XXXVIII. I love you to the moon and back

      Dylan didn't feel as uneasy to be at school as she did the other day. John B and Sarah were alive. They knew that now. But he still wasn't here. She had to remind herself of that when she entered the school that morning. She and the Pogues were the only people that knew what was going on which meant she had to be secretive, but it was hard to do when everyone was still staring at her like she was either crazy or depressed.

The pencil in her hand tapped against the wooden desk as she stared at the test paper in front of her. The quietness in the classroom was unnerving. Dylan's eyes cut to everyone who was focusing on their test and she wondered to herself why she couldn't focus.  She couldn't focus on anything lately. After what happened at the sheriff's station,  Dylan felt like she was detached from herself. They were trying so hard to get their friend back but it was like the world was fighting against them.

"Dylan, focus." Mr. Sunn warned from his desk but he wasn't stern because the girl was never one to cheat.

She snapped out of her daze. "I'm sorry." She muttered and felt her cheeks warm from embarrassment.

Kiara lifted her head slightly and turned it. She raised her eyebrows at her, asking if she was okay with her eyes. Dylan only smiled but it was brief.

The door opened and a man came walking into the classroom. "Mr. Sunn, can I borrow Pope for a minute?" He asked the teacher.

Dylan raised her head again.

"We're in the middle of a test right now." Mr.  Sunn responded quietly.

"I'm from the Vanderhorst Foundation."

The girl's eyes widened slightly at the information and she looked ahead of her at Pope, who was listening to their conversation.

Mr. Sunn turned and faced him. "Mr.  Heyward, it's for you." 

Pope looked behind him at his girlfriend. She only shrugged. He got up from his desk and followed the man out of the room. 

"Back to your test now, guys."

Dylan and Kiara looked at each other at the same time and then looked behind them at JJ. He shrugged unknowingly. She looked at her test again and started bouncing her leg up and down. She was almost done but her brain wasn't working with her like it usually did. She flinched when Pope came back to class and she narrowed her eyes when he frantically sat back down. "Hey, what happened?" She leaned forward and whispered.

Instead of answering, Pope twisted in his seat and showed her and the rest of them the envelope in his hand. On the back was a gold wheat symbol that held it closed. Dylan's eyes widened again. "Oh my god."

"Is that the wheat symbol?" Kiara whispered.

"Yeah."

"What the f—"

JJ's outburst caused the entire room to turn and look at him. Dylan gave him a wide eyed look of embarrassment and he immediately stopped when Mr. Sunn turned around. "Fu. . . Fu. . .Fudgeee?" He slowly corrected himself.

She rolled her eyes and leaned forward again. She out her hand on the back of Pope's chair. "Hey, what does this mean?" She whispered so only they could hear each other.

Pope stared at her silently, still very frantic. "I don't know."  He whispered back. 

When the bell rang and class was over, the three friends immediately followed the frenzied boy out and he lead them to the library. Dylan caught up with him and caught his arm. "Hey. Hey, hey, calm down. Are you okay?" She asked and looped her arm through his.

"I don't know what to feel yet." He responded.

"Am I gonna have to beat you with your protractor?  What's going on?" JJ threw at him, earning a shush from the librarian.

Dylan sent him a glare. "We are in a library!" She yelled in a whisper voice.

"Like that's ever stopped me!"

"Seriously, Pope, you are driving me insane." Kiara whispered and she sat down in front of the computer.

Dylan sat in one of the chairs beside her as Pope put his bag on the table. "Okay, that guy was from the scholarship commitee," he began to explain. "Take a look at this." He handed JJ the golden envelope and went to stand behind the girl's chair. "Read it."

"Out loud." Kiara added.

They all stared at the blonde as his eyes scanned the letter. He looked between them, unsure of himself. "I can't read cursive." He whispered in embarrassment.

Kiara gave him an odd look and took the letter from his hand. Dylan leaned over as she read it out loud.  "Dear, Mr. Heyward, I am reaching out because I have material evidence that can exonerate John B.  Routledge—"

Dylan's jaw dropped. "Oh my god." She slipped out, louder than she expected because the librarian shushed her.

"—It is of vital importance that you come and meet with me in person at my offices at 27 King Street, Charleston at 8:00 p.m. sharp tonight. Please come alone. Regards, C. Limbrey."

