Summertime in the Outer Banks held a ton of traditions and celebrations. People just liked to find excuses to drink and the summer movie night was far from an exception.

Katherine tapped the corners of her lips, perfecting her lip gloss again before giving herself another once over in the mirror. She adjusted the halter cropped top on her neck grinning down at the fabric that was her signature color.

She grabbed her purse that was heavier than usual, weighed down by the shot-sized liquor bottles hidden at the bottom, before leaving her bedroom. She was far more excited about pregaming with Sarah, than for the actual movie.

Once she reached the end of the corridor, Katherine was certain she had made it out of the house under the radar. Since she had snuck into her mother's office and stole from her, she hadn't had the heart to face her.

"Katherine." The blonde winced at her mother's tone, but she turned on her heels and forced a smile, nonetheless. "Is everything okay? I feel like I haven't seen you in a week." Her lips pursed into a straight line, as she walked closer to her daughter.

Katherine swallowed thickly, nodding her head. "O-of course," she replied. "Just...trying to keep busy after everything with Todd."

Genevieve nodded slowly, searching her daughter's face for something Katherine wasn't sure of. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" She nodded her head again, this time her mother frowned. "Please, be careful."

Her request barely came out a whisper, but Katherine knew the warning had nothing to do with the drinks she was about to consume, nor the movie she would be watching. "I will," she promised, giving her mother another small nod, before reaching for the handle of the front door and stepping outside.

Once the door closed behind her, Katherine had to take in a breath of air. Her mother knew something was up. If not that she had stolen from her, then at least that she was aiding in the hunt for the treasure she'd spent so long searching for.

As per usual tradition, Katherine arrived on the Cameron's doorstep an hour before it was agreed upon that they would leave for the movie. It was surprisingly quiet when she walked in to the Cameron home, half expecting Rafe and the motley crew to be hanging around—though she had to admit, she was glad they weren't.

Katherine made her way upstairs towards Sarah's room, but was brought to an abrupt halt when she heard a rather masculine moan from Ward's office, followed by Sarah's hushed voice. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she took no time trying to catch her best friend in the act. "In your dad's office, you dirty little—John B?"

Sarah's eyes widened and she rushed behind Katherine to close the door. "Shut up," Sarah hissed, making her way back over to John B, where she was securing a bandage on his abdomen.

Katherine threw her hands up, as she was offered no explanation for the situation at hand. "Um, hello? What the fuck is happening?"

"He was hurt," Sarah explained, though Katherine clearly didn't take that as an answer, gesturing for her to continue. "He was running from DCS, yeeted his bike over a chain, I saw him, and now we're here."

Katherine placed her hands on her hips, giving her best friend a knowing look. "Sarah Cameron, your everyday hero," she joked, before looking down at John B. "Hit the road, we have some drinking to do."

Sarah and John B exchanged glances, and Katherine threw her head back in a childlike fashion. "Kat, I'll make it up to you, I just have to help John B with something," she insisted.

"The gold, I'm assuming?"

John B's eyebrows furrowed. "How...?"

"JJ broke into my mom's office, genius," she scoffed, her jaw ticking at the mention of the Pogue's name. "Anyway, it seems you need the two of us a lot more than we need you, so we're in," she shrugged casually, looking down at her fingernails.

"W-n-no way, Kie would—."

"Fine, Sarah, let's go," she hummed, turning to walk out with Sarah behind her.

John B was quick to fold. "Wait—shit." he winced at the pain in his abdomen. "Fine, okay? Let's just go, so we can get this over with," he muttered.

Katherine and Sarah exchanged a grin before Sarah nodded in finality. "Cover for me?"

"Duh."

Katherine was annoyed, hot and unfortunately sober, when she made it to the summer movie night. Rafe had left before she had ever made it to the Cameron home, so her hopes for a DD were thrown out of the window.

It was shaping up to be the worst summer movie night in history.

Katherine slid her sunglasses on, as she walked through the crowds at the entrance. Several people told her hello, to which she politely waved, but she couldn't have recited their names if her life depended on it.

