XXXIII. a beautiful boy who died

      Dylan stood in front of the mirror, her dark eyes locked on her reflection. It didn't even feel like it was the first day back at school. She spent so much time focusing on finding the gold than she hadn't spent her time preparing for her junior year. She always heard that junior year was the hardest year, but now it would be ten times harder now that she didn't have her best friend to spent it with.

There was a knock on her door and Braxton poked his head in. "Dad wants to know if he needs to take us to school." He questioned.

Dylan shook her head. "No, Kie said she'd give us a ride." Her eyes stayed on her reflection in the mirror.

His eyes lit up. "Awesome!" He cheered and quickly left, not closing the door. It was his first day of eighth grade, which meant he would be in the same building as his and her friends.

Dylan toyed with the gold heart shaped locket around her neck. She felt uncomfortable and nervous. She wasn't ready to go back and have to face all the people who blamed her and her friends for what happened on the island. She wasn't ready to hear the whispers about her as she walked through the halls. She just felt so lost.

Kiara texted her and told her that she and the boys were outside waiting for her. Dylan grabbed her bag and she and Braxton said goodbye to their parents before leaving the house. Braxton ran to Kiara's car in excitement, Dylan trailing behind. "Hey guys!" The twelve year old greeted when he climbed into the car.

"What's up, little man?" JJ said loudly and reached back to high five him.

"Hey, little dude." Pope smiled and high fived him as well. He leaned over and kissed his girlfriend. "Hey, babe."

"Hi." She said back with a small smile.

"Let's get ready for hell." Kiara declared and backed out of her driveway.

Dylan crossed one of her legs over the other and drummed her fingers on her thigh. Pope nudged her shoulder. "How you feeling?"

"I'm nervous," she admitted, looking him in the eye. "I haven't had time to prepare myself."

"Think of it like this. It's college preparation year. I'm gonna need every bit of it." He huffed.

She chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you do." She said with a nod. She glanced at the young boy on the other side of him. "I just hope I can keep him away from all of it."

Pope turned his head slightly and nodded. "We will. I promise."

The closer they got to the school, the more nervous she began to feel. Kiara drove behind one of the school buses and they passed by all the students that were gathered around. Dylan's hand was linked with Pope's and she squeezed it tightly.

When they arrived at the school, Braxton said goodbye to them all and hugged Dylan before going to see if he could find any of his friends. Dylan circled around the car and clutched the straps of her backpack. She grabbed Pope's hand again.

"Hey, it's them."

"There they are."

"I wasn't sure they'd even show up."

"Heard they got arrested."

She heard everyone around them start to talk as they passed by. "Don't be surprised if I don't deck a bitch today." She spat under her breath, glaring slightly at everyone that was whispering.

"That makes two of us." JJ grumbled, who spent his morning trying to drown his anxiously in whatever he filled his flask with.

Dylan stopped when she saw the memorial they made for John B. Her jaw clenched in anger as she knew those who made it were the ones that believed John B was responsible for Peterkin's death.

"I feel like people are staring at us," she heard Kiara say.

"That's because they are." Dylan muttered, already wanting to leave.

"Guys, I can't be late." Pope spoke and he let go of Dylan's hand, making her face fall. She knew he was just upset.

"Hey, hey. We gotta stick together," Kiara told him when she stopped him from walking away. She turned around and reached for Dylan's hand.

But the girl stood frozen where she was standing, anxious creeping inside her bones. "I don't know if I can do this," she muttered, her hands starting to shake.

"Hey," JJ said and touched her back. "Don't let these assholes get to you okay? I'm not afraid to beat the shit out of someone."

"JJ." Kiara scoffed.

Dylan looked away from the memorial and to Pope. He visibly calmed down and stepped forward, taking her hand again. "It's okay." He whispered and leaned forward, kissing the side of her head.

With their hands and arms linked, the group walked in together. When she stepped in the building, Dylan felt like she was growing claustrophobic. All eyes turned to them, burning holes in her exposed skin. Pope looked down at her and saw her breathing become shallow. "Hey, we'll meet you guys in class." He said to Kiara and JJ.

The pair looked at their friend and immediately understood. Kiara squeezed Dylan's other hand and she and JJ went to their class.

Pope pulled Dylan aside away from everyone. "Hey," he said, softly.

"Pope, I can't do this. I can't be here." She said shakily. "I can't handle everyone staring at me."

"Screw them," he said firmly and grabbed her hand. "They have no clue. They only talking because they don't have anything better to do. We can get through this together."

She raised her head and her brown eyes glossed over sadly. "What if I cant?" She asked, quietly. "What if I'm not strong enough to handle it?"

Pope breathed out a disbelieving chuckle. "You, Dylan Jennings, are the strongest person I know. Fuck whatever anybody here thinks. You have me, Kiara, and JJ. You're always going to have me," he explained to her while keeping his voice soft. He leaned down and kissed her.

Dylan kissed him back and pressed her hands to his cheeks, not ever wanting to let go. Unfortunately, she had to, and she pulled away but kept her hands on his face. "I love you."

"I love you." He smiled and took her hand again. "Come on. Let's go."

