MANIA
— 2. Boneyard

After leaving the country club, Marley decided to spend some time alone at the Harbor instead of joining the boys when they left to do God knows that.

She had been sitting alone when JJ, Ziggy, and their friends had walked up to her. They sat with her, the group watching from afar as Lana Grubbs was sobbing over the dead body of her husband.

"Who's that?" John B asked as he and Ziggy sat beside Marley on a large cooler.

"Scooter Grubbs," She answered them calmly, "Heard he was out during the storm. I got a pic of it."

The group looked down, glancing at the photo Marley had gotten of when Scooter's body had been discovered. Only someone as peculiar as Marley would smile while showing off the photo of a corpse.

"Holy shit," Ziggy and Pope muttered while JJ turned to Marley curiously.

"What kind of boat did he have?" JJ asked curiously and Marley glanced at him with a smile.

"A Grady-White. Brand new, too," She informed them, causing them to stare at her in surprise, "Everyone's out looking for it."

Instantly, John B turned his head to exchange a look with JJ and the rest of the group.

"You gonna go look for it?" Marley asked and John B shrugged.

"Why, do you want to come?" Ziggy asked and Marley stood up.

"I'll pass," She responded and walked away without another word said.

"What's up with her?" JJ complained in an annoyed tone, "She doesn't even want to hang with us anymore. What, are we too trashy for her now?"

"Nah, there's just something up with her in general," Ziggy complained as he let out a large sigh, "My moms keep accusing me of not taking my meds, but I think it's Marley who's not."

"You two take meds for different reasons," Pope argued in a calm tone, "Marley has serious mental issues that make her go crazy. You just have ADHD."

Ziggy awkwardly shrugged, not bothering to correct his friend on what he said about Marley. He knew what was wrong with her but Marley refused to tell anyone. For a girl who cared nothing for what people thought of her, she sure kept her mental illness hidden away.

"Exactly. Which means it's more dangerous for her not to take her meds. I miss them sometimes but it's summer. I only take them during the school year to focus."

"That's not how those pills work, dude," Kiara pointed out and Ziggy rolled his eyes, not wanting to speak about his medicine at that moment.

____

   At the summer's first Boneyard party, JJ, Ziggy, and the rest of their friends decided to throw a kegger to keep their minds off their plans of finding the boat. John B held a red cup filled with beer. He tried to hand it to Pope, who ended up rejecting it.

Instead, Ziggy reached forward and swiped it from John B, causing the group to laugh. "I'll gladly take it."

Marley was one of the first Kooks to arrive. Surprisingly, she didn't arrive with Zane and the others, which was relieving to Ziggy and his friends.

The party just started. He didn't want a fight to happen so quickly, probably caused by Marley as it usually was.

JJ and Marley had their arms linked, the two of them chugging down a cup of beer. Marley ended up winning and tossed her cup to the ground.

The group cheered and JJ laughed, wasting no time giving Marley a high five as she jumped in excitement. He grabbed her by the waist, tugging her closer as he planted a kiss to her lips.

Marley laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. He lifted them onto a log, beginning to laugh and cheer. "We are family!"

   At another spot, Kiara sat with Ziggy, away from JJ and Marley's antics. Kiara chuckled as they spoke of zodiacs, the only one of the boys who'd take part. She assumed it was because of Marley.

"Virgos are, like, so organized," She admitted and Ziggy smiled at how passionate she was about it, "Like, all my friends that are Virgos are like--Which sign are you?"

"I'm an Aries," He confessed and Kiara raised a brow at him.

"Really?" She asked, looking surprised, "Don't seem like it. Marley sure does, though."

"She's a Leo," He responded, causing Kiara to laugh loudly.

"Explains a lot," She replied and they both smiled at the thought, "Where is she, anyway?"

The two teens looked around until they saw Marley sitting on a lifeguard chair was tilted and looked as though it was about to fall.

"Marley, be careful up there. Marley!" Zane exclaimed as he walked over to where the girl was preparing to stand on it.

They hadn't even see him arrived but knew Marley must have ditched the rest of the Pogues the moment her Kook friends had shown up.

"What the hell is she doing?" Kiara frowned at Ziggy, who sighed and shook his head.

He knew there was nothing he could do to stop her reckless and careless actions. It was just Marley being Marley and it only became worse when people told her to stop.

Marley stood on it, looking around at the view with a wide smile on her face. It was beautiful. The sunset, the water, everything. She always loved the beach, the only place she truly felt at peace.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy?" Zane laughed and climbed up a bit to reach for her.

"Maybe a little," She commented, only to look annoyed when he reached to grab her hand to help her down.

She ended up swatting it away before he could do so. "I'm fine," She assured him in an annoyed tone.

    Kelce, Topper, and Sarah walked over and watched Marley finally begin to climb down.

After climbing down a bit, she jumped into Zane's arms as he caught her. They laughed and Zane spun her. The moment he set her down on the ground, they kissed, earning an eye roll from both Kiara and Ziggy.

_____

When the sunset and nightfall crept in, the crowds only became larger. There was not much else for the teens to do that summer besides going to parties and spending time at the beach.

That night, they were doing both.

  Marley was holding hands with Zane as they walked through the crowds, only to stop when JJ whistled at Ziggy.

"Yo, Ziggy," JJ called out and Marley turned her head to watch him walk over to her brother, "Ziggy!"

"What are you doing, man?" Ziggy laughed and made his way over to his friend.

"I got this for you," JJ revealed and held out a cup of alcohol to him, "Want it? I made it myself. All for you, man."