It was looking to be a crowded evening, which was all the more annoying to Katherine. It didn't take her long to find Topper, Rafe, and Kelce, though it made her stomach lurch when she saw Todd next to them. With seeing him there, all of the hurt and the heartbreak threatened to spill over her I-don't-give-a-fuck wall she'd built, but she was determined to maintain her composure.

She continued down the hill to where they were standing and Topper was the first to see her. He sent a half wave her way and nudged Rafe, who glanced sideways at her. He gave Todd a handshake-bro-hug, before practically sending the boy on his way. He turned fully to face her with a half smile, as he took in her appearance. "I was wondering if you'd grace us with your presence again."

Katherine rolled her eyes at his comment. "What, after you guys were so nice to me at the party the other night?" She scoffed, eyeing Topper harshly.

"So you were jealous." A smirk met Rafe's eyes and a spark of hope lit inside of him, but it quickly extinguished when Katherine rolled her eyes again.

"Again, no," she countered, looking down at her freshly manicured fingernails. "I'm going to get something to drink," she muttered, ready to leave that topic. She looked up at the disappointment on his face and felt guilty for her harshness. He was still her friend, after all. "Do you want anything?" She offered him a small smile.

Like her smile solved every bit if his internal conflict, he managed a smile back. "I'll take a Coke."

"Yeah, I bet you will," she teased, before turning on her heels towards the concession stand.

"Make that two," Topper called after her.

"Three!" Kelce joined in.

Katherine shot her middle finger up in the air behind her, not bothering to look back at them.

When she made it to the concession stand, she was nearly ran into by Kie. "Jesus, watch out," Katherine muttered, earning a glare from the Carrera girl. "Take a picture, it'll last longer."

"Go to hell," the brunette scoffed. "And on your way down, leave JJ alone. You can play with and ruin any guys you want, except my friends."

Katherine turned to the concession stand to hide her frown. "Three Cokes and a Dr. Pepper, please," she asked politely. She managed to regained her composure before turning back to Kie. "It's cute that you're so protective of him, but JJ's a big boy, and I'm sure he'd love to hear about your little proclamation." She slammed a twenty on the counter and didn't bother to wait for any change.

She was almost envious of Kie's closeness with JJ and she couldn't help but wonder if there was something more than a friendship between them.

The guys got eerily quiet when Katherine walked up, all sharing knowing glances between the three of them, as they took their drinks from her. Katherine took her turn to look between them with a perched eyebrow. "What did I miss?"

Rafe was the first to shake his head, casually avoiding her gaze. Katherine couldn't help but follow his eyes, where they landed on JJ and Pope. JJ's eyes met her for the briefest of seconds, but quickly looked away when Rafe wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest. "I don't like that dirty ass Pogue looking at you," Rafe muttered in her ear. "It'd be a shame if he got his ass beat."

Katherine shoved his hand off of her. "Don't say stupid shit like that," she muttered her response. "He's not doing anything to you. None of them are."

A sickening grin spread across Rafe's face. "See, Princess, that's where you're wrong," he laughed dryly. "That worthless piece of shit, Maybank, held a gun to Topper's head and then Pope sank his boat. All they know is destroying shit, Kat." Katherine's jaw clamped shut. She had no idea about Topper's boat sinking. "Look, let's just sit down and get ready to watch this movie, okay?"

Katherine sat in the chair with a huff and sipped on her drink. Her mind was whirring with any possible explanation for Topper's boat sinking, but it did make sense that the Pogues would have done it. Her stomach twisted at the realization that JJ wasn't honest with her last night...unless he just hadn't known? It wasn't likely, but it was better than knowing he had the audacity to sink Topper's boat and then sneak in her window.

Rafe was attempting for the entire first part of the movie to cop a feel, to no avail. She figured he'd finally gotten the hint when he pulled away, but it was only because all three guys got to their feet. "Where the hell are you guys going?"

"Uh-," Kelce started, but Topper cut him off.

"Gotta go take a leak."

Rafe rolled his eyes, looking back down at Katherine. "Stay here, okay?" His words were from a genuine place. The last thing he wanted was for her to get in the middle of their plan and end up hurt again.

