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⨳               𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟬𝟬𝟮 . . . ꗃ ≀ ▊✹
❛ who gave jj maybank a gun ? ❜ · ˚.‧ .

✹ . . . WALKING ONTO THE BONEYARD LATER THAT night, Lilla inhaled the salty air of one of the only places Kooks, Pogues, and Tourons (tourists who come to the island for a usual weekend get-away) could all interact together without there being some territorial battles. She and Sarah were walking with Dante, whom they practically had to drag away from his Xbox to come with them.

Word had gotten out that there was a kegger that night (that was apparent with how crowded it was), and Lilla was never one to pass up a fun time, especially now that she was certain Rafe knew about it and had her little childhood love-confession letter to him. Something he wasted no time telling Topper and Kelce about, which Sarah ridiculed her boyfriend for using against her best friend. She needed something to take her mind off of it.

"I still feel like it's all my fault, Lil," Sarah sighed, now changed into a blue, flowy dress that was decorated with dark pink flowers. She waved to a few people who said hello but kept her main focus on her best friend walking alongside her. "I should've put the letter back in the lunchbox before we left my room. Especially after finding Rafe right outside the door."

"Sarah, it's okay," Lilla assured with a small smile. "I'll just pretend that I don't care." She held up a finger before Dante or Sarah could say anything. "Actually, I don't have to pretend because I don't care. It's a stupid letter I wrote when I was twelve, confused and blinded by Rafe's looks, nothing more. Thankfully, now I've realized that he's just an asshole and that looks don't make up for a lack of personality." She shrugged, tossing her hands up like she didn't care.

She didn't care.

"Lilla," Dante began.

She faced her brother, offering him a tight smile. "I'm going to get a drink. I'll be right back," she told them, still facing them as she stepped back. She never drank, so it wasn't shocking that they looked surprised. Her eyes narrowed, focusing their expressions, and she held up a telling finger. "Don't either of you do anything crazy without me; you hear me?"

Sarah and Dante just glanced at one another, then watched as she continued to walk backwards.

Lilla held out her arms as she smiled. "I don't care, guys," she assured them, though part of her knew she was lying right through her teeth. Her going to get a drink proved that enough—alcohol would be needed tonight. She would probably still only have one drink at most; she really didn't like drinking. "Don't worry about it," she added, and then turned around and began towards where the keg was set up.

When she came to a stop, in the back of the not-so-straight line, she glanced around, seeing many people she knew, some she barely knew, and some she didn't know at all. She waited until it was her turn to step forward and get her red Solo cup full of beer. And when she did, she met none other than John B. Routledge, one of the Pogues—the leader, if you will. He was the boy whose father was missing at sea and was presumed dead by most, though nothing was official. She knew he still held out hope that one day his dad would return; everyone knew that he did, but they thought he should just accept what was fact to them. She didn't blame him, though; if it was her and her dad was lost, she would be praying that he returned alive and holding out hope until a body was found, no matter what anyone thought, too.

She never really talked to the boy that often since they were from different sides of the island, but their parents had grown up together in the Cut, and she and John B. had been somewhat neighbors in the beginning of her life, when she and her family still lived on that side of the island. Even then, they never really hung out, though; she stuck mostly with Dante and... Yeah, she stuck mostly with Dante, him being her twin brother after all.

"Hey there, John B." Lilla greeted him with a small smile. "I need one"—she held up a single finger—"beer, please." It didn't hurt her to be civil sometimes, no matter what Kooks and Pogues not-alike thought. Some people thought kindness was her kryptonite, but really it was just kindness towards them that was.

"Comin' right up," the boy replied. He grabbed a red Solo cup and began to fill it up from the keg. Once he was done, he set down the spout and stuck out the cup for her to take. She reached for it, and he pulled it away with a smirk on his face. She just rolled her eyes and reached for it again, but he didn't let her take it.

She sometimes hated the Pogues and their stupid little games.

She crossed her arms over her chest, not wanting to give John B. Routledge, of all people, the satisfaction of making a fool out of her. She, as an eighteen-year-old girl, was not going to be taunted by a seventeen-year-old boy. It was not going to happen. She just stood there, seemingly not caring about his little back-and-forth antic.

The two of them just stared at each other for a long moment.

She sighed, giving him a bored look. "Just give me the fucking drink, John B., before things get ugly." Her threat was well-placed—she would make good on it, and he knew that. She'd done it many times before, none of which were with him, but still.

With that, he handed her the cup, which she took snarkily.

"It's always good to see you, Lilla," he said sarcastically, smiling.

