This party is not going to be what Kathryn planned. It's already crawling under her skin, frustration boiling her stomach. Everything she had put in place, down to the last little detail – she could feel it come apart.

Cleo and Pope couldn't come, for something Denmark Tanny related. Pope said he'd tell her more, but she didn't ask. Edward texted that he wouldn't make it, and Henry had to go through the first part of the reception alone. Well, with Max, but without his resuscitated brother.

John B and JJ still weren't answering her texts. They got progressively more threatening as the day went. As often, if neither one of them was answering, it meant that they were together. Doing what? She was scared to ask, to be fully honest.

Which meant that as of right now, Kie and Kathryn were drinking alcohol-free drinks – Henry nearly had her head when she tried to get anything else – and clearly bemused by the whole ordeal.

"Can we blame Pope?" Kie asks, playing with her straw. "I mean, it is his legacy, and all that."

"I'm trying not to," Kathryn says. "I just wish something else would prioritise, for once. Not even me, but last I checked, you guys loved Henry and Max, and you're the only one who showed."

"No, we do." She looks off. "Everything's just so messed up right now. Do the rest of them know you got into Yale?"

"Only JJ. Is it weird to say I miss when we were actually friends?" Kathryn scoffs softly to herself. "I just feel like we're always separated. We barely do anything together."

"I get it." She nudges her a little. "But at least I'm here and you look hot, so who's missing out now?"

Kathryn put on a short golden satin dress that ends mid-thigh, with spaghetti straps, along with knee-high boots and Henry's black leather jacket that would stop around the same place as her dress, if she hadn't shrugged it off earlier.

She smiles at Kie. "You know how to butter me up."

"It's an art," she shrugs in answer, taking a sip of her drink. "Oh, god. Sarah's here."

She turns around to see her walking as fast as she can to the pair, clearly not worried about losing some of her hair after Kathryn yanks it out. And she would have, really, if the first words out of her mouth hadn't been:

"Ward's back on the island."

"Excuse me?"

Kathryn groans. "At this point, are we even surprised?"

She isn't. Rafe was already back, what's one more asshole? At least now Sarah, John B and Kathryn can form a support group for undead dads, except one needs to go to jail, one needs to text her back, and the other should let his son have a social life.

Kie shakes her head. "The second I see him, I'm turning him in, I swear."

"I'm camera ready," Kathryn adds.

"I don't know how you guys do it. I mean every time I wanna complain about my parents, I think about Ward and Caroline."

"Oh, glad to be of service," Sarah ironises.

"To be fair, Caroline's back in my old house and I haven't seen her, so we make it work!"

She chuckles, shaking her head, and crosses the eyes of a certain bottle blonde, immediately turns back to an already passively irritated Kathryn.

"You didn't tell me Topper was gonna be here."

Kathryn stares at her. "First of all, Max invited the entire island. Second of all, I didn't know I had to adapt myself to your cheating tendencies, princess."

"Bit insensitive, Sarah," Kie agrees. "Besides, it's not a big deal. I'll keep him away. Or Kat will."

Her friend arches a brow. "Since when am I a guard dog?"

"Since when are you not? Your face is scary."

"I'm trying not to be offended here."

As if to prove that she wasn't that scary, Topper starts walking to them.

Kie grimaces. "Oh, okay. We're just gonna go over there."

"Please don't," Sarah asks.

Kathryn snorts. "Your mess, Sarah."

"Okay."

"We're not going far, just say the word," Kie promises.

They walk literally two feet to the right, which leaves enough time for Kathryn to say through gritted teeth;

"I swear, if this ends in an argument, I'm setting the place on fire."

Kie takes a long sip of her drink. "That's gonna help, yeah."

"I'm not helping, I'm destroying evidence."

"Hey! How are you?"

Kathryn doesn't look back. "I know he's not talking to us right now."

Kie's eye twitches as she looks over her friend's shoulder. "Oh, hey. I didn't even see you, bro."

"Uh... did you do these decorations here?"

The Darcy girl turns around, lips curled up in disgust. "Just wait until I use your intestines as fairy lights."

"Unsure they sell them at Party City," Kie hums.

"No, but at least he'd be a bit less full of shit."

Topper stops trying to talk to them after that.

The crowd in front of the Country Club falls silent as Max walks up to the stage, clinking his fork into his drink, warm blue eyes scanning the people around until he finds his fiancé, looking at him with the utmost love.

Kathryn smiles at them, ignoring the way her gut churns. Edward should be here, too. JJ should be here.

Billy snakes her way through the crowd, joining Kathryn before her brother starts his speech. She grins at her.

