"Why we searchin for John B but end up looking for a dumb ass bitch instead?" Berry asked as the trio hopped out of the truck, Bali's instructions clear.

"He could be eaten my bears or something." Bali pointed out as she held up her phone flash light, walking past the Kook Academy, "Says we gotta go north past the academy."

"Conners a idiot anyways, I don't understand why we're looking for him." Rafe spoke, walking behind her while Berry was close after, "Bal."

"Aren't you just kinda curious?" Bali spoke up honestly. While in the process of getting Rafe and Berry away from John B and Sarah, she figured she could kill two birds with one stone. Berry and Rafe didn't hate Conner the way the pogues did, and Bali was not gonna head into the woods alone.

"No, i'm not actually." Rafe said back, stepping on a twig as they walked, "Do you seriously thing he's sending you secret messages through a book?"

"Her dumbass would believe it." Berry agreed.

"Your dumbass followed me." Bali shrugged.

"Cause I don't hate you, Archipelago. But if your dumbass gets eaten by a bear, I ain't saving you." he shook his head, talking obnoxious loud from behind the pair, "Black bears take up 60% of North Carolina."

"Look, there's the stop sign." Bali said, stopping suddenly as Berry ran into the back of her. She flipped open the book, "Now we just gotta go down the flower path."

Bali dragged Rafe by the arm when he avoided following her, Berry trialing behind.

"You realize he's probably pulling one of those stupid jokes again." Rafe had to voice his thoughts. While him and Conner weren't necessarily friends after what he did freshman year, he knew him all too well because of their familiar friend group, "Don't you remember halloween?"

"Ah shit, what happened on halloween?" Berry spoke up.

Bali shook her head with a frown, "Nothing."

"Some flowers path." Rafe commented as they headed down the path of dead, tiny flowers. Bali winced when he slapped her arm, "Had a mosquito."

"Yo, yo." Berry called, stepping infront of the pair as he held the flashlight, "Are you two of you stupid? Get your asses stabbed, I don't care."

"Why would we get stabbed?" Bali whispered as they headed closer toward the open field.

"He was kidnapped." Berry said back with a stupid look her way.

"What does that have to do with being stabbed?" Rafe questioned with a odd look, sniffling as he rubbed his nose, "Look, it's late. John B is still out there. We need-"

Bali grabbed both of them by the shoulder when she heard a snap, the three falling to the ground.

"Oh yeah, that was real subtle." Rafe rolled his eyes, getting a shh. Berry sat up, shining his light around.

"Aye! You better get your ass out here!" he yelled.

"Oh my god." Bali said in disbelief as she slapped his leg, "How stupid are you?"

"What did you say to me?" he asked her. Rafe stood up and pulled Bali with him, looking around.

"No ones here." he commented, looking around, "I told you. It was a stupid lie."

Bali shook her head as she exhaled, "How does a missing guy leave behind a lie while looking suspicious when he does it?"

"Yo, i'm tired, i'm going home." Berry announced with a shake of his head, "We'll find John B in the morning."

"Just let it go." Rafe commented as he looked down at Bali with a nod of his head.

"He could be hurt, I wouldn't want someone to just let it go if it was me." Bali argued with a shake of her head, "We use to do shit like this all the time."

"Yeah, that was two years ago before everything hit the fan." he started to argue, getting Berrys attention as he stopped walking.

"Not this shit again." he rolled his eyes, "I don't have time for yalls bullshit!"

"If you were missing I'd look for you." Bali argued, jabbing a finger into Rafes chest suddenly, "Even though you're a asshole."

"I'm a asshole? What about you?" Rafe asked her with a roll of his eyes, "You're just as bad."

"What did I do?" the shorter girl questioned in disbelief.

"You completely ignore me after leading me on and saying everything was gonna be okay. You dangled that shit right in my face then took off and sides with some disgusting pogues." Rafe leaned done on her height as he spoke in annoyance and clear built up anger, "You always leave."

"What? Are you upset that I let you cry in my arms because you killed someone?" Bali mocked him in the slightest, "What did you expect me to do?"

"Not lead me to think you were actually gonna be on our side." the Cameron boy glared at her.

"I'm gonna knock both of y'all's asses out." Berry threatened, "It's been too mothafuckin longer for me to deal with this again."

"You can just admit it, you know." Rafe poked Bali in the arm.

"Admit what?" she glared.

