lost at sea - act one

outer banks season one; episode one (part two)

Something within Julianna stirred enough so that her eyes fluttered open, taking in her surroundings of the Chateau from the pull out- which if she is being honest is a lot different than what the living room looks like when she is upright in the living room. As she begins to shift how she was laying she felt a heavy barricade keeping her down on the mattress, a groan escapes her lips as she she turns her head to see what was keeping her down. Through the tiredness plaguing her eyes she saw a messy mop of blood hair fill her line of sight.

A smile filled her face as her chest grew tight; she didn't want this moment to end but knew that if John B were to walk out and find her sleeping in the same bed as JJ, it wouldn't turn out well. "JJ..." She whispered, trying to wake the sleeping Maybank, which earned a groan from the blonde as he tightened his hold on the girl.

"JJ come on, you have to let me go...." She warned and JJ shook his head, "No."

Julianna giggled softly into JJ's chest as she began to push away from him, "You have to because I don't want to have my brother pissed off at both of us."

His eyes fluttered open and Julianna is taken aback by the effortless beauty his blue eyes held. A smile creeps onto both of their faces as they stare at one another. "Good morning..." He says in his tired voice that is so much more gruff than his regular one and Julianna felt a blush start to fill her cheeks, "Good Morning, want some coffee?" She asks sweetly but JJ shook his head no.

"Coffee is all yours, but I will take a beer." He says with a yawn intertwining into his words and Julianna shook her head, "If you want a beer you can get it yourself. I am going into the kitchen, now."

He rolled back onto his stomach with his head turned towards the kitchen, watching as the brunette who was wearing one of his shirts and a pair of cotton pajama shorts that clung delicately to her thighs as she walked away. A soft chuckle rolled through his body as her buried his face into the pillow he was laying his head on. "Fuck me..." He mumbled in a voice that was barely a whisper.

Julianna entered the kitchen and didn't even think about turning on the light, seeing that the window in the kitchen filled the room with natural light that could paint a thousand pictures with the shadows throughout the day. She makes her way over to the counter space next to the sink where the coffee maker from the early two thousands was waiting for her, calling her name, and gets to work making the only thing- other than weed- that would get her through this morning.

She let out a grumble as she noticed the reservoir had no water left in it, "For the love of God! Boys if the reservoir in the coffee pot is empty after you make coffee, fill it up!! I don't want it to feel as if I live heathens." Julianna says as she makes her way over to the sink with the coffee pot in her hand.

The brunette places the pot into the sink underneath the faucet and goes to turn it on but no water comes out, "What the hell?" She turns the knob off and then back on again but the outcome was the same, there was no water. A groan leaves her lips as she storms back out into the living room, running right into John B who looked just a confused as she did.

"We have no water!" She explains and John B nodded, "We don't have power or service either."

She stood in the kitchen entry way with her hand on her hip as she watched John B make his way over to the pull out couch JJ was passed out yet again, a smile creeping onto the Routledge girl's face as she took in how peaceful he looked. "Yo, JJ, you been outside?" He asks grabbing ahold of his ankle and giving it a little shake which caused a groan to escape JJ's lips, "I have polio, bro. I can't walk."

He rolled his eyes at the blonde and continued out the chateau's front door leaving Julianna and JJ alone in the living room once again. A chuckle escaped Julianna's lips as she made her way over to the couch with her arms crossed over her chest and an amused smile on her face, "You have polio, huh?" She asks and the boy nodded.

"It's a really bad case..." He says in a tired voice trying to get empathy from the girl but Julianna wasn't having it, "Well Mr. Polio, I am going to go outside and see what's going on... Are you gonna come with or not?" She asks and was only met by a groan. She shook her head as she made her way to the front door where she saw her brother pacing back and forth in their front yard that was riddled with debris.

"Well shit..." Julianna says with a sigh as she makes her way down the three small stairs leading from the screened in porch into the yard with her bare feet. John B turned to look at his sister as he stands inside the HMS Pogue- the group's trusty fishing vessel- pulling branches from the large tree that takes up almost their entire yard. "This is insane..." She said, avoiding all the sharp ends of sticks that riddled the longer grass.

"That is not good." He said to himself as he shook his head, "Oh, man."

Julianna bent down to grab a small stick and tossed it across the yard, clearing a pathway for her to reach the boat where her brother was. "Our hoping worked in our favor..." She says with a small yet hopeful smirk and John B nodded, "I guess so..."

The Routledge twins sat in silence and stared out at the water, their futures still hanging in the balance. Even though DCS wasn't coming today the two knew what was to come, they knew that one day in what could be the near future- they would end up on the mainland in some sort of snooty foster home living the rest of their lives and they wouldn't be able to stop it.