"I'm not good with words," he starts, and she knows it's a lie. "But I really wanted to thank you all for coming here, for me and my love." Henry visibly melts. "I also want to say thank you to my niece. Future niece, officially." Kathryn feels the sting of tears in her eyes. "Thank you for accepting me into your family so easily. Thank you for giving me a family. I know you're going to do great things at Yale, and I love you."

Kathryn bites her cheek, shaking her head. "Love you too, Max."

He smiles, and turns to Henry again. "And most importantly..." He holds up his glass. "Thank you, Henry. I can't wait to spend forever with you. I love you."

Henry barely has time to reciprocate, already kissing Max, the words on the tip of his tongue. The crowd erupts in applause and whistles, raising their glasses, and Kathryn sees Billy wipe a discrete tear.

She tugs her hand, and takes her to see her brother.

"That was cute," Kathryn says with a grin.

"Not too much?" Max asks.

"Oh no, way overboard, I almost puked, but cute," Billy ironises.

"You're an ass."

Max hugs Billy and Kathryn, Henry encircling all of them with his arms.

When they part, his niece looks up at him. "I'm sorry dad was a no show."

Henry brushes some hair out of her face. "It's okay. I've got all the family I need right here."

She hugs her uncle again, still feeling awful. Edward never would have skipped this party. At least, not the way she remembered him. She almost felt betrayed, really. It was a terrifying ordeal, when God betrayed your trust.

Kathryn doesn't have to think about it long enough. Arms seize her from behind and lift her above ground, making her shriek.

"Bug!"

"Bastard!"

John B puts her on the ground, all smiles, a little red in the face from the setting sun. Speaking of betrayal...

"You didn't tell me you got into Yale!"

Kathryn grabs his arms, nails digging in his skin as she tugs him away from her uncles. "Let's not start a list of what we have or haven't told each other, John B, because I'm going to win."

His smile falters. "Uh?"

"Uh?" she mimics. "John B, you've been lying to me for the past few days. And where the hell have you been? I tried texting and calling you, you wouldn't answer!"

He swallows thickly. Not exactly how he pictured their conversation about Yale going. "Look, some things came up, and–"

Kathryn rolls her eyes. "Oh, don't they always? You know what we could have done? Handled it together. If you had told me what the hell you and your dad were doing, I could have been there. You would have known about Yale."

The words wash over him slowly, and all hopes of having a fun celebration are washed away at the same time. Instead, he just stares in silence at how awful of a best friend he has been, and how he has no right to ask anything of her, not right now.

In the uncomfortable silence, Kathryn feels a hand on her shoulder. Josh steps forward, grinning like he always does.

John B blinks at him. "Uh, we were in the middle of something?"

"Oh, sorry." He doesn't take his hand off. Even John B looks mad at it. "Kat, I can go if you want me to."

But Kathryn has already said what needed to be said at John B. She can always ask later if she really wants to know whatever him and his dad were doing, but truth is, she doesn't. If he wants to keep it a secret, fine. Let him die with it.

He knows he messed up when Kathryn shakes her head. "No, it's fine. John B already knows what I have to tell him, doesn't he?"

He does. That every time there's a semblance of a gold hunt, John B gets enthralled, and disappears. It happened with the gold. And now, it's happening with El Dorado.

If Kathryn only had to tell one person about Yale, it would have been him. But he wasn't there. And he lied about where he was. No amount of apologies would suffice, not right now.

Kathryn always had a lot of love to give, but her trust, that was another matter. She only had a limited supply, she lost the rest on the brink of twelve. John B nearly exhausted the amount she gave him.

... And somewhere, deep down, he even admired her for not getting angry about it.

"It's fine," he repeats. "I have to talk to Sarah anyway."

Kathryn feels like an electroshock courses through her entire body. "Bee," she can't help but mutter suddenly. "I'm sorry."

Well, that chilled him to the bone. "About what?"

"Just... you'll see. And I may be pissed, but I'll be here."

"... Okay?"

She walks away with Josh, risking another glance at them. They're hugging, right now. Wonder how long that will last.

She isn't sure why Max invited Josh, but if he invited the Thorntorns, then she guesses that Josh isn't half bad.

"You don't seem all that happy, considering it's your uncles' thing."

Kathryn snorts. "How'd you know?"

"Frowning more than usual," he answers, thumb going to the spot between her brows.

She recoils, against her own best instincts. "Don't. Don't do that."

He seems surprised at her reaction, tilting his head to the side, but retracting his fingers immediately. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's just... JJ does that."

