053
my angel

When Bianca and JJ finally arrived at the ceremony, they were late.

The couple swiftly shuffled onto the side of the stage with their heads ducked down. Their skin burned as the audience's eyes followed their awkward entrance.

"An expedition of one man, John Routledge," The dignitary announced, side-eyeing the pair. "And a group of teenagers who are with us today."

Bianca and JJ settled into the last two wooden seats at the end of the stage beside the Pogues who rolled their eyes at their disheveled hair and askew clothes. The couple grinned sheepishly, still out of breath from their race to get there.

"Hi," Kiara whispered, squeezing Bianca's hand when she sat down.

Sarah tilted forward to mouth to her best friend, 'Fix your hair.'

Bianca quickly patted the loose tendrils down and tucked them behind her ear before turning to face the crowd. Amongst them were Topper and his family, Kiara's family, and Pope's too. Shoupe, Mr Sunn, and some of the other officials sat on the other side of the stage. Elena sent Bianca a small wave from her seat in between both her parents.

Teodoro and Pilar, her grandparents were smiling sweetly at her while Lydia, her mother merely arched an eyebrow at her unkempt appearance. Bianca winced, her eyes flickering to JJ who seemed to notice the same thing. It wasn't a great start for the boy who was supposed to be having dinner with her family later that week.

"...Locals, who grew up here and who succeeded where centuries of conquistadors, explorers, and admirals failed," The suited man continued at the podium which was adorned in their star-spangled banner. "Today, we come to celebrate these teens..."

Bianca smiled upon noticing Sarah and John B press their foreheads together, and Pope and Cleo's entwined hands. She glanced to the other side where her boyfriend was hunched over, staring at the floor. Her smile fell, nudging the boy and gesturing for him to sit up straight to which he did reluctantly.

"...Friends from both sides of the island, who came together to solve this 500-year-old mystery," The announcer began clapping. "Let's hear it for them!"

A loud cheer resounded through the audience as everyone got to their feet and clapped along in a standing ovation. Whoops and jeers could be heard throughout while pearly white veneers grinned back at them.

Bianca swallowed thickly, her gaze scanning through the sea of seersucker, cashmere, and silks. She shifted in the wooden chair, a wave of familiarity washing over her again. She reached for the shark tooth around her neck, trying to ease the tightness in her throat.

For the Pogues, this was all new, different, and exciting. For Bianca, she was right back where she started. Plièing and curtseying like a puppet, pirouetting for her spectators till the curtain dropped.

It wasn't until Kiara's hand in hers tugged her forward did Bianca realize her friends were standing. Snapping out of her daze, the girl rose to her feet, putting on her best smile for the crowd like she was taught. Like she was made for.

Bianca could make out Pope and Kiara's family, half in tears, the other half jumping with excitement. The Pogues waved and thanked the crowd over their cheers.

They were ushered off the stage not too long later after the dignitary explained the exhibit— The Road to El Dorado was now open for all sides of the island to come and see. At first, they wanted to ticket it but with some persuasion from John B, he managed to make them agree for it to be free entry for all. Big John would've wanted it that way.

They managed to recover the gnomon, smaller pieces of gold, and some of Denmark Tanny's things— his diary, photos of himself, pictures of his hand-drawn map on the walls of Tannyhill, old artworks of the San Josè. It was all set up outside the entrance of the museum in glass boxes with framed posters on easels depicting where it all started— The Royal Merchant and The Cross of Santo Domingo on either side.

The Pogues didn't bother having a look at the artifacts set up in glass boxes. They saw it all earlier when John B brought them, having helped curate the exhibition. Instead, they huddled offstage while the Kooks went to get refreshments, organized by the Island Club and its president, Lydia.

"Okay, I need to- I need a reset- I need a reset right now," JJ rambled to the group as they rounded the corner. "This is... This is a lot-" He turned to John B with a grin. "It's time to celebrate!"

Bianca rolled her eyes playfully from behind while Kiara led the pack. Sarah giggled, her hands still interlinked with John B's, swinging between them. The Pogues shot each other deadpan looks, they knew what JJ's idea of 'celebrating' entailed.

"I'll take one..." Pope reluctantly agreed as they walked. "Hit. One."

"Bad man, now," Cleo teased, her arm woven through his.

Bianca laughed, trailing behind her friends but paused when she felt a pair of eyes on her. She turned around, scanning the crowd, and noticed a short, suited man eyeing their group wearily.

She'd never seen this man on the island before. But then again, there were many media outlets and government officials roaming around she'd never seen before either. A frown tugged on Bianca's lips but her attention was quickly diverted when something else caught her attention.

Charlotte Darling sat atop one of the wooden chairs all by herself, fiddling with the hems of her tulle baby-blue dress. Her blonde curls bristled in the breeze as if they had been tied earlier with little white bows but now hung haphazardly in ringlets.

Bianca picked up the bottom of her maxi skirt and made her way over, "Char?"

The young girl's head snapped up, her smile immediately widening. She scrambled eagerly to her feet on the chair and it rocked clumsily with her weight. Bianca almost dove to catch her.

"Char- what are you doing here?" The older girl steadied her on the chair. "Where are your parents?"

Charlotte, now almost eye-level with her, shrugged, "Dunno. Hey, I was watching you, you know?"

"Oh, were you?"Bianca tried to scan the crowd for the girl's parents but sighed when she came up short.

"Yep!" Charlotte replied, popping the 'p.' Her hands clasped behind her back, rocking side-to-side, "Why did you come so late? I was waiting to see you."

"Oh..." Bianca trailed off, cheeks flushing. "I was doing some really important- super top secret princess duties-"

"Like what?" Charlotte interrupted.