The creaking of the screen door brought their attention back towards the house where they found JJ making his way down the stairs holding the neck of a beer bottle between his fingers as he takes a swig. "Agatha did some work, huh?" He asks as he takes a look around the front yard and Julianna, "Yeah, she did."

He closes the gap of space between him and the twins and ended up standing right next to Julianna, finding it to be a perfect time for his arm to find its way over her shoulders, pulling her into his side before passing her the beer. "When I went into the kitchen I saw that you couldn't make your coffee, thought I would share the wealth..." He says with a smile and the brunette took the bottle from him with a nod before bringing it up to her lips and taking a sip.

It wasn't her typical drink of choice for 8:30 in the morning but hey, you win some and you lose some. "You two are literally crazy, you know that?" John B stated as he threw another big branch out of the boat and JJ just shrugged, "What? It's five o'clock somewhere..."

Julianna nodded, "I second that comment."

John B chuckled as he hopped out of the boat and stood in front of the two with a perplexed look on his face, as if the gears were turning in his mind and he was coming up with some master plan. "What are you thinking about, Johnny?" Julianna asked and the Routledge boy turned his attention to his sister with a sneaky smirk on his face, "I'm thinkin' that storm surge pushed all the crabs out on the marsh maze. All those drum are gonna chase the crab."

"What about the DCS? Wasn't that today?" JJ asked looking down at the brunette he had his arm around and Julianna shook her head, "He called the DCS office and had them reschedule the meeting because of the storm." She says passing the beer bottle back to the blonde and he nodded, taking a bigger sip as he looked at John B. "So what are you saying?" He asked and the curly haired boy looked at his best friend then out into the distance of the marsh that buts up against their land.

"Come on J, it's God tellin' us to fish."

𖤓𖤓𖤓

When God tells you that it's time to fish, you listen, that's the mindset the Pogues like to use. That's why JJ, Julianna, and John B are navigating the HMS Pogue through the channels leading into town where a majority of the docks for all the small businesses that keep this town alive are located. "Do you see that boat over there?" JJ asks Julianna pointing at the small boat as it passed off to the side and Julianna nodded, "Yeah, what about it?"

"Thats the kind of boat that you should picture when I say that any boat is kind of a smuggler's boat." He explained sounding like an excited child telling the person they like about their hobbies. The brunette who was wearing a sheer black top over a bright red bikini and a pair of jean shorts nodded, "Oh okay..."

She didn't understand a word the blonde said but didn't want to hurt his feelings or have him explain whatever he meant in depth. Julianna let her eyes scan the waters, looking for any signs of damage, "I really hope Guffy's boat didn't sink. He doesn't have insurance." She says in an empathetic tone and both boys nodded.

The trio arrived to the front of the dock where a group of women were watching the water moving back and forth. "Hi, Miss Amy! You guys get through it?" JJ asked as they slowly crepth further down the channel, waving at the woman and the older blonde woman nodded, "Still here."

Julianna rolled her eyes as the two boys did the pogue secret handshake. "She totally looked at me."" JJ exclaimed and John B nodded, "I saw it. Didn't you Julie?"

"No but if you want it to have happened I guess I'll support the delusion." She says in a playful tone and JJ just smirked at her, "You're just jealous..." He says and the girl just flipped him off with a small smile filling her face and a blush washing over her cheeks. "Yeah, that's totally the reason, dumb ass."

The trio fell silent as they made their way down the channel, passing the many shops that line the dock buzzing with activity. Julianna took in the view of the entire island, seeing how much damage the storm had caused within ten hours. "Look at this place." She says in a saddened tone, "Agatha, what did you do?"

"She is a crazy lady." John B explained and JJ nodded, "Hard-core."

She lets out a sigh as she shakes her head in disbelief, "This is going to be a hard one to bounce back from, that's all I know"

John B nodded as he accelerated the speed of their boat, closing the gap between where they were now and their first stop of the day. "Yeah, we'll be cleaning this all summer." He said and JJ shook his head, "That is my nightmare."

The HMS Pogue slow down as they arrived at the back of Heyward's, finding Pope who was washing off several of the produce crates that were piled against the wall. "Well, look who we have here." Julianna said with a smile plastered across her face and John B nodded towards the Heyward boy, "We have a safety meeting. Attendance mandatory." He explained and Pope shook her head.

"I can't. My pop's got me on lockdown." He waivered and JJ rolled his eyes, "Come on, man. Your dad's a pussy. Over." This earned a smack from Julianna who tried to stop him from digging himself into a deeper hole. Within seconds Heyward stormed onto the doc with a hot headed expression on his face. "Oh, I heard that, you little bastard." He fussed and Julianna waved at the man, "Hi, Mr. Heyward..."

