THERE was a light atmosphere throughout the OBX the next morning.

It was as if something had technically shifted. The sky was no longer cloudy, rain no longer poured from the clouds—a warm breeze traveled through the island, lazily drifting through the air and causing a slight humidity. It was as if Kildare County was trying to signal something good was finally going to happen to the Pogues.

Eden Bexley was relaxing in the surf shack outside the Chateau, scrolling through her phone with a peaceful attitude. She allowed the warm breeze to brush against her skin contently—despite how last night ended, she was much happier today.

However, there was some pit of anxiety within her mind. Sarah still hadn't returned.

After saving the Maybank from jail time, the group returned to the Chateau to crash, where the Bexley had expected to see the Cameron girl show back up. Eden knew she'd gone to see Wheezie, but that shouldn't have taken more than a few hours—and it wasn't like Sarah Cameron had anywhere else to be. Her home was refuge to two murderers; the Chat was her place now, too. 

Eden knew that Sarah could handle her own problems.....as could her father. Ward had John B. in jail, and the only other person on that tarmac was his daughter—if he could keep her quiet, then he was closer to being free than being found guilty. That's what got Eden anxious.

What if  Ward had kidnapped her in a way, keeping her locked up in the Cameron estate so she couldn't speak? What if something had happened with Rafe? What if Wheezie wasn't really the one behind the screen when she'd given Sarah a location? What if—

There's a thousand what if's wracking through the Bexley's brain and she feels sick thinking they could be true. When she'd looked to John B. in the courtroom, she'd promised that the Pogues would take care of Sarah for him—that she would. And if Sarah was truly in danger, she'd break that promise and that made her feel horrible.  

The Routledge boy was on the verge of being killed and she couldn't even keep his girlfriend safe for him. 

Kiara's ukulele strumming took the girl out of her thoughts and she came back to her friends. The Carrera is beside her lightly playing her instrument, JJ's waxing his surfboard and Pope is examining some tools, all the while watching his friend scrub wax on the board. 

"That's a lot of wax on your board, man." Pope comments, watching the Maybank boy, who'd been waxing for a decent amount of time. "Put too much wax on there, it's gonna be slippery."

JJ looked up from his board, staring at the Heyward with an incredulous look—as if he couldn't believe Pope was telling him of all people how to wax a board. "Are you telling me how to wax my board, Pope?"

"No, I was just saying that's a lot of wax—"

"No, no, no, no." JJ counters, "You're telling me how to wax my board. Are you kidding me?"

Pope shrugged—he could care less that he was telling JJ, the best surfer amongst the Pogues, how much wax to be using. "I'm just saying it's a colossal waste of wax."

Kiara looks up at the two boys with an unimpressed expression, "Guys, really?"

"Pope, you know how JJ gets, so don't try to test him on his surfing knowledge." Eden  automatically tells each boy to stop bickering with one another, like a mother trying to get her two kids to apologize. She doesn't even look up from her phone as she speaks it comes so naturally. "And JJ, don't be so closed off to other people's opinions, kay?"

The Maybank rolls his eyes before muttering, "Sure thing, Mom."

"Thank you." Eden lightly smiles.

Before anyone else can say anything, a honking echoes from outside.

A honk Eden Bexley could recognize anywhere.

JJ too recognizes the sound and turns to his friends, "Did you hear that?"

Another honk and the sputtering of an engine later and the Twinkie pulls in front of the Chateau. Reggae music is blasting from the front seat and from where she's sitting, Eden is quick to spot none other than John B. Routledge—bracelets and all—sitting in the drivers seat.

Eden doesn't know if she's ever gotten to her feet faster. 

"Are you serious?" Kiara exclaims.

"Hold on." JJ can't seem to believe his friend was right there, "Hold on.....am I dreaming?"

Pope's eyes are wide, "No."

John B. steps out of the Twinkie with a giant smile on his face and he begins to skip happily towards his friends, who were practically in shock that he was there, "Guess who's out of the clink, boy!"

As he approaches, the Bexley throws her phone into her chair without another thought and her legs start bounding towards the Routledge, a childish smile on her face. John B. is quick to open his arms for her, tightly supporting her when she finally got to him and wrapped her arms around him in an embrace, standing on her tippy toes.

"No freaking way, man!" Pope calls out.

The Carrera girl lets out a squeal of excitement and comes to John B.'s other side to hug him. The other two boys follow, creating a giant Pogue embrace—family reunited once more. Childish and giddy smiles are worn on every teen's face, and they all chuckle happily as they embrace together. 

