𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨
[𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒅𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒐𝒕𝒔]

❧

AS THE GROUP DROVE THE BOAT BACK TO THE PIER, Pope couldn't stop eyeing the gun that JJ had in his hand. He knew it was a bad idea to even take it in the first place along with the money, but he didn't need anything happening which would cause him to lose his scholarship. "We're not seriously keeping that, are we?" Pope asks them, his eyes moving to the others. Marina raises an eyebrow before simply shrugging her shoulders.

"Finders keepers." She responds. They were the ones that found the boat and the owner is most likely dead, it's better that they have some use for it rather than it sitting in a police officers pocket.

"I'm so glad someone finally agrees with me in this group." JJ says with a smirk on his face. He was always used to everyone being against his ideas but it seemed Marina shared the same thoughts as he did.

"Mari, do you really want to get arrested again?" Kiara warns her, crossing her arms against her chest. Marina groans as she tilts her head back slightly.

"Are you gonna hold that over my head now?" Marina asks her curiously. She shouldn't have even said anything because she knew Kiara would bring it back up.

"Arrested?" John B questions, looking a bit confused but also shocked that Marina had been previously arrested. She turns to look at the guys.

"Yeah, I held a hot poker to a guy's dick cause he wouldn't leave me alone." Marina says in a deadpan tone while just staring at them. Their lips were slightly parted and she saw the way their eyes widened.

"You serious?" Pope asks, now a bit wary of her. Marina rolls her eyes as they truly believed that, although she wouldn't be against doing it.

"No, idiots. I just stole some shit and got caught." Marina answers as she places her hand on her hip. JJ hits Pope's shoulder as if he didn't believe her as well.

"And why did you never tell me this?" Kiara asks her in an accusatory manner. It was most likely recent and Kiara wondered why she wasn't the first one to know. Marina just rubs a hand over her face.

"Because you would react just like you are right now."  She points out, tilting her head and Kiara narrows her gaze.

"You do realize that shit sticks with you, right?"

"We're still acting like I have any future outside of here?" Marina retorts, raising an eyebrow. She couldn't see herself making it past high-school, let alone having a whole life where one little arrest would haunt her.

"Well, you could if you actually put any effort into school, saved your money or I don't know, tried?" Kiara tells her and Marina just glances away from her causing the woman to sigh deeply. "You're not a lost cause, Mari. Just have to hope that things will actually turn out right for once." She explains but it didn't seem to do anything to really up the mood between them.

"Hope is for sucker's." Marina mutters before her eyes move to the dock and she sees Ryder standing, leant against the post. "Is that my brother?" She asks with a small groan, wondering what he was doing here.

John B drives the boat closer, bringing it to a stop. "Hi, Ryder." Kiara says with a small wave and Ryder just nods his head in her direction.

"Kie." He simply responds before moving his gaze to his sister who just crosses her arms.

"What are you doing here?" Marina asks him with a sigh as the others just rest behind her. It was clear they were trying not to listen in but it was practically impossible since the boat wasn't exactly a cruise ship.

"Dad sent me to come get you." Ryder tells her which makes Marina a bit confused, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Why?"

"Something about mom." Ryder states and Marina's eyes widen.

"Shit, she isn't there, right?" She asks, not really wanting to see her mother right now. Or ever.

"No." ryder denies and Marina lets out a sigh of relief. "But dad's flipping out over it." He admits and Marina knew it must be bad if their father was losing it. He was usually the calm one, even under intense pressure.

"I'll talk to you later, Kie." Marina mumbles, getting off of the boat. The others bid her a goodbye as well they watch her leave with her brother. "So, you have no idea what this is about?" Marina asks curiously as they make their way down the dock.

"Just that it has to do with mom." Ryder says with a shrug before glancing back at the water and seeing the teenagers conversing amongst themselves. "Where were you?" He asks curiously. It wasn't like there was much to do after the hurricane.

"We were just out for a swim." Marina responds, opening the passenger door of the car.

"You hanging with them now?"

"Kie hangs with them and they're not that bad." Marina denies as she gets into the seat. Ryder closes his door, looking over at his sister. She usually wouldn't be caught dead hanging with a group of people.

"You hate everyone." He points out and Marina furrows her eyebrows.

"Not everyone." Marina responds and Ryder just stares at her bluntly. She rolls her eyes a bit as she sits back in her seat. "Just drive." She mumbles and she could hear him chuckle lightly before starting the car and driving out of the parking lot.

❧

ARRIVING BACK HOME, Marina let's out a sigh as she runs her hand through her hair. She wanted to know what her mom was doing this time. She has been wreaking all kinds of havoc ever since she left and Marina was sick of it. She acted like she had any right to be angry at Marina and Ryder for choosing to stay with their father when she was the one who cheated. Amelia Emery made her own image for her children.

"Dad, we're home." Ryder calls out, putting his keys on the table as they walk down the hall. But as they turn into the kitchen, they notice not only their father sitting on one of the chairs, but their mother leant against the counter.

Marina stops dead in her tracks as she rests her gaze on her mother. In that moment, she really wanted to murder Ryder for lying to her. "You said she wasn't here." Marina sneers as she glares over at her brother. If she had known, she would've never left the boat.

"She wasn't." Ryder responds. She hadnt been at the house when he had left, she must've shown up afterwards. Even though, he didn't understand why their dad hadn't slammed the door in her face.

"I came to speak to your father." Amelia admits and Marina didn't buy that bullshit for one second.

"Really? Or were you just waiting to corner me?" Marina asks her, tilting her head. Amelia takes a breath, a small frown forming on her lips.

"Marina, sweetheart, I just want to see you that's all." She states and Marina let's out a humorless laugh.

"You want to take us away to come live with you and your douche of a boyfriend." Marina corrects her and Amelia narrows her gaze at her daughter.

