040
the shitty father's club

While Kiara and Cleo headed inside with Pope to wait for their friends, Bianca got comfortable in the surf shack.

The wooden shed smelled of board wax, and a little bit like weed. It was clearly more of a dumping ground for John B and the Pogues because there were various tools, and spare metal parts lying around along with a couple of long and short surfboards propped up in each corner.

When JJ arrived at the Chateau with the Twinkie, he seemed to have walked in on both Cleo and Kiara chewing Pope out for his outburst. After a quick rundown of what happened, JJ informed the others that Shoupe had taken John B down to the station before following his girlfriend to the surf shack.

A light breeze picked up ever since the sun began setting but Bianca didn't feel like going back inside. So, JJ sat with her and they talked, sharing a blunt between them while watching the amber hue across the sky slowly blur into pinks and purples. By the time the moon peeked through the clouds, they both concluded that they couldn't hide this secret from the Pogues anymore. Bianca was ready.

So, when Sarah strode around the yard toward the hammock, the Pogues were already gathered there. Light chatter filled the air between the cicadas chirping down by the dock.

The fairy lights around John B's memorial tree lit up the small smile on Sarah's face, "Hey, thanks for waiting. Um..." She trailed off, glancing over her shoulder. "Look who decided to come home."

The group followed her gaze to John B who slowly strolled down the backyard steps. His heart swelled at the sight of all his friends waiting for him in his childhood home.

"Hey," Kiara chuckled.

"Welcome back," Cleo shrugged.

"Woah," Pope commented, giving the boy's disheveled appearance a once-over. "Good to see you, man."

Bianca tried to stifle her smile, "Like a cockroach."

"You gotta be kidding me," JJ smirked, shaking his head.

John B stood in front of his friends, glancing between each of them with his hands shoved into his pockets. So much happened in the past twenty-four hours but the Pogues? His family. They were a constant. They were always there for him.

"I have something..." Sarah trailed off, turning to the others. "I want to share with you guys."

"Wait, um," Bianca interrupted, stepping forward. JJ gave her an encouraging nod to continue, "Before you do that. I also have something to say."

The Pogues stared at her expectantly and she briefly met Pope's gaze. He watched her through a narrowed stare, his jaw still set. Bianca swallowed thickly, fidgeting with the shark tooth necklace hanging above her heart.

"I haven't-" She shifted nervously. "I haven't been completely honest with you guys."

Sarah gave her a reassuring smile. If she didn't already have the attention of all her friends, they were listening now. Each one of them had been wondering about her strange behavior since being stranded on the island.

"Pope, the reason I was with Rafe that night at the Marina was because something happened back on the boat. Something with my dad," Bianca's eyes squeezed shut but she forced the words out. "And it was my fault."

Sarah arched an eyebrow at the same time JJ cleared his throat, sharing a look. They played this game before— the blame game. Neither of them would rest until this guilt was cleared from Bianca's conscience.

"Okay, fine. The fault is... debatable- I'm working on it," Bianca sent a short glare over to Sarah before turning back to the others. "It- it's honestly better if you guys don't know all the details- you know, legally. But um... fuck," She whispered under her breath, feeling her throat tighten. "My dad's dead."

The silence was deafening. Bianca couldn't stand it. Her skin crawled like little insects were trying to break through her skin. She reached up to dig her nails into her arms. She hated this— hated not knowing what the others were thinking— not having control over it.

"Rafe saw. He helped cover it up and that's why I was seeing him," Bianca explained in a rush, trying to compensate for the lack of air surrounding her. "And maybe it was an accident- maybe it wasn't but the point is, I'm sorry for keeping this from you guys for so long, and I'm sorry I lied. I promise, I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I was just-"

Before Bianca could get another word out, she felt all the oxygen get knocked out of her when Pope pulled her into his tight embrace. She stood frozen for a moment until she realized he wasn't mad at her.

Then, tears breached her eyes, "Pope, I'm sorry-"

"No, I'm sorry," Pope pulled away, his eyebrows furrowed. "I'm sorry- for not being there and for being selfish and so fucking obsessed with this stupid cross- I couldn't see-" He cut himself off before his voice broke. "I couldn't see what was right in front of me."