His mood instantly changed as he looked towards the side of the blonde to find the Routledge girl sitting on the little built in bench within the boat. "Hey there Julie, how are you?" He asked sweetly, his attitude changing completely and the girl smiled back, "I'm good... Is there any way we can steal your son for the day?"

Before Heyward could answer the girl JJ inserted himself back into the conversation. "Yeah, and island rules. Day after a hurricane's a free day." the blonde explained and all Julianna could do was look at him with a furrowed brow, "For fuck sake..." she muttered under her breath as Heyward crossed his arms over his chest.

"Who made that up?" He asked and JJ pressed his lips into a tight line before pointing at the man, "Uh... Pentagon, I think.We have security clearance, I have a card." He said patting his cargo short pockets and the girl just pinched the bridge of her nose not wanting to be a part of anything that was happening right now, especially because she is one of the only pogues that is liked by all the parents.

"You think I'm stupid?" Heyward asked the blonde and Julianna finally piped back in, "Not at all Heyward." But her words were overlapped by the voice belonging to Pope as he put the hose down and slowly made his way down the deck towards the group. "I'll do it tomorrow. I promise. Tomorrow." He says in a calm tone and Heyward shook his head, "You think... No, no. Hell no. You doin' it right now."

"Get in the boat." John B coaxed like the little devil that sat on his shoulder and JJ joined in, "Make a run for it." Julianna stayed silent, trying her best to hide the small amused smile that was threatening to fill her face. "Boy, if you get in that boat..." Heyward warned and before he could finish his thought Pope hopped into the boat making it shift up and down in the water.
"How does that feel?" Julianna asked in a whisper and he just shook his head before turning to look at John B with a sense of fear in his wide eyes, "Go, go, go."

As they started to move from their spot in front of the Heywards dock Mr. Heyward continued to fuss at his son. "Bring your ass back up here." He said and Pope looked at his father with apologetic eyes, "I promise I'll do it tomorrow, Dad."

Mr. Heyward just rolled his eyes as he pointed at the group of kids, "You gonna clean shrimp, clean fish. You'll clean your dirty-ass room!" He ordered and Pope nodded, flashing a thumbs up to his dad. "Love you, Pops." He says and John B turned to look back at the man, "We'll bring him back in one piece. I promise!"

His last words were in a louder tone, "And I don't like your friends!"

Julianna gasped at the man's comment, "Not even me?" She asked and Pope's father let out a sigh as he watched the girl jut out her bottom lip. "Fine I don't like any of your friends, except Jules! All of the others are on the chopping block."

𖤓𖤓𖤓

It took the group twenty minutes to get from Heyward's dock to the dock that is connected to the Wreck where they were going to pick up Kiara. "Did you call out today?" Pope asked the brunette as they slowed to a stop and Julianna just looked at the teen with raised eyebrows, "Seeing that I haven't had service all day... no I don't think I did."

The Heyward boy chuckled as he nodded, "Good point."

The four watch as Kiara makes her way down the dock with a igloo cooler in one on her hands. "Oh, top o' the mornin' to ya." John B said in a fake irish accent that didn't even sound Irish as he slowed the boat to a stop next to the small ladder that led into the water and Kiara smiled at the group, "Good morning."

"Whatcha got in that cooler Kie Kie? You got some juice boxes?" Julianna asked with a smile on her face and the Carrera girl shrugged her shoulders playfully, "You know, just some yogurts and carrot sticks." She says with a giggle lacing her voice and JJ is rubbing his hands together as if he were some super villain in an animated film. "How about my kind of juice box?" He asked and Kiara nodded, "Yep!"

Julianna got up from her spot and made her way over to the side of the boat where Kiara was boarding to help her on. "Brace for impact." She says to the boys as holds on tight to the Carrera girl's hand as she gets her into the boat with little to no hesitation, passing the cooler to JJ so that he could raid it for the good stuff which he did; taking beer bottles out and handing them out to the group like they were pieces of candy and the pogues were kids on Halloween.

"Salud." Julianna says as she pops the top off of her bottle and tosses the cap into the belly of the old fishing boat and JJ clinked his bottle against hers, "Skoal."

From there the group was on the move, getting further and further into the marsh and away from the noise of the world. Julianna had taken off her shirt and was propped up on her elbow, catching some sun and hoping to get a little bit of sun which her skin desperately needed. "This is absolutely perfect..." She says with a relaxed sigh and Kiara responded, "I could get used to this."

Their moment of peace was brought to an abrupt close when JJ cleared his throat and began to address the group. "Bet you can't do this." He starts off by saying and this peeked the Routledge girl's interest, her eyes fluttering open to watch what JJ was doing. "Tell the world..." John B says from his spot close by his sister, a smile plastering his face as he took a sip of his beer.