"Watch yourself, young lady." She warns and Marina only rolls her eyes as she looks at Diego.

"Dad, seriously? Why would you let her in?"

"I didn't exactly have a choice." Diego mumbles as he was just sat against his chair. Ryder furrows his eyebrows, a bit confused.

"What are you talking about?" Ryder asks him and Amelia sighs, placing her hands on her hips as she takes a step forward.

"Look, I tried to be reasonable. I tried to keep contact with you both and yet countless times you've pushed me away." Amelia points out and Marina glares back at her.

"Yeah, because you opened your legs to some rich kook all because you were greedy." She snaps back. Marina wasn't about to stay in touch with a woman who put her own selfish needs above her family.

"Mari." Diego warns her, not wanting to escalate the situation even further. Amelia just bites her tongue, trying to keep civilized while her daughter berates her.

"Your father will explain the logistics but here's just the basis of why I'm here. I'm suing for full custody." Amelia states and Marina's jaw almost drops open at the news.

"What?"

"You can't do that." Ryder denies with a scoff, shaking his head.

"Actually I can. It's my legal right as a parent and I have all the proof on my side that your father's been keeping you from me." Amelia explains to them while Marina just crosses her arms.

"It's our choice whether to stay here or not." She points out. They should one hundred percent get a say on who they stay with.

"You are a child, you don't get a choice."

"Dad, are you seriously going to let this happen?" Marina asks as she looks toward her father who barely had time to react as Amelia spoke up.

"It's out of his hands." Amelia answers for him as Diego keeps his eyes casted downwards. "You really think the courts are going to keep you in a drug home?" She asks them, a slight scoff leaving her lips. Marina clenches her fists together as she stares at her mother.

It wasn't like their father was forcefeeding them drugs. He was a drug dealer, yes, but he never kept any of his product in the house. He loved them, which is more than she could say for her mother right now. "I'll be seeing you guys very soon." Amelia says, looking at her children before leaving the house.

It was silent for a moment, no one really wanting to be the first to speak. Marina looked at her father who had his head in his hands and she couldn't help the tears that formed in her eyes. "Dad, you're not really gonna let her take us, are you?" She asks him, her voice cracking slightly. Diego slightly lifts his head and she could see that in his eyes, he was tired.

"I don't have a choice, Mari." He admits. There really wasn't much he could fight with, Amelia had the money, the big kook house, the stable relationship.

"You always have a choice." Marina snaps back at him. He could at least try and fight but he was just giving in without even a second glance.

"I have a reputation in this town and it's not exactly a good one."

"So, we're gonna be forced to move in with her kook boyfriend?" Marina would rather run away than ever let that happen. Diego seemed a bit hesitant as he cleared his throat a bit.

"Just you, Mari." Diego corrects her and Marina wasnt sure she heard him right. "She's only suing for full custody of you." He tells her and Marina was shocked to say the least. What was her mother trying to accomplish by breaking their family even more apart?

She looks toward her brother who didn't seem all too surprised. But he and their mother always had a rocky relationship while as Marina was very close with her up until she left them. "They can't split us up." Marina denies, not about to let that happen.

"Unfortunately, they can." Diego admits with a small sigh. Marina shakes her head as she just turns and heads for the front door. "Mari." He tries to call out for her but it was too late, she was already gone. Diego runs a hand over his face as he looks toward his son. Ryder was only staring down at the floor, not saying a word.

Marina feels tears leave her eyes as she runs down the street. She couldn't believe that she could possibly be losing her father and her brother. There was no way her mother was going to allow her out of the house, let alone back on this side of the island if she won the custody battle.

Amelia just didn't understand that Marina was never meant to be a kook. And she didn't ever want to become one.

❧

KIARA WAS WARY AS SHE WALKED UP TO HER BEST FRIEND. The pogues decided go throw a bonfire to lessen the scent on them from the motel earlier and Kiara wasn't sure if Marina would show up. She had texted her and hadn't recieved a response. But here Marina was, not exactly looking the happiest as she stood alone away from the group of people. "Hey, you came." Kiara says as she crosses her arms against her chest. Marina nods her head slowly, her jaw a bit clenched.

"Yeah."

"How'd it go, with your mom?" Kiara asks, a bit hesitantly as even though Marina hadn't answered her, Ryder had. He explained what happened, well, pieces of it at least. He told her their mom was there but that was it.

"Same shit as always." Marina admits as she just lets against the post beside her. "She's suing for full custody." She tells the woman who's eyes go wide.

"You serious?" Kiara asks and Marina just nods. "Meaning you could actually be forced to live with her?" She couldn't believe that her mother wasn't just leaving them all alone. She was the one who screwed up in the first place.

"Her and her kook ass boyfriend." Marina mutters. That was the part that pissed her off the most. Her mother wanted her to live with a complete stranger who broke up her family.

"You need this more than me." Kiara states as she holds out her red solo cup. Marina instantly takes it, drinking it quickly and wincing at the harsh taste.

"I need a thousand more of these." She corrects, wanting to just forget about today in it's entirety.

"Well, your dad won't let that happen, right?" Kiara questions, although everyone on the island knew he was a drug dealer.

"I don't know anymore, Kie." She admits with a sigh as they walk along the beach, heading toward the other pogues who were in a conversation with one another.

"Hey, Marina." Pope says with a smile as he sees the two girls walking over to them. Marina doesn't say anything, just grabbing the cup out of John B's hand and chugging it. The guys only watch in a bit of shock, John B's lips slightly parted.

Marina gives the cup back to him before just walking past them. It was silent as they shared a glance with each other. "Uh... okay?" He wasn't sure what to really say about that, especially since Kiara didn't seem to be in the best mood either.

"She's having a bad day." Kiara admits, placing her hands on her hips. Pope furrows his eyebrows.

