THE sea breeze blows through Eden's hair as she sits upon the ferry. 

After managing to get her father to give her permission to go, Eden had returned to all of her friends—Kiara included, because somehow, by the love of the Gods above, her mother had managed to give a hesitant yes to going to Wilmington—and the group had headed to the ferry that would take them off the island. 

She, as well as the rest of the group, fill up a table. Eden squeezes a chair in the awkward corner between Sarah and Kiara and lounges, admiring the ferry aesthetic because truly, sitting on a ferry has been the nicest thing she's done since she's got back—other than showering, which the Bexley now considers a delicacy after not getting to do it for a month. 

Salty air filtered the air as the six teens conversed about the night ahead.

"Honestly, the hardest part is gonna be security, alright?" JJ states, from where he sat against the top of his chair. "So, most of the guys are gonna be at the rail yard."

"Right," Pope agrees, quietly. It was unlikely someone was listening in to their conversation, but they still kept their voices low."So, we'll need to find some place and guard it. Maybe a little further down the line, like a whistle-stop of something."

Kiara nods, "Yeah."

"You guys are getting ahead of yourselves, per usual." Cleo tuts before stating the obvious problem they had. Without Heyward or Mike Carrera's truck, they didn't have shit to transport the cross with. "We don't have a way to transport the cross. What you think? On JJ's motorcycle?"

JJ pulls his hat off his head with a gruff, "That's not my fault."

Eden shrugs, "Find a rope, tie the cross to the cycle. JJ can drag it home just fine."

"Okay, so, other options...." Pope trails off, glancing at his friends for ideas because for once, he didn't have one. 

"We kinda don't have another option. There's no way we're dragging a giant ass cross without a truck." the Bexley admits truthfully, leaning back in her chair. "Unless someone has the cash to rent one, which honestly just isn't us."

Kiara holds up her phone, holding a credit card. "I mean, I do—"

"Oh my God." 

Eden's eyes dart to Sarah Cameron at her sudden statement, brows furrowing as the blonde awkwardly leans forward to hide behind the Bexley, fingers pressed to her lips in shock. Her eyes close as if she wants to disappear. 

Cleo asks, "Oh my God, what?" 

The Bexley tries to picture the worst and states, "If it's Rafe, I'm pitching myself off of this boat."

Sarah shakes her head, lips thin. "No, it's—"

Pope's scoff cuts them off. "Is that Topper?" 

As inconspicuously as possible, the six teens at the table all lean forward to gawk at the bar. Eden's expression morphs into a deadpan as she spots the Thornton boy chatting away with a drink in his hand—same polo shirt and frosted tips as before they got stuck on Poguelandia. "Oh, God forbid we try to do anything to get this cross without an inconvenience."

Kiara rears back around, face full of disgust as she asks, "Why is he.....everywhere?" 

Eden nods quickly in agreement, "No, because he kinda just spawns—"

"Perfect." Pope's drawl cuts the Bexley off, and she narrows her eyes at his smile, because who smiled at Topper like that. The Heyward glances at JJ, the rest of the group confused on his almost happy tone, because, well, who was ever happy to see Topper? "Hey, Jayj?"

The Maybank leans down, "What?"

"I bet you Topper has a way to transport that cross." 

"Actually...." JJ hesitates, thinking it over in his head. As much as Topper was, well, Topper, the idea in itself wasn't bad—Pope's ideas weren't ever bad. "Pope's right. He does have a rig." 

Sarah immediately interjected, "No."

JJ sends her an incredulous look, "Yes." 

"No," 

"Yes, come on—"

"Absolutely not."

"I really, really, really don't feel like working with Topper, but he's like....whipped for you, Sare." Eden can't help but reason, as much as she'd like to continue the rest of her day without the Kook. Sarah was Topper's weak spot, and if she just said the right things they had a shot. 

"Just take one for the team." the Maybank urges.

Sarah exasperatedly sputters, "What would John B. say?"

"John B. isn't here. We're not here to make decisions based on what he wants, we're here to get what we need. And Topper's truck is that." Eden reasons. If John B. wanted a say, he would have gotten his ass here. "And, without John, the threat of a dick comparing contest with Top is non-existent so there's really nothing stopping you."