Kiara strode forward next, and Bianca was barely able to catch a glimpse of the unshed tears in her eyes, "Oh, B."

"Ew, this is gross," Bianca laughed, holding the girl tight. Her voice was thick when she spoke next, "Stop crying- you're going to make me cry and then my mascara's going to smudge."

"Shut up, you bitch," Kiara giggled before taking her by the shoulders. "Listen to me, okay?" She nodded, forcing Bianca to nod as well. "You've taken care of us- all of us for so long. Let us take care of you now, okay?"

That did it. Bianca brushed away the tears streaming down her cheeks, causing Sarah to chuckle and join them in the hug. The three girls embraced, keeping each other close.

Cleo was next to whip out the hidden knife from her boot and twirl it between her fingers, "So, what do we gotta do?"

The girls pulled apart and Bianca frowned, "Do...?"

"You know," Cleo hummed. "How we gonna make this problem go away?"

Bianca pursed her lips, "Actually, it's already done," Her heart swelled at the thought that Cleo was so willing to do this for her. "Hopefully, it'll all blow over soon. At least the legal parts of it."

Cleo could sense the double meaning behind her words. The parts of herself Bianca would never recover, "I haven't known you for long, B but you're a tough one," She nodded knowingly. "And I 'ppreciate you for trusting me with this."

Bianca offered her a weak smile, "Sorry it took me so long to come around."

Cleo shook her head like she understood, "I've been on my own since I was fourteen, okay? Never even hoped for anything except surviving. Never even t'ought it could be another way. These last few months with you guys... it's shown me somethin' different."

"You're a Pogue, Cleo," Kiara scoffed. "John B hitting you with that car was just the initiation-"

"Okay- look, I apologized for that, alright?" John B tipped his head back with a groan, causing the others to chuckle. He blew out a breath, "Never gonna live that one down."

Bianca sent Cleo a silent nod between their friends' bickering. She turned back to the others, "Look, I'm not gonna stand here and act all sentimental about my father. He did terrible inhumane things to you guys and people like Gavin- and Big John. But I don't know..." She sighed, keeping her gaze on the ground. "I have all these stupid feelings in my head and I wish my dad hadn't done all those things and I wish I could go back and fix everything but I- I can't."

The Pogues watched Bianca speak about her father with great reverence. There was animosity there, but also love. And even a little bit of respect.

"I'm sorry for what my dad did," Bianca felt tears prick her already bloodshot eyes but quickly blinked them away. "I'm sorry. And I miss him. And I'm sorry for missing him... I wish I didn't but I do. I really, really do."

The Pogues lapsed into a moment of silence, staring at the floor. They could all relate at least a little, having strained relationships with their parents, or in Cleo's case, parent figures.

It was only when John B stepped forward, one hand still shoved in his pocket, did they glance up again, "You know," He cleared his throat. "I haven't told anyone this but when my dad went missing...a small part of me felt relieved too. And I hate saying that out loud because yeah, sure, I wanted him back but he wasn't winning any Father of the Year awards," He shook his head, causing his tawny strands to fall over his eyes. "The last time I saw him before he disappeared, we got into this huge fight- he wanted to sell the Twinkie, I told him I hated him, and then after that, he was gone. I was devastated," The boy's adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed thickly. "But at least I didn't have to worry about him disappointing me anymore. That part... yeah, I didn't miss that."

"John B..." Bianca's frown deepened, watching the sullen look behind his eyes. All Big John could think about ever since he got home wasn't his son, it was the treasure.

Before she could pity him, however, John B continued, "What I'm trying to say is, we get it. Trust me," He shared a look with each of his friends. "If there's anyone who gets it, it's us."

JJ scoffed, "We should start a shitty father's club," The others laughed in response.

"I'd love to join but I gotta give my Pops credit where credit's due," Pope snorted.

"He's our Pops now," Cleo joked, elbowing his side.

