IN A MID-SUMMER MIRACLE, THE THREE boys had found themselves lucked out with a brand new drone in their possession. Sure, it took a few tears and white lies but the mission would be considered a success. With Kiara's car dropped back off at her large home they could officially rejoice inside the Twinkie to celebrate their victory. By the time they'd arrived on the Figure 8 property the night had grown to overtake the sky, summer days feeling like they grew shorter as the season slowly came to an end.

  "I can hardly believe It." Sierra scoffed as the the van door slide open, revealing Pope and JJ in the back, Pope of course being the one to have the drone on his lap protectively.

  "Feast your eyes, baby." JJ proudly motioned, smirking. "You should've seen me, made the guy believe that it was just me there."

  "Oh, really?" Sierra questioned with a raised brow, climbing in and sliding the door back shut while Kiara got into the passenger seat.

  "Yeah, fake tears and all, bought every word."

  "Nice." The Ray girl nodded in approval, turning to look at the boy with a smile. "All thanks to you."

  "I mean It's not like me and John B did the actual stealing part of it all, but okay." Pope muttered, casually looking away like it wasn't him that spoke up.

  Sierra could only laugh, leaning her head to rest on JJ's shoulder. In the corner of her eye she could see Kiara peeking her head into the back, smirking knowingly at the sight. Even if she could speak up, she had no excuse for her actions, but she didn't need one. She just wanted to.

  A rock song filled in for the comfortable silence between the Pogues, abruptly ending as the car came to a halt and shut off. Their destination sitting just to right of the van, The Wreck. It was after closing hours but the lights remained on, most likely for the closing crew as they clean up for the night.

  "Stealing drones makes you hungry." Kiara commented, pushing her door open. Being the daughter of a restaurant owner had its perks. Like now, tired and starving, the Carrera was going to attempt to convince her father to give up some left over food.

  "And so does seducing junkyard security guards." Sierra giggled, looking to her friend as she jumped out from the back.

  "Wait what?" The blonde questioned, trailing behind her. "Bobby?"

  "Bald dude with wandering eyes?"

  "Well...he's bald."

  "Then, yeah, that guy."

  "You're lucky that I'm only thinking about some beer and shrimp and grits right now." JJ pointed, tossing an arm onto her shoulder. "Otherwise, I'd like to talk about this."

  "What, jealous?" Sierra smirked, walking towards the front entrance of The Wreck. "S'not like he's got anything on you."

  "Of course not." The Maybank boy puffed out a breath cockily, "Nobody's got anythin' on me."

  "Sierra." Kiara called, one hand clinging to the handle of the front doors. "Come with me, my dads nicer when you're around."

  "Yeah, of course." Nodded the girl, pulling away from JJ's arms to follow in after her best friend.

  "Nobody's got anythin' on me." The Carrera girl teased, her voice overly deep in an attempt to imitate the blonde.

  "Shut the fuck up."

  Her friend giggle, turning innocently to her father that stood just behind the bar, counting up a wad of cash. "Hey, dad."

  "Hey." The man smiled warmly, setting down the money to walk around and give his daughter a hug. "Sierra, how ya been?"

  "Hey, Mr. C." Sierra smiled kindly, "I'm doing alright, thank you."

  "So, how'd we do?" Kiara questioned referring to the restaurant, despite only having a part time job as a waitress she couldn't help but worry for her fathers business.

  "Didn't turn it over once." The man replied, sighing heavily. Truthfully, The Wreck had begun to loose popularity as more restaurants opened on Figure 8. Sure, Kiara and her family were Kooks but in comparison to the rustic designs of the businesses on the rich side, the Wreck gave more of an old, comfy shack feel. A clear contrast that begun running it's wealthier customers out over time, and the lower class could hardly afford to go out and eat in a time like post-Agatha.

  "It's probably just bad luck," Kiara encouraged kindly, wrapping her arms around her fathers waist, "'cause of the storm."

  "Yeah," Chuckled the man, bringing his arms around her shorter frame, "I'll be sure to tell the banks that."