"Why, what's going on?" Pope asks, a bit concerned.

"Her mom is apparently suing for full custody." She tells them, hating that this was even an option. Kiara believed that the actual child should have a choice on who they live with, not strangers who know nothing about them.

"Full custody?" JJ questions, staring at Kiara.

"If she wins, Marina won't be able to see her dad anymore and she'd move in with her mom." Pope answers for him with a sigh. John B snorts, shaking his head.

"Marina Emery, a kook? Never gonna happen." He denies. He could not see one scenario that was realistic in which Marina ended up living out in figure eight. The only possibility was if she ever crashed with Kiara.

"The system is shit so yeah, she's probably gonna have to end up going with her mom." Kiara mumbles, hating how there was really nothing she could do to help.

"Isn't her brother almost eighteen?" John B points out. He could've sworn Ryder was graduating next year so he could technically take Marina under his wing.

"Not for another couple months and even then, the court wouldn't care about that." Kiara denies. Allowing her to live with a newbie adult who's still in high-school, underneath their dad's roof. Unless they got their own place which in itself was impossible.

"At least she could poach money from them." JJ suggests with a shrug and John B just glares over at him.

"JJ."

"What? Might as well." He mumbles, not seeing what the downside would be. They were literally wanting to throw cash her way to get her to live with them.

"I'm gonna go keep an eye on her." Kiara says with a sigh, walking away from the group and heading in Marina's direction. JJ follows her with his eyes, his gaze landing on the brunette who was drinking from her cup.

"So, are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?" John B asks after a moment of silence and JJ wished he could just disappear into thin air.

"Not this again, John B." He complains. JJ may have the smallest--- a gigantic crush-- but he didn't need his best friend shouting it for the whole world to hear.

"Not what again?" Pope asks, not knowing what they were talking about. JJ gives John b a warning look, to which he is ignored.

"JJ has a crush--"

"No, I don't."

"Oh, on Mari? That's super clear." Pope says, not even needing any sort of context. JJ frowns. He didn't realize he was that obvious about it. But it would explain why Kiara pulled him aside last month and practically gave him a talk about boundaries.

"It is not clear. Both of you are just stupid." JJ responds and John B chuckles as he shakes his head.

"Dude, lying to yourself isn't any better than lying to us." He admits, not knowing if JJ was just in denial or if he was embarrassed that he was being teased about it.

"He doesn't have a chance anyways." Pope denies and this gets JJ's attention. The blonde scoffs, looking a bit offended as he raises his hands up.

"Woah, who says I don't have a chance?" He asks the man who just shrugs his shoulders.

"A girl like Marina doesn't go for guys like you JJ-- why? Because you steal people's sandwiches that they worked really hard on." Pope responds and JJ looked annoyed, covering his face for a moment.

"We're still on this?" JJ questions in a grumble. He may have accidentally ate Pope's sandwich last week and the man hasn't let it go since. Well, it wasn't an accident but JJ didn't see why he was so salty over a literal sandwich that he remade anyways.

"Yeah, we are." Pope responds, narrowing his eyes. JJ just rolls his own as he glances away from him. John B sighs as he moves in front of JJ.

"Look, just talk to her like a normal human being and who knows, maybe she actually likes you." He suggests. It was a simple solution while as JJ was really just thinking of all the negatives. The worst thing that could happen is she says no but they weren't really that close so it wouldn't really affect anything anyways.

"You're right." JJ says with a nod and John B was slightly surprised he was agreeing with him. That was until JJ snapped his fingers. "I need a plan." He admits, bringing his fingers to his chin and John B shares a glance with Pope.

"Plan? JJ, no-- did you hear me say plan?"

"Nope." Pope shakes his head, knowing whatever plan JJ was thinking of was just going to go to shit.

"No, think about it. I just need a full proof plan to make her fall in love with me. Which, let's face it, will be easy because look at me." Jj says, gesturing to himself, a cocky look on his face.

"You look like shit." Pope responds bluntly but JJ just ignores him.

"First order of business; scope out what she thinks. John B, you'll talk to her--"

"Why do I have to talk to her?" John B complains, tilting his head back a little bit.

"So you can ask her what she thinks of me." JJ retorts bluntly, like it was the most obvious thing. He clearly didn't see that John B didn't want to be cupid in this situation.

"I'm not doing that, JJ."

"But that's the first step of my plan; get others to speak greatly about me." JJ admits, putting his hand on John B's shoulder. The man just stares back at him, not impressed in the slightest.

"Greatly? You're such an idiot." He mutters with a scoff, shaking his head as Pope nods his head in agreement.

"Dude, if you're gonna do this elaborate plan just to sleep with her, please don't." Pope pleads, not wanting to lose a potential friend over JJ's antics. Because if they lost Marina, they may lose Kiara as well as everyone knew they came as a set.

"If I wanted just sex, I wouldn't need a plan." JJ tells him, furrowing his eyebrows. If he wanted to, he could go right up to Marina and blatantly flirt with her until she was in his bed, but he wanted more than that. Well, okay, he couldnt exactly do that either because for some reason he was a complete idiot around her, but that was another story. And adding to the fact that she wasn't one for one night stands according to Kiara.

"So, that confession was real?" John B asks with a small smirk, a knowing look in his eyes. JJ glares back at him as Pope flickers his eyes between them.

"What confession?"

"Nothing, it's nothing, Pope." JJ quickly denies but his gaze couldn't help but flicker back over to Marina, hating how close she was standing to what looked to be a kook.

"Nothing? That's why you're glaring at her talking to that guy?" John B teases with a chuckle.

"That guy? Thats her coworker." Pope tells them causing both of the boys to look toward him with a confused look on their face.

