CRUEL SUMMER.
004 | woogity- woogity

IT STILL HADN'T SUNK IN.

The other students of both Kildare high school and the kook academy ( once Renee went back) were visibly confused on seeing the pogues after that morning — their smiles bright and laughter never faltering from their lips, jokes exiting mouths in the back of class they were themselves again despite still being a member or two down. It was almost like their best friends weren't dead.

well, that because they weren't. The reality that they hadn't actually lost them was enough for them to carry on as normal, for now at least.

Renee didn't know when she'd see them again: when once again she would mock John B for his idiotic life decisions or hug sarah and let the scent of her mango shampoo bitter-sweetly burn her nostrils. She doubted if it would anytime soon, but they weren't dead. That's what mattered.

She hadn't lost them forever.

" you sure you can't just ditch for like an hour or two?" Kiara asked in a slight plead to her best friend who pulled up outside the wreck restaurant.

Pope and JJ both looked at the girl with the same question in their minds as Renee shook her head and hummed.

" I promised my mom I would come back after school, she's sketch enough with me going a-wall after the quote on quote summer from hell." Renee told them, earning a roll of the eyes of both Kiara and JJ — Pope being the only one to understand the new patrol their parents had put in place.

" I'll only be a hour or two max." she told them, hesitating on which time to give them, " see you guys later!"

JJ reached from the backseat placing his hand on his girlfriends' shoulder.

" hey, why don't I come with you?" he said, Renee shook her head and turned to look at the boy with a soft smile on her face.

" no no, I can go my own." JJ couldn't help but feel his natural positioning of his lips slip downwards more into a frown, " you're gonna need as many minds on this as possible."

" you guys stay here, I won't be long." she finished, all the friends looked slightly awkward at the slight tension between the couple that both of the blonde teenagers were seemingly unable to see. " the more brains for mission reunite the pogues the better."

" hey hey!" she called out, grabbing his attention as he looked at her with a slight frown. She urged him over with the use of her eyes, he approached and leant his arms on the window sill as his head poked slightly into the interior of the car.

" I just need to let them I'm ok." she moved one of  her hands off of the steering wheel and placed it on his cheek — Renee's thumb stroking his soft skin.

" I'll be so quick I'm sure you won't even notice I'm gone." he rolled his eyes and shook his head, still not liking the idea of her leaving by herself.

"  I love you Blondie." she spoke softly, the small feeling that bubbled between the two of them more or less gave JJ no other choice but to smile too.

Hovering his head further into to kiss his girlfriend who gladly accepted and smiled sheepishly as they both pulled away.

" love you too pretty girl." he murmured, although soon beckoned away by Kiara and Pope — the couple shared one more kiss before JJ left and Renee began her venture back to figure eight.

IT WAS QUIET— TOO QUIET.

Opening the front door, she was anticipating the chaotic atmosphere that she was expecting for being late home but instead it was calm and surprisingly didn't just consist of her mom and Lennon.

" Renee, is that you?" stepping further into the house; not bothering to take off her shoes as she didn't intend on staying for long — at most grab a hoodie and make small talk with her mom before heading out again.

" yeah, I just came back to drop off my books." she told her. Her quick footsteps soon faltering as she entered the linking area.

The entire Matthews clan was sat down, spread over the cream coloured sofas in the living room although with the exception of Fletcher which Renee was semi glad about. After the initial shock Renee smiled and waved at them all.

" oh my, this cannot be Renee!" Vanessa Matthews exclaimed; placing her wine glass back on the coffee table standing up and walking over to the blonde although just hovered in front of her — eyes eagerly examining her facial features. " you're so grown up!"

" yeah." Renee awkwardly laugh as the women placed her hands on her arms " that's kind of what supposed to happen."

" oh carol, she is just the spitting image of Vincent isn't she?" The comment made Caroline choke on her wine although was able to swiftly compose herself and fake a saddened smile. " got his humour too."

" trust me, I know." Renee looked to her mom who seemed slightly uncomfortable with the mentioning of her dead husband as most normal people would be. Renee's eyes softened as Caroline was clearly picking out each similarity between Renee and her father as they shared gazes.

After a few moments of slight awkward tension, Renee looked back to Mrs Matthews and smiled,

" so, are you staying for dinner Renee, I'm sure Fletcher would enjoy having his old pal back, oh you two use to be such good friends." his mom dazed with her reminiscent state. Nudging Caroline gently " didn't they use to be such great friends?"

Renee furrowed her eyebrows, Fletcher was there?

She let her eyes scanned around the room for any sign of him and if her eyes had deceived her the first time but once again. But like the first time. Nothing.

" I wish I could but I've got a study session with my friends tonight." the lies no longer stung as they fell off of her tongue instead it was a second nature to her now.

Vanessa's smiled dropped slightly as a small 'oh' filleted by disappointment came out of her mouth.

" rain check though? It would be good to know what you're getting up to nowadays." she once again placed a hand on Renee's shoulder — the teenager stiffened at the unwanted touch before nodding. Not like she hadn't already heard from the news or the few people she still remained friends with here.

" sure." With that one worded answer, excusing herself from the situation, she jogged up her staircase and swiftly into her bedroom where the door was already opened, despite remembering closing it herself before school that morning.

Subconsciously, flicking the light on: her heart stopped as she noticed Fletcher exiting her bathroom. His hands wiping over a white vest top that sat layered under an open black shirt.