  "Guess now is not the best time to ask for free food for me and my friends?" Kiara muttered, looking up towards her father with a crooked but hopeful smile.

  At the sound of that the man sighed, placing his hands on his hips disapprovingly."Look at them," He glared at the group of boys who wandered in just moments ago, their eyes glued to the food being eaten by some employees, "they're greedy pelicans. I told you to stop hanging around these guys."

Sierra saw as the man's eyes flickered towards her, knowing he wanted to give her the same lecture but held back, not believing it was his place.

History between the Carrera family and the Ray's started with Sierra's father. He'd spent his lunch break eating at the wreck and that's when he'd first met a young Kiara. Her pretty, maintained, curls reminded him of the ones that laid atop of his own daughters head. Then came a moment of realization when Mrs. Carrera came stumbling in to pick up her wandering child. He asked for advice and left with a list of products he didn't even know existed. But they helped, and with more practice he grew better, all thanks to Kiara's family.

  "Well, everybody at the Kook Academy hates us, Dad." The teen frowned, her eyes peeling away from his stern ones.

  "'Cause you never gave them a chance."

  "I did give them a chance, and they got all stuck up on me. I mean, they cared more about shoes more than surfing. What are we suppose to do with that?" Kiara scoffed, turning back to look at the boys, smiling fondly. "These are my friends."

  Sierra also leaned her head to gaze at the boys, chuckling as John B and Pope waved sheepishly, JJ deciding to throw a peace symbol. After Kiara's fathers looked away, the Ray girl noticed how Pope slapped the blondes hand down, scolding him silently about manners.

  "Look." The man dropped his hands from his hips in defeat, sighing deeply, he looked between the two girls and couldn't find it him to deny. "Well, I—I got—I gotta throw it out. Might as well, take it."

  A big smile took over the Carrera girl's round face as she tossed herself into her father's arms gratefully. "Thank you!"

  "You're welcome." Mr. Carrera muttered, walking backwards into the kitchen. "I'll bring it out."

  Sierra smirked, catching Kiara's hand in a high five as they headed to the dining area. The girls smile dropped, her expression turning stern. "Sit down."

The boys grinned, rushing to a table with quiet words of celebration. JJ was already rubbing his hands together as he sat next to Sierra, his grin infectious. I'm front of her sat Kiara, once again sending her that knowing look as the blonde took her hand under the table. Maybe it was Sierra's glance down that made it obvious but somehow the Carrera girl knew.

Not too long after sitting themselves down did the food come, and as much as Sierra didn't want to agree with Mr. C and his whole 'greedy pelicans' comment it was hard to defend the attack towards the baskets of fries and plates of fried shrimp. Sierra could hardly reach a hand over to collect a handful of the salty food before JJ was taking most of them into his mouth.

  The girl laughed and shook her head, before sipping at her water as more food slowly started coming out. Kiara even managed to convince her father to turn up radio system so it echoed into the empty restaurant, providing some ambience.

  "Yo, JJ!" John B called out with a grin, greasy fingers lifting toss a fry from across the table into the blondes open mouth.

  "Do you not have any manners?" Kiara scolded, slapping JJ's shoulder as she refilled  his empty cup. "And share some with your girlfriend, there's more to come in a bit."

  JJ grumbled, pushing Sierra a half eaten bowl of shrimp and grits. "Fuckin' finally."
The curly-haired girl chuckled, attempting to ignore the fact that Kiara referred to her as JJ's 'girlfriend' and JJ didn't even blink. Maybe he was too engrossed in eating or genuinely didn't mind but it picked at Sierra's brain.

  "This shit is so good I actually might have to check my pants." The Maybank boy spoke through a mouthful of food, smiling at the girl next to her.

  "Gross!"

  He laughed, a sweet noise that made Sierra laugh too even she she'd just expressed her disgust moments ago. The night was ending beautifully, one that would be the conclusion stereotypical summer movie after a big conflict. Sierra wished she could pause time and forever stay in the same scene, have the same warmth, the same feeling she felt now.