"And if he were here, I think John B. would completely understand." Pope taunts, tilting his head. "Think about the circumstances. It's about treasure." 

Eden shakes her head amusedly, "Oh no, he'd totally be whining about this entire idea, but that's not the point." She looks at Sarah with puppy dog eyes. "Please just do it, Sarah. We can handle John B. Correction; I can handle him." 

Kiara nods in agreement at the Cameron, "Just talk to him."

Sarah glares at each person at the table before standing up, chair screeching against the floor. She grabs Eden by the hand and yanks her up, too. "Fine. But you're coming with me." 

"Seriously?" the Bexley has to stop herself from whining over it. If her following got them Topper's truck, she supposes she can do it. 

Sarah heads to the bar and ultimately scores Topper, who looks like he wants to jump for joy at the sight of the blonde. Eden steals some kind of fruity drink and offers the Thornton a tight lipped greeting. The three Kooks end up at the top deck of the ferry, leaning against the railing as the rest of the Pogues tried to listen in from the staircase—Eden hopes they realize how plainly seen they are. 

"I just can't believe you guys are here." Topper admits truthfully, glancing between his ex and her friend. The amber glow of the sunset reflected onto the three Kooks as they spoke. "I saw the news. I....I texted you. I didn't even know you were alive." He glances at Eden. "I tried to help your Dad out as much as I could when you guys were gone. I'm really sorry to hear that your Mom's still missing, by the way." 

"Oh, it's fine." Eden sips from her straw. She shrugs. "Kinda better that way."

"Oh." Topper clears his throat. "Well—"

Eden stalks away as casually as she can, "I'll just leave ya'll to it." 

Sarah whips her head around with wide eyes, mouthing the word 'Bitch' to the girl. The Bexley sent her a look and jammed her head towards Topper, signaling the girl to just follow through. She takes a stance a few steps away from the Thornton boy, sipping her drink as she eavesdropped.

"So....how are you?" Topper asks, once the Bexley has moved away. 

Sarah looks into the sunset, "You know, Top....um, things are a little tough right now." 

"Yeah? Tough how?"

Eden looks at the staircase and watches as JJ rolls his finger in a circle, signaling Sarah to get to the point. From behind the Thornton, the Bexley looks at the blonde and sends her an expression. Spill. 

"We've been after this....family heirloom of Pope's. Which is why we were gone." the Cameron states, though the words seem forced. "And we ended up losing it and uh, unbelievably, there might be a chance that, um, we could get it back tonight. In Wilmington." 

"Okay."

"It's crazy."

"Okay. How...how can I help?"

Eden knew Sarah was Topper's weak spot but was he this eager to help her? He'd barely heard about what she was doing and he was already kissing ass, ready—though that was what the Pogues needed right now.

Sarah looks away, "No, I can't ask you to do that—"

"No, seriously—"

"Topper," the Cameron practically whines and Eden has to hide her smile because she totally has him. "I feel like if I ask you....just, like, the person you are—"

The Thornton awkwardly chuckles, "What do you mean 'the person I am'?"

"No, I didn't mean it like that." Sarah says, looking at Eden as she tried to think of something she could say to sell the deal. The Bexley puts a hand to her heart and makes a dramatic expression, signaling for the Cameron to just kiss ass her way through to him. "I guess I mean you're such a giver, Topper. You're just such a helper and I feel like if I ask you—"

"Sarah, that's just—that's just who I am." Topper cuts her off with a shake of her head, "That's just the way I was raised."

Eden rolls her eyes, muttering under her breath, "How I was raised, my ass."

"And anyway, remember when I said I would do literally anything for you? Remember that?" 

Sarah's doe eyes don't leave his. "Yeah." 

"I meant it. Unlike some people who will just say whatever to get you to go along with whatever they want." Topper drones on and on, but Eden focuses in on JJ signaling for her to tell Sarah to hurry it up once more. She looks at the blonde and dramatically mouths 'Ask him'. "I'm not that person, okay? When I say something, I mean it."

Before he can spew anymore, Sarah stiffly intervenes, "I need your truck."