"A party trick." JJ says in his mysterious voice and Julianna's eyes went wide, "Terrifying."

JJ looked to the Heyward boy who had deemed himself captain for the day, seeing that he was the only one out of the group not white knuckling a beer bottle, "Hey, Pope. Can you go a little faster?" He asked and Julianna couldn't help but chuckle as she began to shift how she was sitting.

"Here we go. I'm movin'." Kiara said with a chuckle, leaving Julianna on her own in their spot.

Pope shook his head at the blonde, "Doesn't work. We've tried this like 6,000 times."

This may be true but one thing to know about JJ Maybank is that he is both resilient and hard headed when it comes to stuff like this. "I got this. It's gonna work!" He says as he puts one foot up on the front of the boat while the other was holding him steady on the floor of the boat and then he began to tip the bottle letting its contents fly into his mouth as the wind blew it every which way.

"You're getting beer in my hair!" Julianna squealed, a giggle lacing her voice as she covered her face defensively with her hands, "Oh, my God."

John B shook his head, "All right. All right! All right, you're done."

Just when John B was getting the situation under control the boat went from sixty to zero, causing everyone on it to jolt forward. "Jesus, Pope!" He shouts before looking down at his sister who had fallen off her elbows and flat onto her back, "Shit, Jules are you okay?" He asked and the girl nodded, slowly getting herself back into a seated position looking over the edge to see JJ floating in the water, discomfort painting his face.

"You okay, J?" She asked in a concerned tone and the blonde slowly shook his head, "I think my heels touched the back of my head." A groan lacing his voice as he spoke.

"Kie, you okay?" John B asked and the Carrera girl nodded, "I'm all right."

Julianna turned her attention to the Heyward boy who was still standing at the boat's controls with wide eyes looking down at the panel. "Pope, what did you do?" She asked, less in an accusatory way but more in a concerned way and the boy shrugged his shoulders, "Sandbar. The channel changed."

A chuckle could be heard from the water, "No shit."

"Ugh, this is probably gonna mess this whole place up." John B said as he looked out at the water surrounding them. JJ started swimming back to the side of the boat with the beer bottle still in tack in his hand. "Hey, I saved the beer, though." He said and Julianna couldn't help but smile at the blonde idiot, not knowing whether to be pissed or proud, "Congrats, JJ."

As the voice levels continued getting louder Pope tried to get the attention of the group, he saw a dark shadow lurking under the water that looked like in was misplaced from where it should be. "Guys... I think there's a boat down there." He says and everyone stops what they were doing and looks to the Heyward boy with furrowed brows. "Shut up. What?" Julianna asked standing up from her spot and making her way over to stand behind Pope.

"No way." Kiara said, not believing him but Pope pointed towards the water with urgency, "No, no, guys. I'm serious. There's a boat down there."

JJ looked up at the people in the boat with a confused look, "For real?"

"Guys... is this... It's a boat!" Pope exclaimed and now everyone saw what he was seeing, they saw a boat under the water's surface. Julianna chuckled nervously as she unbuttoned her jean shorts and began to slip out of them with such speed, "Holy shit, he's right. Let's go."

With that she was the first one to accompany the Maybank boy in the tepid water of the marsh. She waded, keeping her head above water, watching the rest of the crew strip down to their bathing suits like their lives depended on it. "You think there's a dead body down there?" Pope asked and no one even tried to enthuse his weird question, because if there was, this would turn into something completely different.

"Get your asses in here! The suspence is killing me!" Julianna fussed and everyone began jumping into the water. Once they were all in they went under as a team to observe their new findings, only swimming down far enough that they didn't need any assistance to breathe and once they ran out of the oxygen they had taken in before diving they came back in unison with shock riddling all of them and climbed back into the boat.

"You guys saw that?" Julianna asked, dumbfounded by what had just happened and everyone responded with a yes. "What the... That's a Grady-White. A new one of those is like 500 Gs, easy. That's a primo rig." JJ explained to the group and John B nodded as he shook the excess water from his curls as if he were a dog, "Yeah. That's the boat I saw when I surfed the surge. Maybe it hit the jetty or something."

"Wait, you surfed the surge?" Julianna asked with a tone filled with pure shock and John B nodded, "Yeah. Pope and I did last night after you and JJ fell asleep watching 10 things I hate about you."

She instantly fell silent as she locked eyes with her brother, of course he knew they ended up falling asleep together, it was no use to make it seem like they weren't that morning. "Hell yeah! That's my boy. Pogue style." JJ exclaimed dapping up the Routledge boy as Julianna just sat there in silence remembering the night before.