"Aw," she said, poking out her bottom lip. "I can't say the same." She turned around with a roll of her eyes and walked forward a bit, hearing him chuckle behind her. She took a small sip of her drink, scanning her eyes over the crowd as she tried to find her best friend and brother. She was sure Dante was off with some girl doing things she did not want to think of because it made her throw up a little in her mouth. But she had no clue where Sarah was. That was, until she spotted her like Gossip Girl, sitting on top of a lifeguard post, looking out on the boneyard with a gleaming smile on her face.

Lilla watched her best friend intently, appreciating how she never let her girly spirit die down, no matter how many people made fun of her for it. She was such a sweet girl, and Lilla adored her for it, loving the fact that they were the opposites of one another but worked so well together. Others seemed to think otherwise of Sarah, though, but she didn't let them get to her.

It was only a second later that Topper made his way over to his girlfriend, telling her to be careful and ruining Lilla's view of the scene. The small smile that had curled on her lips suddenly fell off, and she rolled her eyes at the sight of the boy. She despised Topper with everything in her, not knowing what Sarah saw in him. He was such an arrogant little fuck. It made so much sense that he was friends with Rafe.

"What is she doing here?" the familiar voice of the one wannabe Pogue asked, sounding almost offended that Sarah was there and getting attention.

Ah, yes, another person ruining Lilla's spirit to add to the list. Rolling her eyes, Lilla glanced over her shoulder and focused on none other than Kiara Carrera, one of Sarah's old friends and the only girl in John B.'s group. Someone that Lilla had never liked, even when she was friends with Sarah for a singular school year. "It's a kegger on the boneyard, Kie," the darker-haired girl reminded, her face twisted in fake cluelessness. "I thought everyone was welcome?"

Kiara just glared at her instead of responding, and Lilla returned it, but more teasingly with a mocking smile. Then she walked away, going towards her best friend and watching as Topper held his hand up, trying to get Sarah down like a prince at the locked-in-a-tower princess's window. It was kind of fitting, seeing as Sarah was known as the Kook Princess of the island, but Topper was no prince charming. He wasn't even a Shrek; more like Lord Farquaad, just not as short and blonde.

Sarah finally got down, falling into Topper's chest as he held her and smiled. Lilla approached, coming to stand next to Kelce. She watched as the princess was spun around and giggled at the action, then was set down on the sand. A second later, Sarah was walking over to her with a smile and throwing her arm over her shoulder, bringing her best friend closer to her side. Then the four of them began walking away from the lifeguard tower.

One thing about the Kooks was that, no matter what happened between them, they'd still be able to stomach each other's presence, like Lilla was doing with the two boys. It never failed. Now, did that mean they liked each other? Hell no, but the Kooks stuck together, much like the Pogues did. Most of them had grown up together, and that made them have a special bond. Unless it came down to something completely and totally unforgivable, then they were left high and dry without any backup.

It was just how it was.

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✹ . . . FURTHER INTO THE NIGHT, AFTER THE SUN HAD set and most everyone had consumed more alcohol except Sarah, who rarely drank, being the usual designated DD besides Lilla, the real party began. More people had shown up. Topper was clearly drunk, and Lilla was just slightly tipsy, having had a few more than one beer. Kelce had gone off somewhere, probably with some other friends of his, and Dante was still nowhere to be seen. The music had been turned up and drunken babble enhanced.

Unfortunately, Sarah wanted to leave, having had enough of being the only completely sober one around. Topper and Lilla were fine with it, seeing as though this kegger was sort of a bust. They'd just stood up from the makeshift seat that was really just a part of a fallen tree, probably from Agatha, and began walking away from the small little fire when JJ, another one of John B.'s friends and the more wild one of the Pogues (which was saying something), stopped them.

"Oh, wait. Hey, hey. Hey, Sarah, Lilla!" The two girls looked around, trying to find who was calling their names, and their eyes landed on the blonde boy, who was standing next to the water and John B. "Sarah, Lilla, can I interest one of you in a tasty Milwaukee beverage?" he asked, holding up a red Solo cup.

"No, thanks," Sarah replied.

JJ lifted the cup closer to Lilla, who took a step back. "And you?"

"Nope, I'm good," she said, holding up her hands in protest. "I don't take unknown drinks from people."

"Oh, come on. Is it not fancy enough for you two?" He sounded almost offended, looking between the girls and Topper.

Sarah awkwardly tucked her hair behind her ear. "No, we were just leaving," she told him, trying to stop anything from happening before it even started. But she was only heard by Lilla due to the fact that a very drunk Topper decided to talk over her.