"How would you know that?" JJ asks, furrowing his eyebrows and Pope rolls his eyes a bit.

"Yeah, some people actually go to the diner that she works at." He retorts and once more he was stared at with confusion. "You two do realize she works at the Brooks diner, right?" Pope asks and John B snaps his fingers.

"Right, I remember kie complaining about him." John B admits, vaguely remembering hearing about the guy. Kiara would always rant about how annoying he was and how he seemed to not want to leave Marina alone.

"Wait, so this dudes into her or something?" JJ asks, furrowing his eyebrows. He could not see Marina liking some dude like that.

"You should hear the way he talks about her, especially when the kooks eat there." Pope says with a scoff and JJ clenches his jaw.

"Great, so I have a douchebag to compete with." JJ grumbles with a groan. Even though she didnt even glance in his direction. Besides, douchebags were always the stick around types that you could never shake.

"I don't think she'd get with him." Pope denies, his eyes moving over to where Marina stood. John B raises a curious eyebrow.

"How do you know?"

"Well, she just threw her beer on him." Pope points out, gesturing past them. As they turn their heads, they see Marina with a now empty cup, shouting something incoherent at her coworker. JJ was surprised but also a bit impressed as he smirked lightly.

"Maybe you got a shot after all, bud." John B says as he pats JJ on the shoulder, all of them watching as Marina stormed away from the furious teen who now had beer dripping from his hair.

❧

MARINA STUMBLES HER WAY TOWARD JJ AND JOHN B. JJ seemed to be trying to get John B to try a new drink, neither of them noticing her until she was all but bumping into them. At first they thought it was Kiara but was surprised to see Marina. "Hey, boys." Her words slur together as she practically rests her body weight on them, mainly cause she was tipping over.

"Mari." JJ responds, his arm wrapping around her back carefully because she was about to face plant. He noticed her tense at his touch and tried his best to hold her up without actually touching her too much. John B looked a bit worried as he saw that she was alone and he didn't really like knowing she was by herself while this drunk.

"You uh, doing okay?" John B asks her and she just smiles brightly, one that was clearly false.

"I am fantastic, John B." Marina tells him, quite loudly and John B winces at the volume.

"How much have you had to drink." He questions and Marina scrunches up her nose, trying to think for a moment.

"Discounting the one I threw on Liam............. I don't know." Marina admits. Liam Dawson, her stupid coworker. Marina never understood why her boss hired him in the first place.

He was a wannabe kook, that's how she described him to people. He was a pogue, not that she'd call him that anymore but he always hung around the snotty, rich Kooks, trying to fit in with them. Liam had started to be very rude to her about her appearance, her personality, basically everything about her all the while trying to hook up with her. The amount of times he's tried to put his hands on her was endless by now.

He kept trying to call her but she never answered and as for throwing her beer on him, well that was what he got for trying to grab a hold of her and kiss her without her consent.

"Kie!" John B shouts, catching the womans attention who had seemingly been looking for someone, most likely Marina. He notices JJ holding the solo cup out toward Marina making him send a warning glare. "JJ, don't even dare." He snaps but JJ shrugs his shoulders.

"It's just one more, what can it hurt?" Jj points out, besides, John B wasn't taking it and he truly just didn't want to hold two drinks. Before John B could intercept, Marina had taken the cup.

"She's drunk-- scratch that, she's way past wasted and can barely stand." John B points out and JJ didn't seem to see the big deal. They all got blackout drunk and were perfectly fine.

"She's standing just fine."

"You're not gonna win her over by giving her alcohol poisoning." He snaps back and JJ frowns. He knew Marina was stubborn so there was no point taking it back from the girl but he did try and stop her, keyword there being try.

"Wait uh--" He tries but Marina had already downed it. John B rubs the bridge of his nose as she stumbles back a bit but JJ's arm around her luckily stopped her from going anywhere.

"Why are boys such douchebags?" Marina asks as she wipes her mouth. JJ and John B share a glance, neither of them really knowing how to answer. "Like, why?" Her eyes go to John B, leaning more toward him. "Can you tell me why, John B?" She asks him curiously and he clears his throat a bit.

"I'm afraid I can't." He denies as he Kiara finally stops beside them.

"What is this?" Kiara accuses, immediately clocking that Marina had way too much to drink.

"Shes drunk." JJ says and Kiara gives him a blunt expression.

"I can see that." Kiara responds before a sigh leaves her lips. "Mari, you've had enough, okay?" She tries, reaching for the empty cup in Marina's hand.

"Nooo, no I haven't." Marina denies, shaking her head as she turns to the blonde beside her. "JJ." She pleads, holding her hand out for the other full drink he had in his.

"Uh..." JJ looks at the others for help, not knowing what to do. That was until Sarah Cameron walked by. "Oh, wait. Hey, hey, hey, Sarah!" He calls out, causing her and Topper to stop. "Can I interest you in a tasty Milwaukee beverage?" JJ asks her, holding it out in front of him.

"No, thanks."

"JJ, you're mean. That's my drink." Marina whines and JJ just raises an eyebrow at her.

"Technically it's mine, sweetheart." JJ corrects her as Marina just pouts back at him. She goes to reach for it but he moves it out of her grasp. "Come on, is it not fancy enough for you?" He asks Sarah with a scoff and the blonde narrows her gaze.

"No. We were just leaving." Sarah tells him, going to walk but Topper chimes in.

"Hey, you know what? I'll take it. Ill-- thank you man, I appreciate it." Topper says with a cocky smirk on his lips, reaching for the cup but JJ scoffs, placing a forced smile onto his face.

"That's nice, but I didn't ask you." Jj retorts, clearly not wanting anything to do with Topper. "If you said pretty please, maybe." He was sarcastic as he points at the man who raises his eyebrows.