Katherine watched them closely, as they walked away, disappearing behind the projector screen. A sinking feeling hit her gut, but she couldn't pinpoint why. Her eyes scanned the group where the Pogues had been sitting on a blanket, but the blanket was empty.

"Fuck."

Katherine quickly scrambled to her feet and walked around the edge of the audience in an attempt to be unnoticed. Luckily, the movie seemed to have their attention captivated.

She rounded the edge of the screen where she had seen the others disappear and she swore her knees were going to buckle under her.

Kelce held JJ back while Rafe landed several blow to his abdomen. "Come on Rafe, that all you got?"

Kie started slamming a backpack against Topper's back, who had a grip on Pope's shirt and delivering several punched to his face. "Topper let go of him, you fascist asshole!"

"Guys stop!" Katherine's pleas fell on deaf ears. She might as well have been yelling at a tree. JJ's gaze met hers for the smallest moment and it almost knocked the breath out of her.

Topper snatched the backpack out of Kie's hands and threw it off to the side, it landing right at Katherine's feet. "Hey, listen Pope." He gripped him by his shirt again. "All you gotta do is accept personal responsibility."

Kie jumped on Topper's back in an attempt to give Pope a fighting chance.

"Screw you, Kook!" Pope was quick to fire back, despite his clear disadvantage.

Katherine stood frozen, unsure of what to do or how to react. The last time just jumped in the middle of a Pogue versus Kook throw down, she got her lip busted lip herself. She refused to just stand there, though, so she took a step towards where JJ was taunting Rafe's blows. His eyes darted to Katherine, who was making her way towards them. "Kat, get back!" There was no way in hell he was letting her get hit again on his account.

Rafe only stopped his assault on JJ when he heard her name and only then did he see Kie on Topper's back. He effortlessly pulled her off and dropped her on the ground with a hard thud and walked over to Katherine. "I told you to stay there! Why can't you just listen!"

"Why can't you leave them alone!"

Rafe turned to see JJ nearly scrambling out of Kelce's grip and suddenly that was all he could focus on. He left Katherine standing there, pleading for him to stop, as he continued hitting JJ ruthlessly.

Topper had Pope in a headlock and was quite literally squeezing the life out of him, yelling in his ear for him to confess.

Katherine ran a hand through her hair, as she knelt down at JJ's backpack, looking for anything to make the fighting stop. Her hands ran across the black metal of a gun that resembled the one in her mother's office. The idea of JJ stealing from her house made her stomach sink, but she couldn't dwell on that—not yet.

She knew if she shot a round off in the air like JJ had, the fighting would absolutely cease, but there were kids in the park. Shooting that gun was not an option.

She sifted past the gun, barely able to see in the darkness, until a smaller object in a similar cool metal touched her finger. She pulled it out to reveal JJ's lighter. Her fingers trailed over his name he had carved into the side and she looked up to Kie for reassurance. The brunette nodded her head, urging her on.

Katherine had never done anything illegal, aside from underage drinking and, now, thanks to JJ, she had smoking pot to add to that list, but as far as arson? The thought had never crossed her mind, but that didn't matter anymore. She could officially consider herself criminal adjacent.

She ran to the edge of the screen and flicked the lighter a couple of times, cursing under her breath at her shaky hands, before finally getting it to light. She held the flame underneath the edge and the fire quickly attached itself to the screen and started to spread.

The guys didn't even seem to notice at first, continuing their attacks on both boys. At the smell of smoke, Rafe finally turned around and saw the flames engulfing the screen. "Guys," he called, but no answer. "Guys, fire!"

"Get off of him!" Kie shoved Topper, who pushed her back a couple of steps, snapping out of his blind rage to see the fire for himself.

Katherine glared at Kelce, who still had a tight grip on JJ. It almost looked as though he wanted to throw him into the flames. "Kelce, let go of JJ!" He hesitated, before obliging.

Pope was on the ground wheezing, trying desperately to fill his lungs with the air he'd been restricted from. Kie was by his side first, so Katherine darted towards JJ, who was bent over with his hands on his knees.

She was brought to a halt by a strong hand wrapping around her wrist. "Let's get out of here." It was Rafe. Katherine whirled around with blazing eyes, catching Rafe off guard.