"Hey, you know what? I'll take it. I'll—" Topper looked down at the cup with a small smile. "Thank you, man. I appreciated it."

"That's nice of you to suggest that, Topper, but I didn't ask you," JJ retorted. "Now, if you said 'pretty please,' maybe, but—"

"Oh, pretty please," Topper nodded, speaking over JJ.

"—you didn't. Yeah."

"Pretty please?"

"So, Sarah? Lilla?" JJ offered the cup once more.

Both boys were obviously drunk, causing a bit of a scene, and Lilla just wanted to get out of there, already gaining a headache from the interaction and the alcohol—her tolerance was shit.

"Just forget it," Sarah interjected, but neither boy budged.

"You can have it," JJ told the two girls.

Topper smacked the drink out of JJ's hand, splashing him in the face. "They don't want it, you—" He shoved him back.

"Oh, my God," Lilla muttered as Sarah stressfully said, "Okay." Both of them watched as the boys began going back and forth, pushing and shoving each other. Lilla gave John B., who had just been standing there and not doing anything, a look that told him to do something. And finally, he pushed his friend back, getting him a little further away from Topper.

"You're so funny, man." JJ pointed his finger at Topper, his tone nothing but sarcastic. The Pogues' other friend, Pope Heyward, whose father owned Heywards, a seafood shop that most restaurants on the island did business with, came up to the interaction. He stood next to John B., seeming to be there just in case it took two of them to keep the peace between JJ and Topper just for the night.

But that all went down the drain when Topper shouted, "Dirty Pogues!"

John B. turned around swiftly from where he had stood in front of JJ and shoved Topper back.

Sarah's eyes went wide. "Woah!"

"John B!" Pope warned, trying to get his friend to calm down. Now they had most people's attention, and Lilla's headache was really causing a storm in her mind. God, she just wanted to be home or at the Camerons, sleeping soundly in her bed. "We're supposed to be incognito, remember?" Lilla had no idea what he meant by that, and frankly, she did not care.

Topper began approaching John B. rather quickly, and Sarah jumped into action. "Babe, babe, babe, babe," she said rapidly, her voice growing higher in pitch as she tried to get him to back off. But then she gasped as he punched John B. in the face, putting her hand over her mouth.

Lilla copied her best friend's actions, and she felt someone rush past her, bumping her shoulder. Her eyes found the back of her brother's head as he made his way over to Topper. Dante grabbed the boy's arm, trying to pull him back. But Topper shoved him and kicked John B. down and onto his back into the water, causing it to splash.

Dante backed off as Kiara came up beside Lilla, shouting, "Guys! Chill!"

"Hey, John B.," Topper began, pointing a telling finger down at the boy where he was still in the water. "Don't make me drown you like your old man, all right?" Lilla heard this as clear as day, and she was surprised no one else did or seemed to pay attention to it. Her brows shot up to her forehead, wondering why Topper thought that was a good thing to taunt him with.

The crowd that formed behind the girls, Dante, JJ, and Pope, none of which knew what to do without dragging themselves into the tussle, started to chant for the two of them to fight, and Topper kicked the Pogue leader down again. Then John B. slowly rose from the water and tackled Topper to the ground, causing another splash in the water.

Sarah was stressing beside Lilla as they both watched the girl's boyfriend and the boy they barely knew fight. People around them gave encouraging shouts to the two, while Kiara shouted, "Stop, you guys!" John B. and Topper, who both clearly thought they were Rocky, continued to ignore any pleas and started punching each other in the ribs.

"Topper! Stop!" Sarah yelled forcefully, but her boyfriend didn't comply.

"These fucking idiots," Lilla cursed under her breath, tossing her hands up before bringing her fingers to her temples, closing her eyes, and trying to massage away the stress. It wasn't working, though—not one bit. "Chicos tontos, lo juro por Dios." She released a sigh and opened her eyes again.

What was it with the boys of Outer Banks that made them such idiots?

The boys separated from each other, but they were far from done. They had their fists raised like they were about to box as the crowd continued to chant for them to fight. John B. threw the first punch this round, and Lilla could hear JJ and Pope cheering for their friend.

"Come on!" John B. shouted.

"Yeah, you want to go?" Topper taunted before he threw a punch that landed right on the boy's face, causing the Pogue leader to almost fall down. They continued at it, tossing a few more punches before grabbing onto each other and hitting each other's ribs. John B. eventually got the upperhand, and he pushed Topper down into the water, returning the favor from before.