Well, while they're on the topic... Right above Josh's shoulder, as if the fact that he was talking to Kathryn alone was enough, JJ perks up from behind the bushes, gesturing at Kathryn to come over to him.

Of course. He had to have been with John B. So that means that he told JJ, but not her. Jealousy burns in her stomach, simmers there. A trait she shares with Josh, at present.

"Right," he lets out, smile falling. "It's always going to be JJ."

Kathryn looks back at him, suddenly guilty of all the times she had him believing that they'd ever be something. "I'm sorry, Josh, I really am."

He takes a moment to build back his façade, to place that smile back on his face. "Nah, it's fine. I should've known."

She hums. "If it helps, there's nothing you could've done."

Josh had been picture perfect. He was everything Kathryn should want. Kind and nice and easy. But she wanted JJ. She would always want JJ.

"I think it's admirable, really."

Kathryn scoffs a little. "Me being in love with JJ? He's not the charity case you think he is."

He doesn't answer, for a moment. He just stares at her, and she finds a glint of spitefulness there, that makes her frown even deeper.

"He didn't tell you," he realises to himself. "I thought he'd tell you the second after I told him."

If there's one thing that Kathryn hates, it's people playing games with her. "Josh, whatever it is, spit it out."

He grins. "Sure. His dad's the one who pulled the plug on your dad's boat."

Kathryn goes utterly still. She blinks at Josh, heart hammering in her chest, the words swirling in her mind. That can't be right. That cannot be right.

She glares at Josh. "If you think making up some lies against JJ is going to make me like you, you're wrong."

He holds out his hands. "I'm not."

"How do you even know that?"

"Your mom," he answers, and for a second, Kathryn considers clawing his eyes out. "She called me while she was in jail. She wanted you to know that she asked Luke to do her dirty work. Now, she's a real bitch, but at least she isn't lying, like a certain someone."

Kathryn smacks her lips, hand going to her hair. JJ wouldn't have lied about that. She trusts him enough to know that for a fact. She doesn't even think about if he did, because this cannot be true.

Both things she was thinking as he broke up with her.

"I know I'll never get you, that's fine," Josh says. "But I want you to know what you're getting into, before you crawl back to him."

Her nostrils flare in anger. "Yeah, you make it real convincing, thanks Jocasta."

She shoves past him, and straight at the spot where JJ disappeared. He'll be able to tell her that this is just shit. That this is all lies, and Josh has sunk so low in his pursuit of her that she'll never see him again.

When she gets to him, he's crouched down, trying to remain hidden. From her or people around, she's not sure. 

"What are you doing?"

He jumps, startled. "Just, uh, thought I should keep my distance. Didn't really wanna spoil the party, if you know what I'm saying."

Right. Because JJ is so trust-worthy that he stole from her dad, and is now afraid to be seen near the Darcy family.

"That's your own fault," she lets out.

He falters a little at the sudden change of mood, compared to last night. Oh? He wants to play the stupid game. Fine. She'll play.

"Look, long story short, you have to stay home or with mister H at all times, okay?"

She stares at him. "I beg your pardon?"

"Singh's after you, like big time," he rambles, frantic with obvious worry. "He wants to take you to South America, where he just took Big John–"

"Now, hold on–"

"So me and the rest of the group are going to get down there as soon as we can, but you have to promise to sit this one out."

She considers him, bewildered. "You are going to South America, and benching me?"

"Yeah, it's a long shot, but we're making a plan right now."

Kathryn laughs, running a hand over her mouth. She cannot believe this. She thought that this whole thing was bad enough as it is, but it just keeps getting worse, doesn't it? Anger bubbles against her lips.

Being mean as a way to save herself. That's something she's seen before.

"You can't just waltz into my uncles' engagement party and demand things of me, JJ, that's not how it fucking works."

JJ looks shocked at her answer, scoffing softly. "Okay, I'm literally doing this to protect you right now."

Kathryn couldn't give two rat's ass about Singh, not right now. He could try to come get her, Henry'll kill him, it's as simple as that. As to why he was coming after her, well, she has a dad who apparently everyone confused her with, so that maths was easily done.

No, what she wanted to talk about was the absolute nerve he had, demanding things of her, after breaking up with her, and worse?

Because last time she checked, the only moment JJ and Josh had been alone was at the boneyard. And if it was true, then that meant JJ knew what he was doing, getting his dad off the island. Asking Kathryn to help him.

When they both thought that her dad was dead, and he asked her to help his murderer.