After Kiara left the night prior and Julianna was done cleaning the kitchen all she wanted to do was plop on the couch and watch a rom com from the nineties, so that's what she did. She grabbed a box of cheese-itz from the small pantry they have in the chateau's kitchen, showered, got into her pajamas and made her way into the living room to watch the blockbuster hit featuring Heath Ledger.

Julianna started the movie by herself, expecting that everyone had gone home but then JJ came in through the front door after surfing with the boys and he instantly found interest in the movie the brunette was watching. So after he got cleaned up- which was the only rule Julianna made the night before so that he could sit and watch with her- the two ended up watching the movie on the couch and both falling asleep there and not moving until the morning.

It's not like they did anything or broke the 'no pogue on pogue macking rule' they just watched a movie but still Julianna felt as if she betrayed her brother's trust with they way he had locked his eyes onto hers before JJ stepped in. She turned to look at the Heyward boy with a furrowed brow, "You surfed it too?"

Pope nodded excitedly with a smirk filling his face, "Yeah and it was actually pretty fun."

"Wait, wait. Do we know whose boat that is?" Kiara asked, catching the attention of the Routledge girl, bringing her back to reality and John B shook his head. "No, but we're about to find out." He says in a hopeful tone and JJ shook his head, "Dude, it's too deep."

John B shook his head and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, "Only for the weak and feeble, JJ."

"Johnny, I need to agree with JJ on this... It's too dangerous, first the surge and then this? It's like you have a death wish!" She exclaimed and John B just looked at his sister, "Come on Jules, you have to believe in me sometimes..." He says and the girl just shakes her head, not knowing what to do with the stupidity her brother was presenting her with. "Well, I'm not resuscitating you. I'm just making that clear up front." She says and John B nodded, "That makes sense, but you don't have to worry. JJ will do all the resuscitating, won't you JJ?" He asks and the blonde automatically shoots him down.

"That is a no from me, sir." He stated pointing at the Routledge boy and John B just sighed, "That's fine."

Kiara shot glances at both Julianna and JJ as if to reprimand their behavior before making her way over to the Routledge boy. "John B..." Julianna said, and you know when she says his full name instead of just Johnny it's a serious matter. "What Julianna?" He asked and the girl flashed a small smile at him, "Be safe okay? Diver down, fool."

He gives his sister a nod, "Diver down."

The group held their breath as they watched their fearless leader descend into the depths of the marsh. Worry built up within Julianna as she stared at the water, hoping it wouldn't swallow her brother the same way it had swallowed their father. Out of nowhere she reached for JJ's hand and encapsulated it with her own, squeezing it tightly. "Come on Johnny..." She says in a whisper and JJ just let his thumb rub against the top of the brunette hand, trying to offer the sense of calm she was seeking.

"What if something happens to him down there?" Julianna asked in a worried tone and JJ squeezes her hand, "Nothing is going to happen to him, Julie... He's indestructible."

"Yeah, he is." Pope said in an encouraging tone but something within Julianna was still unsettled, "Should we go get him?" She asked and before any of the Pogues could answer her John B's head popped out from under the water which sent a chorus of relieved sighs through the HMS Pogue. JJ squeezed Julianna's hand one more and chuckled, "You see I told you he was indestructible."

Julianna's heart was beating out of her chest as she let out shaky breath that she had been holding, "You scared the shit out of me, Johnny!" She said and the boy just smiled up at his sister. "Sorry for the scare."

The clammoring voices belonging to the others filled the air asking John B everything the could about the boat. Questions like 'Any dead bodies?' from Pope and 'Looting potential?' from JJ, but he answered both questions with no before bringing up his hand that was holding a green key chain with a silver key at the bottom of it. "I found this motel key." He explained and everyone looked at him with a furrowed brow.

"A key." Pope asked dumbfoundedly and John B nodded as he waded towards the boat to get back inside, "Yes, a key, Pope."

"So you risk your life and the only thing we find is a motel key; that's great." Julianna says shaking her head in disbelief and Kie raised her hand to add her two cents, "Guys, we should report the wreck to the coast guard. Maybe we'll get a finder's fee." Her voice was hopeful as she spoke and it slowly but surely spread hope to the rest of the group, even JJ agreed with her. "Yeah, and not work all summer. Thanks, Agatha, ya batch."

𖤓𖤓𖤓

The marina center where the coast guard had stationed themselves was buzzing with a terrified sort of energy, one that only comes when tragedy has struck an area. The group had made a plan because it was so crowded; Julianna and JJ would try their hand at getting help inside and the rest of them would wait outside and try to form a plan B.

As the two walked through the groups the littered the outside of the building Julianna kept an ear out to listen to what the people here were going through. Some were looking for resources for their families, some were looking for lost family members, and she felt bad that they were only their to report a boat to make a profit.