"Speaking of shitty dads- mine might not be completely evil after all," Sarah piped up again, garnering the group's attention. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you guys about. I can get us down to the Orinoco."

"The Orin-" JJ spluttered. "Wait-"

"I'm sorry?" Bianca's lips parted.

"Are you serious?" A slow grin made its way onto Pope's face.

"Yeah," Sarah nodded, wringing her hands together.

"Okay," Cleo drawled, still hesitant. "And how's that gonna happen?"

"My dad's gonna let us use the plane," Sarah spoke, watching their faces morph in realization.

"Ward?" JJ's eyes widened.

"Your dad?" Pope gaped. "Ah-"

"Yep," Sarah hummed.

JJ shared a skeptical look with Bianca whose eyebrows were still drawn together. This seemed too good to be true. The man who was so hell-bent on murdering people for the gold was now... helping them? Something wasn't adding up.

"We lay low tonight, then wheels up first thing in the morning," Sarah explained.

"Okay, that's a lot to process," Pope nodded. "Your dad... actually helping us."

"I talked to him," Sarah reassured. "He'll do it."

"So, we're trusting Ward now?" Cleo threw her arms up in exasperation.

"How are we supposed to know he's not lying?" Bianca narrowed her eyes.

"Trust Sarah," Kiara met the girl's gaze, her lips pursed.

The sincerity behind her eyes made Bianca feel bad for doubting Sarah. Even if her best friend didn't always have the best track record for making wise decisions.

"Alright!" Cleo cheered half-heartedly.

"Well, great- that's all I needed to hear," Pope shrugged.

"Okay," Sarah sighed in relief. "But wait, I also just have one more thing to say..." Their chatter died down again. "Um..." She trailed off, swallowing thickly. "Since we've gotten back from the island, I've done some things that I regret... a lot."

Sarah ran a hand through her hair before briefly turning to John B. The boy in question didn't seem to meet her eyes until Kiara cleared her throat, forcing him to speak up.

"Yeah, uh..." John B piped up. "I feel- I feel like we've all done a thing or two that we regret."

Bianca's eyes flickered over to JJ who smiled lightly at her. All they had done for weeks was fight non-stop. It felt good to finally be on the same side again.

Bianca took a step behind so her back met JJ's chest and his response was immediate. The boy's hands found her waist, drawing her closer as he pressed a chaste kiss to the back of her head in a silent 'I love you.'

Bianca's heart melted after being cold for so long. She entwined her hands with his, squeezing hard.

"And- I don't..." Sarah stuttered. "Poguelandia, guys," She protested weakly. "It's all I've been able to think about. We were all together on that island, and it was a good thing and I don't want to ruin a good thing. And I... I just want to know, are we still all in?" Her gaze drifted over her shoulder at John B. "Are we still all together? Because I am."

Kiara inhaled sharply, wrapping Sarah into a hug, "Yeah."

When they pulled apart, Cleo grinned, "We pon road!" She followed Kiara's lead and embraced the blonde.

"I love you," Sarah giggled into the girl's shoulder.

"I still can't believe you got that plane," Pope scoffed. "That's actually insane."

"I know," Sarah chuckled, hugging the boy back.

"Oh- I almost forgot," Bianca suddenly chimed in, reaching into her back pocket to pull out the golden compass. "I think this belongs to you," She threw it at John B who fumbled for a moment before catching it. "Got it from my dad's office. Might help us find Big John."

John B flicked open the compass, where sure enough, scratched on the inside was the word 'REDFIELD.' His eyes darted to Bianca's, "Us?"

JJ pushed off where he was leaning and joined the group next, "Let's go get Big John, alright?" He allowed Pope to pull him into a side hug. "What do you say there, Shit Bird?"

The Pogues, with their arms around each other's shoulders, glanced over at John B, awaiting his answer. A tense moment passed between them in which the boy was clearly grappling with his thoughts but then, a slow smile spread across his lips.

"I think this deserves a woogity," Pope announced, arching an eyebrow over at John B. "How long you gonna pretend like you're not coming over here?"

