𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐍𝐄 , 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐗
𝟐𝟕:𝟏𝟑 - 𝟑𝟒:𝟑𝟎
𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨: 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 » 𝘢𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦

∞

AVA'S POV:

The door of my bedroom gently opens, the person with their hands on the knob slowly entering, a mischievous smirk on his face. I lift my eyes from my book to meet the gorgeous face of JJ Maybank, if I was in a different mood I would smile.

"Hey, princess." He smiles, slowly lowering himself down onto all fours on my bed, and he starts to crawl towards me, his eyes not leaving mine, "What you doin'?"

My head tilts at his unusual attitude, "What do you want, JJ?"

He gasps, finally being close enough to press a small peck on my lips before bringing his legs under him to sit beside me, "I don't want anything."

I raise my eyebrows slightly, hinting to him that I don't believe a single word of that. He laughs, his tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek before he leans forward again, his head a few centimetres from mine.

"You know me to well, Ava, it's fucking annoying." He pecks a kiss to my lips again, "But," Another kiss to the cheek, "Can," One to the opposite cheek, "You," and one last one to my forehead, it lasting a little more longer than the others, "Follow me."

My eyebrows furrow, and I move my chin down to my chest, knowing if he even catches a glimpse of the blush he won't shut up about it.

Gently, a hand grabs the bottom my chin, lifting my head so our eyes meet once again, an even bigger smirk on his lips, "Please."

I roll my eyes back at his childish attitude, trying to ignore that his hand is still on my chin, his thumb gently caressing my skin, "Why all the sudden affection?"

"So you won't hate me." He laughs but quickly jumps up off my bed, holding an arm out for me, which I politely take and allow him to pull me up.

"Where are we going?" I question, following him lazily through the Chateau, my eyes scanning all over the place for a packet of cigarettes.

"The boat." He replies, grabbing my hand swiftly and dragging me to his side so I can't walk back to my room, "Ava, please."

"I really don't feel like going out on the boat today, J," I groan, throwing my head back in annoyance.

"Trust me." Famous last words. He thinks.

I get pulled along the dock, and JJ squeezes my hand one last time before dropping it and pushing my shoulders forward into the boat instead, John B and Pope waiting patiently for us.

"Finally," My brother grumbles, sitting up and shoving the keys into the ignition, setting off as soon as I'm seated.

I ignore his words and grab a pair of sunglasses from the supply box under the seat, slipping them onto my nose and ruffling my hair slightly, JJ's eyes not leaving my body. As much as I hate people watching me, I always feel safe when it's him. I know that he's not judging me.

"Where are we going?" I mutter at Pope, hoping that he's kind enough to tell me.

His eyes flick to JJ, who's roughly shaking his head in protest, "Uh. . . somewhere."

"What?" I tilt my head, "Pope, just tell me. I don't have the fucking energy to—"

"Just shut up, Ava, and you'll find out." John B snaps, turning back to glare at me for a moment.

I raise my foot up, kicking his lower back through the gap in the seat, causing a shrill yell to escape his lungs as his hand flies to the injured spot, rubbing over it, "What the fuck?"

"You didn't need to be so rude." I hiss, turning away from him to look at the smooth ripples of the water, hearing JJ and Pope laugh at my brother.

Soon enough, we arrive at a boat anchored in the middle of the marsh. JJ politely offers me a hand and pulls me up onto the empty boat, John B joining us while Pope moves behind the HMS Pogue's steering wheel.

"Why are we splitting up?" I question as Pope drives the boat away, his teeth biting at his bottom lip anxiously.

"He's going to pick Kie up." My brother replies, as the two boys slip their shirts off and squat down at the front, peering down into the mechanical part of the boat, pretending to be fixing it, "Okay? So, just stay there and be quiet. We can't work if your talking non-stop."

I raise my arms in a surrender, backing up away from them and taking a seat on the rim of the boat, running a tired hand through my hair. What is going on?

THIRD PERSON POV:

After a few minutes, Pope finally arrives at Kiara's house, stopping the boat at the end of the dock as the girl jogs towards him, hauling a backpack over her shoulder, "What the hell is going on?" She snaps, visibly angry that she's been dragged away from whatever she was just doing.

"Code red!" Pope shrugs, his hands tightening a round the wheel as he lies to her, "JJ, Ava, John B conked out in the marsh. They need a tow."

Kiara furrows her eyebrows, confused as to why Ava was even hanging around her brother when she's more than pissed at him. Right off the bat something seems off, "Uh, okay, right, well, what does that have to do with me?"

"We need you for. . . mechanical." He stutters as she steps in front of him, her eyes glaring into his intimidatingly.

"Mechanical." She repeats in disbelief as he drives off her towards the Marsh. Once they arrive, she sighs in annoyance, "Can't you guys do anything without me?"