The Thornton boys eyes widen slightly as if he can't believe she's asking him that of anything she could need. He stammers, "My...my-my dad's truck?" 

"Four wheels."

"Oh my God," Topper awkwardly scratches his face and looks away from Sarah, "He would literally kill me. He's like super anal about it—" 

"So are we." Sarah's nodding along over-enthusiastically at his words, "We're super anal!" Eden practically chokes on her drink and awkwardly coughs as Sarah bug eyes her. JJ seems to double take at the phrase too. "We, like, we—we....we'll take such good care of it."

"You put me in a tough spot. I know I said I would do anything, but...."

"I'm so sorry about everything." Sarah softly says, brown eyes locking into his gray ones. She touches his arm without Eden even having to signal it. "I totally understand. You have no reason to help us. Actually, you have all the reasons not to help us."

Topper loses himself in her gaze for a split second before sighing. "Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?" 

Sarah practically jumps into his arms for a hug, throwing a thumbs up over his shoulder Eden and the group below. Eden manages a genuine smile, as does the rest of the Pogues—Pope points a finger at the Cameron, Kie reciprocates the thumbs up, Cleo makes an okay sign and JJ raises his hands like he's about to float up to heaven. 

Eden skips down the stairs back to her friends, swirling her straw around. "He is 100% whipped for her. Asked if he could do anything to help before she could even ask." 

"Sweet." JJ murmurs, before grabbing Eden's drink right from her grasp. He takes a sip before immediately handing it back over with an unamused, "That is legitimate shit." 

Eden argues, "It's fruity. It's not my fault you drink flat beer." 

Cleo looks at Topper with narrow eyes. Out of everyone, she had no clue who the kid was. "So, who is this Topper kid?" 

Kiara flatly drones, "Sarah's ex-boyfriend. Him and John B. have, like, major beef, so there's been a few fights there. Almost drowned him once."

"Topper also pushed him off a really tall structure and almost killed him." Eden recalls the night after Midsummers in which Topper drunkenly pushed him off the Hawks Nest. "Total pain in the ass, has had frosted tips since like middle school. Your average Kook."  

There wasn't much nice to say about Topper, really. He had an okay face, he sometimes cared. He hadn't been the worst as a kid but Rafe turned him into filth. She supposes he's okay now, but she'll always see him in a mediocre lighting due to the past. 

Cleo drawls, "His name is Topper?" 

"His parents might have been on crack when they named him." Eden shrugs,glancing at the blonde boy who continued to talk with Sarah—she assumes the Cameron is further buttering up the plan and sweet talking Topper to keep him in a good mood. "It's a mystery."

"You Kooks are weird." 

Wilmington station is empty, much to the Pogues' delight. 

The six teens stand atop an un-moving cart, staring off into the distance. The sky has grown black and there's a slight chill to the air now that night has fallen. Eden plants her hands on her hips and scans the perimeter, frowning as she stares at the thousands of train-carts that sit in front of them, illuminated by the moonlight— all of which are possible holders of the cross, then though, who even said the cross wasn't in an incoming cart instead of stationary one?

Simply, finding this cross would be easier said than done.

"Well," Kiara huffs, staring ahead with an amused expression. "There's, like, a thousand trains here." 

Pope points further ahead, speaking over an incoming train. "Well, we know it's car 750X on the track to Raleigh."

"Yeah, so now we just gotta find it." JJ states.

Eden purses her lips—she wishes they had a real thought out plan, though the Pogues always seemed to do okay improving. "Easier said then done." 

"Yeah, news flash," Kiara pipes up once more, agreeing with the Bexley's statement, "We're not getting out of here unnoticed with a giant cross." 

"We won't have to." the Heyward glances at her, "We can nab it somewhere further in the country. Just gotta figure out how to stop the train."

Another thing that would be easier said than done, in Eden's opinion. The group had no time frame on when the cross was coming in, and to the Bexley, it seemed unlikely that they would be able to manage hunting down the right cart, watching to see what track it went on, and finding a way to stop it further down before it reached it's final destination of Rafe Cameron. With the Pogues luck, it just didn't seem plausible.

"Okay, yeah, great idea but we're not the Avengers." the Bexley reasons sarcastically. "How are we stopping a train?"