JJ whistled lowly, "You in?"

"Come over here, funny man," Cleo urged as he finally stumbled forward into their group hug.

"We don't bite," Kiara giggled.

The group swayed, bathed in the fairy lights decorating the Chateau's backyard and the warmth of each other's affection. Somehow, they always found their way back to each other. Bianca would do anything for these people. They were hers.

"Now we woogity!" Pope threw his arms up.

"Oh, we're really doing this, aren't we?" John B scoffed, turning to each of his friends.

"We're doing it, man!" Pope cheered.

"Mhm," Sarah hummed, nodding at him.

"Has anyone checked the weather in Orinoco?" Bianca insisted. "I need to know what to pack."

"B, this is a rescue mission," John B narrowed his eyes. "Not a vacation."

Bianca glared back, "You might think going for a swim in the ocean constitutes a shower but if I'm going to spend another month stranded in some foreign country, it's going to be with clean hair, a cute outfit, and doused in Miss Dior."

"Is it too late to leave her here?" John B groaned.

At the same time, Bianca scoffed, "I'd like to request the seat furthest away from him."

Cleo sighed, "This is going to be a long trip."

[the rest of this chapter is a recap of the main plot of the season aka all the scenes bianca wasn't in, think of it as a little refresher (: but also feel free to skip it]

As it turned out, John B and Big John did find the idol in Charleston. After lying to the Pogues, they went to see one of Big John's old friends from grad school— Kelly Kepler.

The two college friends once took to trip down to Chichén Itzá to the pyramids, camped out, and got shit-faced. Kelly went crazy for all things Mayan once she saw the glyphs on the ball court, and thought that she could translate the idol.

Unfortunately, by the time John B and Big John reached her, it was too late. They were informed she died of a heart attack. One that came out of nowhere.

Apparently, she just got back from an expedition with a major new discovery— some kind of ruin in the jungles of South America. The other members of the expedition swore to keep its exact location a secret until they could publish it.

The head of the expedition— Professor Sowell, lived nearby and also happened to be Big John's previous mentor who got him started on El Dorado. Well, that was until Big John left the program.

Sowell was the foremost expert on pre-Columbian glyphs in at least three states. At first, when they knocked on the door, nobody answered. Until Big John had the smart idea to... well, break into Sowell's home. John B warned him against it, but of course, his father didn't listen, diving head-first into a window and what he hoped would soon lead them to El Dorado.

When they got inside, Sowell's place was a mess. This was surprising considering Big John claimed he was a stickler about pretty much everything, including his lawn. It turned out, Sowell was merely hiding and jumped out, ready to strike his intruders until he recognized Big John as one of his students.

Sowell explained to them how he took a trip last year to the mountains in Venezuela— the Orinoco River Basin. They went to Solana, the site of the signpost which five of them found. Since being back, however, three of them died. Sowell was sure they were being targeted to silence them.

When John B and Big John pulled out the stone piece, Sowell was fascinated and explained it was Gnomon of Solana. It acted like a stick casting a shadow, similar to the spike of a sundial.

The shadow gave lots of information— the time of day and the time of month. Legend had it that if it were to be put in its proper place and viewed at exactly the right time, it would give a clue or directions to El Dorado. All John B and Big John had to do now was find out where Solana was, what the glyphs said, and where to put the Gnomon.

Just as Sowell was trying to explain they needed to put the Gnomon on the temalacatl where it would ask a question, he was shot with a dart through the window and collapsed. Big John and John B hid from Singh's men and his first in command, Ryan who came in with guns. They left the Gnomon behind and just as John B went back to check on the professor, with his last breath, the man gave one name— Neville.

Big John, trying to reclaim the Gnomon, was stopped by Singh. Before they could shoot him dead, however, he very resourcefully added they needed someone to translate the glyphs to lead them to El Dorado since no one had ever fully translated Kalinago before. He explained he was the only person alive who could translate it because they killed the other one.

As a result, Singh spared his life. They took him to the boat, where they would depart for South America while he translated the idol. He had a week before they reached the Orinoco, if he didn't translate it by then, he was dead on the spot.