"J are you sure that we should really be here right now? They look like they have their hands full..." Juliana said with hesitation lacing her voice and JJ looked at her and nodded, "They're the Coast Guard, it's their job to have their hands full." Even though it might be true, Julianna still felt bad for taking up their time as the two walked into the crowded building, looking for someone to help them.

"Split up and meet right back here before going back outside?" JJ asked and Julianna nodded.

"Sounds good."

Julianna goes straight for the front desk where most of the people were talking over one another trying their best to get help, with her voice joining into the mix. "Hey, excuse me?" She asks softly at first not wanting to talk over the woman who has one of the men's attention, "She doesn't need to talk to the coast guard. It's a dog. How about the Humane Society?" He asks and the woman shook her head.

"He's diabetic!" The woman fussed and the man looked at her with a furrowed brow, "Wait He's a..." He starts and the woman goes back in with the fact that her dog was diabetic and he just shakes his head. "Ma'am ...a dog..." He says and she snapped at him again and all he could do was nod, "No, I understand that."

"Excuse me! Excuse me. Hey, man, we... we found a boat." Julianna could hear JJ's voice bellow over the crowd slightly and she finds herself on her tiptoes trying to find the blonde, finally finding him on the other side of the large counter. "Please... I... You're gonna wanna hear this." JJ fussed, getting aggravated about being ignored and quickly one of the other coast guard officers snapped at him, "Hey! Calm down."

The two locked eyes with one another and Julianna could see the anger bubbling up within the blonde. "It's all good..." She mouthed, offering the boy a soft smile before her ears were assaulted by the woman's voice again, whining about her dog's diabetes, "Now... Canine diabetes is very..."

She snapped her head in the direction of the woman with wide eyes, "Oh, my gosh. Diabetes for a dog?" Julianna asked in an agitated voice and the woman nodded, "Yes and it's dangerous!"

Before she could respond to the woman she was caught off guard by the sound of a gruff male raised voice. "Your boat? We're not worried about your boat right now, okay?" He said and through the crowd she saw JJ pushing through, not caring about if he shoved anyone or the angered words from the people around him. He got to Julianna, grabbed her hand, and the two of them were out of the building faster than they got in.

"So..." Kiara says in a hopeful tone and Julianna just shook her head, "No help at all... They care more about some woman's diabetic dog than they do about real issues, I guess." She says shaking her head and the Carrera girl's bottom lip jutted out at the diabetic dog comment.

"What's the plan?" Pope asked looking at the group and Julianna shrugged, "I'm fresh out of ideas..."

A jingling sound filled the air as everyone turned their attention to John B who was holding the new piece of the puzzle that the group had marked off as useless. "I know how we're gonna find the guy who owns that boat." He says and Julianna shook her head, "Anything but that... We don't know whose room that is. It could be anyone."

JJ's hand shot up, "I'm in."

"Of course you are..." Julianna said as she rolled her eyes, a chuckle escaping her lips.

Kiara looked at the girl with a nod, "Come on... We can be lookout."

"I still vote no..." Pope says with a shrug, standing stedfast in his ways and John B threw one of his arms around the Heyward boy's shoulders, "Finder's fee. Just sayin'. And, hey, at least you'll only be an accomplice."

"Man..." Pope said in a defeated tone and JJ smacked his butt, "Come on, bubba."

After some heavy convincing the team was back out on the water heading towards the next place that hopefully will give them more information on the mystery boat. "So what's the plan when we get there?" Julianna asked, hoping for someone to have a clue on what they would be doing but both John B and JJ shrugged their shoulders, "That's more of a 'when we get there' worry..." JJ said and Julianna just pressed her lips together into a straight line while nodding.

"Well it looks like we're here so..." She says pointing out in front of them towards the run down motel that looks as if it has seen better days- despite it being decades ago. "I thought the Château looked bad. This place is a shitshow." John B said, shaking his head as he steered the boat towards the shoreline.

Julianna watched as a shiver made its way down Kiara's back, "Motel or meth lab?"

"You choose, it's like a build your own adventure at this point!" Julianna said and that earned several laughs from the others within the boat, finding humor in a very anxious time. "All I know is that this doesn't look like a place somebody with a Grady-White stays." She says and JJ shook his head, "No. Looks like a place someone with a Grady-White would get killed."

The boat bumped into the shore line signaling that they had arrived and John B nodded before clearing his throat. "All right. Here we go. This is your captain speaking. HMS Pogue comin' in for landing." Once the boat was complete secure in the spot under the small tree beside them a chorus of claps filled the air, accompanying the Routledge and Maybank boy as they stepped onto the dirt.

"We good?" John B asked and JJ nodded, "Yeah, we good."