"For me?" Ziggy placed a hand to his heart sarcastically as he stopped in front of his friend, "How nice of you, JJ. Yeah, I guess I'll take a sip."

Just then, when JJ turned his head to see Zane and Marley walking past them with the rest of their group following close behind, JJ couldn't help but interfere.

It felt like when Rafe wasn't around, Marley was the leader of the group somehow. They followed everything she said. No matter what it was.

However, when Rafe was around, that struggle for dominance between the two caused a bit of conflict until Marley gave up and let Rafe boss everyone around.

"Oh, wait. Hey, hey. Hey, Marley!" He called out and Marley turned to him, silently praying he didn't start anything, "Marley, looking beautiful tonight, like always. Can I interest you, my lovely friend, in a tasty Milwaukee beverage?"

Marley smiled and was about to say yes when she noticed the looks she was receiving from the Kooks. She sighed and glanced back at JJ. "I'm gonna pass on that offer. Thanks, though."

"What? Is it not fancy enough for you now that you're not slumming it with us anymore?" JJ retorted, which earned a glare from Marley, "You were downing them like water before your little pet Kooks showed up."

"We were just leaving," She replied flatly, only to have Zane step forward.

"Hey, you know what? I'll take it," Zane offered and went to grab the drink from JJ, "Thank you, man. I appreciate it."

"That's real nice, Zane, but I wasn't asking you," JJ answered in a sarcastic tone and Ziggy groaned, knowing a fight was about to occur, "If you said, pretty please, maybe."

"Oh, pretty please," Zane sarcastically replied, but it was clear he was only trying to mess with them.

JJ continued to try to convince Marley to take his drink, holding it out to her as the girl declined.

"She doesn't want it, you—" Topper shouted as he stepped closer to the scene and shoved the drink out of JJ's hand.

The drink ended up spilling all over JJ, who in return shoved Topper.

Marley rolled her eyes, looking unamused as she stepped back to avoid getting caught in the crossover.

John B grabbed JJ by the arms before he and Ziggy pulled him back.

Zane and Kelce did the same with Topper, who ended up yelling. "Dirty Pogues!"

The moment he heard what Topper called them, John B had whipped himself around. He rushed toward Topper, roughly shoving him backward.

Topper stumbled back slightly but was quick to catch his balance before he could fall to the ground.

"John B," Pope scolded his friend as he pulled his friend back, "We're supposed to be incognito, remember?"

Sarah called out to her boyfriend, pleading for him to stop. However, Topper had ignored her and punched John B in the face.

Marley continued to stand still, the slightest of smiles on his face as she watched the scene unfold as if it were a movie.

The crowd gasped while Marley looked strangely calm, despite knowing the entire fight started with her.

Topper pushed John B into the water and kicked him in the stomach. "Hey, John B, don't make me drown you like your old man, all right?"

The crowd began to chant, "Fight!" and Marley continued to watch intently.

Finally pushing himself off the ground, John B wasted no time tackling Topper into the water. They soon stood up and the two boys grabbed onto each other, punching each other in the ribs.

"Kick his ass, John B!" JJ shouted at his friend as Ziggy joined in, both of them cheering for their friend and encouraging him while Pope and Kiara pleaded for him to stop.

The two pulled away from each other and began to deliver punches to each other's faces. John B soon flipped Topper over, leading to the boy falling into the water.

"Come on, Topper!" John B shouted at Topper, encouraging him to come at him, "Let's go! Come on!"

Topper finally stood back up, lunging straight for John B. John B punched Topper and as he began to run toward him, Topper had flipped him and sent him straight to the ground.

Topper grabbed John B, shoving his face into the water as he began to drown him.

  Marley sighed in boredom and walked over to JJ. She lightly grasped his arm, beginning to whisper in his ear. "You gotta do something, JJ," She demanded, watching as Topper continued to drown John B. She spoke in a pleading tone, but was sure to be quiet in fear of the kooks hearing. "You gotta stop Topper. Before he goes too far."

Without her having to say anymore, she watched JJ dig into his bag and pulled out a gun. "No, I didn't mean that! Where the hell did you even get that, Jesus!" She sighed in annoyance but did nothing to stop him when he made his way over to Topper and placed the gun against the Kook's head.

He clicked the safety off, causing Topper's eyes to widen in alarm when he realized exactly what was pressed against his head.

"Yeah, you know what it is," JJ boasted to Topper, a sadistic look on his face, "Your move, broski."

"He's got a gun!" A girl shouted, leading most of the people who had been at the party to flee.

However, people like Sarah Cameron, Kiara, Pope, Marley, and Ziggy remained. "Put the gun down, JJ," Marley sighed in annoyance and JJ turned to glance at her.

"Did you say somethin', princess?" He retorted with an attitude, continuing to hold the gun to Topper's head.

"We're good. We're good," Topper pleaded, removing his hands from holding John B down and lifted them in surrender instead.

"Kie! Can you check your psycho friend, please?" Sarah shouted at Kiara, causing Marley to scoff loudly.

"Okay, everyone, listen up!" JJ announced loudly as he pointed the gun up at the sky, "Get the hell off our side of the island!"

Before anyone could react, JJ had shot the gun into the air, causing Marley to facepalm herself. How idiotic could he be?

"Are you crazy? You idiot!" Pope shouted at JJ as Ziggy roughly shoved his friend, "Why would you do that?"

"I'm saving his life, okay?" JJ complained, shoving Pope back.

As Pope continued to scold JJ, Marley stood in place for a moment as Zane pleaded for her to leave with him.

She briefly turned her attention toward John B, who looked as though he was about to faint.

She sighed and left without another word said, not bothering to get involved. She couldn't afford to.