𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞
[𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔]

❧

MARINA SITS NEXT TO KIARA, practically in her lap on the deck of the chateau as JJ explains what he and John B just went through. Apparently they had gone to visit the wife of the guy who died during the hurricane and it hadn't gone that well. "And we were right outside like this." JJ says as he presses his back against the wall. "And all we hear is just, bam! Bam! Bam! Knocking paint off the wall, G!" He explains to them and Marina raises an eyebrow. "From the inside. All right? And I'm just looking at him like-- wait, first off, look at this shit." He moves over to them, shaking his hair and causing white stuff to fall out of it.

"That's dandruff." Kiara mumbles as she scrunches up her face.

"Okay, thank you." Pope mutters, pushing the man away from him.

"Whyd you have to put it on me?" Marina complains, brushing it off of her which more landed on Kiara who just slaps her thigh with a small glare.

"Look at that. All right? That's paint." JJ states as he points down at the ground.  "At that point, I was just like... I'm waiting for death." He tells them and Marina nods her head slowly and she purses her lips.

"Cool story." She says as she claps her hands together. "I'm going to the bathroom." Marina admits as she stands up. Kiara playfully slaps her ass making Marina roll her eyes with a small smile. Heading inside, she just goes toward the bathroom and she runs a hand through her hair. If the pogues saw her, they'd definitely question how she knew where the bathroom was.

She honestly didn't mind being on this little adventure with them. It got her away from her house and the fact that her mother was suing for full custody. If she went back home, she'd really have to face the reality of that and she wasn't ready to do that. Marina was just glad to have a distraction.

Besides, the group wasn't that bad and Kiara was by her side constantly which Marina would never say no to. If Kiara wasn't here, yeah, she would've never been interested in this little treasure hunting but that was mainly because she wouldn't really know the guys well enough to hang out with them. And truthfully, she didn't believe they would even glance her way if it wasn't for Kiara.

Pope and her were mainly study buddies, they had never hung out otherwise unless Kiara was involved. And the only reason Pope tutored her is because Kiara asked him to. Same went with John B and JJ. She had never really interacted with them that much outside of kiara. Other than one night a few months ago, Marina did have a moment with John B.

She didn't even think they'd want to hang out with her if it wasn't for Kiara. Marina wasn't exactly the person everyone sought out to be their friend. She was surprised that Kiara had stuck around for this long. Sure, she had crossed paths with the other pogues but Marina truly wasn't someone people remembered other than her being pretty  gloomy.

Although she was definitely within somebody's mind from the moment they met her.

Marina sighs as she turns off the sink and moves toward the towel. She suddenly heard a crash coming from outside. Her eyebrows furrow as she moves toward the door slowly. Carefully opening the door just enough to look out, she notices two unfamiliar men parading around making her eyes widen. She carefully shuts it again, hating now that she picked the room where the lock was broken.

Glancing around, she looked for anywhere that she could hide. Meanwhile in the office, the others were hidden behind the now locked door as they heard the assailants enter the house. JJ turns to look at everyone when he notices something. "Where's Mari?" JJ whispers, looking around the office for the girl who he didn't see. Pope's eyes widen.

"She went to the bathroom." He hushed at them. Kiara instantly moves toward the door but John B wraps his arm around her waist in order to stop her.

"No, kie." He denies as she tries to get out of his grasp. "Kie!" John B snaps at her, not needing her to get them caught. Kiara pushes back against him.

"She's out there!" Kiara points out as she gestures toward the door, tears in her eyes just thinking of her best friend being in danger.

"So are they." John B tells her and Kiara stops fighting but they could all see that she was still worried sick. They all were.

Marina had her mouth covered tightly as she leant back against the tub. She heard footsteps getting closer and her heartrate elevated immensely. If she had a weapon it would increase her chances. Not by a lot but at least she'd have enough to actually run out of the house. Suddenly her phone was ringing and her eyes went wide.

"Shit." She grabs it quickly, it fumbling in her hand for a moment before she was turning it off. Marina stopped breathing entirely as the footsteps stopped. It was dead silent for a moment as it seemed as if the world stopped spinning.

The curtain was suddenly pulled back and Marina felt her blood run cold as she was face to face with one of the intruders. She quickly gets up, pushing him back and all but falling out of the tub, taking the curtain down with her. But that didn't stop her as she raced out of the bathroom.

"Come back here you little bitch!" She hears from behind her but she continues going. Until she came into contact with someone else. The man throws her, making her hit the edge of the counter harshly. She groans as she hits the ground. A foot collides with her ribs causing her to gasp out. As it comes toward her again, she grabs it, lifting it so the man went stumbling back, giving her enough time to get up.

She grabs a hold of her side as she continues to run as fast as she could out of the house. She knew she had no time to get to the twinkie so she just booked it toward the trees. Getting behind one, she quickly made herself disappear from sight as she pressed her lips together tightly.

"Fuck." Marina couldn't help but whisper as she felt the pulsing pain in her side. But she pushes it down as to not give away her location.