"Don't fucking touch me," she ground out, snatching her hand from his grasp.

Rafe's eyebrows knitted together at her hostility. In a typical situation, he was get to the bottom of whatever had her so upset, but there was no way he was about to have a conversation with his dad about why he was an accessory to arson. He nudged Kelce and they started off towards the parking lot.

Rafe squeezed Topper's shoulder, clearly pleased with the chaos he started. "Dude, you almost killed him!"

Rafe's laughter had Katherine seething, but she forced herself to focus on the blonde in front of her. "Are you okay?" She lifted his face so she could inspect it. It appeared that Rafe got one good hit at his lip that had blood already drying around it.

JJ pulled out of her grasp. "I'm fine," he muttered, avoiding her gaze.

Katherine frowned, swallowing past the lump that was forming in her throat. "JJ, I-I had no idea--,"

"Of course you didn't," his voice rose, dripping with sarcasm. "You've probably been with them all day, how could you not know? You were sitting with them, Katherine!"

Pope had managed to catch his breath at this point, leaning on Kie for support. Neither of them were sure they should intervene, but the fight needed to relocate soon.

"JJ we gotta go," Kie urged him, not moving away from Pope.

"Are you fucking kidding me," she scoffed, glaring at him. "When were you going to tell me about the boat? Huh? You were quick to tell me about Rafe jumping Pope at the country club, but what happened after, JJ?"

JJ's gaze fell to the ground, resembling a scolded puppy. Guilt churned in Pope's gut. "Kat, the boat wasn't JJ," he interjected. "It was me. That's why he didn't tell you."

Katherine clenched her jaw, turning to look at Pope, taking in the genuineness of his expression. She let out a heavy sigh, looking back at JJ with a frown. "I had no idea about it," she murmured, looking between JJ and Pope. "Any of it."

JJ shook his head with a clenched jaw. "No, I know," he murmured. His hand grazed hers gently and Kie immediately caught the action.

"You have got to be joking," the brunette scoffed. "What, are you two mackin' or something?"

Katherine narrowed her eyes at Kie, but before she could counter her smart ass remark, JJ spoke. "Kie, it's not like that." She couldn't explain why his statement made her stomach drop. "W-we're..." he hesitated, glancing down at Katherine briefly. "Friends?"

"Wow, that was convincing," Kie scoffed.

Pope nodded, tilting his head back and forth. "Yeah, she's right."

With no response from JJ, Kie threw her hands up in defeat, before turning and storming off. "Kie, wait," he finally called after her, despite his unwillingness to leave Katherine's side.

Kie was quick to turn back to them, but it definitely wasn't to hear whatever explanation JJ was going to try and offer her. "No, you know what, JJ? I thought you, of all people, would understand how fucked this is!" Her words almost sent him doubling over from the impact. "Let your girlfriend take you home." She waved him off, continuing towards the car.

Pope shuffled awkwardly, clasping his hands be hind his back. "Yeah, I'm gonna—." He nodded his head towards Kie, before limping to catch up with her.

"For God's sake Kie—," Katherine groaned.

JJ grabbed her hand, silently pulling her back from the altercation—he knew that no good could come from the two girls getting into a scream match. She let out a frustrated sigh, before turning her attention back to where the fire had previously been. After the screen burnt up, the flame had nothing left to cling to, so it dissipated. "At least I didn't burn down the park," she muttered, looking back at him. "Where's your bike?"

"The chateau," he responded, rubbing his hand across his jaw that was growing sore, as the adrenaline was wearing off. "I can walk, it's not a big deal."

Katherine rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Shut up and get your bag," she scoffed, cracking a smile. "And make it quick, I'm not trying to go to jail for bringing some life to the film."

JJ snickered at her creative way of putting her act of crime, as he walked over and scooped up his backpack. "You'd only get a slap on the wrist." His tone was light, but Katherine knew his words held some truth.

The pair trotted quickly towards her car and managed to escape unscathed, narrowly missing the red and blue lights that flooded the parking lot just minutes after their departure.

Thank God for the slow police force of Kildare.