THEY DROVE BACK TO THE CHATEAU AFTER THE CHAOTIC EVENTS AT THE BONFIRE. Kie and Bree were inside, getting more beers and water. They had bought supplies for s'mores and built a fire outside to roast the marshmallows. Now, obviously, all that was left was alcohol.

"Is Pope still mad at you?" the Callaway girl questioned because even though they had been arguing at the bonfire, it seemed like a more productive kind of arguing inside of just fighting over nothing like what Bree expected after she heard that they had broken up.

The raven-haired girl shrugged lightly as she walked over to the fridge and opened it. She explained, "I don't know if he's still mad, but I think he's definitely hurt."

"He'll come around. Just give him some time," Bree assured her, trying to sound as comforting as she could. Pope was awful at holding a grudge, especially when it came to Kie.

"Enough about me and Pope. That's history," the Carrera girl told her, waving her off and letting her know that there was something much more important that she wanted to discuss. Well, at least, more important to her. "We need to be looking at the future."

The brunette girl furrowed her eyebrows as she opened her arms, holding them out toward the fridge so that her friend could stack the drinks in them. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you and a certain member of the group making goo-goo eyes at each other," Kie clarified, causing the Callaway girl to look down at her feet, remembering the moment at the party. With everything that had happened, she was almost sure that she imagined it.

She scoffed, trying to play is off like she had no idea what her friend was talking about. "What?"

"I saw you and JJ at the party dancing and getting all cozy," Kiara told her, and that was when Bree realized that maybe the girl only saw the dancing and not the making out against the wall. She sighed in relief because she did not really want to talk about it until she talked about it with the blonde boy.

"Me and JJ?" she questioned with raised eyebrows as if it were the craziest thing in the world. The raven-haired girl closed the door to the fridge, and the look on her face showed that she clearly did not believe what her friend was saying. "No way. We were dancing as friends."

The Carrera girl nodded before responding sarcastically and melodramatically, "Mhmm, sure because people can dance as friends."

"You and I have danced, and we're friends," the brunette girl argued, pointing at her friend in a way that made it seem like she had gotten her and there was no possible reply to that without admitting that she was correct.

Kie rolled her eyes before saying, "I think we both know that we're more than friends."

"Oh, of course, of course," the Callaway girl answered, a smile creeping onto her face as she began to fan herself jokingly. She started to feel the weight of the bottles in her hand, and she realized that the boys were waiting for them outside. "Okay, we got everything. Let's get back out there."

"Can't stand being away from your boo too long, can you?" the other girl quizzed playfully, teasing her friend with a small smile.

"Bite me."

Once they got outside and sat down, Pope thought for a second and informed them, "I've had more black eyes in the last month than I've ever had."

"That was building up for years," the Maybank boy muttered as he sat down on the log next to Bree. Kie looked over at her friend with a smile with just caused the other girl to glare at her, knowing what she was thinking. "Rumble in the jungle."

"Hey, did you guys really stick up for Sarah?"John B questioned, raising his eyebrows at Kie and Bree. It was not like he was accusing them, but more like he was asking.

"Of course we did," Kiara answered for them. After a short pause, she added. She's not a real Kook."

Bree nodded. "Yeah, she's a Pogue at heart."

"Right. Yeah, tell that to Topper," the Routledge boy muttered bitterly, kicking the ground below him. Then, he grabbed Kie's s'more that was in her hand and moved it toward his mouth. He told her, "I just want one bite. That... Mmm."

"What are you doing? No, stop!" the raven-haired girl protested, causing all of them to giggle as the boy took a huge bite out of it. He ended up knocking it out of her hand so that it fell on the ground.

The blonde boy moved his away from his best friend. "You're not having any of mine."

"I thought you were gonna share," the brunette boy explained to the Carrera girl, his voice a little muffled by all of the food in his mouth.

"I spent the last of my money on that," Kie informed him with a sigh before leaning down and grabbing the white, fluffy ball of sugar on his plate and shoving it into her mouth. "I'm stealing your marshmallow."

Pope scoffed with furrowed eyebrows, shaking his head, "I believe that's a... not even a fair trade."

"It's not at all. Not even close," Bree added in agreement. Half of a s'more over a measly marshmallow? The marshmallow might even be the worst part of the sweet sandwich treat.

"Hey, hey," the brunette boy called to them, shushing them, and they all turned to him with confused expressions but did what he said anyway. "When they quieted down, they heard a rustling in the bushes off to the side. "Somebody's here."

They stood up quickly, moving toward the noise slowly. Kiara whispered to them, "You don't think that Topper would..."

"I wouldn't put it past him," the blonde boy answered. It was true. The Thornton boy was so petty and proud that he might show up just so that he could win the fight from the bonfire earlier. That might be the only fight that he had ever had a chance of winning.

"Do you have your gun?" the Callaway girl questioned, glancing at JJ with raised eyebrows as they stepped on the pinestraw cautiously.

He rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up in the air and groaning in disbelief since people always seemed to want him to have the gun when he did not have it and vice versa. "Oh, now she wants the gun."

"Hey, who's out there?" the Routledge boy called out in the bushes, and the rest of them continued to say similar things.

All of a sudden, the blonde man that was Limbrey's accomplice or whatever stepped out from behind one of the bushes with his hands in the air. He questioned, "How y'all doing?"

"It's this piece of shit," the Heyward boy murmured bitterly, glaring at the man in front of them that had tried to kill them a couple of times before. Bree was still not aware of what his name was.

She sighed exasperatedly, "You gotta be kidding me."

"Lovely evening we're having. Look, I, uh... I don't hold a grudge with any of y'all, all right? But this can go hard, or this can go easy. You know what I'm here for. Let me give you a little demonstration. You see that swing right there?" He pointed to a swing a couple of feet away from them. "I got the best bow hunters in the Army Rangers with me. Hidden. " He whistled, and an arrow whizzed past them and into the tree behind them. "Now, they're out there. They'll stick you just as soon as I say so." He whistled again, and another arrow almost skimmed JJ's ear. The by had a pipe in his hands and was about to swing when the weapon shocked him. The blonde man turned around and shook his finger at him. "Uh, uh, uh. We clear? Now, I'm not gonna give you a countdown or any bullshit like that. I'm just gonna whistle."

Pope hesitated for a moment, turning the key in his fingers before looking up and answering softly, "No. This key belongs to my family."

"I'm losing my patience with you, Pope," the man laughed out dryly. As if he suddenly remembered the armed archers that surrounded them, the Heyward boy sighed before handing over the object. "Did the right thing, kid. Knowing when you don't have a choice is an underappreciated talent. You be safe." He turned to JJ who still had the pipe raised over his head, ready to strike. "Easy there. Y'all have a good night." As soon as he was gone and out of earshot, they all turned to Pope who looked like he wanted to cry or break something or both.

"I'm so sick of this shit."