"Um," Bianca hesitated. "Maybe I'll tell you some other time. There's too many people who could hear."

"Fine," Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest with a pout. "You can tell me at our tea party! You're still coming right?" She narrowed her eyes dangerously.

Bianca pursed her lips to stifle a laugh. Something told her boys were going to have a hard time saying no to her when she was older.

"Right," Bianca nodded. "I'll tell my mommy to call your mommy," She tickled her midsection, causing the little girl to giggle. "And we'll set up a date."

"Yay!" Charlotte cheered, pushing her hands away and scrambling back to the ground. "I have this really pretty tea set, it's got butterflies and diamonds on it, and oh- daddy!"

Charlotte bolted up and barrelled past her. Bianca almost turned around until she heard the voice from behind. Then, she froze.

"There you are, sweetheart."

Every blood vessel connected to Bianca's heart came to a halt and for a moment, she was convinced she was having a heart attack. Her chest felt too tight to breathe and her lungs refused to inhale.

She thought, having gone so long without someone, she would begin to slowly forget all the little things about them. The way they smell, the little features of their face, their voice.

Bianca thought she had forgotten her father's voice, but that was his.

She couldn't move from her spot, her heels digging into the grass below. All she could do was desperately listen to the silence, hoping to hear the sound of his voice again.

The pressure in Bianca's chest got unbearably uncomfortable so much so that she brought a hand up to rub over her heart.

"I waited for you, Daddy! Just like you told me to!"

And then she heard his voice one last time before it was gone forever again, "I'm so proud of you, my angel."

It took Bianca a moment but she finally managed to force one foot in front of the other. When she turned around, however, they were gone. Her breath shuddered and she stepped forward, frantically searching the crowd.

Bianca was so caught up in her thoughts, that she bumped into someone, only realizing her mistake when they steadied her by the waist. She almost pushed them away till they spoke.

"Hey, where you been?" JJ towered over her, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Everyone's asking for you."

Bianca gripped the sleeves of his leather jacket, trying to ground her nerves, "I thought- JJ- did- did you..." She stared at him and it dawned on her how insane she looked.

Bianca's hands fell from JJ's arms, suddenly feeling self-conscious about her outburst. She tucked her dark strands behind her ears, clearing her throat.

"Did I, what?" JJ's eyes searched hers, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Um, nothing," Bianca shook her head, forcing a smile. She took the boy's hand and gently tugged him back to their friends, "I thought- it doesn't matter."

JJ wound his arm around the girl's waist and pulled her into his side. He placed a chaste kiss on her temple as they made their way over to where Pope, Cleo, and Kiara were passing around a joint with JJ's zippo lighter.

John B and Sarah stood at a table nearby, talking quietly between themselves away from the party. It was only when Bianca noticed the suited man from earlier approach, did she begin to walk faster.

"Excuse me..." The man caught their attention, a large black briefcase in hand. "I- I don't mean to interrupt."

Bianca and JJ reached the group at the same time as Pope interjected, "Uh... Can we help you?"

Kiara handed JJ the joint but not before blowing out one final puff. She quickly swatted the remaining smoke away with her hand before flanking Cleo's other side. JJ hesitated and dropped the joint into a nearby champagne glass.

"Uh- yes. I wanted to tell you all... it's remarkable what you all did," The man adjusted his yellow patterned tie. He glanced over his shoulder at the exhibit, "Royal Merchant, El Dorado, Denmark Tanny. Impressive resumé. Impressive."

Bianca hung back, listening but not interrupting. She could pick up on the way his fingers drummed against his briefcase, and his eyes fluttered between each one of them like he was waiting for the right time. Bianca always had a penchant for knowing when people desired something more.

"I was wondering if you would all be so kind as to look at an item of mine," He finally placed the briefcase atop the round table between them.

Bianca's eyes narrowed but Cleo beat her to it, "Oh yeah? What typa of item is d'at?"

"It's a manuscript," The man arched an eyebrow. He reached into the leather bag, "I would investigate it myself, but I am... too long in the tooth. I need partners, and you all were first on my list."

The Pogues stood in silence, glancing between each other. It had been a while since they were onto any kind of mystery. All of that felt so far away now.

An uneasy feeling churned in Bianca's stomach and she took a step closer to JJ for comfort. He was quick to take her hand, his thumb rubbing soothing circles against her skin.

"May I?" Pope offered with an outstretched hand.

"I was hoping you would," The man's lips tugged upwards with a smirk before handing it over.

Pope flipped through the crinkled and dust-covered pages while the Pogues peered over his shoulder. In black ink, the cursive writing logged dates but the words were harder to read.

"1718," Pope's eyes widened as he continued to sift through it. "Jeez, this is old... Exhibition notes... dates..."

"This is a captain's log," John B directed his confusion back to the man. "This shows the exact position of the ship-"

"The exact location where the ship sailed..." He corrected. "And where it stopped."

"Who is the captain?" JJ piped up from behind Pope.

The man paused, "...Edward Teach."

Bianca couldn't hide her surprise, "Edward Teach- but that's-"

"Blackbeard, my dear," He smiled at her knowingly.

JJ smirked at John B as did Cleo to Pope. Bianca caught Sarah's eyes, both with frowns on their faces. Kiara couldn't stop staring at the manuscript. Their gazes flickered between each other, unsettled but buzzing with excitement at the prospect of a new mystery until John B whispered,

"...Hot damn."

author's note. last chapter last chapter !!! hi guys, what did you think? crying in the club fr bianca finally gets a little closure. this chapter is so bittersweet but don't be sad because i have an extra extra long pope x bianca chapter coming up for the epilogue !!! i can't wait to see u guys in obx4 <333