JJ barely thinks before looking at his friends, "Leave that to me." 

The Bexley exclaims, "Tonight could not get better!"

Cleo leans forward with a brow raised in challenge, "How you gonna do that?"

 "I got an Uncle up in New Bern, right?" JJ begins, as if this information was known. The Maybank always seemed to have information hiding up his sleeve that he dropped at times that it would come in need. "When he got tipsy, he'd just throw an old across the tracks, just for shits and giggles. And, uh, that old little chain would stop all the train traffic in coastal Carolina." 

Kiara gives an untrustworthy look, "A chain?" 

"He's actually right." Pope agrees with the blonde, understanding what the boy was talking about. "There's a low voltage current that runs across all rail tracks. Throw a train on it, you close that circuit. It would read as another train. Crossing lights come down." He gives a shy nod, "Science is actually pretty sound." 

"Science." JJ hums, tilting his head innocently yet smugly, "I knew my science."

"So proud of you, J." Eden sends him a tight smile, while Kiara rolls her eyes. The Bexley turns to Pope and nods, "I don't entirely hate that idea, so...."

As much as the Heyward believed it could work, he had to shut it down with an, "Well, we don't have a chain."

"No, no, no, but I bet Topper's dad has jumper cables in the truck." Sarah pipes up to offer, "Would that work?"

Pope nods. "Yeah."

As if on cue, Topper Thornton's voice cuts through their conversation with an annoyed, "Yo, what's going on!? Are—are we doing this or what?!" The group all look over their shoulder to see the blonde throwing his hands exasperatedly in the air, clearly growing irritated as he stood lonesomely at his truck. 

Eden puts up a single finger to signal '1 more minute' and offers him an annoyed smile. She turns back to the group, "Okay, what's the plan?" 

"You all wait here." Cleo states, eyes darting to the Heyward boy. "Me and Pope will go look for it and send a signal once we find it." 

Pope firmly nods and Sarah whips around with a surprised, "Do we actually have a plan right now?" 

JJ replies, "Think we do."

"That's impressive." 

"Just as shocked as you, Sarah." Eden continued, as she started walking towards the two blondes. "When was the last time we thought something through?"

"Let's not jinx it while we're ahead." Pope commented before ushering the two teens behind him to start following, "Come on."

"Nobody ever listens to me." Cleo chimes in, earning a small fit of laughter from members of the group.

Pope and Cleo split away from the group, hopping off the train cart to go and examine the others. The Maybank, Cameron, Bexley, and Carrera all huddle and crouch down on top of another cart, eyes darting around waiting for the signal from their other friends. 

However, it seems to take forever. Eden isn't sure whether it's been five minutes or fifteen, but she isn't sure how much longer she can sit in tense silence. The chirping cicadas were starting to get on her nerves, and she was anxious to just get the damn cross.

She doesn't seem to be the only one suffering in the suffocating silence because Sarah voices, "What's taking so long?"

JJ looks down, muttering, "Pope, come on."

Sarah taps the Maybank's arm, "Hey, hey—"

As the Cameron speaks, a figure appears on the side of a train-cart a little further out, scaling the side of it to reach the top. For a moment, the group's breath hitches but the moment the figure whips around and starts shaking a lit flashlight to reveal himself as Pope, they all relax slightly.

"That's him," Eden nods, getting out of her crouched position, knees aching slightly. JJ sends two thumbs up towards the Heyward, hoping he understood that they got the cue. 

Kiara agrees, "That's it. We're green."

Suddenly though, before the Pogues can move, there's an obnoxious blare of train horns in the distance. There's chugging and the sound of metal clinking and connecting, and the four teens all look at each other with confused expressions.

"What's happening?" Kie asks.

The Bexley frowns, "That isn't a part of the plan, is it?" 

JJ's eyes scan around, muscles growing tense with caution. "You hear that?"

Brakes hiss and metal begins to clank abruptly. Rattling is heard and Eden watches with wide eyes as the train Pope was hanging onto starts to move forward, carts slowly beginning to inch forward.

"Oh shit." Eden bluntly states as she watches the train rumble forward. She's suddenly on her feet, looking between her friends for the next step. 