"Oh, pretty please. Pretty please." Topper states and Marina couldn't help but roll her eyes, taking a step toward the man.

"Why don't you take your self centered ass back to your side of the island?" Marina says loudly, pushing him back. Topper just smirks as he narrows his gaze a bit.

"Last I checked, your mother was with us now." He responds causing Marina to let out a scoff.

"Why do you think i want to stab her eyes out?" Marina retorts.

"You're drunk, Mari." Sarah says with a sigh, not needing more people to get involved and that just makes Marina glare over at her.

"Don't call me that, bitch."

"Excuse me?" Sarah asks and she could see the hatred in Marina's eyes toward her. She wasn't sure if that was because of Kiara or something else.

"Sarah. You can have it." JJ interrupts all but moving it in the blondes face but Topper stops him.

"She doesn't want it." He throws it back at jj who grabs him instantly. Luckily Pope and John B were able to bring JJ back before things could escalate.

"No, no, no." John B shakes his head as JJ still death stares Topper.

"You're so funny, man." JJ calls out. Marina feels her head get even fuzzier but the chaos keeps her standing up.

"Dirty pogues." Topper shouts and John B didn't seem to like that comment as he turned and pushed Topper hard in the chest, making him stumble back a few meters.

"John B. We're supposed to be incognito, remember?" Pope reminds him, not needing them to draw even more attention to themselves.

"Beat his ass, JB!" Marina counteracts causing Kiara to pinch the skin of her arm. Marina frowns as she hits Kiara's hand away.

"Babe, babe, babe--" Sarah tries to stop her boyfriend but topper punches John B causing the man to fall to the ground.

"Guys! Guys!" Sarah tries to plead with them, but Topper just walks over to John B, splashing him with water.

"Hey, John B, don't make me drown you like your old man, all right?" Topper warns him with a laugh. Pope was holding JJ back who seemed to want to kill the kook in that moment.

"Fight! Fight!" The crowd starts chanting. Marina would join in but she didn't want Kiara pinching her again.

John B tackles Topper, punching him square in the face. "Stop, you guys!" Kiara pleads as she watches her friend fight.

"Topper, stop!"

"That's my boy!" JJ chimes in, clapping his hands as John B Throws Topper to the side.

"Stop!" Kiara shouts at them but neither boy seemed to want to back down as they both stood up from the ground.

"Come on, Topper! Let's go!" John B shouts and Topper rushes at him. Marina watches as they fight before Topper is throwing John B harshly into the water. She winces, covering her eyes a bit.

"Topper, stop! No!" Sarah pleads as Topper starts to hold John B underneath the water. JJ covers his mouth, wanting to do something as his best friend was dying in front of him.

"No! He's drowning him." Pope says as he looks toward Kiara, both of them in shock as to what was happening.

"Topper!"

Suddenly, JJ was taking a step forward toward them and pressing a gun to the back of Toppers head. "Yeah, you know what that is. Your move, broski." JJ states as Topper quickly let's go of John B. Marina felt herself sober up a bit, her eyes widening.

"JJ!" Sarah screams, holding out her hands in front of her.

"Chill!" Pope warns his friend who doesn't budge.

"Stop, JJ! Put the gun down!" Sarah pleads.

"Did you say something, princess?" JJ asks her, not even glancing in her direction as he presses the gun more into Toppers head.

"We're good! We're good!" Topper shouts, his hands up in the air.

"Put the gun down!" Sarah demands and JJ finally let's Topper go.  "Kie, can you check your psycho friend please?" She asks with a scoff and Marina couldn't help but turn to the woman, ignoring the twisting feeling in her stomach.

"You're calling us psycho, bitch?" Marina asks her, raising her eyebrows. "Yeah, that's real funny coming from your family." She sneers. The Cameron's were the definition of psychopaths, starting with her brother. Sarah looked offended but didn't say anything.

"Okay, everyone, listen up! Get the hell off of our side of the island!" JJ yells loudly before shooting the gun twice into the air. Kiara and Pope both rush to push him back.

"Are you crazy? Why would you do that?" Pope asks him.

"It's not worth it." Kiara denies and JJ just stares at them like they were the ones who went insane.

"I was saving his life, okay?" JJ responds with a scoff, not getting why they were mad at him when Topper was about to drown John B.

"Stupid! You're gonna jeopardize everything." Pope shouts at him and Jj just rolls his eyes. Kiara notices Marina stumbling forward and quickly catches her.

"I don't feel good." Marina mumbles with a shake of her head. Pope looked concerned as he took a step forward while JJ just stood back.

"I'm gonna take you home, okay?"  Kiara tells her, holding her up before her eyes go over to the boys. "Take care of him, please. And put the goddamn gun away." She sneers at JJ, narrowing her eyes. "Come on, Mari." She helps Marina walk as they head off of the beach.

Pope only glares at JJ as he walks over to John B, bending down to pick him up from the water.

❧

A LOUD BANG JOLTS MARINA FROM HER SLUMBER. A groan leaves her lips as the light burns into her eyelids. She had barely been sleeping since she was puking her guts out until six in the morning. And even after that, it was almost impossible to sleep because of the blinding headache that ensued that only seemed to have gotten worse. Turning her head to see where the noise came from, she half expected it to be Ryder coming into her room. But her room was empty.

Her eyebrows furrow. Maybe it was just a sudden noise from her neighbour's house. Shrugging it off, she closes her eyes, ready to try and go back into the state of slumber when multiple bangs occur instead. These came from behind her and when she rolls over, she notices JJ outside of her window. His fist was knocking against the glass until he saw the glare she was sending his way. He just gave her a sheepish smile.

"Dude, what the hell?" Marina's voice wasn't exactly loud but JJ could clearly see what she was saying through her expression alone. She expected this behaviour from Kiara, but even then she'd be in her bedroom as opposed to lurking outside her window. She didn't know why JJ was even at her house, it's not like they talked outside of the group.