Julianna said a silent little prayer as she watched the two do the group's secret handshake, knowing that this could end in two fairly different ways; really terrible and they end up getting arrested or really fufilling and they will end up finding the missing pieces of information they needed. "Don't die in there, okay?" Julianna called out and both boys look at her with their signature smirks filling their faces, "Try out best!" JJ says saluting the girl and she couldn't help but chuckle at his actions.

"All right. Here goes nothin'." John B says, sahking his nerves away as he and JJ start towards the motel, not wanting to turn back and have the three people left on the boat to say anything to them, convincing them that it wasn't a good idea. Pope's voice filled the air and made the two stop in their tracks, "Hey!" He called out and John B slowly turned around so that he was looking back at the boat.

"Yeah?" He asked and the Heyward boy pointed at the blonde, "Don't let him do anything stupid..."

JJ quickly turned on his heels and flashed two thumbs up. "Oh, we will!" Julianna just pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head in disbelief not knowing how to react to the Maybank boy's response, "Really reassuring there, J. A-plus!" She says and the boy turned to look at her with a nod. "Thank you."

The boat shifted a bit and Kiara quickly made her way over to the Routledge boy, standing in front of him with a worried look plastered on her face. "Uh, be careful." She said as she grabbed the hotel key from her pocket and placed it in his hand, "I mean it." John B nodded as a small laugh escaped his lips, not knowing how to handle this serious version of the Carrera girl.

"Yeah..." He says as a blush filled his cheeks, "Yeah."

John B then makes his way back over to the blonde and throws an arm around his shoulders, "Let's go!"

𖤓𖤓𖤓

"Okay what are your guy's biggest pet peeves?" Pope asked and both girls looked at him before looking at each other. "Wow that's a deep one I need to think on that..." Julianna said with a puzzled smile, wracking her brain for her biggest pet peeve. Kiara raised her hand, "Easy. Giving one percent to the environment." She explained and both Pope and Julianna looked at the girl with furrowed brows.

"What's wrong with that?" Pope asked and Kiara feigned shock, "We only have one Earth, Pope. We should be giving it 100 percent, bare minimum." She explained and the Heyward boy just shrugged at the girl. "Right. That's not fiscally sound." He explained, bringing actual logic into the conversation and Kiara clicked her tongue, "Neither is destroying the planet we have to live on."

"Good point..." Julianna said with a smile as she nodded at the explanation given by Kiara.

Pope pointed at the girl, "What about you, Jules? Did you figure one out?"

The brunette nodded. "I think it has to be when people don't have faith." She said, getting real in a question that should not have been so deep, and both Kiara and Pope were shocked to say the least. "Wow Juju, that's deep." Kiara said and the girl shrugged, "You asked and I answered."

As chuckles erupted from the girls, Pope urged for them to be quiet as he pointed towards the semi-empty parking lot. "Hey, hey, cops." He explained and both Kiara and Julianna were brought back to the moment, "Shit!" Julianna exclaimed as she watched the sheriff's truck park in one of the closest parking spots to the building where JJ and John B were.

"Call them." Kiara urged and Julianna shook her head, "I can't. Towers are down."

Pope groaned as he ran his hands over his tight curls. "If I lose my merit scholarship, I'm gonna kill someone." He explained and Julianna's heart rate started to rise as she scanned their surroundings, " Maybe they're not going up. Maybe... Okay. Maybe they're looking for a room." She says and Kiara and Pope just pointed at Shoupe and one of his fellow officers starting towards the staircase that leads to the floor where the mystery room was.

"They're going up." Kiara said in a concerned tone and Julianna took a deep breath, "Okay, we have to do something. Okay let's go!" She urged and the three of them got out of the boat and rushed towards the space of ground right underneath the window. "What are we doing?" Pope asked and Julianna reached down to the ground and picked up a small pebble before tossing it up towards the window.

Pope did the same and looked to the girls, "Stand back."

"Okay. You got it. Give it a try..." Julianna said as she and Kiara watched the rock only make it a few feet in front of his after he threw it. "Didn't you ever play baseball?" The Carrera girl asked and Pope looked at her with wide eyes as his pitch got into a high whisper, "I was on the math team."

Julianna looked at the Heyward boy with a smirk, "Wait Pope, you were a mathlete?" She asked and the boy turned his attention towards her with a furrowed brow. "Not the point, you're right." Julianna said shooting finger guns at the teen, before grabbing more rocks and throwing them at the window hoping that at least one would hit the glass and alert the boys.

There was a tap and almost instantly both of them peeked out of the window to find Pope, Julianna, and Kiara waving their hands in the air and shouting the word cops over and over, loud enough for them to hear but soft enough not to get caught which sent both boys into a tizzy.