"Where did she go?" One of the man asks from a distance. Marina didn't even want to try and glance to see where they were, not about to risk them seeing her.

"I don't see her." The other denies with a sigh.

"We don't have time for this, come on." Footsteps retreat and it makes Marina let out a sigh of relief. She winces, a small sound of pain leaving her as she holds her side.

In the chicken coop, the others watch as the men pile folders into their truck before getting inside. As the engine turns, Kiara didn't waste another second, needing to find Marina. "Kie, just wait-- Kie!" Pope tries to stop her but she was already out, the sound of the truck driving away could be heard over the pleas for her to stay where they were.

"Mari!" Kiara shouts as she rushes toward the house. The boys went out after her, mainly to stop her from getting herself killed. "Mari!?" She calls out again after getting no response. She immediately goes to the bathroom and stops dead at what she sees. The sight of what seemed to be a struggle.

The others stop right behind her, their eyes widening. "Shit."John B mutters as he glances around. Kiara pushes past them, checking the other rooms frantically.

"Did they take her?" JJ asks them but surely they would've noticed if that had happened. Marina wouldn't go without a fight.

"I-I didn't see anything." Pope denies as they start to help Kiara look for her.

"Mari!" Kiara calls out again, bringing her hands to her head in despair. Her eyes fill with tears as she felt like her world was falling apart.

"She's not here, man." Jj denies as he looks straight at John B who was pale as a ghost. She had to be here, she had to be. Because the alternative wasn't one they even wanted to think of.

"Mari, where are you?!" Kiara screams as she exits the house, her eyes moving around the area. "Mari!?" Her voice was breaking but she didn't care. It was only when she saw a hand emerge from behind one of the trees that relief flooded her. She rushes towards it, turning and seeing Mari leant against the tree.  "Hey, hey, hey." Kiara falls to the ground beside her, pulling her into a tight hug. "You're okay." She squeezes her eyes shut as Marina slightly hugs her back.

"Peachy." Marina mumbles and as Kiara pulls back, she notices the woman was hurt. By this time, the others had reached them.

"Help me get her inside." Kiara says, grabbing one of Marina's arms but John B shakes his head.

"Here, I got her." He states, picking the woman up causing her to moan a bit in obvious pain. Marina holds onto him as they get her into the house and John B places her on the couch. He hesitantly lifts up her shirt to reveal a growing bruise near her ribs.

"They got you pretty good." JJ tells her, wincing at the sight of it.

"JJ, get some ice." John B states and the man nods before rushing to the kitchen. Kiara shakes her head as she stares at the injury.

"I-im sorry." She apologizes making Marina furrow her eyebrows. Although it hurt like a bitch, she seriously didn't think it was that big of a deal.

"Kie, I'm fine." Marina assures her but Kiara didn't seem to care about that.

"No, I dragged you into this and now look what happened." Kiara points out. Marina grabs her arm, pulling her closer to her.

"It's a bruise, it'll heal. Trust me, this is nothing." She admits. Kiara was still crying as she held onto Marina just as JJ came back into the living room.

"Here." JJ places the ice down on her skin causing her to wince as she scrunches her nose up. Kiara brushes her hair with her fingers, holding her close as she sniffles quietly. Marina just grabs a hold of her hand, squeezing it tightly as Kiara rests her head onto Marina's shoulder.

❧

DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD IN THE TWINKIE, Marina was just leant against the seat as she held onto her side. "I mean it's obvious, right? A family heirloom, what better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to me, right?" John B explains to them. Apparently they had found something while Marina was dealing with the two nut jobs. She'll be glad about that if it actually leads to something.

"Yeah, it's possible." Kiara admits as she glances at the others.

"It could also be possible that you're concoting wild theories to help, you know, deal with your sad feels." Pope points out but John B didn't exactly like what he was saying.

"Pope?"

"Bro, you know how I process my sad feels. Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies, that's how I do it." JJ tells him as he just stares at his hands.

"I could use some of that right now." Marina admits as she closes her eyes for a second. JJ nudges her gently and she just looks back at him.

"You good?" Jj asks her and she just gives him a tight lipped expression.

"Yeah, fine." She mumbles, moving away from him slightly. JJ notices this but just presumes it's because of her personal space.

"I'm not concocting. Okay? My dad's trying to give me a message." John b tells them.

"If it helps you believe, John B." Kiara says, a small frown on her face. She didn't want to say he was wrong but he was going on a long shot here.

"Look, i-i don't need a therapy session, okay? I'm not tripping out." He denies as JJ just rests back against his seat.

"It's okay to trip, bro, but--" JJ starts to say but John B cuts him off.

"Look, my-- my dad is missing, okay?" He tells them and Marina frowns as she looks at the man. "Missing. You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish and then have no idea what happened. Just wake up every morning wondering." John B explains to them. Marina knew he was having a hard time accepting the possibility of his dad being gone. But with no body, it really was hard to accept someone was dead.