"Bro!" JJ yells, voice slightly cracking as he states, "My boy's out of the can!" 

Pope's words are muffled, "Oh, come on."

"We missed you." Kiara says warmly.

John B. smiles, "I missed you guys, too."

As the group pulls away from one another, the Maybank boy looks at John B., "How'd you do it? You bust out?"

"Uh....they dropped the charges." the Routledge admitted, tone of voice saying that he couldn't quite believe it either. He'd been sentenced to death for the murder of Peterkin, and had almost lost hope that he'd be heard until that morning, when the Warden stated that he was free to leave. That all previous charges against him had been dropped.

Pope looks at his friends and repeats the word in shock, "They dropped the charges."

A sigh of relief falls from Eden's lips, "Finally."

 After all of the running, the tears, the arguing with Shoupe.....someone had listened and realized John B. wasn't to blame. 

Kiara smiles, "Dude, that's phenomenal." 

"So, you're telling me I did all that work for nothing?" JJ states, recalling the night before—he'd almost gone to jail trying to get his friend out only for John B's charges to get dropped.

Mockingly, Pope turns to the blonde, "Oh, the most elaborate escape plan of all time?"

"Foolproof." Kiara added with air quotations. 

"Yeah, it was, actually—"

Eden looks over at the Routledge boy, only to see he seems to have stopped listening to their jabs at one another. Instead, his eyes scan over the Chateau, face falling from its previous smile. All of his friends were here to greet him but his girlfriend was nowhere to be found. He glances at is friends with a confused expression, "Wait, where's Sarah?"

Eden grimaced from beside him, already knowing the question was bound to be brought up. The rest of the group stares at one another, debating whether or not to admit to him that she'd gone to see Wheezie and hadn't returned.

The silence of his friends causes John B. to grow more anxious and he asks yet again, "No, no, no. Where—where.....where is Sarah?"

"Uh, she'd been talking with Wheezie over the phone and went to go visit her—something about trying to clean up the mess she'd made." Eden admitted, looking at her best friend. She watched as his face fell at the thought of Sarah alone. "She didn't come back."

Eden's bracelet kit is back in her hands.

The Pogues had moved over to the HMS Pogue, sunglasses on their faces with the warm sun beating against their skin. With John B. back and free of his charges, Eden finally felt okay with making another bracelet—it wouldn't be a waste of her time, or time she could have spent trying to help. Everything was okay now......minus Sarah still being M.I.A.

So, Eden sat beside Kiara on the boat, legs crossed over one another with her bracelet kit in her lap. Her fingers work smoothly to make another piece of jewelry—she isn't really sure who it's for, but that doesn't really bother her. 

"So, Sarah just dips and doesn't call?" John B. asks yet again, despite the fact that the Pogues had each told what happened multiple times. He was extremely worried, and hadn't stopped pacing on the dock—unlike the others, who while worried, weren't extremely concerned quite yet.

"Yeah, man." Pope nods from the engine, "She just left her bag. Didn't tell anybody."

Eden glances up from her bracelet for a second, "Yeah, the only reason we know she's with Wheezie even is because she used my phone to text her. She just kind of disappeared."

"Okay, dude, I—I really think Ward got to her." John B. states, "I mean, the dude tried to have me killed in jail."

The sudden confession caused everyone to stop doing what they were working on and look at him incredulously.

Eden pushes her sunglasses to sit atop her head and sends the Routledge boy a pointed expression, "Wanna repeat yourself?"

"Yeah." John B. bluntly stated, as if the confession wasn't the fact that he was almost killed in jail, "He sent somebody to the prison who—" he placed his hands around his neck, "—yoked me up and almost killed me."

Kiara looks concerned, "You serious?"

"Yes!"

JJ looked back at his friend, "Do we know who this dude was?"

"No, I have no idea." the Routledge admits, stepping upon the boat. He takes a seat beside the Bexley. "Dude, I swear to God, one day, I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch."

Kiara looks off in the distance and softly states, "It's okay."

"No, Kie, it's not okay. We gotta find Sarah."

"No, literally, it's okay." the Carrera girl deadpans, pointing her finger off towards the water, "She's right there."

Eden's eyes trail off in the direction Kiara was pointing to see Sarah Cameron rising to her feet within a Malibu, none other than Topper Thornton standing at the wheel. 

The Bexley's lips fell into a thin line—John B. and Topper certainly had their fair share of fights and tension, especially when it came to Sarah Cameron. So, seeing his girlfriend with her ex, wouldn't feel great to the Routledge—and she prepares herself for the testosterone filled bickering that was bound to go down. 