  Some minutes later Kiara had finished duties as waitress, opting to sway smoothly to the soft music. Her arm extended out, a finger beckoning over the brunette who sat on the opposite side of the table. John B pointed at himself, smiling softly before standing up in acceptance.

  JJ watched, hands laying on his full stomach and Sierra flickered her gaze between the dancing friends and the boy next to her. She made the decisions to push him gently, subtly asking him to get up, and he did. Turning towards Sierra climbing out the booth he half expected her to walk in the direction of the bathroom, but she didn't. She wanted to dance, and with him.

—

  TESTING FOR THE NEWLY STOLEN drone came the next morning on John B's dock. The sun it's early stages of being risen, JJ had barely marched down to meet the rest of the group minutes ago. He curiously looked at the laptop-like device that reflected all that the drone caught. That included John B's face as it swam in front of the camera tapping it and taking up most of the screen with strange faces.

  "What's this right here?" The blonde questioned, a hand coming up to click a button before Pope slapped it away.

"Don't touch that." Snapped the Heyward boy, "I'm still trying to work out this thing."

  Using an arcade game like knob to maneuver the drone forward, backwards, left, and right. JJ watched in awe, standing up and leaning against the wooden railing. At the same time, Kiara and John B rose from below the surface, sucking in deep breaths.

  "God bless geeks, Pope, truly." JJ muttered, taking a sip his canned drink. Sierra giggled, slapping his chest in a playful warning. "What would we do without you to control the drones?"

  "Its technically not a drone." Pope corrected smartly, "It's an ROV—"

  "Shut up, shut up." JJ rudely lifted a hand in protest of his correction. "It's too early for that right now."

  "Hey, look, once we get footage of the wreck we'll bring it to the lawyer in town, and we'll file a formal claim." John B explained, shaking his head to rid his hair of water.

  "It's such bullshit." JJ disagreed, "Why do we  have do that?"

  "Well, there is maritime salvage law. You can't just go to the ocean and scoop a bunch of stuff up." Pope stood up him his crouching position to join JJ on leaning against the rail.

  "I know, I know. It's just lawyers aren't cheap, bro."

  "Well, as soon as they see the footage, they'll come work for a comp." The Routledge boy encouraged positively, his arms and legs working continuously to keep him afloat.

  "How do you know all that?" Kiara questioned with a chuckled, turning to him.

  "'Cause my dad said it, like, a million times."

"Yeah, that's fair." Kiara agreed with a nod, paddling her body to the latter connecting water to the dry lands of the dock.

  "This tether is, like, really long." Pope began, watching as Kiara climbed up slowly. "In the wrong weather, it can get pushed around."

  "He's right." Sierra agreed, "The tether can get disconnected from the drone and then we'll be in a shit load of trouble. I'll tell you guys now that the pay to replace it will not come out of my share."

  "Nobody's share is getting touched." The Routledge boy firmly argued, "We'll go at dead calm."

  As if on cue, a heavy sound of thunder ringing in the distance caught their attention. Kiara paused half way up the latter, looking up at the sky wearily. "At Slack tide?".

  "So now, we just gotta wait around for the right weather." Pope murmured, glaring up at approaching grey clouds. "And today is not that day."

  Sierra approached JJ's side, the blonde was leaning against the rail on the far right side, staring up at the gloomy sky. She couldn't help but stare, smiling slightly at his thick hair bouncing against the breeze.

  Gently, the Ray girl nudged him with her elbow, catching his attention. "You look hot."

  JJ smirked, chest suddenly puffed with pride. "You think so?"

  Sierra shrugged in return, smiling softly. "Yeah." She so desperately wanted to ask him for a kiss, hesitating in speaking up. Ironic it was, how the common phrase that often spilled out of the blondes mouth now threatened to come out of her own.

  "You want something." Sierra feared that he could read her mind, and as he leaned down she predicted he would whisper her thoughts back to her. "And if I'm being honest, I kinda want something to."

  Sierra raised a brow, "Y'know Pope asked us to come with him to reliever groceries, right?"

  JJ scoffed, glancing down at an invisible watch on his wrist. "That's not for, like, another forty minutes. Let's just...make out."