"It's been almost a year." Kiara points out sadly.

"Hey, he could have been kidnapped. That's definitely a possibility." JJ states, clearing his throat a bit.

"Yeah, could be in a Soviet sub getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere." Pope suggests and Marina just stares at them. There was being supportive and being delusional.

"Absolutely. Uh, or Atlantis." JJ adds and all Marina could do was rub her face.

"JJ." Kiara says, shaking her head before looking at John B. "Look, what do you think the message is?" She asks him curiously.

"Redfield. Redfield lighthouse, my dad's favourite place." John B says as he pulls up to it. Marina sighs as she sits up, brushing her hair out of her face.

The group get out of the twinkie, glancing around the area. Marina was only leant against Kiara as John B looked at them. "Right, you're gonna post up and look out for bogeys, okay?" He tells JJ who furrows his eyebrows.

"Wait, why me?" JJ asks, a bit offended that he was automatically put on the sidelines.

"Because you're not coming." Pope denies, on board with John B's idea.

"Why?"

"There are independent and dependant variables. And you're independent. We don't know what you'll do." Pope explains to him and it seemed to get on JJ's nerves.

"Shut up." JJ tells him but Pope shakes his head.

"No, we dont--"

"Just shut up!" JJ shouts, stepping closer to Pope but John B intervenes.

"Listen to me for a second. Pope, you stand look out with JJ. Okay? If we get split up, we meet back at JJs house." He explains to them, not needing a pissing match to take place right now.

"Great." Kiara says, nodding her head.

"Wait, you're not seriously gonna make me walk all the way up there, are you?" Marina complains as she could barely walk down the street, let alone up countless flights of stairs.

"You can stay with them." John B says and she nods her head. Kiara squeezed her hand before walking off with John b, leaving Marina with Pope and JJ.

"I'm gonna work on my merit scholarship essay, and I'm trying to keep felonies down to a minimum." Pope says as he moves toward the fence causing JJ to be a bit annoyed.

"All right, would you just shut up already?" JJ snaps, looking at his friend before glancing away from him. He notices Marina against the fence, just holding onto her side. He makes his way over to her, leaning beside her. "Does it hurt?" He asks, concern in his tone. Marina was just a bit tired and honestly annoyed so her response showed that.

"What do you think?" Her tone was a bit sharp as she just glanced at him. JJ rubs his hands along his shorts, clearing his throat a bit.

"It was pretty scary, huh? Those guys coming to the chateau." JJ states and Marina just rubs her face a little bit.

"We don't need to do that." She denies which caused him to be a bit confused.

"Do what?"

"The whole small talk thing." Marina answers him. It wasn't that she didn't like JJ, she found him nice but she just knew he had intentions. He was a player and she really didn't want to be friends with someone who had alterior motives. Pope had never made a move on her and it was clear neither of them looked at each other like that. John B, there was some history but again, it was ultimately nothing. While JJ was a wildcard. And with what kiaras said about him, it wasn't in Marina's interests to be actual friends with him.

Besides, again, she didn't think that he even would've talked to her if she wasn't friends with Kiara.

"Oh... okay." JJ didn't understand what he did to get the cold shoulder but he didn't question it. He just moves his eyes down to his feet.

Marina sighs as she moves over toward Pope."You're gonna get the scholarship, Pope." She assures him with a light smile and Pope couldn't help but reciprocate it. This was the first time she showed even the smallest bit of emotion toward him. But she was kind, she could show emotion, she just picked her moments. She learned from too many mistakes talking to the wrong people that she became closed off until people showed her they could be trusted.

"You think so?" He asks her and she scoffs, nodding her head.

"Yeah, you're like super smart, how could you not?" She points out. JJ glares slightly as he watches Pope chuckle as he leans against the tree beside Marina, crossing his arms against his chest.

"I mean, I can tutor you so I can do anything." Pope teases her and Marina nods her head confidently.

"Exactly, if it wasn't for you I would've gotten a 40 on my algebra test." Marina states and Pope makes a face as he tilts his head.

"20."

"30."

"29."

"Wow, that makes such a difference." Marina says with a playful roll of her eyes. Pope smiles before his eyes set on her side.

"You sure you're okay? That dude got you pretty bad." Pope states with a small, concerned frown on his face.

"Nothing I haven't been through before." Marina denies and Pope just stares at her confused. "Juvie." She admits and his eyes widened.

"Juvie? I thought you just got arrested?" Pope points out, furrowing his eyebrows. Marina simply shrugs her shoulders.

"It was my third offense so they sent me to juvie. It was only for a month or so." Marina admits. Boy was her dad pissed about that. Her mom got her out early but that didn't stop her from being grounded for the month after.

"Kie doesn't know?" Pope questions. Surely Kiara would've mentioned something like that.

"Nah, it was during her kook year." She states. Kiara was too busy hanging with other kooks to really know. And Marina didn't really care about that, she honestly didn't even want Kiara to know so it worked out perfectly.