"Open the window." Jj tells her, pointing at the lock. Marina shakes her head as she lays back down, pulling her covers over her.

"No, go away." She grumbles, trying to ignore the man. But he only continues his knocking, seemingly making an annoying song with it. It wasnt even like she could pretend he wasnt there because her headache would only get worse with the constant banging. "Jesus, you're so annoying." Marina mutters as she sits up, moving over to her window and opening it. "What?" She snaps, not exactly looking her happiest.

"Wanna go treasure hunting?" JJ asks with his signature smirk, leaning on the window ledge. "We're gonna go check out the ship wreck." He admits and once again, she was wondering why it wasn't Kiara coming to ask her. Unbeknownst to her, JJ had all but tripped over his own feet to get here first.

"I'd hardly call it a shipwreck and i have a massive hangover, what do you think?" She retorts as she just rests her head against the wall. JJ just holds up a smoothie.

"Kie got you this.... I don't know what it is, honestly." He admits, feeling a little repulsed just looking at the green substance. Marina sighs, not really in the mood to go out today, especially on the water.

"JJ--"

"Come on, princess. You only live once." JJ points out, wiggling his eyebrows. Marina narrows her gaze but ultimately, what else was she going to do? Besides Kiara wanted her to get to know the boys more and what better way than to Rob some poor guys boat that sunk in the middle of a storm?

"Just give me time to shower." Marina tells him, feeling so icky from last night, especially from her ex boyfriend trying to grab her. She goes to shut the window but before she could, JJ was climbing through it, knocking things as he went. "JJ, what the hell?" She complains as he finally got his feet onto solid ground. Somehow the smoothie hadn't spilled everywhere.

"I'll wait for you in the kitchen." JJ tells her with a shrug and Marina just placed her hands on her hips.

"You couldve waited out there." She points out but JJ glances around momentarily. His eyes looked at the multiple posters she had hanging around.

"You got food, right? I'm starving." Jj says, not even giving her time to say yes as he walks toward her door. The fact he hadn't even been in her house before and he felt comfortable enough to just go wandering around astounded her.

"And now you're raiding my fridge." She mumbles with a shake of her head before making her way to the bathroom.

After getting showered and dressed, a yawn leaves Marina's lips as she goes into the kitchen. She noticed JJ standing near the counter, a spoonful of cereal in his mouth. She groans as she stops in front of him. "Jj, seriously?" She gives him a stern look and JJ stops chewing for a moment.

"I haven't gotten to eat anything today." His words were mumbled and Marina just scrunches up her nose a bit.

"It's quite literally ten am." She points out, looking at the clock and JJ nods his head.

"I know, it's so late." JJ admits causing Marina to roll her eyes. "Drink up." He says as he moves the smoothie over to her. Marina stares at it momentarily before lifting it from the counter. Taking a small sip, she felt it almost come back up instantly as the taste was just absolutely vile to her.

"I might actually throw up." Marina says as she covers her mouth, pushing the smoothie away from her.

"It can't be that bad." JJ denies as he grabs it, taking a sip. He makes a repulsed face as he quickly turns to the garbage. "Yeah, you're not drinking that." He states, throwing it away. "And she says I'm trying to poison you." He mutters, taking another bite of his cereal to wash down the taste.

"Come on, let's go before you eat everything in my house." Marina complains, grabbing the bowl from him and putting it by the sink. JJ sighs but follows her out of the house, heading toward his bike.

The group sit on the boat out in the marsh where the sunken boat was. Kiara was checking the scuba gear that John B stole from the Cameron's but so far it wasn't looking good. "This is empty." Kiara tells him, looking toward John B in an accusatory manner. "You took empty tanks." She points out while grabbing the next one. "Okay, this one's a quarter full. It's enough for one of us." She says and Pope just puts his hands behind his head.

"Love it when a plan comes together." Pope mutters.

"You think anything ever works out?" Marina asks him, raising an eyebrow. "I should be at home, in bed." She points out, glaring more toward JJ than anyone else. John B glances at his best friend, mainly because he was curious ever since he saw them arrive together.

"Does anyone know how to dive?" Kiara asks them, her eyes moving around the group who stay silent.  "Anybody?" She sighs a bit, crossing her arms.

"It's kinda a kook sport." JJ points out with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I read about it." Pope points out making Kiara let out a scoff.

"Great, Pope read about it, so someone's gonna die." Kiara states, shaking her head as she looks away from them. Marina bites the inside of her cheek, staring at her friend.

"I can do it." Marina speaks up and Kiara first just stared at her friend amused, thinking she was making a joke. That was until she was serious and Kiara was now just very confused.

"Since when can you dive?" Kiara asks her, furrowing her eyebrows.

"My mom took me once before I found out she was using her kook affair money." Marina says as she shrugs her shoulders. She shouldve seen that as the first sign of her moms affair but she was honestly blind when it came to her mom before she just completely outed herself as a cheater. "I'll do it." She looks at the group, not really asking for opinions.

"She'll be fine, Kie. You put the thing in your mouth and breathe, how hard could it be." JJ states like it was no big deal.

"If you come up too fast, nitrogen gets into your blood, and you get the bends." Pope tells him and JJ stares at him for a moment.

"Bends like, bend over and..." He says, bending his back into a sexual position. Marina averted her gaze. It wasn't like she was a virgin, but she wasnt outward with saying these things as other people clearly were.

"The Bends kill you." Pope states bluntly and JJ clears his throat.

"Right." JJ says, rubbing the back of his neck as he stands back up. Marina sighs as she just looks away from the blonde.

"I can do it, okay? Seriously, Kie, I'll be fine." She says, taking her best friends hand who still looked reluctant to let her go.