John B on the other hand was merely a loose end. Singh instructed his men to kill him but luckily, the boy escaped and made his way back to the Chateau.

There, he found JJ and the next day they were off to Professor Sowell's house to find out exactly where the site of the idol was so they could beat Singh there. When they got there, however, Sowell's body was gone.

What they did manage to find was an old newspaper clipping of the expedition to South America. In it, listed the same name Sowell told John B before he died— Neville Persaud, the expedition guide and the last one alive.

Now, usually, it would be a little more difficult to find said man but JJ happened to know a guy with the same last name and assumed they must've been related. John B was more than a little doubtful but lo and behold, Neville Persaud had been holing up near Doe Creek in a houseboat.

John B knew he was probably armed and ready, considering people were hunting him but the boys had no choice except to board the houseboat. Neville happened to be the only guy who knew where Singh was taking Big John.

They climbed aboard only to be attacked by Neville. After calming the man down, and explaining that they knew Professor Sowell, he was a little more cooperative. They asked him about Solana and begged him to help but before they could get far, the sound of boat engines interrupted them.

The boys were ambushed by two of Singh's men, forced to fight off their rifles with nothing but one of Neville's machetes. Once they finally escaped, John B and JJ pleaded with Neville to help them by revealing the location of where they were taking Big John.

Neville told them that if Singh and his men were after the gold then they were going to die anyway unless they could translate the idol and pass the test. He told them the story of how El Dorado was found by a Guajiro king, and when it came time for him to slip his mortal coil and meet the greats on the astral plane, he wasn't just going to give the gold to his sons.

The gold was the source of the King's power. It had to go to the wisest man, and to ensure that happened, he set up the test of the Gnomon. Whoever passed the test gained access to the gold.

If they failed the test, they died. If they somehow get to the gold without taking the test, then they die anyway. Just like the crew of the San Jose, and the Royal Merchant.

John B explained that they didn't care about the gold and that he just wanted to save his dad. JJ wanted to argue but Neville was convinced and drew them a map from the port of Tres Rocas. They needed to take a ferry passage from the river guide, Jose, who would bring them up the Orinoco to El Tesoro. In the bush, they would find the site.

Before that, Neville gave them a warning: to make themselves pure of heart. Pure of mind. For the gold killed everyone. And if they were there for the wrong reasons, it would take them too.

In the meantime, Pope also had a revelation. He was in the middle of Saturday school, trying to focus on trigonometry when he realized all the treasures— the gold, the cross, and El Dorado all somehow connected back to Denmark Tanny. It was always Denmark Tanny.

The man who founded El Dorado, King Guijra, was a holy man. He heard of the ancient shroud in the Church of Caleruega and wanted to make something out of it. The gold from El Dorado was transported to Spain, Caleruega and hence, the cross was curated. It was then transported back to South America as a gift.

He asked his history teacher, Mr Sunn, whether Denmark ever wrote about the origins of his wealth. Denmark bought his freedom with a bar of gold, and because he was on the Royal Merchant it was safe to assume that his gold and the Royal Merchant were linked. He was on a ship with a priest who was the last living person to see the origins of that gold.

Mr Sunn had never come across anything from Denmark that may have been South American in origin, but given Pope's heritage, he told him to look introspectively. In Pope's family archives.

While the others were at the Carrera's 15th-anniversary party, Pope and Cleo sifted through Heyward's garage. Pope's Mee-Maw, the one who knew they were Tannys, hid everything away in boxes, to keep it from future generations for their safety.

Cleo found a letter, one addressed to Clarice Tanny. At first, Pope was confused because he knew the story of Denmark— a fugitive slave turned landowner with three sons who survived him. He had completely forgotten about the daughter who was raised in the Limbrey plantation.

Amongst all the dust and untouched boxes, Pope managed to find an old family tree. Clarice married Reginald Heyward, which explained how they were related.