She jumps onto the boat, her eyes landing on Ava's tired body as she rests on the bench, the sun shining down on the parts of her body that her bikini and shirt didn't cover, "What's going on?" She questions to the other girl, tapping her thigh to get her attention.

Ava shrugs, groaning as the bright sun beams into her eyes, "I have no fucking clue. They brought me here and won't tell me shit."

Kie's face screws up in confusion as she heads to the front, watching as JJ struggles with a spanner, "What happened?"

The boy's head snap up to her in surprise. JJ purses his lips, pointing into the wires and engine, "Uh, the alternator's, uh, not alternating anymore."

"It's not charging." John B shakes his head, making their lie somewhat more believable.

"Did you check the plugs?" Kiara asks calmly, shoving her frustration down for a moment as she focusses on helping her two best friends.

"No. No, you should check 'em." The blonde boy scratches the back of his neck, passing her the spanner and moving out of her way towards the door, "Sorry about that."

The two boys sprint out of the front, JJ tapping Ava's ass as she's turned over on the bench on her stomach, as the boys laugh like children, "Go! Go! Go!"

Ava shoots up from her laid position, watching as they dive into the water, "KIE! GUYS? WHAT THE FUCK? YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!"

Kiara hears the splash of the water and jogs out, her eyes closed in despair as Ava screams at the boys.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you, JJ Maybank," She yells, pointing at the blonde, "Get your ass back here!"

"Sorry!" JJ waves back to her, a large smirk on his face, leaving the two girls alone on the large boat.

"What the hell?" Kie exclaims, jumping back beside Ava out of shock. The girl's head snaps towards the threat, only to see Sarah Cameron, her seeming just as pissed off as the Pogues.

The Routledge rolls her jaw in anger and she turns back to the water, her eyes landing on the boy's boat as they break out into laughter, "Get your fucking asses back here! JJ!"

"We can't! Not until you three figure it out!" Ava's brother shouts back, mentioning towards the three girls.

"I will kill every single one of you!" Kie screams.

"Y—you can't just leave!" Sarah joins in.

"There's food in the cabin, and JJ rolled a blunt!" Pope informs them quickly and apologetically, raising his arms in attempt to not seem like a bad guy.

"Hydroponic." The blonde claps.

Ava throws her arms up, "JJ, you know I need more than one! AT LEAST COME BACK WITH A PACK OF CIGS FOR ME! I need them if your gonna be forcing me to stay with her." She points towards the Kook beside her, who growls lowly at the girl's rude words.

"You'll be fine. Sorry!" JJ shrugs, apologising once more and his smirk becomes even wider as she pulls off her thin top when she starts to feel the full effect of the sun, revealing more of her cleavage. If JJ could, he would stay just to watch Ava, but Pope quickly starts the boat again, setting off back for the Chateau.

"You don't even know where you're going!" Kie snaps as Sarah prepares to jump into the water and swim after them, dropping her clothes to the floor. Without any hesitation she falls down into the marsh, screaming hysterically at the boys to come back and not leave, "She's dumb."

Ava cups her lips to propel her voice towards the blonde girl, "They're not coming back for you, dipshit! Good luck with the oyster beds and the jellyfish!"

"Love you, guys! Bye!" JJ laughs, holding a heart up with his hands.

Sarah let's out a strangle scream, dunking under the water for a split second before popping back up, a shrill scream still escaping her lips, "I got stung by a jellyfish! Shit!"

"Happens to us all," Ava mutters.

"Dramatic," Kie mumbles, causing Ava to hum in agreement, watching as the sobbing Kook clambers up the ladder, "Well, you swam right into a man-o'-war. Don't know what you thought would happen."

"Kinda common sense really. I tried to warn you," Ava rolls her eyes back as Sarah stands in front of them, her hand hovering over the bright pink rash on her side.

"Thank. . . you for your. . . help, guys." She pants, somehow being already worn out by a few metre swim, "Ow," She drops down onto the floor, her back pressed against the boat rim, "Shit. Ow! Hey. You know what they say. . . about curing jellyfish stings? One of you has to pee on me."

Ava sighs, shaking her head, "Hm, no. I have a better idea." She rubs her hands together mischievously, leading the two girls up to the side of the cabin so they're shielded from the beaming sun. She pulls open the box of blunts and grabs JJ's lighter that he had shoved in. She smiles gently at the fact that there was several rolled blunts in there, not just one like Pope had said, "These cure any pain, trust me."

Usually, Kiara would say something to stop the girl from putting the intoxicating substance between her lips. But in this instance, all three of them needed it more than ever to distract themselves from one another.