The blinds closed quickly and Kiara looked to the rest of the group, "Should we peel?"

"You never leave a Pogue behind." Julianna said and Kiara turned her attention to Pope, knowing that he would be the one to give her an honest answer. "No, seriously, Pope should we peel?" She asked and the Heyward boy nodded, "Maybe."

Right as they were about to start the HMS Pogue up again and leave John B and JJ behind the hotel room window opened and both John B and JJ came climbing out onto the ledge right outside of it. A gasp escaped the mouth of Julianna as her eyes grew wide, "What the hell are you guys doing?" She asked and that drew Kie and Pope's attention to the window to see what Julianna was seeing.

"Oh, my God." Kiara said as she pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, not wanting to witness her two childhood friends fall to their deaths. They all watched as the two shared a few words and then the sound of metal clattering with metal filled the air and Julianna watched as a gun fell from JJ's pocket. Julianna found herself holding her breath for a second time today as she watched the blinds shoot up in the hotel room window and Shoupe look out of them, taking in the area.

She watched as the blinds went down and within thirty seconds after that Shoupe and his partner were making their way out of the motel room with evidence bags in their hands, as if the room was some sort of crime scene. "What the fuck..." Julianna said in a whisper as John B and JJ made their way back down to the ground, running to the HMS Pogue and urging Pope to get the engine running.

She watched as JJ picked something up off the ground and shoved it back into his pocket before hopping into the boat, finding his spot right next to Julianna. "Well, that was fun." He said shaking his head, "Could have warned us sooner, though."

Kiara shrugged, "We would have, except Pope was on the math team."

JJ looked toward Pope with an enthused smile on his face, "You were on the math team?"

He immediately shut him down by changing the subject to what they had witnessed Shoupe and his partner take out of the room. "The cops took everything like it was a crime scene." He explained as he took the boat further into the water and Kiara began questioning them, "Did you guys find anything?"

"Did we find anything? No, I don't think so. Oh, yeah, we did." JJ said as he pulled a handgun out of one pocket and a stack of cash out of the other, holding both of them up to each side of his head and everyone's eyes went wide. "What the hell?" Julianna asked and Pope built onto that, "Dude, what?"

JJ shook their concern off like it was no big deal, "Come on."

"Why take that from a crime scene?" Kiara asked and the blonde just looked at her, "Better than cops having it." He said sounding so serious and everyone just looked at him dumbfounded. "You serious?" John B asked and JJ nodded which sent Pope into a spiral, "I'm gonna lose my merit scholarship."

JJ offered the worried Heyward boy a small reassuring smile, "Hey, hey, hey. Sh, sh, sh. sh, sh. At least you have us, right?" He asked and Pope buried his head in his hands.

"I'm living the nightmare." He said and Julianna just looked at the blonde and shook her head, "Why the fuck did you think that was logical to do?"

JJ shrugged, "I don't know... It was fun."

𖤓𖤓𖤓

Once they arrived back to shore all Julianna could think about was going home and taking a nap, anxiety had been eating away at her all afternoon and she knew that once she got home and sat down on her couch she would be done for. As they walked from the spot in the marina where they had temporarily docked the HMS Pogue they were greeted by several emergency service members flooding the surrounding dock area as they led a gurney up the ramp from a coast guard water safety boat; it was a search and recovery team.

"Shit who is that?" Julianna asked and as if it were clockwork the sound of a woman screaming bloody murder filled the air and answered the Routledge girl's question. "Scooter? Scooter? Oh, God!" It was Ms. Lana, a fan favorite of Julianna's, she has spent time talking with her in-depth whenever she would come to The Wreck for her lunch breaks.

Some members of the group were not as fast as Julianna and were still trying to figure out who the body belonged to. "Who's that?" JJ asked pointing towards the commotion and the blonde sitting on top of a couple crates next to the watch tower window spoke up, "It's Scooter Grubbs. He was out during the storm. Check out this pic I got." She said excitedly as she opened her phone's gallery and turning her phone out towards the Pogues. "Dead body."

Julianna squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see Ms. Lana's newly dead husband, "Ew."

"That's insane." Pope said really taking in the picture and Kiara let out a shaky breath, "Holy shit."

"What kind of boat did he have?" John B asked and the blonde girl shrugged, "Somehow, that dirtbag copped a brand-new Grady-White." This caused all of the Pogues to freeze for a moment and share glances with one another, not knowing what to say in that moment.

"Everyone's out looking for it." She explained and an uneasy feeling filled Julianna; it all made sense now, the hotel room in a way was a crime scene. They just didn't know why, not yet at least. 

a note from the author <3

i love the juliannajj crumbs at the beginning!! 

hope you all enjoy!!