"Let me do some calculations, real quick." Pope says, moving over to the flat surface on the boat. "That boats about thirty feet down. So it'll take twenty five minutes to get to that depth. Which means you need to make your safety stop at about... ten feet. All right? For two minutes." He explains, looking toward Marina who nods her head.

"Yeah yeah. Ten feet, two minutes." She states. "I do listen to some of the things you tell me, Pope." Marina teases and Pope just narrows his gaze.

"That's why you got a sixty on your algebra test?" He retorts, raising an eyebrow. Marina's smirk falters a bit.

"Sixty is a pass." She states, pointing her finger at him and Pope just shakes his head slowly.

"Barely."

"I passed the class, didn't I?" Marina tells him. JJ furrows his eyebrows, looking at them before his eyes move to John B who just shrugs his shoulders.

"I'm gonna make the safety spot." Kiara says with a sigh before jumping into the water. Marina steps back, hesitantly bringing her hands to her jacket. She knew diving with these clothes on would cause her to actually drown given how heavy they were.

JJ was about to start explaining what to do when he noticed her pull her shirt over her head, revealing a black bikini underneath. He practically drooled at the sight while Pope averted his eyes because he was a gentlemen and John B didnt look too affected since it wasnt exactly new to him.

"Not the most practical outfit but, it'll do." Usually scuba diving in a bikini wasn't exactly what you wanted to do but she didn't have much of a choice right now. Pulling down her pants, JJ had his mouth slightly agape as he watched Marina put her clothes on the seat behind her.

John B snaps his fingers in front of the man's face, bringing him out of it, a blush spread across his cheeks as he clears his throat. "Uh, um, so when you're down there, you look for the cargo hold. You stick this thing in and twist and pull." JJ explains to her, keeping his eyes on her own as he shows her what to do but they glanced down every once in a while, his words stuttering.

"Stick in, twist, pull." Marina says, nodding before taking it from him. JJ couldn't help but lick his bottom lip, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, my dad moved some weight back in the day."

"Who didn't." Pope mutters as he still didn't think this was the best idea.

"Hey, I tied my shirt to the anchor chain about ten feet down. It's where you need to do your safety stop." Kiara says as she resurfaces from the water. Marina takes a deep breath as John B moves in front of her. He seemed to just stare at her as he held the scuba gear and she slightly nods, allowing him to start putting it on her.

"Keep an eye on this. You need to make sure you have enough time to decompress." Pope tells her and she stares at it for a moment.

"How much do I need?"

"Unclear. Breathe as little as possible." He says and she presses her lips together tightly. That was insanely helpful.

"Zen. Think zen, you know?" JJ tells her, imitating meditation toward her and she just shakes her head.

"You sure you wanna do this?" John B asks, he would do it himself if she decided to back out.

"Don't need to act like you care, John B." Marina says with a sigh. He looked a bit taken off guard by her comment, sharing a look with the others as Kiara climbs back on board. He wasnt sure if she was saying that because she didn't believe that they cared about her. Sure, they didn't know her all too well but that didn't mean they weren't watching out for her.

"Hey, if we get caught out in the marsh, we're basically screwed so, better get a move on." Pope explains and Marina salutes them.

"Copy that." She turns to go to the edge of the boat as Kiara walks up to her.

"Don't die." Kiara says, bringing her hands to Marina's shoulders.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Marina denies as she tilts her head but Kiara only moves a bit closer to her.

"Seriously, I can't navigate this shit show without you." She denies, her voice a bit lower and Marina smirks a bit.

"I know you're in love with me, Kie. No need to say it." She teases with a wink and Kiara rolls her eyes playfully before pushing her back into the water. They watch as Marina goes under and Kiara can't help but feel her stomach drop just thinking of Marina maybe not coming back up.

It was a moment before JJ turned to Pope. "Tutor?" He asks with a scoff, crossing his arms against his chest. Pope seemed confused as he met JJs eyes.

"What?"

"You weren't gonna tell me you literally tutor her?" JJ snaps a bit. If he had known Pope was a bit closer to Marina, he would've used that. But he did find it odd that Pope hadn't mentioned that and JJ was now trying to figure out why.

"I tutored her all school year, it's not a secret." Pope denies with a shrug. He had told them he was tutoring, he must've just forgotten to say who it was. JJ seemed a little pissed off but didn't say anymore more as Kiara was looking over at them. He just moves his eyes to the water, tapping his fingers against his arm.

Down in the water, Marina follows the line down, seeing the boat in the distance. She glances at the stopwatch that Pope had given her. She knew not to panick, that would just make her use her air even faster. Marina carefully heads down to the boat, hoping that whatever was in there was worth it.

She gets to the boat, moving inside of it. Marina's eyes look around momentarily, holding onto the side. Pushing through the opening, she notices the cargo hold that JJ had been talking about. Bringing the key out, she puts it in the hole, twisting it and pulling. It luckily wasn't that hard to pull off. Reaching her hand inside, she feels something beneath her fingers.

Grabbing the bag, she pulls it out of the container and swims back toward the opening of the boat. Marina tried to see the shirt Kiara tied, not wanting to go much farther than that because she'd rather not get whatever the bends were. Pope really terrified her with his faces some of the days. Her hand reaches the line, following it up a bit. She gets to the shirt, glancing up.

She stops as she notices a shadow next to the boat. Marina wondered what it was or who it was. She knew if she resurfaced before it was gone, it could cause even more problems. She glances at the stopwatch, seeing the time get ever so closer to the end. If she didn't go up whenever the time was up, she would slowly begin to suffocate.

Marina didn't want to let Kiaras friends down. She knew they were pretty into whatever was on this boat so she didn't want to lose whatever she picked up. Marina wasn't sure if she would continue hanging with them, or if they even wanted her to. So, if they didn't, at least they would have whatever she had gotten.