The more she thought about it, the more it awfully made sense. The way Luke had talked about Caroline... It sends shivers down her spine. It felt wrong, the whole thing felt wrong, and Kathryn bit back.

"You're doing this for me? Yeah sure. Starting to think maybe you are a liar after all." Caroline had said so, at least.

It goes straight to his heart. He clenches his jaw. Never in a million years, especially after last night, did he think Kathryn would dare agree with Caroline. Even when they were arguing, when the break-up was so fresh in their minds, she took his defence. Only to throw it back in his face?

"Okay. Okay, my bad for caring."

"Oh you care?" she repeats. "Is that it, JJ? Let's rewind to a few days ago when you broke up with me, just to jog my memory."

"All right," he lets out, biting his lips. "Whatever, that's all I needed to tell you. Now if you want to go ahead and get kidnapped for the fourth time, that's not my problem."

He starts walking away, Kathryn scoffing at his boldness, the fact that he was walking away from her, when he was the one who lied to her, and she didn't even have the occasion of telling him about it.

He turns around, which might be because of his extreme idiotic behaviour, or the fact that if anyone was going to be his undoing, he wanted it to be her.

"It's just that– Actually, one last thing. When you see Darcy, could you just let him know that I don't feel bad about the money clip? Okay? Just let him know I actually needed it. So thank him for me, actually. Appreciate that. Thank you."

The world tints red. JJ tries to walk away. Kathryn should let him. In the name of all the progress she had been making she should let him walk away, until she can't see his face. She had been nice. She had been tame.

Kathryn was breaking apart, and the only thing keeping her together at the moment was fury.

"Should've known you'd turn out like Luke, really," she spits out, not a trace of emotion on her face. "You both steal stuff from my dad, why should the comparison stop there?"

JJ's false confidence crumbles under her gaze, and Kathryn even feels good about it. "Oh, we're going there?" he seethes, stepping forward, glaring at her over the bush.

"I sure as shit am," she says. "Because, last I checked, neither one of my parents helped kill one of yours."

She waits for him to deny. That's what JJ does, after all, when he's caught red handed. He denies, denies, denies. But no, instead he keeps staring at her, at the fury in her eyes. When he broke up with her, he wanted her to get angry.

This wasn't anger. This was the fire that burned her alive. There was no escaping it, no taming it. It was out to kill.

"Josh told you."

The quiet rage on her face suddenly goes to shock, and defaults back to fury. Josh was telling the truth. Of course he was. She'd worked that out herself. Having JJ confirm it for her made it worse.

Kathryn struggles with herself, white-knuckled grip on her love for JJ, smothering it. Love has no place here.

Kathryn thought she had been betrayed when JJ broke up with her. But she understood, now. He wasn't running from her, he was running from his lies.

"And when did you know, JJ?" she asks, cold as ice, already knowing the answer. "Was it before, or after I helped your dad out of the island?" Her lip ticks up. "Was it before or after I kissed you?" He doesn't answer. "Did you like it? Did you like kissing me thinking your dad killed mine?"

"Hold on, hold on, hold on. You seriously think that?" he asks, mouth ajar. "You really think I liked hiding that from you, 'cause I didn't!"

"How the fuck am I supposed to believe you?" she cries out. "You lied to me! For all I know, you were just pitying me. 'Look at poor Kat Darcy, my dad killed hers, let's do her a solid.'"

"No!" he cries out. " C'mon, you gotta know that's not true. You know I wouldn't do that."

"I don't know anything, JJ, because up until now what I knew was that you loved me," she lets out, and the way she says it sounds a lot like disgust. "That I trusted you. Were you even going to tell me? Or were you going to push to see how far I could go? How much I could take?"

"I tried to tell you right away," he says. "But Kat, you were just getting better. D'you think I could take that from you? 'Cause I couldn't. I couldn't look you in the eye and take that from you."

"You should have tried!" she erupts. "Did you really think so little of me? That this would make me hate you?"

JJ shakes his head. "It had nothing to do with you, I didn't trust myself to make you stay."

Kathryn shakes her head. "I can't believe this. I can't believe you kept it a secret. You know me, JJ. You must have known I wouldn't take it lightly! You risked it for what, two months of happiness? Only to break up with me when we came back." She rakes a shaking hand through her hair. "You slept by my side for two months. And you never found the courage to just tell me."

"It was too late by then," he pleads. "I couldn't just walk up to you and come out with it."

"Yeah, you could have. You were just too chickenshit to do it."

"You were happy, Kat! At least I thought you were, because you were damn good at pretending. You were barely angry anymore. You seriously think I'd fuck that up for you?"