"John B.?" Sarah's voice was heard from the boat, a giddy smile rising on her face at the sight of her boyfriend freely sitting on the Pogue, "John B.!"

Eden makes eye contact with Kiara beside her, muttering, "Is anyone gonna bring up how she's with Topper of all people?"

"Oh my God! He's out!" 

From the Malibu, Topper sent a tight smile towards the Routledge boy as he dishearteningly hummed, "There he is." 

Topper's boat neared the dock and Sarah was quick to toss the rope out to Pope, who tied it to the Pogue. The Cameron girl didn't even hesitate before hopping into the boat and rushing into her boyfriends arms, who was more than ready to see her after thinking Ward had gotten to her. 

"Hi." John B. whispered with a smile.

"Hey!" Sarah giggled, throwing her arms around his neck.

The Routledge boy squeezes his eyes shut and holds on to his girl as if she'd disappear again if he let go. Breathlessly, he mutters, "Oh my God. I'm so glad you're okay. Hi." 

"I didn't know if I'd see you again." Sarah confessed towards her boyfriend as she pulled away, "What happened?" 

"Uh, they dropped all the charges." John B. stated, watching as the girls face practically lit up at the news. "Yeah, no, yeah, I'm a free man. Yeah."

Sarah cupped his face before embracing him yet again, "What? That's amazing!"

"I know. It's great, but...." the Routledge trails off as they pull away, voice becoming more firm as he tells her the more serious fact that went along with him being a free man, "But listen, Sarah, they're coming after Rafe."

"Good." Sarah states, slightly pleased with the news after what had happened the previous night on her end. "He's completely unhinged. He jumped me last night."

Eden's face fell. She'd been right—something had happened. "What?"

The Cameron looks at the Bexley and nods, "That's why I didn't come back."

"Yeah, man. Rafe has lost his mind." Topper scoffed from the boat, causing the Pogues to all turn to him with blank expressions—it was odd to be speaking with the Thornton boy so casually. "Literally almost drowned his own sister." The blonde boy looks at the Cameron softly, "Thankfully, I got there....I got there just in time."

Sarah mutters, "Yeah, he did."

There's a tense silence before John B. clicks his tongue, "Uh, well, I guess I owe you one, Topper, don't I?" He hates feeling like he owes any debt towards the Kook, even if it was for saving his girlfriend.

"It's all good." Topper dismissively replies with a shrug. There was a smart ass expression on his face as he commented, "I mean, somebody had to rescue your girlfriend, right?"

Eden bites her lip, noticing the way the comment stilled the group—specifically John B. Of course Topper couldn't take John B.'s words and move on; of course he had to add on to his ego, add on to the annoyance the Routledge was trying to civilize. 

"Well, all hail Topper than, you guys." Eden remarks, looking at the Thornton boy with an unamused expression—she was practically telling him to stop talking with her eyes. "Saving John B.'s girlfriend because he physically couldn't."

John B. nods at the Bexley before commenting, "Uh, that's funny because she's not actually my girlfriend, right?" He looks at Sarah with a soft expression, urging her to continue. 

"Uh...." Topper chuckles awkwardly before asking, "Well, what is she, then?"

John B. turns to Sarah, urging his wife to respond. "Tell him."

Sarah looks between the two boys before replying with an awkward, "I'm....I'm with him."

Eden made a face of second-hand embarrassment from what Sarah had just said. She looks over at Kiara, whose face is contorting as well at the awkwardness the Cameron had created with her reply.

"Gotcha. You're with him. Okay, yeah." Topper mockingly chuckled, noticing the way John B.'s face fell. "I just, like, needed a little clarity there." He glanced at all the Pogues, continuing to mock, "You guys clear on that?"

JJ glanced at the blonde Kook, "I think it's clear you gotta go now."

Eden waves at Topper, dismissing the boy with a sarcastic smile, "Bye, Topper."

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna head out." the Thornton boy chimes, sending a similar look to the Maybank and Bexley, "It's about that time."

Before the Kook could leave, Sarah came forward.

"Topper." At the sound of his name, Topper halted, watching as the blonde girl approached him. Briefly, she hugged him goodbye—he'd saved her life, after all. "Thank you."

"Yeah, of course." Topper solemnly replied, rubbing his hand along her back as they embraced. His eyes latched on to John B.'s, and the two boys just stared at one another as the ex-couple hugged, "I'm just glad you're okay."

The Thornton boy drove away and Eden looked between her friends, blowing out a slow breath. If there wasn't tension before, their certainly was now.