"Oh." Pope glances toward JJ who was just staring at the ground kicking some dirt. That was until they heard Sirens in the distance.

'Shit."  He says as they see cops cars speeding toward the lighthouse. They all rush toward the twinkie, jumping in as JJ starts it.

"What about Kie and John B?" Marina asks, looking back at the lighthouse waiting for them to come out but JJ shakes his head.

"Can't wait for them." JJ denies before speeding off down the road.

❧

MARINA PUTS THE DIRTY SILVERWARE IN THE SINK. A long sigh leaves her lips as she holds onto her side momentarily. If she didn't have to work to earn money, she wouldn't. Especially after taking a beating from a man. "Marina, I need you to take table five for me." Dalton, her coworker tells her. She just looks over at him because she knew that was his section.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to." Dalton says, looking at his phone. Marina just rolls her eyes as she clenches her jaw a bit.

"Got it." She mumbles as she grabs her notepad and walks over to the table. "Welcome to Brooks, what can I get started for you?" Her tone was monotone as she barely even glanced up from her notepad. She didn't care enough to be nice to customers, they could tip her or they could not, she couldn't give a shit.

"You could at least give us a smile, beautiful." Liam says with a smirk on his face. Marina lifts her gaze and is unfortunate to find her coworker sitting in front of her. She glares toward him, not even trying to hide her distaste. She didn't even get why he was here when he didn't work but it was clearly just to annoy her.

And of course he was with a bunch if kooks. Topper was beside him, kelce nearest to her and then on the other end you had a random kook she didn't know and rafe cameron. The diner was in the middle of the cut and figure eight so it wasn't surprising to sometimes see kooks around.

"The only way youll get a smile is when i set you on fire and watch your skin melt from your bones." Marina responds, taking no interest In whatever ploy Liam was trying to play. No one was really surprised by her words, she was known for her scary remarks.

"Don't be like that. We can have all kinds of fun together." He tells her and she simply meets his eyes before giving the smallest look over him.

"I wouldn't call thirty seconds fun." She states firmly, hitting him where it hurts. Truthfully, she didnt know how good he was in bed but if he had to pester girls into getting with him, he clearly wasnt that good. She heard a few laughs and oohs from the other boys. Liam glares at them, shrinking down a bit. "Now, do you want drinks or not?" Marina asks harshly, just staring at them.

Luckily they just told her what drinks they wanted so she was able to leave and grab them. She just sighs as she opens the cupboard to grab some glasses. She only stops when she sees a hundred dollar bill being slid toward her. Looking down at it, she narrows her gaze before she turns her head, seeing Rafe Cameron standing beside her.

"The only thing bribing me will get you is a pot of hot coffee over your head." She bluntly tells him, pushing the bill back toward him.

"You really love the thought of burning people, don't you?" Rafe asks curiously, an amused glint in his eyes as he leans against the counter.

"It gives me pleasure." Marina states, no set emotion in her eyes. Rafe picks up the bill, moving closer to her before sliding it into her apron, much to her dismay.

"It's a tip, for the other night." He admits, knowing she couldve broken his hand for the slight touch but she also could've done that numerous times and hasn't.

"You already paid."

"Yeah, that was to your dad. This is for you." Rafe explains and Marina clenches her jaw, slightly biting her tongue.

"So I'm a charity case?" She asks him, not seeing his tip as a compliment.

"Have you seen the way you dress?" Rafe retorts, raising an eyebrow. But he couldn't help but he drawn to her, and even if her clothes were a bit dark and weird, he has to admit she was still smoking hot.

Marina simply scans his outfit, wondering how he was talking right now. "Clearly money doesn't buy fashion sense." Marina states, taking the bill back out and practically throwing it at him. She thought it would get under his skin and it surely did since his once playful manner turned into anger quickly.

"It's for keeping it a fucking secret, now just take it." Rafe snaps at her, his usual demeanor taking over as he slams it down in front of her. Marina doesn't even flinch, used to this behavior from the man.

See, rafe was a drug addict if she did say so herself. Usually he bought from Barry but when he didn't have the money or want to owe him, he would come to Marina. Her dad was cheaper, which is why so many people on Kildare came to him. And with the frequent visits, Rafe giving her the money and her getting the drugs from her dad so that no one saw him, she knew his behavior pretty well.

Majority of the time he would make jokes or flirtatious comments, staring at her ass when was faced away from him. But there were times he would either be in a mood or one of her comments would piss him off and he'd snap at her. Usually he'd just hit the car or wall, just wanting to scare her, but there were a few times where he's laid a hand on her.

He's stopped doing that recently though as she's pulled a knife on him a few too many times to count.

"Buying my silence with money... how mid century." Her tone just drawled off as she took the money, putting it back into her apron.

"It'll keep coming if you keep delivering." Rafe says and she could see he was a bit antsy talking about this in public.

"What if I don't want money?" Marina asks him, knowing she should've rephrased it because of course his famous smirk reappears on his face.