"Charleston?" JJ emphasized.

"Tonight?" Dylan said in the same tone of voice.

"I know, it's like an eight hour drive plus the ferry." Pope informed. "How will we get there tonight?"

"We'd have to leave, like, right now."

"I have a free period." Kiara mentioned.

"An eight hour free period?" The other girl questioned in disbelief. She shook her head. "Guys, this is insane. We can't go to Charleston!"

"DJ, they have evidence that can clear John B."

"Material evidence?" She continued with a scoff. She grabbed the letter and scanned it quickly. "Come alone?" She repeated. She shook her head again. "No, no way." She looked at Pope. "This is dangerous. We don't even know who this is."

"We can find out," he assured her quietly and leaned over her to type on the computer.

"Look, if we get it this time, we are not giving it to Shoupe." Kiara declared.

JJ nodded sarcastically. "Yeah, no duh."

Dylan watched as her boyfriend typed the name Limbrey into the computer. The screen changed and the first thing that popped up was a photo of a man wearing a captain's uniform. The girl furrowed her brows and read the name that was under it. Herman Limbrey. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked her.

"Great minds do think alike." She stated and grabbed the letter from the table.

Kiara and JJ turned and looked at them. "What?" She whispered and looked at the computer screen.

Pope clicked on the link and informed on a Captain Herman Limbrey appeared. Dylan's quick eyes read the article and the first sentence almost knocked her breath away. "Okay, maybe this is more connected than I thought." She uttered.

"I'm not sure, but I think whoever this Limbrey person is, they might be related to the captain of the Royal Merchant." Pope explained and kept his voice quiet so nobody else could hear him.

She shook her head. "This still doesn't explain how she would have evidence on John B." She whispered. "Okay, I don't trust this."

"Hey, hey, what are you worried about?" JJ whispered and leaned against the table with his arms, making her look at him. "Do you know what this means? It means we're going to get him back, Dyl. We're going to get him back."

Dylan stared at her blonde best friend with mixed emotions. Kiara and Pope were set on going to Charleston but she was conflicted. She knew she should be joyful about there being an opportunity to clear John B's name but there was something in her heart keeping her from feeling that way. She just felt nervous. All of their eyes fell on her.

Pope put his hand on her back. "What do you say, D?"

The detective of the group felt irresolute as she final gave in to the plan. The only things on her mind as they cheered were something dangerous could happen if they went all the way to Charleston and how much her parents were going to kill her.

Dylan stared at her family nervously as they gathered together at the kitchen table. She stood on her feet while they sat in the chairs. "Honey, you look like you're going to be sick." Ainsley spoke with concern.

She was. "I'm fine." She assured her even though she wasn't assuring herself.

"What's going on, Dylan?" Logan questioned and his arms were crossed over his chest, suspiciously. 

Braxton was still at school which made the conversation she was going to have slightly easier but she knew it was going to be a mess either way. She sucked in a breath. "I have something to tell you guys and I really need to you to consider the outcome." She spoke slowly.

The married couple glanced at each other, sharing the same odd look.

Dylan started to mess with her fingers. "Okay. . . Pope got a letter from the scholarship people today. Someone wrote to him and said that they have evidence that can prove John B's innocence,"

"What?" Logan blurted out and Ainsley gasped.

"I know, I know, it's crazy. But we can't get it unless we can get Pope to Charleston tonight—"

The man quickly stopped her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He stood from his chair. "What do you mean Charleston by tonight?"

"I said the same thing—"

"Dylan, you're not going to Charleston." Ainsley declared and stood from her chair as well.

"Why do you need to clear John B's name?" Logan continued as he was trying to make the information make sense.

She faltered. "Well, I-I just. . ." Her parents still thought John B and Sarah were dead. She couldn't tell them right now. "He's innocent, dad."

"Was innocent, honey." He corrected.

"Logan!" Ainsley gasped and their daughter's face fell. 

"I'm sorry, okay?" He moved around the table and stood in front of the teenager. "Your mother and I have been watching you for days now, DJ. You're driving yourself crazy over what happened and it's not good for you."

"Dad," her voice cracked. "You don't understand—"

"I don't?" He interrupted like he was offended.