After Topper left, everyone split up into their respective duos.

John B. and Sarah had moved to the hammock where they sat across from one another, Pope and Kiara returned to the surf shack to examine the key the Heyward had found some more, as well as—as Eden hoped—to resolve whatever tension their was between them. 

That left JJ and Eden—as it always did. Being the two remaining single friends, they'd been left to each other's company more than often within the past week, but the Bexley was okay with that. Most of the time, they just sat around sharing a joint or aimlessly chatting, as they were now. 

Sitting on the floor of the porch, Eden continued to make a bracelet, hunching over her kit which lay in between her straddled legs. Above her was JJ on the couch, scrolling on his phone, legs lazily draped over the couch. In the hand that wasn't supporting his phone, he had a joint, which he instinctively passed between himself and the girl below—they'd been sharing joints since they started smoking. Eden sent him a pointed glare every time he didn't offer her it.

"We should be studying for our geometry test, to be completely honest." Eden mutters, pushing her hair away from her face and behind her ears.

The fact that they had a test this week was completely foreign to Eden's brain. She'd missed many days of school due to Charleston and the reappearance of John B. and Sarah, and wasn't ready in the slightest—even with Pope's constant reminders in the group chat, or Google Meet links at two in the morning to study together. 

"We have a geometry test this week?" JJ looks over at the Bexley for a moment, unaware that they would even be returning to school for said test, let alone for the test at all. Eden nods and the blonde looks back at his device. "Huh."

Eden didn't bother glancing at him as she worked on the bracelet, "You could join the study meets Pope holds every other night on Google Meet. It's like two in the morning but I know you're not sleeping."

"Yeah, but, why listen to Pope rant about shapes and angles when you can—" the Maybank's words come to a halt as a ringtone starts to echo through the patio. "Hold that thought."  The boy swipes up on his phone and puts it to his ear, "Hey, Guffy."

Eden doesn't listen in too much to the conversation and continues to work over her bracelet kit until she hears JJ curse under his breath. She then feels a sharp kick in her shoulder, causing her to whip her head around. "Do not touch me with your dirty ass boots—" She notices his wide eyes and quickly switches her tone, "What happened?"

"Shit. Yeah, man.  We're on our way." JJ states into the phone before pulling it away from his ear. The boy stands up quickly and states,  "Something happened to Heyward."

Eden immediately stops working on the bracelet and gapes up at the blonde, "What?"

"Guffy just called. Said something happened." JJ exclaimed—he didn't know much of the situation, but by the way Guffy told him to get to the shop, it sounded rather urgent. "C'mon. We have to tell Pope."

Eden didn't hesitate before getting up, "Yeah."

The two teens run outside, quick to spot Pope in the shack with Kiara. The two are embracing, but any sort of moment is cut short as the Maybank calls out, "Pope! Pope!" 

The Heyward looks at them expectantly.

"Just got a call from Guffy." JJ explains, holding out his phone. "Something happened to your Pops."

"What?" Pope breathes. He sprints off with the Maybank. Kiara looks at Eden for a moment before following. 

The Bexley begins to walk towards the Twinkie, looking out in the yard for any signs of her other two friends—they'd left the hammock, and she's sure they had some kind of dispute over Topper. "John B.! Sarah! I don't care what lovers quarrel you just had, we need to go! Now!"

With that she runs towards the Twinkie, hoping that the sight of Heyward wouldn't be anything horrible.

mara's misc!

topper makes me want to hurl but sarah played both him and jb.

google simp and a picture of topper thornton will appear.

anyways i lowkey have nothing to say. i'm eating mcdonalds and rewatching daisy jones and the six rn (highly recommend the show btw). 

today in math we had a sub and it was flat out a mess. my bitch of a math teacher is giving us a test on monday and we were SUPPOSED to be working on slides for the lesson for the test but, uh, that didn't happen. so. yeah. (i mean we hate our class and teacher so we celebrated the day off tbh)

also i literally have a band concert in two weeks?? what?? we're playing 3 songs and bc 1) we came back from break later this year and 2) we had like 7 snow days and a 2 hour delay we were sorta behind. HOWEVER we are doing decently now. the trumpets just gotta remember their particles, the percussion needs to keep quiet, and the trombones need to remember the difference between a natural and a flat (our trombones are so mid)

ALSO ALSO ALSO I GOT 4 OUT OF THE 5 RECORDS I ORDERED TODAY!! (superache & kid krow by conan gray, snow angel by renee rapp and red (taylors version)

i rlly don't know what to say anymore so 

hope you enjoyed <3 see you back with chapter 46