"I mean, i could pay you in plenty of other ways." Rafe tells her with a wink, his eyes running down her body for a moment and she could swear she saw him move slightly in order to glance at her ass.

"Please, I would rather go to literal hell then touch you." She says, a disgusted expression on her face. Rafe only chuckles, just stepping closer to her.

"You know just how to turn a guy on, Mari." He answers as his eyes bore into her own. Marina rolls her eyes before her eyes pass his shoulder and go over to the table he had previously been at.

"What about paying someone a visit?" Marina asks him and Rafe raises an eyebrow. "You play golf, hm?" She brings her gaze back to his and she could see that he was wondering what exactly she was asking for.

"I'm not following." Marina simply lifts her finger to his jaw, barely touching his skin as she turns his head to look toward his friends.

"Why don't you invite him to play, I'm sure he'd have the time of his life." Rafe didn't even have to ask which one she was talking about. He even warned the wannabe kook that making one too many comments would get him killed. And he heard about what happened on the beach from Topper.

Rafe was one to flirt with her but he knew not to make a move unless it was certain she wouldn't stab him. "Remind me not to get on your bad side." Rafe tells her. He thinks that's why he found her so attractive, she had a bit of psycho tendencies inside of her.

"You've been on it for years, Cameron. I just learnt to tolerate you for your money."

"I thought you didn't want money?" Rafe asks as he crossed his arms against his chest, amused.

"Any chance to exploit you brings joy to my heart." Marina tells him and he rolls his eyes a bit before glancing back over at Liam.

"You want proof?" Rafe questions and she nods her head.

"A video will suffice."

"And how will I send it to you, or would you rather a tape be delivered to your front door?" Every time they talked, he always had to make a jab about how she's trapped in the modern day.

Marina just takes his phone from his hand, begrudgingly typing her number into his contacts. "Delete this as soon as you send the video." She demands, not needing him to spam text her or worse.

"So, no late night calls then?" Rafe asks with a false pout and Marina became a bit ticked off.

"Pretending to flirt with me may bring you humour but it'll only result in being cut off." Marina knew she wasn't one to get many guys attention. When they did flirt with her, it was mainly to try and make fun of her. Liam is no exception. He just wants to get her to say yes and then humiliate her in a public fashion.

"Who says I'm pretending?" Rafe seemed a bit taken a back by her comment which was surprising. He only takes a few steps backwards. "You're pretty fiesty for a pogue. Sexy too." He says with a wink, smirking at her before heading back to the table.

Marina didn't believe he wasn't being sincere, even if Rafe had meant every word. Someone as psycho as rafe cameron, rich kook who lived off of daddy's money definitely didn't fall for the daughter of a drug dealer who has about five dollars to her name. A hundred and five now with his little tip.

"Hey." She felt a hand on her shoulder making her almost leap into the air. When she turned, she saw Kiara standing behind her, an amused expression on her face. "Jumpy much?" Kiara says with a small laugh.

"I did get attacked just yesterday." Marina responds as she turns to grab the glasses like she was doing when rafe interrupted her.

"John B has a lead." Kiara says, following after her. Marina sighs, knowing it probably wouldn't lead anywhere.

"I'm working, Kie." She tells her and Kiara just looks around the restaurant.

"It's not even busy." Kiara points out, noticing Liam sitting not too far away which caused a scowl to form on her face.

Marina glances over at the table aswell, although she wasn't looking at Liam, her eyes were on rafe. He seemed to notice it, sending a smirk her way. She clears her throat as she places the glasses down. "You know what? Yeah, let's go." Marina says as she takes off her apron. "Dalton!" She calls out to the boy who lifts his head. "Take table five." She says with a wave, not giving him time to respond as her and Kiara leave the restaurant.

"Wait." Kiara says, grabbing her arm. "I need to tell you something before we get to the van." She admits. Marina looks at her expectantly. "John B kissed me." She states and Marina just stares at her.

"He what?" Marina was shocked. She knew Kiara liked John B but the fact that he was the one to make the move was what surprised her.

"Yeah, and it was honestly a bit awkward and I don't know how to feel about it." Kiara admits, crossing her arms against her chest. Marina glances toward the twinkie.

"Did you... did you want him to kiss you?" She asks curiously, raising an eyebrow. Kiara groans as she rubs her face, beginning to walk again.

"Honestly, I don't know anymore." Kiara tells her before grabbing the handle.

"Rafe hit on me." Marina blurts out just as Kiara gets the door open which wasn't the best moment.

"What?" Kiara all but shouts, her eyes wide as she just stares at Marina. The others glance at them in confusion. Marina just climbs into the twinkie, Kiara right behind her.

"Yeah, it was odd." She admits as John B starts to drive and JJ closes the door seeing as neither girl had made a move to.

"Wait, what did he say?" Kiara asks, eagerly wanting to know what Rafe had actually said to her.