When they opened the letter from Denmark, it read— "Dearest, Clarice. I apologize for writing the letter which will most likely reach you after my death. I also apologize, I've never met you and I'm your father," They never let him see her. The letter spoke about her brothers, the family legacy, and the Royal Merchant. "The Priest was often delirious but in a moment of clarity, he spoke of an idol and a city of gold. I believed it to be the rantings of his fever but..."

And when Pope turned the page, there was the key to El Dorado, and saving Big John. A translation of the lost language, Kalinago.

The next morning, John B and JJ woke up at the Chateau, trying to map out their way to South America. Shoupe showed up, ready to arrest him but when they didn't open the door, he settled for placing a tracker on the Twinkie instead.

They left with JJ telling John B that he had a plan, despite it being half-baked. Honestly, John B would settle for a quarter-baked plan at that moment.

JJ drove the Twinkie down to Rockfish, the place John B claimed people go to bash beer bottles on other people's heads. But there was a guy here, who Luke Maybank used to work for and who moved a lot of weight. Barracuda Mike.

He was a legend around the Cut, but not in the way anyone would want to be associated with. He was part of a larger drug-smuggling trade that JJ and many others who worked for him knew about. The boys had a sneaking suspicion that the authorities knew too but because of his status, and his tendency to make people mysteriously disappear without a trace, they too steered clear of him.

Barracuda Mike was a burly man, with a graying beard and curly hair covered by a cap. Like all townies around the Cut, his t-shirt consisted of a Kildare logo and the occasional beer stain.

JJ struck a deal with him, against John B's wishes. Barracuda Mike had planes coming in with bales of weed from South America, which needed to be unloaded. That's what Luke used to do for him. JJ offered himself and John B to do the same in exchange for a little space in the cargo hold when he made his next trip down which happened to be at 5:30 pm that same day.

So, somehow JJ roped them into a drug-smuggling operation. Only, when the boys got there, Barracuda Mike switched up the deal.

They were supposed to drive a U-Haul truck up to Elizabeth City to make the drop. The address was in the truck and there'd be a dummy car for them to use on the way back where the plane would still be waiting.

The highway patrol was changing shifts as they spoke. This was their window. All they had to do was take it to the drop house on Prospect but John B was weary. This was way more dangerous than they agreed on.

Unfortunately for the boys, once they were in, they were in. There was no turning back. They got in the U-Haul truck, trying to act as normal as possible all the while John B berated JJ for this bullshit plan.

I mean, seriously, this had to have topped the time he told John B to fake appendicitis in jail. At least that almost worked.

Disaster struck when the boys spotted a cop pulling up another car ahead. JJ was practicing his wave while John B tried to tell him it was a bad idea. Just as the blond boy greeted the cop through his window, John B pulled his arm down, causing the steering wheel and consequently, the truck to swerve onto the side of the road.

The boys tried to speed off again but by then, the cop had already turned his sirens on and began chasing after them. JJ and John B had no choice but to ditch the truck full of weed in the middle of the bushes before sprinting back to the Twinkie.

It was then that Shoupe decided to show up and arrest John B, but not before pulling the boys away from their little wrestling match in the grass. He had a warrant, Topper was pressing charges.

Sarah, however, knew just to way to sway him. She pleaded that all she needed was 24 hours, and then John B would disappear and Topper would have her all to herself. Little did the Thornton boy know but they would all disappear. Including Sarah. To South America, leaving Topper heartbroken.

And as the Pogues would soon find out, a broken-hearted boy was not to be messed with.

Bianca had already been burned by one once.

After all, she was no stranger to revenge.

author's note. hellooooo! sorry i disappeared for like a week, uni got real busy for a sec. just a reminder that i've already written the entirety of this story so don't worry about me not updating. there's no way i'm writing an entire book and then giving up on publishing it lol so when you comment asking for updates, it's not that it's not coming, i'm probably just really busy. but you guys are always super kind and respectful when you ask about updates so i don't ever mind!! anyways this is not an angry announcement to tell you guys to stop asking or whatever i'm just giving you a heads up that i haven't forgotten about u guys!! love yall forever i hope you guys are having the best day <3333 muah!