reason she's breaking up with Topper?" She questioned.

"She's breaking up with Topper?" Asked Pope, invested in the drama.

She nodded. "Rightfully so."

Kiara narrowed her eyes. "Wait, how do you know she's breaking up with Topper?"

Dylan faltered. "Because I talked to her."

"You talked to her—"

"We are getting so off topic," John B mumbled. "I wasn't macking on her, okay. I was using her for access,"

"There was access, all right," JJ muttered slyly.

Dylan laugh and they high fived each other.

"Did you tell her about the treasure?" Kiara asked, not paying attention to them.

"I was just trying to get into the archived!" John B defended himself.

"Is that a yes?"

Dylan nodded. "It's definitely a yes."

His jaw dropped. "DJ—I. . . I left out key details."

"Yo, what?" Kie said loudly. "You let a Kook in on our secret? What about Pogue Lyft? What about the T-shirt company, bro?"

"I-I was just using her for information."

Dylan titled her head. "John B, that's mean,"

"Why don't I believe you?"

"Im trying to make us filthy rich here. Okay, so we can pay off a boat, or—or, uh. . ." He pointed at Pope and Dylan. Send you to autopsy school to study dead bodies. And DJ, we can send you to college to study your creepy murder cases,"

The girl smiled. "That does sound nice."

"Look, you guys know me. Do I look like the type of person to fall for Sarah Cameron?" John B asked with a slight laugh.

"Uh. . . Do you want us to answer that?" Pope questioned.

"Hey, Sarah's a catch!" Dylan defended the girl.

Kiara sent her another look. "Why are you defending her? What, are you suddenly friends now?" She grew defensive.

"We've always been friends—"

"Since when?"

"Everybody likes Dylan." JJ pointed out.

Pope and John B agreed with him.

Dylan rolled her eyes. "I'm allowed to have friends outside of you guys,"

"But Sarah? Even after what she did to me?" The Carerra girl shot.

"You're my best friend, Kie!"

Kiara shook her head in frustration. She looked up at John B. "Look, you don't know her yet. I do! You can't trust her."

"Her brother did hit me and Dyl with a golf club," Pope agreed.

"That was Rafe, Pope," Dylan reminded him.

"Rafe and Sarah are different human beings," John B sided with her.

"What did she do to you, exactly?" JJ asked Kiara.

"She's like a—like a spitting cobra," she spat. "First,  she—she blinds you, and then—"

"This is a bad analogy."

"Listen to me! Whatever we get, she's gonna try to take."

Dylan shook her head. "No, she won't,"

"And how do you know,  Dylan?" Kiara asked hastily.

She blinked. "Well, I—"

"Just because you're so nicey-nicey with her doesn't mean she won't stab you in the back!"

"Kie!" Pope snapped.

Dylan went quiet. She stared at the fire, not saying another word. Kiara blinked her eyes slowly and went quiet as well, but she was still angry.