JJ just chants, "The train's moving. Train's moving. The train's moving—"

"Shit, shit—" Sarah lurches forward.

The four teens start scaling down the train, going down as fast as possible. Shoes smacking against rubble, the Pogues quickly pace towards Topper and his truck, the train horn blaring in the distance.

Topper spots the group coming and deadpans, "Oh, hey, Sarah—"

"Do you have jumper cables in there?" Sarah asks casually, coming to the side door.

"Here I am involved in illegal activities—" 

Eden comes to the Cameron's side, sending him a look. "You said yes." 

Sarah opened the door, adding, "And they're not that illegal." 

"This is great—by the way, I'm not even close to being okay with this!" the Thornton boy harshly whispers.

Sarah hands the Bexley the jumper cables and shrugs, "Okay." 

"Jumper cables? What are we—what are we doing with these?"

"Top, we'd get this done so much faster if you just—" Eden puts her free hand to her lips, squeezing two fingers together and moving them across her lips to mimic zipping her lips closed.

Topper scoffs, "Am I being silenced now?" 

"If that's what it takes—"

"No, you're not." Sarah sends a light glare to the Bexley before looking at the Thornton, "Topper, if you don't want to go, it's fine. We'll take the truck." 

"Yeah—" Topper's face falls utterly flat. "The truck?"

"Yeah."

The Thornton spun on his heels to face to rest of the group, unsure on how all of them seemed so okay with what they were doing—did they not realize how fucking idiotic this was? How they could all go to jail if shit went wrong, which it probably would? "Hey, I just wanna make sure everyone here is okay with ending up in federal prison." 

"Uh, if it gets to that...." JJ pretends to think before smiling, "Yeah, I'll do it for Pope."  

Eden looks at Topper and sighs, "Either you cooperate and come with us, or we steal your ride, man. Your choice doesn't really affect us—we're doing this either way."

Topper gives her a dirty glare and puts his hand on the truck door—Sarah's already sitting in the passenger seat, smiling as she watches the boy concede. 

The Bexley sends him an innocent smile before pacing up to Kie. "You keep Frosted Tips in line. I'll make sure JJ doesn't kill himself on the train tracks?"

"If you insist," Kie sighs, glancing at Topper who was getting into his truck with much hesitance. 

Eden outstretched and hand and the Carrera did the same, the two girls proceeding with the Pogues handshake as a farewell. They snap and depart, Kiara opening the side door while the Bexley paces to JJ's motorbike.

The blonde revs the engine and Eden sits behind him, wrapping her arms around him with caution. JJ feels her arms and glances back, "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." the Bexley hums, signaling for the truck to follow after them with a light usher of her fingers. JJ revs the engine a final time before the wheels twist against the dirt and the motorbike drives off into the night, Topper's truck following.

JJ drives parallel to the tracks for what feels like forever, trees flying past in a blur. Eden's hair whips behind her as they drive a decent amount of distance away. Roads start to blur together at some point. 

She isn't sure how far they've gone, but at some point, the Maybank stops the bike and hurriedly gets off. The Bexley throws her leg over and follows.

JJ grabs the jumper cable and starts jogging, "This should be far enough,"

Eden opens her mouth to reply but she's caught off guard as the Maybank goes flying face-first to the ground, knees skidding against the dirt as he tumbles. "Oh—"

"I'm fine," JJ recovers with a mere grunt and continues running towards the tracks without moments hesitation, as if he hadn't just fallen. Eden doesn't doubt his words and follows—surprisingly she manages to hold back a laugh. The Maybank halts on the side of the railroad and throws the cable out, musing as a train horn bellows, "Alright—oh God, you can hear it coming." 

Eden stands in the center of the tracks, waiting for instruction. She anxiously toys with her bracelet, watching as the Maybank makes quick work of connecting the jumper cable to the bottom of the traffic lights.

"Let's fry this sucker," JJ mutters. He hops over the track and grabs the rest of the cable, "Okay, now, all you have to do..." He holds up the ends of the cables and adjusts them to the edges of the track, "....is change the current. Let's go, baby." 

The Bexley crosses her arms over her chest, "Don't kill yourself, please and thank you."  