Ava places the blunt between her lips, delicately using the lighter while her hands shields the end from the wind. Once it's lit, she breathes it in slowly before moving it away to let the drug roll down before finally exhaling the dirty air and she waves the cloud of smoke away before passing the blunt to Kiara, who repeats the same process. Hastily, she moves it over to Sarah, correctly placing it between the Kook's fingers.

The blonde girl quickly shoves it between her lips, slowly breathing it in just as Ava did, who was watching with tired eyes.

"Careful. That's JJ's cousin cripple." Ava snaps.

Sarah doesn't even let the weed settle before coughing it all out continuously, leaving Kie and Ava to press their lips together in an attempt not to laugh. The both of them were expecting that reaction; it was obvious the Kook had never smoked before.

"I'll be having that," Ava rips the blunt from her fingers as Kiara lights another two for them, knowing her best friend would hate to share again, especially with a non-smoker.

❦

Soon, it becomes night and Ava distances herself from the two other girls and she perches herself on the edge of the boat, her legs kicking beneath her as she continues to smoke her third blunt, her head only now starting to go dizzy.

Her head's full of JJ and John B appears every now again as she thinks of how they might never truly make up. Sarah had fucked their relationship up, and she wouldn't be surprised if her brother disowned her for kissing his best friend.

"Is she okay?" Sarah questions Kie, motioning her head towards Ava, speaking with a hushed voice so she didn't her, "She really likes smoking, huh?"

Kiara sighs, her lips pressed sadly together as she watches another cloud of smoke be formed around Ava's head, her hand lazily wafting it away into the black distance, "It's her escape. One of the many things her and JJ have in common."

A long laugh leaves Sarah's lips, and for a moment Kie thought she was making fun of her best friend and she sat up in an alarm. Quickly after, her mind puts the pieces together, realising that Sarah is high, after one blunt.

"Hey, guess what?" The blonde splutters, turning her head towards the Pogue, "Would you rather. . . have—" She clears her throat, "I was imagining you like this just now. It was pretty funny. Would you ima— would you rather. . . have nipples for eyes or eyes for nipples? Imagine if you get really old and your nipples— your boobs get saggy, and your nipples,"

Kiara takes in a deep breath, listening as the girl continues about the horrific subject. She'd rather be anywhere else right now, and a part of her wants to call Ava over, but she knows she needs alone time. Another coping mechanism.

"—if they were your eyes, you could see if your shoes were untied." She finally comes to a finish and Kie's glares at her in disgust, earning a distorted chuckle, "No? Okay."

"Is this your first time smoking or something?" Kiara mumbles tiredly.

Sarah purses her lips, hesitating for a second, "No. . ." She let's out a long breath, proving that she was lying, "Hey, Kiara—"

"Oh my God." Kie groans, "Enough of the 'Hey, Kiara!' bullshit! Why'd you do it?"

The blonde shrugs, her eyebrows furrowing together, "Why did I do what?"

"We were best friends," The Pogue states sadly, the happy memories of their time together floating back into her head, "We— we stole beers from your dad's fridge, we watched movies together, we cried about boys. And the next thing I know," She swallows, "I'm watching your birthday party happen from instagram."

"It was one party." Sarah sighs.

"You invited everyone expect me." She says, her eyes rolling at the girl's careless attitude to the situation, "And then you told everybody I was the reason that the party got busted."

"Okay, well, who else would've called the cops?" Sarah snaps.

"You never asked," Kie cuts her short, "You just let the rumour go around that I was a rat. You were my best friend and then you ghosted me, and I don't even know why! I mean, really, what did I do?" She let's the curiosity get the best of her, causing her voice to rise a little.

"You liked me."

Kie's eyes go wide, thinking she might have misheard her, "What?"

"When. . . people get. . . close to me, I feel trapped. And. . . I bail." She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, "And then I blame them for it. I'm really sorry. . . and I miss you. Do you think there's a chance that we could be okay again?"

"You hear that, A?" Kie shouts towards the other pogue girl, who turns her head to them and she nods, smirking and informing them both that she was eavesdropping, Kiara turns back to the blonde girl, "Honestly, Sarah. . . I don't know."

After a while, Sarah drifts into a sleep on the floor of the boat and Kiara sets up a small bed, laying down beside the snoring girl.

lAva, come here and get some sleep." She hisses through the dark at her best friend, who refuses to move positions, a blunt no longer in her fingers as her brain was getting too fuzzy, "Come on. JJ will literally kill me if you don't get some sleep. Plus, I can tell you need it."

Ava huffs at the mention of the boy, pushing herself up from the side of the boat, and shimmering down between the two girls, her head resting back on Kiara's pillow and a blanket was laid over her. Within a minute, she was out like a light and Kie's hand ran through her smooth hair, knowing it relaxed her.

_____________________

kinda long chapter but not really lmao

i think i might have to do a separate book for season 2, but i'm not sure so let me know what y'all think