"No, but I seriously thought you wouldn't lie to me. Do you know how hard it is for me to trust people?" She scoffs. "Of course you do. And that's exactly why you didn't tell me when you thought it was too late."

He shuts his eyes, biting his lips nervously. "What would it have changed anyway? Your dad's not even dead."

Kathryn stays silent, for a moment. They both know this is nowhere near the issue. At the time, they thought Edward was lost at sea. And JJ still let her help Luke. He still let her save him from the cops. He held her hand as she sinned.

"Oh, believe me, I know, considering you stole from him. As if what you'd done wasn't enough."

He opens and closes his mouth. "I didn't do anything. My dad did."

Her eyes flash with anger. "Same difference."

JJ considers her for a moment, furious that she'd go as low as to make that comparison, desolate that it made sense. But JJ could get angry, too. He was impulsive, too. He let things slip when he shouldn't, just because he knows he'd hurt her as much as she was hurting him.

"You know, your dad's not exactly the best either," he says.

She smiles, a forced, awful thing. "You've got to be actually fucking kidding me, JJ."

"I'm not, actually. Just ask him," he starts screaming, people turning to look at them, gesturing frantically. "Ask him why we broke up."

Kathryn crosses her arms on her chest. "I don't have to ask him. I know why we broke up, you cunt."

He scoffs. "Do you? No, go on, I'd love to hear this one."

"Because you're a coward. You were scared I'd turn on you because of your dad. You were scared that I'd never be able to love you because of it, and you couldn't handle that. But you know what, JJ? It wouldn't have changed anything for me. So you're just a real fucking idiot."

JJ licks his lower lip, tipping his head back. "How was I supposed to know that? You leave people, Kat, that's what you do."

"Yeah, and you're always being left. Guess we really should've known."

They stare at each other, unable to get another word out for a while. What more can be said? Kathryn is practically begging inwardly that he'll apologise, but even then, she isn't sure she'll forgive him. Trust was always easier to leave than love was. A quiet death. And Kathryn loved JJ. Religiously, like she did her dad. She didn't trust him anymore.

She had trusted him, and that was her greatest sin. The only thing that could have been corrupted. She didn't deserve absolution for that. She'd been cursed the moment she saw him.

Kathryn had trusted JJ fast, and hard. The same way she fell for him. All of it was tainted now. All of it was wrong. Love shouldn't be a sin. Trust shouldn't be a sin.

But this was too great. This was too grave. He'd let her help her dad's murderer, knowingly. He'd watched her drive, and never said a thing. He watched her condemn herself, and then kissed her and hoped that'd make it okay. And she had to learn her retribution from someone else.

No tears come to her eyes when she speaks. She remains cold, cold as she feels despite the fire raging. Cold to save her life, this, she knows. The same way she knows her next words will kill her, as she says them.

"This is over, JJ," she says, calmly. "We're done. We're not friends. We're not even enemies. We're nothing."

He looks at her, face blank of all emotions. Then, he clicks his tongue.

"I'm gonna go help my best friend save his father. Maybe I'll see you at the break when I get back."

Kathryn stares at him as he leaves. "If I'm not gone by then."

She sees him nearly trip over himself, but he still leaves. She doesn't go after him.

Kathryn is barely there for the rest of the party, if you could call it that. By nightfall, Sarah is drunk and dancing with Topper. Ten minutes later, John B is beating Topper to a pulp, and Henry has to separate them. Topper is barely recognisable, and so is John B, in his own right.

Kathryn doesn't care about any of it. She's a hollow shell, as they drive home, Henry tucking her in bed, telling her that the party was still fun while it lasted. Kathryn doesn't care anymore.

She barely even cares that Singh is after her, or that he wants her dead, or wants to use her. She'd given up on her body, and she'd given every ounce of her soul to JJ. He betrayed that trust. Even if Kathryn understood where he was coming from, she couldn't forgive it.

Kathryn could give love to anyone she wanted. She'd loved her mother through all of it, she'd pitied Rafe, even. Trust, that was harder. She'd always have all the reasons in the world not to trust people. The fact that JJ Maybank proved her right... A tear slips from her eye, and falls on the pillow. Then, she clenches her jaw.

She glues herself shut, so that JJ doesn't slip through the cracks. In, or out, she wasn't sure. And for the first time, she wonders. Maybe he'd been right. This was never going to work.

Author's Note:

I love traumatising my girlfriend it's how I show love! (She told me to drop dead)

Anyway, watching everyone forget about the plug made me laugh a bit when we reached the 'WERE SO BACK' phase because we were in fact, so over