"Yeah, no promises with that." the Maybank replies, clipping the cables down. "Three, two, one, and....red!"

The train horn echoed again and the two teens stared up at the traffic light, watching as it continued to blink green instead of red. Eden gives herself five moments of 'Maybe this'll work' but the light continues to blink green with no sign of any switch. 

She clicks her tongue. "Okay, so..." 

"Come on, man. Come on.....come on." JJ tears his hat off and paces for a moment, mentally cursing as the light stayed green. "Okay, that's what he would do, alright? That's literally what my....so then it would change red—Oh my God." 

The Maybank begins pacing back and forth and Eden just gawks at the light like staring would make the light change. "Pope said the science was sound, and Pope's never wrong about science." 

"Think, think, think, think." JJ rushes, reaching in his head for any idea, "Okay, what if I blockaded the track? That's what I could do. Maybe put, like, a tree?"

Eden glances down at the tracks and suddenly she notices that the two cables were on the same side of the track. She didn't know science like Pope but having both cables on the same charge wouldn't do shit. It was a circuit and it needed more than just one charge. 

"The train touches both sides of the track, genius." Eden bends down an grabs one of the cables, clamping it down on the other side of the track. "We learned this shit in, like, 7th grade science." 

JJ stops talking and stares at the light. Eden hopes her train of thought is right. 

The light continues to flicker green for a few moments, blinking back and forth as if it were taunting the two teens. 

Green. Green. Green. Green. 

The train horn blares. The Maybank smugly looks at Eden with a sarcastic,  "Yeah, okay, genius—" His words get caught in his throat as the light turns a blaring red. "—oh." 

"Fuck yeah!" the Bexley exclaims, proud of herself. 

JJ rolls his eyes, "You know, I was gonna do that." 

"Sure you were—"

"I was—"

No, just admit I'm a genius—"

"Okay, Eden Brielle Bexley, you are a genius." 

"Mhm, thank you." Eden hums, "Appreciate it."

"And now we wait." JJ walks back towards his bike, away from the tracks. Eden follows and the two teens crouch down, listening to the cicadas and occasional train horn as they await the next step. "It's gonna work. It's gonna work...."

Eventually, the train lights punctured the dark night. The chugging grew louder and louder as the locomotive motored closer and closer. Eden watches with a real smile when the train reaches the circuit, the screeching of an engine signaling it's halt.

JJ smiles at the Bexley, voice filled with a slight amount of disbelief,  "She's slowing down." 

"Science actually rules." Eden muses, staring at the halted train for the next move.  

The two teens wait behind the bushes, hoping that Cleo and Pope were efficiently doing their part of the plan. However, it's not long before there's the snap of gravel beneath wheels and Eden whips her head around to see a truck with orange lights atop it rolling in—not Topper and Sarah. 

"That's not Sarah and Topper." the Bexley audibly voices.

"Get back, Ed'." JJ puts a hand cautiously in front of Eden, the girl backing up as instructed. "Back up, back up, back up."

Eden harshly whispers, "I get the damn point." 

The car halts near the traffic light and two men come out. JJ glances at their black and yellow uniforms, "Shit." 

"Just when things go right." Eden isn't sure why she thought the Pogues would actually win. 

The two guards make it to the track, shining flashlights down on the jumper cables with unamused expressions. 

"What is going on here?"

"Hell if I know."

"What is this bullshit? You see this?" 

Eden knows it won't take the workers long to get rid of their handiwork and turn the light green again. And it's unlikely Pope and Cleo know what's happening ahead—the train was stopped, they were probably working to get the cross out without caring about what was happening. She wants to warn her friends, but there's no way to do it.

"Unhook that for me." One of the guards say, his partner bending down to tear off one of the cables, "What is going on?"

The other cable gets ripped off, as well. Their plan is officially ruined.

"Throw that in the back for me."

"Alright."

Red. Red. Red. Red.

Green. 

If it wasn't for JJ beside her, Eden's sure she would have laid down on the train tracks and let the train run her over right now. 

"You're all set over here." One of the workers says to a radio as the light turns back to its normal green. He kicks at the track, "Some asshole put jumper cables on the tracks."