" Fletcher what the fuck!" her hand fell to sit on her chest which her heart felt it was about to jump out of. he smiled as he exited the bathroom and back into the main area of her bedroom.

" what the hell are you doing in my room, and in- in my bathroom?" she asked slightly bewildered by the nerve he stemmed to have, especially when he played it off as if it was nothing.

" sorry, someone was in the main bathroom I didn't think you'd mind." He shrugged his shoulders " it's not like me sneaking into your room is a new thing now is it?"

Renee didn't know why he kept bringing up the past? It had been years since they'd seen each other — years since they even spoke to one another. Never mind the fact that the house had multiple bathrooms he could have used never mind hers.

Ignoring his previous comment, Renee looked at him with a slight plead,

" I need to get changed out of this god awful uniform and I need to be somewhere soon so can you leave now?"

Fletcher hummed, nodding before exiting the room although much to Renee's dismay turned around and leant against the doorway — arms crossing against his chest.

" you've changed a lot you know?" he told her, although his words sounded like a criticism " like you realise that you're almost a completely different person to the one I knew, the one I dated?"

" I'm aware, I actually like who I am now ." despite it not being an attempt at making jokes with Fletcher, his deep voice let out a breath resembling laughter or some sort of physical amusement.

"to me, you'll always be the girl who was stoned at her parents wedding anniversary party." Renee's mouth opened slightly, whilst Fletcher continued to laugh at her reaction.

" I thought we both agreed a long time ago to never talk about that day ever again?"

" but you're happy with you're new friends and dating this maybank kid?" his question was cut throat yet he seemed genuinely curious, Renee slightly taken aback by his bluntness of his question.

" trust me I was surprised that Rafe even let you out of his clutches, he hated me when we started dating."

He chuckled and looked at Renee who was still wide eyed at his arrogance "was like in love with you or something?"

" Rafe is not in love with me." she snorted, although the last time she had actually seen him was the garage.

Just the thought of it made her hand run up her throat, mimicking Rafe's violent actions alone and where the bruise that never seemed to fade was for weeks. It was enough to make her choke up slightly.

Although peeled it away and instead calmed herself before continuing

" and that maybank kid? his name is JJ and yes, I'm very happy with him," Fletcher looked like he was holding his tongue to Renee's answer, slightly annoyed yet the blonde girl couldn't figure out why.

Without a word, he turned his body back around and walked back down to the living room where his family were. Renee stood there for a minute, eyes still wandering where his body was only a few seconds ago.

" OK, SO MISSION POGUE IS A GO."

Renee had caught up with her friends as they left the wreck, sitting under JJ's arm as they began to plot their first steps to freeing John B.

" so we going to the Bahamas, or what?" JJ instigated the conversation, to which pope almost scoffed at.

" dude, there's no way we're getting to the bahamas." he told the blonde boy who was now anxiously toying with the braids in his girlfriends hair.

" John B's gonna get caught sooner or later." Renee told them, " so like, if we were going to clear his name of any false accusations then we should've done it like yesterday."

JJ hummed, taking the attention back to himself, "I'll tell you how we do it." he spoke calmly.

" so what? You have it all planned out?" Pope asked, to which JJ confirmed although nobody was expecting the next words that followed.

" we kidnap Rafe." Renee turned her head, looking up with her lips parted although squinting her eyes to protect them from the sun, trying to make out of JJ was being serious or not.

" we kidnap Rafe, tie him up and stick the gun in his mouth."  He animated it via finger guns " and just wait till he starts squawking."

" blondie, I know we're not exactly known as a law abiding citizen." Renee mumbled to him " but that's war crime, the kind of shit you get killed for."

"Yeah, so how exactly do you plan on clearing John B's name from a prison cell?" Pope asked in a genuine curiosity "Because that's a felony."

"all right, well, what do you got pope?" he grumbled " I was just trying to keep it simple, you know one stop and we're done."

Renee looked up to her friends, " all we really need is just a material witness, and then they prove the Cameron's are lying and boom."

she used her hands to animate a small little explosion " JohnB and Sarah are free and they can come home."

Pope waited a few seconds, staring blankly at the small hopeful yet naive smile on Renee's face before continuing,

"We saw wards plane fly right over our heads, with the gold inside of it." he hummed, piecing it together " he didn't fly it, if somebody else was flying it they were there on the tarmac."

Renee smile dropped, realising what Pope was getting on to, " they would've saw Rafe shoot Peterkin."

Pope pointed a finger at the blonde girl, knowing she had clocked onto his plan, " we just have to find whoever that was and get them to confess on record."

With eyebrows furrowed, Kiara looked towards pope who had already seemed to have planned it all out.

" and how do we do that?" she questioned, Renee smiled at the little smirk that curved on the edges of Popes lip — it was almost contagious as she noticed JJ almost copying the facial expression.

" a little light espionage."

Renee turned her body, reaching her fingers for JJ's red hat before placing it on her own head,

" a little ghost recon."

Popes eyes lingered around his friends, the palms of his hands out as he began to wiggle his fingers,

" woogity-woogity?" Renee let out a small yet quiet laugh, reaching forward from whe position between JJ's legs to do the same action, the skin of her fingers briefly touching the rest of her friends as they did their little group handshake. Smiling as they did so.

AUTHORS NOTE.
I'm back!!!
- e.