  "Hey, Pope, I'm gonna go get ready." Sierra turned to the Heyward boy, slowly stepping towards the bridge connecting onto John B's property.

  "Okay, I'm just gonna figure some things out with this thing and pack up, then I'll meet you and JJ inside." Responded Pope, moving away from the railing to return toward the screen.

  Sierra nodded, looking at JJ and sending a wink, subtly nodding to the Château as she jogged away.

  "Yeah, well, I'm gonna go lay back down." JJ swiftly excused, following after her hurringly.

—

  "JJ." SIERRA WARNED, DOING HER BEST to have some sort of self control as the blonde kissed down her neck and to her chest. He only hummed against her skin, his body caging her under him. "JJ, we have leave soon. Pope's gonna come knocking any minute."

  "Just a sec." He muttered, his head moving to retrace his previous kisses up from her chest to her neck. Sierra giggled as he neared her lips, gently pushing his head away.

  Pulling her shirt, of which was bunched up above her covered tits, back down as JJ made a noise of complaint that sounded almost like a whine. Before Sierra could defend herself a knock came at the door, then a voice.

  "Time to go!"

  "Called it." Sierra stood from the bed and reached for a bottle of body mist on the dresser before opening the door and smiling at a clueless Pope. "Let's go, JJ."

  A groan of annoyance came, the blonde passing her and out the door as she sprayed herself and set the bottle back down.

  At Heyward's shop they followed a employees direction of the older man's whereabouts and found him out on the dock.  Heaps of plastic grocery bags laid inside of a large basket were being loaded onto a boat by his command. A hard working man he was.

  "Hey, pops." Pope greeted kindly, climbing onto the vehicle and taking any bags he could carry with him. JJ slipped on a pair of sunglasses, both him and Sierra stepping on at the same time.

  "You boys, and Sierra, get these groceries to Figure 8. Get straight back when you're done. No fishin'." Commanded Heyward, not bothering to waste any time before handing off grocery bags. "I promised delivery by this afternoon. Rich folks don't wanna wait for you lazy sons of—" The older man paused, the sight of JJ's held out arms surprising him. It was one thing to have him join Pope on delivered but it was another to have him help. "—Oh, JJ, thank you—sons of bitches."

"Right." Pope mumbled, him and Sierra working on pulling in the last of the bags onto the boat.

Heyward huffed, placing a hand on his hips as he scanned the boat and dock, assuring he got everything. "No fishin'." He warned one more time, lifting a finger to further push his point.

"We got it." Pope nodded in understanding, walking to the cabin and starting up the boat. JJ removed the rope holding the boat to the dock, officially releasing the teens into the marsh and towards Figure 8. With a boat it was much quicker, the transition between ratty houses and luxurious mansion coming in only a few minutes.

Then again, it was a small island. The perception of it all gets foggy when thinking about the sworn rivalry between Kooks and Pogues. It was definitely paradise on Earth in the Outerbanks but only for one side. It especially applied for times like these, when a disastrous and destructive hurricane like Agatha wiped out all fun for the summer on the cut and Figure 8 sat untouched.

It was a very noticeable factor as they glided past a gated community, the one where Sarah Cameron lived in. Even if it was just the back of the homes and their backyard, there was a clear contrast.

Pope couldn't help but glare, eyes squinted with envy. "Doesn't even look like the storm hit here."

JJ paused his knife twirling, leaning over to glance out the window. "That's because they got generators, bro, get used to it."

"How the hell are we suppose to get use to that." Sierra grumbled, face scrunched up in a jealous scowl. "Their livin' their best lives and we're delivering their fuckin' groceries."

"And then they say the juice will be out all summer at the Cut." JJ added, continuing his knife twirling. "They got their priorities straight, help the rich, leave the poor."

"It's nice to be a Kook."

"Lucky bastards."

"A-fucking-men."

—

SIERRA GLANCED DOWN AT THE LIST she was given, it provided the address, the name on the orders, and the amount of bags that belonged to them. Pope and JJ had already begun their journey from the dock to the homes, and now Sierra collected her own bags of groceries too.