Dylan soaked in Pope's words and tried to focus on her classes. She needed to stay focused on her future. The treasure hunt messed up their lives, especially his, but she wouldn't let it mess up hers anymore. But she also had trouble keeping her leg from bouncing up and down, something she did when she was nervous. Her nerves were taking over and she messed around with her necklace again.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated in her locker, making her put down the pencil she was holding. Three more went off as well. Everybody looked around the room.

"Who's phone was that?" Mr. Sunn asked, pausing the lesson. Nobody answered him and Dylan looked around, acting like she had no idea. "Nobody? You will be tested."

Nobody said anything and Dylan looked at JJ from the corner of her eye, the boy giving her the side eye as well.

"Now to recap, who was Diocletian?" Mr. Sunn asked.  He turned back to the board. "An ex-Soave who became the ruler of the Roman Empire."

Kiara secretly looked at her phone and saw a text from an unknown number. She lifted her head. "Dylan," she whispered to the girl. When she turned her head,  Kiara motioned to her phone.

Dylan took her phone out of her pocket and saw the same message that Kiara had gotten. Her eyebrows furrowed together and she looked Pope. "Did we all get the same message?" She whispered.

Pope nodded, confirming the question.

JJ discreetly got out of his desk and crawled around the back to where they were sitting, careful not to catch Mr. Sunn's attention as he was still teaching.  The group leaned close together and put their phones out. 

Dylan covered her mouth in shock when she saw they collectively had a photo of John B and Sarah on their screen, alive and smiling. Her eyes went wide as did theirs. "No." She muttered, her breath quickening.

JJ stood up and ran out of the classroom causing everybody in the classroom to stop what they were doing. Kiara followed behind him quickly, leaving the couple to contemplate their decision. Pope looked at Dylan with wide eyes and the girl shrugged, saying fuck it and she grabbed her backpack, swiftly exiting the room.

They filled the empty hallway with loud noise as all of them ran. "Where do you think you're going?" The janitor shouted roughly when they passed by.

"Come on!" Kiara shouted.

JJ accidentally tripped over his mop bucket and Dylan paused, grabbing his arm and pulling him back up. "Come on, stupid!" She laughed and they ran again.

"I mean, is that even possible?" Kiara questioned when they went outside.

"Unless the afterlife has cell service now, I'm pretty sure it's possible." Dylan breathed out in a panic.

"I mean, Shoupe said that they didn't make it. He said that!"

They quickly walked over to one of the picnic tables. "Okay, but I. . . I think we're overreacting right now, cause we can't rule out the possibility that this could all be some weird, cruel hoax." Pope rambled.

"How can it be a hoax, Pope? He's wearing the exact same shirt he was when he left." Dylan retaliated.

"I'm just gonna ask." Kiara stated and sat on top of the table, Dylan sitting beside her.

"What if it's actually him, though?" JJ voiced out loud.

"Then I don't know, okay? I don't know."

WTF is that you??? Kiara sent into the chat.

They waited for an answer. Dylan stared at her phone while her leg bounced up and down, her nerves coming back. After a minute, the three bubbles appeared.

"He responded?" Pope asked from where he was standing.

"He's typing." Kiara answered.

Their phones went off again.

Is JJ there?

JJ quickly responded. I'm here, Bree.

Did you pimp my short board?

Dylan's eyes filled with tears and she released a breathy laugh. "It's him." JJ confirmed, his face brightened with a laugh.

Dylan typed into the chat with shaky hands. How do you know this isn't someone that kidnapped our friends?

"Really, DJ?" Kiara snorted.

"It's a plausible question!"

Her phone went off and she quickly looked at the screen. 

You're stuck with me for like, DJ.

She let out a trembling cry and she covered her mouth.  "Oh my god." She whimpered.

"It's him. It's really him." JJ confirmed again, his eyes watering and the smile he wore took up his whole face.

The girl cried into her hands. "Oh my god." She repeated and felt every emotion that she was keeping inside unravel. Kira's arms wrapped around her and they cried together. Dylan squeezed her tightly. "It's him. It's really him."

The boys came forward and hugged them, JJ to Kie and Pope to Dylan. The girl cried against his shoulder,  the faith she lost beginning to come back. She repeated her words over and over again until she felt them start to settle. 

"It's real, DJ." Pope said with watery eyes and he squeezed her in his arms. 

"Yeah!" JJ hollered into the air, his voice echoing. 

"Laying super low in Nassau," Kie read the next message. "How the hell did they get to the Bahamas?"

"You can't kill a Pogue, dude." JJ stated with a smile.

Pope pulled away from Dylan and leaned against the table. "Especially John B." He confirmed.

Dylan laughed happily. "That motherfucker probably swam there. Water bug." She wiped away her tears.  "He got that from me."

Can you clear my name? Wanna come home

JJ chuckled while reading it. "Hell yeah, we'll clear your name boy."

"Till the day I die." Dylan declared to herself, the tears of sadness she had been crying for days now becoming tears of joy.

"Be in touch. P4L."

"P4L, man. That's what I'm talking about!" JJ hollered again. "P4L, baby!"

"Fucking P4L!" Dylan changed after him and she hopped down from the table. The two of them embraced each other and she let out another cry,  feeling his chest rumble with a sob. "Let's get our boy back."

Kiara and Pope joined in on their hug and for the first time in days, Dylan felt herself come out of the dark place she was trapped in, the darkness she became lost within.