The shadow luckily disappeared just as the timer went off. Marina tried to swim up as fast as she could, feeling the air start to suck out of her lungs. She felt the world get smaller as she got ever so closer to the surface. "There she is!" JJ calls out, seeing the woman surface and they all share a sigh of relief as she swims over to the boat ladder.

"Jesus christ, don't scare us like that." Kiara complains. Just those few seconds made her heart stop.

"How'd it go down there?" JJ asks curiously as she gets to the ladder. "Did you find anything?" He wonders and she raises an eyebrow.

"Did I find anything? You're doubting me, JJ?" Marina retorts, starting to climb on board as JJ just smirks back at her.

"Never, princess."

"Stop calling me princess." She groans a bit. She didn't know where the nickname came from but she wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

"You okay?" Kiara asks, bringing her in for a small hug before pulling away and Marina nods her head.

"Yeah, ran out of air." Marina admits. She was glad that whatever was stopping them up top was gone by the time she really needed to resurface.

"You scared the shit out of me." She responds and Marina just takes Kiaras hand in her own.

"Yeah, the cops were up here but Uh, we took care of them." Pope explains to her and Marina raises an eyebrow.

"My bad."

"You're all good." JJ says, nudging her arm. Marina glanced at him before just fiddling with her fingers.

"You kinda missed the show, Mari." John B says with a smirk and she just presses her lips together tightly as she moves toward her clothes.

"Hey, guys? Bogey, two o'clock." Kiara says, catching their attention and they all glance over to see there was in fact a boat heading in their direction.

"What?" John B wondered what they were doing.

"Do you recognize that boat?" Pope asks them curiously.

"I've never seen it." Kiara denies with a scoff. "What are they doing back here? The marsh is closed." She points out. Even though they were here, no one else should be other than police.

"I don't know but let's not stick around here to find out." jj mutters, not liking it in the slightest.

"Jj, get the bowline." John B tells him, the man already on the way to do it.

"Should we wait on em?" Pope asks and Marina looks at him like he was crazy. They did not seem like just a couple of tourists.

"No, we're not. Go get the stern."

"Guys, don't wait for me, go!" JJ says as he pulls up the anchor as quick as he could, not really wanting them to stay still until he got it fully up.

"Let's go." Kiara says, tapping her hand against the boat.

"I don't like the look of this." John B says as he begins to drive the boat in the opposite direction.

"Maybe they're fishing." Pope suggests as Marina just stares at the men behind them. She covers her eyes to shield from the sun to try and get a better look but she couldn't see from here.

"Go, go, go." JJ mumbles, pulling the anchor fully on before moving more onto the boat. "Go into the marsh." He demands.

"I'm going. Act natural." John B tells them, not wanting to seem like they were running because that would just make the situation a whole lot worse. But either way, it didn't seem to shake them.

"Hey, guys. They're following us."  Kiara announces as she moves closer to Marina.

"This can't be good." Pope denies with a shake of his head. It seemed like they were aiming straight for the pogues now.

"Dude. You've gotta go faster." JJ states as he looks over at John B.

"I'm going!"

"Gun it!" Marina shouts, seeing the men behind them also going faster. But what caught her off guard was what one of them seemed to bring out. She gasps as she quickly ducks just as the shots ring out.

"What the--" They all try and avoid the gunshots, dropping to the floor of the boat.

"John B, get down!" JJ warns him as the man was still trying to steer the bost. The blonde moves his eyes to Marina who was covering her head. "Mari, you okay? Were you hit?" He asks, concerned as his hand moves to her arm before he quickly stops himself just before he touches her.

"I'm good." She assures him.

"Oh, my god. Were gonna die." Pope mutters as he covers his head.

"Shit, Pope move." Kiara grumbles, trying to get something beneath him.

"Get down, kie!" John b warns her as the bullets get too close for comfort. Kiara just grabs the net, throwing it into the water so that it stopped the boat of the guys who were chasing them.

Marina laughs as she wraps her arms around her best friend. Kiara smiles, glad she was able to get them away from their near death experience. JJ watches as Kiara holds Marina close, resting her chin on the womans shoulder. He bites his tongue a bit, watching the water pass them by as they make their way toward John B's dock.

"What do you guys think it is?" Kiara asks as they all get off of the boat. Marina glances around, her eyes moving over to the small house.

"Gotta be money or something, right?" John b asks as he looks around the group.

"That or a couple of keys with street value to the low-- to mid mills." JJ says with a smirk, wrapping his arm around Kiaras shoulders.

"Can we please just open the bag?" Pope asks, his voice stern. Everyone looks at him in surprise, even Marina. Throughout their whole interactions, he's never raised his voice once and let's just say, she hasn't always been the best student.

"Wow, Pope. That's a rare outburst of emotion." John B teases with a smirk on his face.

"Okay, you guys are literally killing me with anticipation. Open the bag." Pope tells them and JJ holds his hands up in defence.

"Jeez." Jj says as John B opens the bag, bringing out a metal tube.

"We almost died over this." Pope points out and they all just watch as John B unscrews the top, peering inside of it. He seemed confused as he turned it upside down, a simple compass falling out. "Oh, wow. Yup, that's about right. Good job, everybody. We found a compass." He mutters and Marina drops her head in defeat.

"You're telling me I risked my life for a goddamn compass?" She asks, groaning as she covered her face. Everyone seemed annoyed by the trouble they had went through, everyone except John B.

"Dude, what? It's not worth anything." JJ denies as he just leans forward onto the wood next to Marina. She moves over slightly making him furrow his eyebrows but he doesn't say anything. But John B had a look in his eyes that none of them could quite place.

"This was my father's."

❧

Authors note;

Just redoing this chapters to get back up to date