She smiled, noticing that her homes was in the same neighborhood as the one Pope went down. Swiftly, she shoved the five bags into her hands and made her way towards the road. It was beach houses that Pope and Sierra were assigned to deliver to, one of the cons of volunteering for the job. With the sandals that Sierra wore she felt the warm grains of sand slip into her shoes.

She groaned, choosing to ignore the irritating feeling as she heard Pope's voice. "Yo, Pope, I got the house literally right next yo—" Sierra paused, brows furrowing at the sight she walked into.

The Heyward boy was practically cornered by Rafe and Topper, golf clubs in their grip, and tense stances. It was enough that the two Kooks were present, but Pope's expression was another thing. His worried eyes met Sierra's, mouth already opening to warn her before he got cut off.

"Oh, well look what we have here." Rafe taunted, smirking wickedly. "Another one."

He glanced back at Topper who gave him weary look, obviously not fully compliant with the ambush. "C'mon, bro, let's just—"

"What you got in there, huh? Anything for me?" Rafe looked down at the plastic bags then back at Sierra's face.

"It's just ice cream and some chips, nothing you wouldn't already have your mega fuckin' mansion." Spat back the girl rudely, stepping away the closer the Cameron boy got.

"I don't know, I think we might've ran out?" He feigned thinking, tapping his golf club against the sand. "Is it vanilla? Y'know, vanilla is my favorite."

"Fuck off, Rafe."

"What did you say—"

"Leave her alone!" Pope called out protectively, "These aren't ours they're already payed for."

"Already paid for?" Rafe mumbled, Pope successfully managing to put some distance between the Kook and Sierra as he moved closer to him. He fished through the grocery bag, pulling away in disinterest to glare at Pope. "You probably stole 'em, right?"

Sliding his club into the bag, he tugged it back and ripped open the plastic. This caused all of the food to spill out, a jar even shattering as it collided with the ground. "What the hell? You owe me for that!"

Rafe hit away another bag that was gripped in the hand that pointed an accusing finger towards him. "Dude, I don't owe you shit, Pogue."

"Buy your own shit, dickheads!" Sierra shouted, not caring about her own groceries anymore as she placed them down.

Topper stepped in, extending out an arm to prevent her from coming any closer to Pope. "Hey, come on, man! We just want one of these beers!" He explained to the girl as if that would ease the tension, she only glared. With his arm still keeping her away, he turned his head. "Just give us one of these—"

"You guys are fucking crazy!"

Topper dropped his arm, moving to practically wrestled the Heyward boy for the beers. Tugging forcefully, he swung Pope away and onto the floor, ripping apart the box in the process. "Shit! Shit, my bad, man."

At the laughing and mocking tone of the Thornton boy Sierra stomped toward him. "What the hell is your problem?"

"My problem is dirty Pogues like you on our land." Rafe seethed back, his eyes sharp with hate and something so indistinguishable that it frightened Sierra. "Topper, hold her."

"What?" The Ray girl mumbled until a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her, pinning her body to his and leaving her to thrash in his grip.

The gruesome moments she was forced to watch was Pope being beat down by Rafe's golf club, the tan sand stained with specs of crimson. Sierra did her best through panicked breaths to sift through her back pocket.

"Stay off Figure 8." Rafe warned when a sudden crackle of a noise came from behind him. It was followed by a groan, and then a thud. Turning around, he saw Sierra standing over Toppers groaning form, when she glanced back she revealed her weapon. A fucking taser.

"That's foul play, Sierra." The Cameron boy calmly said, a flicker of a cocky smirk lifting his lips as he approached her. His figure towered over hers, shadowing the sun from touching her skin. Rafe fully believed he could intimidate her into not hurting him, and by the looks of her pretty round eyes filled in fear it appeared that he was right.

Another crackle came from the taser as she struck it against his side. Glaring at his fallen form, "I am not the one." She spat, shoving the taser into her back pocket once more before walking towards Pope.

"You okay?" He asked ruggedly, wincing and touching his back in pain as she helped him up and off the sandy ground.