"Well, i told him that flirting with me just to get some fun out of it wasnt funny and he said he wasnt pretending. Then he uh... he said im pretty fiesty for a pogue and.. i cant even say it." Marina tells her, stopping herself cause she felt a bit odd talking in front of the others. Kiara scrunches her nose up in disgust. JJ just sat silently, listening to them as he fiddled with the string on his shirt.

She leant in towards Marina in order for her to whisper it and as soon as she did, Kiara faked a gag. "He actually hit on you?" Kiara asks her. Rafe did not seem like the type to hit on a pogue, let alone Marina. She was the opposite of the girls he usually went after.

A buzz from her phone makes her glance down at it and she almost physically repulsed at the message. "And wants me to go over apparently." She finishes, not reading the actual message cause again, it was pretty awkward with Pope and JJ right next to her.

"Shut up." Kiara grabs it from her hand, looking at the message. She remembered the number from Sarah's phone which only made her more shocked that it was real.

It was a serious offer by the way. Come over tonight and I'll give you another tip, no charge ;)

Kiara gags again, covering her mouth as Marina just sits against the seat. "Wait, who are we talking about?" JJ asks curiously, his eyes moving to Marina. He wanted to know who hit on her because -- well, he was just a tiny bit jealous.

"Rafe." Kiara answers him and John B stops the van abruptly, all of the boys just staring wide eyed.

"Rafe cameron?" John B asks, wanting to know if he heard it correctly.

"He hit on you?" Pope questions, his nose scrunching up. Marina nods her head slowly.

"Let me see that." John B took the phone before either girl could protest. The look of pure disgust that came over his face was one for the history books. "That's fucking disgusting." He mutters and JJ was curious to see so John B gave him the phone.

"Great, just pass it around." Marina awkwardly fiddles with her fingers. Pope and JJ make the same expression John B did.

"What does he mean by another tip?" Kiara asks, a bit confused.

"He thinks giving me an expensive tip will stop me from castrating him." Marina answers her, knowing not to say anything about his drug use.

"Can I help?" Kiara questions with a scoff, crossing her arms against her chest.

"I've already held a knife to his dick so he knows I'm serious." Kiara wasn't even surprised at this point.

"Good girl." Kiara says, patting her cheek. Marina raises an eyebrow

"You can't say things like to that me Kie, it turns me on." She jokes with a wink and Kiara laughs, shaking her head.

"Wait, youre serious?" John B asks, not being able to tell if Marina was making a joke or not.

"Do you want me to demonstrate?" She asks, a dead serious look on her face which made John B go pale as a ghost.

"I'm good." He denies before turning around and putting the car back into drive.

❧

AS THEY DRIVE DOWN THE ROAD, Marina was rested in the middle of the twinkie with Pope, Kiara and John B in the front and JJ was just in the back lounging around. "You mind if I just relax on this one? It's been a long day and a lot of weird stuffs gone down. I'm just gonna lay low. Oh, did you want a hit of this?" JJ asks as he looks toward Pope who just glares at the blunt.

"I keep the signal clear." Pope admits as Marina looks back toward JJ, or more toward his blunt.

"Dude, do you understand that your problem is that you don't get creative? If you got creative--"

"Look, I know I was wrong about the lighthouse, all right? And pretty much wrong about everything else going on. But I was right about one thing, okay? My dad is trying to tell me something." John B explains to them with a sigh causing everyone to look at him.

JJ suddenly feels the blunt being taken away from him before noticing Marina taking a hit from it. Kiara notices and is quick to grab it from her. "Marina Antonia Emery!" She scolds while Marina just blows the smoke toward her.

"Antonia?" John B snickers and he immediately stops when he sees the death glare she sends his way. "Come on." John B says as he opens the door and they all realize they're at a graveyard.

"I'm coming, this place is scary." Kiara admits and Marina moves behind her.

"Why? Because people could come out from their graves and eat you alive?" She wiggles her fingers, making an Ooh sound and Kiara pushes her away causing the woman to laugh.

"I'll punch you."

"Kinky." Marina says with a wink causing kiara to roll her eyes. "I'll keep you safe, my love." She admits, wrapping an arm around Kiaras shoulders. It was a bit weird for the boys to see Marina with this much emotion but it was with Kiara. It seemed like the girl opened up a side of Marina that not many people saw.

"John B, what are we doing?" Jj asks with a sigh.

"Just shut up. You know how you're trying to remember a song and can't remember who sings it?" John B asks them curiously.

"Yeah." Kiara responds.

"So, Redfield. This whole time, I thought it was a place, right? But it's not a place." John B explains as he stops in front of a crypt. "It's a person." He says, looking toward them. Marina raises her eyebrows as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Voi--effing--la." JJ says with a laugh.

"An actual lead. I'm impressed, John B." Marina admits as she gives a firm nod.

"See, my great-great-grandmother Olivia Redfield. That was her maiden name." He tells them before moving toward the door. "Help me with the door, come on." John B tells them and Pope moves toward it, both of them pressing their hands against it.

"One, two, three." Pope says before they start to push against the door.