"Okay, that's enough." Ainsley spoke but was ignored.

"I know exactly how you feel, honey, because I felt the same way. I lost my best friend, too."

"Okay, and wouldn't you love to tell people that he wasn't crazy like they all think he was?" She raised her voice and her eyes watered. Her dad started to pace back and forth anxiously. "I have a chance here, daddy! I have a chance to let everyone know what happened wasn't JB's fault. Why won't you let me do it?"

The man spun around again and pointed his finger at her. "Because I am not losing another kid!" He shouted at her.

"Logan, please!" His wife cried out.

Dylan's vulnerability unraveled and she lowered her head, her eyes staring directly at her shoes. When her shoulders dropped, her mom came and wrapped her arms around her. "Sweetheart, we know how hard this is for you. We loved John B so much."

She pulled away from her and raised her head to reveal her tear filled eyes. "Then let me do this." Her voice cracked again.

"You don't know what you're asking us to do, Dylan."

"You're not going. End of story." Logan confirmed.  "Quite frankly, I have half the mind to tel the others that they're not going but I can't, cause they're not my kids."

His daughter looked at him with betrayal. "So you want me to do nothing?" She scoffed.

"He's not saying that, DJ," Ainsley quickly stepped in,  taking a more gentle approach. "Sweetheart, you've been watching crime shows since you were a kid. You know what can happen if you go to Charleston. You don't even know who these people are." She tried to convince her.

Dylan knew her mom was right. She knew too much about the world to put herself in that kind of danger.  But she considered everything she had been through already. These were her best friends, John B was her best friend, and they did anything for each. They would die for each other. She had to it. "I'm not going to live the rest of my life knowing I could've helped my friend but didn't." She didn't mean for it to sound so cruel. By the way her dad's face fell, she knew it was too far, but she didn't have a choice. "If you think I will, then you don't know me at all."

She jerked out of her mom's grasp and quickly went to walk out of the front door.

"Dylan Celeste, don't walk out that door!" Her dad warned her.

But it was too late. The door slammed shut with a loud echo and she pressed her back to it, letting out a deep exhale. She was rattled, her heart beating so fast that her throat started to hurt. Parked on the side of the road was Heyward's truck with the Pogues pilled inside. She took off before her parents could walk outside.

"Hey, lady!" JJ's loud mouth announced with a happy grin.

They noticed the overwhelmed look on her face. "How did it go?" Pope asked and got out of the drivers seat to let her get in.

"Uh. . ." She paused with a shaky breath. "I might've just ripped open my dad's old wounds and broke his heart." She spilled and sat her hands on her hips.

Their faces stilled at her words, knowing what she meant. Big John was Logan's best friend just like John B was Dylan's. They had matching wounds but hers were still fresh; still black and bruised. Pope's hand brushed against the side of her face. "I'm sorry." He told her with a small frown.

She shook her head. "Let's just get this over with before I'm completely disowned." 

She climbed into the truck and squeezed in the spot beside Kiara.  "If it makes you feel any better, my parents are threatening to send me to boarding school." She told her.

Dylan looked stunned. "Mike and Anna?" She asked in shock.

JJ nodded firmly. "Mike and Anna."

Kiara's parents were over protective and how they felt about their daughter hanging out with the Pogues, especially the boys. They wanted her to be the stereotypical kook they worked so hard to be able to be apart of, but Kie was a Pogue at heart and they couldn't accept that, but boarding school was another level.

"But hey, on a lighter note, Pope stole his dad's truck.  How do feel about your man following in my footsteps?" The blonde boy voiced again as Pope started to drive.

Pope rolled his eyes and Dylan scoffed. "I happen to love my goody-two-shoes of a man, thank you very much." She declared and pressed her lips to the driver's cheek.

He looked at her offensively. "I am not a goody-two-shoes."

Kiara snorted. "Are you trying to convince her or yourself?"

JJ laughed out loud and Dylan chuckled. She kissed his cheek again and felt him go warm. He glanced at her quickly. "You're lucky I love you or I'd throw you out of this truck." He threatened playfully.

She gasped and hit his arm lightly. "See, you are turning into JJ!"

The laughter got louder and he narrowed his eyes at her,  making her smile as bright as the sun above them.