The two workers disperse back into their truck and drive off. The Bexley looks at the blonde beside her, "Cleo's a nimble worker. They have to have the cross, right?" She isn't sure why she's trying to stay hopeful. 

There's a puff of the engine and JJ announces, "The train's starting." 

"We've done our job here," Eden gets out of her crouched position, "They need back-up." 

JJ nods in agreement, "There goes the plan, we gotta go help them." 

The two Pogues run to get back to the bike, JJ somehow managing to smack his head on one of the low hanging branches. He let's out a light yelp as his hat flies off of his head, and he scrambles to grab it.

Looking back as she runs, Eden asks, "Do I need to buy you new shoes or something? The fuck are you falling for?"

"It's not my—" JJ halts, hands fumbling in his pockets for his keys. He pulls them out and mounts atop the bike, not noticing what fell out of his pocket in the process. "Shit, alright...."

However, Eden does. She rolls her eyes and grabs the item, "Don't mind me picking up your—" Her words get caught in her throat as she glances over what she's holding. 

A money clip. With the initials M.C

JJ glances over at the girl and watches as her brows wring together in confusion.

"Why do you have this?" the Bexley holds up the cash, confused on why JJ would have anything that belonged to Mike Carrera on him. "Did Kie give it to you or something?" 

The Maybank looks away, hands tightening around the handlebars. He manages to grit out, "If I'm gonna be accused of being a thief, might as well get something out of it."

The whole town saw him as nothing more than Luke's filth. No one batted an eye at who he truly was, so what was the point in trying to prove them wrong?  If they saw him as a thief, he might as well wear the title to its fullest. 

"Did they say shit to you?" Eden knew that Kiara's parents could be rough when they wanted to be—they would do anything for Kie, even if it meant degrading one of her friends. JJ gives a small nod and the Bexley scoffs, "Jesus, J, you know they aren't right! You know you aren't a thief!  Why give the ammunition—"

"Ammunition for what, Eden?" JJ looks at the Bexley, eyes full of sadness, tone rough with frustration. "They're already against me. So, who cares?"

"Uh, me? I care." the Bexley exclaims, eyes widening. "They had no reason to. You're giving them a reason! You shouldn't have done this—"

"They didn't need a reason," JJ snaps, his voice harsh with bitterness. "They've already made up their minds about me. What difference does it make what I do? Might as well live up to their expectations."

Eden's frustration grows as she stares at him, clutching the money clip in her hand. "But you're not! You're better than this, JJ! You're letting them think their point is right by living up to their shitty expectations."

"You don't fucking get it." JJ clenches his jaw, turning away from her again. "You've got your nice ass house, your dad who actually gives a shit about you. People love you." He scoffs, "Nobody gave a shit when I was missing. Your dad started a whole ass search party on the other hand, apparently." 

Eden tries not to let his words sting. She wishes she didn't have all the privileges she did. "You're right, I don't. But it was stupid of you to steal Mike's money, okay?" 

"Oh, and you're so perfect?" JJ says, letting himself boil over even though they truly didn't have the time for it.  He opens his mouth but he holds back—he wanted to say things, but he couldn't. "You know what? We don't have time for this. Get on."

The Bexley plays stubborn. She scoffs, "No. What were you gonna say?"

JJ whips his head around, gritting, "Get on the bike, Eden." 

A truck speeds past, wheels rolling over the grass roughly. The two teens lose track of their small outburst and watch as it races by, taking in the familiarity—and the giant box sticking out the bed.

"That's Top," the Maybank confirms. "And that's the cross—get on! Get on!"

This time the Bexley doesn't argue—for the sake of Pope and the cross. Not for JJ.  She throws a leg over the bike and sits down, Converse resting behind the boys combat boots. The Maybank barely lets her get secure before he revs the engine and speeds off into the night, following behind the Thornton truck.

 Sirens wailed from behind them, but Eden tried not to let herself worry over it. Air whipped against her face and she felt tears prickling from the cold wave hitting her face. The bike rocked back and forth as it tailed the truck, engine revving against the quiet night. 

Eden allows herself once glance back and she cringes at the police cars following them, the bike barely having a few feet on the cruisers. They can't afford to get taken to jail—not with the cross. She grits out a warning, "JJ." 