"Are you pushing?" John B asks with a scoff.

"Yeah, I'm pushing." Pope mumbled back as JJ moves in to try and help. Marina just tilts her head as she watches them fail to get the door open.

"Try using your puny legs, guys." She teases, although her tone was still a bit blunt. John B narrows his gaze at her.

"Puny?"

"This door is like seven hundred pounds. It's not gonna budge." Pope says before letting go with a sigh.

"We didn't come this far to get this far, all right?" JJ tells them and Marina blinks a few times as she just stares at Jj.

"What?" Sometimes she thinks he says things just to talk.

"Snake!" Jj suddenly screams and Marina screams as she runs from the door.

"Woah, woah, woah." Pope quickly moved away from it as Marina hides behind John B.

"Why are you pushing me toward it?" John B asks, trying to push back as to not get closer to the snake that was slithering past them.

"Because I'm not getting near that thing!" Marina shouts back, all but pushing him again. John B starts to do the same thing.

"Well, I don't want to either!" He denies, grabbing her and moving her in front of him. Marina slaps his chest.

"That's a moccasin, all right. Ye old doctor cottonmouth. Death in tall grass." JJ explains to them.

"Can we not talk about death, please?" Marina asks, seeing the snake coming closer.  "John B!" She jumps onto him, clinging to his neck. John B catches her since it was that or be brought down to the ground. He moves them both away from the snake as JJ starts to bark.

"JJ! Shut up, shut up!" Kiara snaps as she hits his arm.

"You're gonna wake the dead, man." Pope points out.

"They're afraid of dogs. Everyone knows that, man." JJ states as the snake finally slithers away from them.

Everyone begins to calm down and suddenly they're all looking toward Marina and John B. "Can i put you down now?" John B asks as he looks toward Marina who was still clinging to him. JJ glances at them, clearing his throat as he just moves his eyes to the ground.

Marina was embarrassed to say the least as her skin immediately goes tense and she was quick to let him go. She brushes herself off, not looking at anybody. Honestly there was probably a reason why she unconsciously chose John B to jump on as opposed to anyone else. John B wasn't as surprised that she jumped on him-- well, he was, but he was more surprised that she was scared of a snake. She could hold a knife to rafe camerons dick no problem but a snake is what scared her.

"Wait, hold up." JJ tells him and John B stops in his step.

"What?" John B asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

"If there's one. There's probably dozens." JJ points out, gesturing to the ground. "All around." He says and Kiara groans.

"Stop, you're scaring me." Kiara tells him as JJ continues to bark until John B hits him.

"Stop barking at the snakes." John B hisses, glaring at the man.

"Look, john--" Pope starts.

"Just making sure it's clear." JJ cuts him off and Pope just looks at him.

"Shut up. John, look. We're not gonna get in there, alright? It's not budging." He admits as Kiara peers at the slight hole to the side.

"We can get through." Kiara points out causing everyone to look at her.

"What? No, no, no, you think you're gonna fit through that hole?" John B asks her curiously.

"And what do you mean we?" Marina could already tell that Kiara was talking about her.

"I'm not going in alone." Kiara denies, her eyes widening. Marina scoffs as she instantly shakes her head.

"Uh, well I'm not going in there." She states, pointing toward the crypt.

"Come on, we're Karina, we can do anything." Kiara tells her, nudging her shoulder and Marina raises an eyebrow.

"Not that involves snakes." Marina denies as she backs away. Kiara pouts as she clasps her hands together.

"Please."

"No."

"Mari, you really wanna let me go in alone?" Kiara asks her, placing her hand on her hip.

"Yes." Marina replies bluntly and Kiara narrows her eyes.

"Mari." She scolds. Marina tilts her head back, a long groan leaving her lips.

"God, I hate you." Marina admits and Kiara smirks a little bit victorious.

"You love me. Besides it's for his dad. And honestly, I really don't believe in it but you deserve to know the truth." Kiara admits as she looks over at John who was grateful. "We'll do it." She says and Marina just presses her tongue to the inside of her cheek.

"I love how you just signed us both up for it though. Not even a 'hey, Mari. Do you wanna go inside the snake infested death crypt?'" Marina says, glaring at her best friend who doesn't even glance at her.

"Can you help me with that?" Kiara asks, trying to move the sticks thar had grown across the hole. John B and Pope immediately move to help get it out of the way.

"If I get bit by a snake, I swear to God, Kie." Marina shutters just thinking about it as Kiara groans, looking over at her.

"You won't get bit by a snake." Kiara denies as Marina just crosses her arms against her chest.

"I would find this calming if there weren't snakes." She often hung out in graveyards, it was the one place she wasn't bothered.

"You're so weird." Kiara mumbles with a shake of her head. Marina knew she never meant it in a negative way though like everyone else.

"Give her a boost." John B says, looking at his best friend who immediately presses his back to the wall and clasping his hands together.

"I'm gonna boost you, all right? I've seen it in movies several times."