"That you what me to go to jail." he glared at her with a hand running down his face in disbelief.

Bali shoved his shoulders suddenly, "I don't want you to go to jail, Rafe. That's the problem. That doesn't mean I think it's okay for you to frame a innocent guy for murder e-"

A shot went through the air as the three ducked. It went again.

"Yo, someone's shootin at us!" Berry hollered as the trio ran back to the truck, "That your crazy ass ex?"

"Fuck if I know!" Bali yelled, jumping into the truck as a shot bounced off the metal when Rafe drove off quickly.

Bali and Rafe ended up crashing at Barry's for the night. They'd done it millions of times before, though it had been a while but it was odd enough, not so bad. Berry slept in his bed, a loud snorer, while Rafe and Bali shared the tiny ass couch. She wondered how they managed to do it so many times before, though a lot of it was a blur back then.

"Bal." Rafe whispered into the darkness, laying on the opposite side of the couch with her feet digging into his ribs, "Are you awake?"

Bali wondered if she should ignore him, "Yeah."

"Sorry for yelling at you." he apologized immediately, nudging her shoulder with his own foot, "You really don't want me to go to jail?"

Bali huffed, "No. Doesn't mean I think you're innocent and deserve nothing though."

Rafe stayed silent, waiting for her to go on.

"John B doesn't deserve to go to jail." Bali spoke to him as she stared up at the trailer ceiling, "He didn't do anything. Don't you see that?"

"It's either him or me, don't you see that?" he repeated her words, laying in the same uncomfortable position she was, "I can't go to jail."

Bali wanted the topic to drop immediately, "Well, it's not like they're gonna find them if they're in the bahamas."

It was silent a moment, she thought he'd fallen asleep.

"I know you're lying to me, Bal." he spoke up, taking her by surprise. Bali's eyes widened as she stared upwards, "I know Sarah and John B texted you they were alive before I even told you. I know you're lying."

Bali, suddenly feeling uneasy, sat up. Rafe did the same, the sunrise coming through but flipping on a light anyways. They sat at different ends of the couch. One with a knowing look and the other with wide eyes. Rafe exhaled as he gave a nod, "So we just lie now, do we?"

Bali inhaled, trying to figure out what to say. She appeared as a statue a moment, scooting over and grabbing his face, "Look at me."

Rafes face was pushed in her hands. Bali scanned his eyes, "Whats going on with you?"

Rafe exhaled, a shake to his head as her wrist moved with his motion, "It doesn't matter."

"If something is happening up there, you can tell me." Bali said. She'd seen Rafe have bad episodes before, like he wasn't himself, snapping too quickly to consider it normal. She brought it up to Ward once but was pushed aside and given the excuse he was under stress with school, anything to get her off his back, "Do you need-"

"I am fine." he spoke sternly, grabbing her wrist to move it from his face, "I'm gonna need you to be honest with me."

Bali shook her head.

Rafe was the one to grab her face now with a nod, "Look at me. I need you right now, okay? I need you to stop and realize that you're making the wrong decisions and that JJ isn't gonna take care of you, okay? I will. I will take care of you and Berry, I just need you to stop lying and tell me what you know."

Bali moved her head out of his hands as she stood up, "You're scaring me."

"What the hell are the two of you doin?" Berry called, half asleep in his bed.

"Stop defending him!" Rafe rose his voice as he grabbed Bali's arms tightly, "Can you just stop and think about my sake for once?"

Bali's hand came up and slapped him across the face.

"Shit." Berry huffed as he sat up, "Both of you, back it up."

"Stop yelling at me and treating me like I'm not trying to help your ungrateful ass." she threatened him with a minor glare, "I'd like to remind you that you confessed to me that night. You told me you killed the sheriff, to my face, you said it. And I haven't said anything because I'm trying to figure out a way to keep you and John B protected. Both of you, even though you do not deserve it. I could have locked you up a long time ago."

Rafe blinked as he exhaled, chest heaving as he went to open his mouth before her phone chimed. Bali pulled it from her back pocket, face falling as she looked down at the message.

They arrested John B.

•

kylie speaks

bali's really out here
protecting john b, who
treated her like ass so
many times. rafe, who
also treats her like ass
and causes so much shit
in her life, and conner, who
definitely treated her like
ass and spread rumors about
her.

we love you bal.

conners missing storyline
excites me so much.