"Oh!" Sarah worriedly yelled. "Topper!"

"Come on, Topper! Let's go!" John B. antagonized, and Topper got up from the water, coming closer to him. "Come on!"

The rich boy threw another punch at his opponent, hitting him in the face. They continued to fight, going back and forth, while Lilla, Sarah, and Kiara all watched with stress. Topper and John B. continued to taunt each other before the latter was thrown back into the water, face down. Topper bent down next to him, putting his knees in the ocean and his hands on the back of the boy's head, holding it down.

He was drowning him.

Lilla's eyes went wide. He was making good on his previous threat, she realized at that moment. Drunken Topper was somewhat unhinged, and that made her worried for Sarah's sake.

"Topper!" Sarah took a step forward. "Topper, stop! No!"

People continued to cheer, making Lilla sick to her stomach, while they watched Topper drown John B.

She didn't know what to do.

Like he could sense her panic, Dante rushed forward again, doing something for her as he made his way to Topper. He put his hands on the Kook's upper arms, trying to pull him off of John B. Lilla knew her brother wasn't the strongest, but he worked out sometimes. He wasn't weak by any means either, but Topper was just slightly stronger, and Dante couldn't seem to get him off. But still, he fought, trying his best to not make the boyfriend of his sister's best friend a murderer.

Then JJ approached them, placing one hand on Topper's shoulder and a gun to the back of his head. He clicked off the safety, and Dante let go immediately, holding his hands up in defense. Despite JJ not holding a gun on him, he began to back away, not wanting to be shot or killed. Lilla gasped, placing her hand over her mouth and looking over to her best friend, only to see her eyes wide in shock and fear.

"He's got a gun!" a girl behind them shouted.

Most people began fleeing immediately, no longer entertained and afraid of being shot by a crazed Pogue. Lilla could hear Kiara and Pope yelling for their friend to calm down as Dante returned to stand beside her, visibly shaken by the entire situation, which made her grab his arm to try and comfort him, but JJ remained motionless.

"JJ, stop!" Kiara yelled.

Sarah took a step forward. "Put the gun down!"

"Did you say somethin', princess?" JJ asked, glancing over his shoulder but keeping the gun in place against the back of Topper's head, the boy now holding his hands up in surrenderance but still kneeling down in the water beside John B.

"Put the gun down!" she repeated.

"We're good! We're good!" Topper assured, standing up. "All right? Come on, man!"

"Kie!" Sarah turned to her old friend. "Can you check your psycho friend, please?"

A moment later, JJ removed the gun from Topper, who quickly ran over to Sarah, clearly frightened. "Okay, everyone, listen up!" the Pogue yelled, turning to face the crowd of people who'd shown up there and still remained. He lifted the gun in the air as he marched forward. "Get the hell off our side of the island!" He let off two shots in the air, causing Lilla to flinch, while some gasped and shrieked in fear.

Lilla didn't waste any more time. She grabbed Dante and Sarah's wrists, not caring about leaving Topper behind, and began rushing away from the Pogues. Topper was following them, however, and they made their way back to where Lilla had parked her car. When they were finally far away enough and able to let out the breaths they were holding, in a panic as she bent over and placed her hands on her knees while trying to catch her breath and stop her heart from exploding out of her chest, she asked, "Who the hell gave JJ Maybank a gun!?"

"I don't know," Sarah rushed out, in a similar hunched-over state as her best friend and the two boys. "But whoever did is an idiot because he's a fucking psycho!"

Lilla, being the good friend she was, held back from saying that Topper deserved just a little bit of penance for what he had said and done, not wanting to judge the girl for her lack of taste in boyfriends who were always assholes in one way or another. He had tried to kill John B, after all. Not that the others were saints in the situation, but still.

It was then that she wondered why it was called the boneyard.

✹ . . . ella's thoughts ! · ˚.‧ .
okay, so i planned all of act one (s1) and have been prewriting it (hence the lack of the updates), but i finally got around to editing this chapter, which i literally wrote back in april LMAO

i hope you enjoyed nonetheless, and sorry for the wait! updates should be more frequent from now on.

also, as you may have seen—or perhaps not if you're new—i took down the prologue / john b voiceover for this fic bc i didn't like it all that much anymore and it doesn't really fit with my plans for lilla, which i have changed a bit while planning and writing. it should, hopefully, be rewritten and back up soon!

make sure to comment and vote 🫶🏻

kisses.

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗦
𝗔 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 . . . © -lostgardens, 2024

word count.  3629. written.  4.9-10.24. published.  10.15.24.