"You're not Tom cruise, dude." Marina denies, just staring at JJ who tries to pay no mind to her comment.

"Ready?" JJ asks Kiara who just sighs a bit.

"Remind me what were looking for." Kiara says as she looks over at John B.

"You'll know when you see it." He responds and Marina just raises an eyebrow.

"How helpful." She mutters, not wanting to be in there for longer than she had to be. Kiara just sighs, rubbing her face.

"Hold my flashlight." She tells him, passing it to John B before turning to JJ.

"Put your hands right there." JJ says, gesturing to his shoulders. Kiara does what he says. "Your foot--" Kiara lifts her foot into his hands. "All right, on three.." But Kiara just lifts herself anyways. JJ groans a bit. "Nevermind, just forget about three." He mutters as he pushes her up to the hole.

"I got it." Kiara says once shes in, brushing herself off. "Okay, flashlight?" She states, John B passing it to her as JJ turns back to Marina.

"Ready?"

"I'm good." Marina simply says, analyzing the space before using the rock beside her to climb up instead. They all watch her and JJ just blinks a few times.

"Well, okay then." He says as she gets up the hole, her foot swinging in his direction a bit. "Okay, that's my head. Ow." He mutters but she fully climbs in, getting inside and seeing Kiara waiting for her.

"You alive? You got a heartbeat and everything?" John B asks them but Marina felt hers immediately increase.

"So far." Kiara tells him.

"Barely." Marina mumbles as she looks around. She felt her skin crawl just being inside, not because of dead bodies but once again, because of the stupid snakes.

"Good, that's good." John B says from outside. Marina could barely see a thing, the place was still pitch black even with their flashlights.

"I need some more light." Kiara tells them, moving toward where the wall moved inward.

"Did you find something?" JJ asks curiously, trying to peer inside. Marina furrows her eyebrows as she follows Kiara. "Is there gold?" He elaborates.

"Oh my god." Kiara says as she reaches in and pulls out the package. Marina stares at it for a moment.

"I swear if this doesn't actually lead us somewhere." Marina mutters as they make their way back toward the hole. Kiara gives the package to John B before starting to climb out.

"That's not gold." Pope denies with a sigh.

"Why do I have to go out last?" Marina asks as she glances around, shuttering a bit.

"Holy shit. It's from my dad." John B admits, his eyes widening. Marina didn't really care in that moment though, wanting to get out before another snake comes.

"Kie, hurry up!" Marina shouts and she glares back before jumping out of the hole. Marina starts to climb when she heard a vehicle approaching.

"Code red. Code red! Square grouper!" Jj tells them, rushing back to the group. Marina tries to be as quick as she can climbing through the hole. JJ notices this and goes to help her but John B beats him to it.

"I got you." John b tells her as he all but drags her through the hole, earning numerous complaints from Marina about how she's gonna gut him if he doesn't stop scraping her legs. Once she gets her feet on the ground, she's running with the others to hide behind the crypt.

"It's the guys who robbed your house." JJ tells them, not even needing to look because who else would be here near midnight.

"Light." Kiara says as she gestures for them to all turn their lights off.

"Light." Marina emphasized as it was taking too long.

"Turn your light off man." Pope mutters toward JJ who fumbles with his light until it was off.

"Do you think it's them?" Kiara asks, a bit scared as she holds onto Marina. JJ peers around the corner trying to get a better look.

"Homies got a gun." JJ tells them and Marina's eyes widened.

"Screw this." Kiara mumbles, grabbing Marina's hand and booking it toward the gate. Kiara didn't have a hard time going over the wall but Marina was struggling due to her injury. John B helps pick her up, which she couldnt exactly argue since they were being chased as JJ goes to the other side to help her down.

She feels something hard hit her knee but she doesn't think anything of it right now as she was too occupied in getting over the wall. JJ grabs a hold of her, bringing her down to the ground. "Guys, guys. I'm stuck." Pope tells them, not being able to move from the gate as it had caught his shorts.

"No, Pope, don't move, okay?" JJ says, pointing the gun at him. John B pushes him with an annoyed look on his face.

"Are you stupid?" Marina asks as she holds her knee and JJ shrugs his shoulders. Kiara managed to pull Pope off, at the same time ripping his pants off. Marina snorts as she covers her mouth.

"Nice, dude. It's a little tootsie roll." JJ teases with a smirk as they all rush toward the twinkie. Getting in, it didn't take long for John B to start it and take off.

"What did I knee?" Marina asks with a groan, holding her leg in slight pain.

"Me. You hit my head." John B tells her, still rubbing his forehead from where she completely kneed him when he was trying to help her over to gate. Marina pressed her lips together tightly.

"Sorry." She apologizes but with Kiara laughing underneath her breath, Marina couldn't help but do the same. John B just shakes his head, a smile forming as they make their way down the road, as far from the graveyard as they could.

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Authors note;

there will be no jiara in my story, not that I don't love them but JJ is completely obsessed with Marina and Kiara would never do that to her best friend once she learns of their feelings