"I'm good." She stepped over Rafe's legs, being a sort of crutch for Pope as they slowly made their way back to the dock. "Big man Ray didn't fuck around when it came to my protection." She giggled as she recalled his words from a few nights ago, earning a smile from Pope.

  "Couldn't you have led with that in the first place?" He questioned, spitting out his blood soaked saliva that attacked his tongue with a metallic taste.

  "I thought you would win." Sierra responded honestly, chuckling as she received a glare in return. They made it back to the boat, Pope sitting down tiredly and leaning against wall of the boat. "Are you sure you're alright? I mean, you got hit by a fucking golf club."

"Yeah, I'm good." Nodded the boy, eyes closed and head still resting on the wall. "Besides, they got hit with the taser."

Sierra snorted, standing back up as she finally found the dusty first aid kit. Turning around, she faced Pope and opened up the kit. "Should've gotten 'em where the sun don't shine."

Pope winced at the thought but smiled, lifting his head at Sierra's command so she could begin cleaning up the blood. "Why didn't you."

"Couldn't reach Topper since he had me locked in, and I sorta panicked with Rafe 'cause he got too close for comfort." The Ray girl explained, taking a band-aid, her wrist stopped before she could unwrap it.

"Don't." The Heyward boy shook his head, "I don't want JJ to see."

Sierra frowned, suddenly remembering about the blonde who she was sure would be back any moment now. Still, she disagreed with his lack of want to at least cover the wound with a band-aid. "Like he won't notice the giant gash on your face."

"He won't." Pope replied firmly, slightly unconfident yet he pushed her wrist away and placed his hat back onto his curly hair.

The girl sighed, eyes snapping back when she heard loud footsteps clanking against the wooden dock. Shouts of an all too familiar voice approaching, and quick. Sierra sent Pope one last look, shoving the first aid kit back in its place before leaning against the wall next to him causally.

"Guys!" He called out, breaths heavy with his long sprint, "Guys, you are not going to believe what just happened to me! That was the best hundred bucks I've ever made!" He whooped, jumping onto the boat giddily. In his hand he held five 20 dollar bills, flashing them proudly. "When I say count me in on all these grocery deliveries, Pope, I mean it."

  With a large exhale after his rant he sat down right where Pope was before he stood up to start up the boat. "What, did you like flash an old lady your abs or somethin'?"

  He giggled, shaking his head. "Nah, I literally just knocked on her door, she let me in and she had a crazy huge kitchen, baby, you should've seen it! I walked in, put them away, and she whipped all these twenties and just handed them off like it was nothin'!" He looked to Pope once more, expecting enthusiasm and a congratulations for actually doing work. But he for nothing. "What's up with you? Bro, you good?"

  "JJ—" Much like how Sierrabhad predicted, JJ's concerned eyes caught sight of the clash of red against Pope's dark skin as he leaned forward.

  "Yo, what happened to your face, dude?" He sat up suddenly, arm extending out to lift up his hat. "Jesus!" Pope immediately pulled it back down, not daring to tear his gaze away from in front of him. "What happened?"

"Rafe and Topper jumped us." Pope muttered, "They said no Pogues on their side of the island."

"Us?" JJ repeated furiously, head snapping to face Sierra as she gave him a guilty look. Slowly, he approached her, eyes scanning her face and body for any sign of injury. "Did they hurt you?"

The Ray girl shook her head, looking down with slight nerves at his piercing eyes that looked down at her. JJ didn't allow it, a gentle hand came up that cupped her chin and lifted her gaze back up. "No, they didn't."

  "Did you hurt them?"

  "Yeah."

  A smirk quirked up the corner of JJ's lips, a kiss planted on her head before he turned around to look at Pope. He turned serious once more, jaw clenching at the sight of tear stains on his cheek.

  "What are you gonna do?"

NATTI SPEAKS:
Edited June 15, 2024

Sometimes I sit here and kick my legs asking "and what after that?" like I'm not the one writing these scenes. Also, Sierra's taser made its first appearance :O