JJ rushes, "I know, I know."

He speeds up even further, swerving to the opposite lane. He maneuvers the bike right next to the truck bed, where Cleo, Kiara, and Pope sit clinging to the cross for dear life. The Heyward boy watches the scene and roars, "What are you doing?!"

The Maybank keeps a steady pace right up against the truck, "Top, keep going straight!"

Topper whipped around to face the blonde—what the hell was he doing? "Hey, ya'll be careful, alright?!"

From the passenger seat, Sarah rings, "Topper, keep it steady!"

"I'm trying!"

The Maybank drives into the line, mere inches away from colliding with the truck. He glances back at the Bexley. "Get ready to jump."

Eden hopes she heard him wrong. "Excuse me?!"

At the same time, Pope exclaims a similar, "What?!"

"Have you lost your freaking mind?!"

"Probably." JJ replies before repeating himself, "Get ready to jump!"

Eden glances at the truck bed where Pope is leaning forward, arms outstretched. "Come on, come on! I've got you."

Does Eden trust this? Absolutely fucking not—even with as many crazy adventures as she'd gone on, jumping off of a motorbike into a truck bed like this was insanely stupid. But sirens ring and blare behind her again and the Bexley knows she doesn't have a choice; if JJ was booting her off, clearly, whatever the was scheming was probably more unsafe than this whole maneuver. 

"I've got you!" Pope beckoned, "Come on!"

Kiara nods along, "We got you, Ed'."

"Fuck my life," Eden mutters under her breath, hesitantly unwrapping an arm from the Maybank and gripping it to the truck bed. Her other hands finds refuge on JJ's shoulder as she props herself up, giving herself barely a moment of balance before she's outstretching a leg and leaning for Pope.

Sarah wails, "Eden, what are you doing?!"

Pope encourages, "Easy, easy now." 

Without giving herself time to fret, the Bexley lets go of JJ's shoulder and lunges for the truck bed. 

Pope grabbed hold of her arms and yanked her into the vehicle, the girl colliding against the wooden box. The exhales sharply, sitting herself up. "Holy shit." 

"You okay?" the Heyward asks.

"Are you okay?" Cleo repeats.

"I'm alive. That's good enough for me." The Bexley crawls to the back of the bed, squeezing in between her two three friends. 

Kiara sighs in relief, "That was insane." 

"Are you good!?" Topper's voice echoes from the drivers seat. 

She glances in the tiny window at the back of the truck, sending a thumbs up to Topper. She can see Sarah sigh in relief.

There's a loud screech and the Bexley whips around to look at the motorbike, catching the end of JJ doing a front wheelie. He lands on the road again and halts, rotating so he was facing away from the truck.

Cleo worriedly asks, "What's he gonna do?"

"I don't know." Pope states, eyes locked on JJ as he moves the bike forward a few inches before bending over the side to grab something. There was no chance he had a full plan. "I don't think he knows either."

"Something stupid." Eden adds.

JJ picks up a good sized rock, clenching it tightly as he sits up straight. Kiara dryly comments, "Oh, he's trying to get killed."

The Bexley states, "I'm not on bail duty this time. I saved his ass with that appendicitis plan."

A revving engine pierces the air and the four teens watch as JJ speeds into the opposite direction coming in close contact with the police cruiser. In a split second, the boy chucks the rock straight at the windshield of the vehicle. Eden has to hold back an amused scoff as it cracks the glass.

Taking advantage of their blocked vision, the Maybank rides into the distance behind them, going as fast as he can. In mere moments, the cruiser swerves harshly and starts to tail after the blonde. 

Leaving behind the truck entirely. 

"He did it!" Pope can't help but exclaim, "They're chasing him!"

Kiara's eyes are wide at the Maybank's utter stupidity. "Oh shit."

"He is so dead." Eden's shaking her head. If the cops caught him......the Bexley didn't want to picture it. "So dead." 

The streets grow eerily silent as the cop cruiser disappears. Any sort of relief over the fact that they had outrun the authorities, that they had the cross and had a chance to get away, seemed to disappear. A sense of dread and unease, instead, appeared in their stomachs—or, the Pogues', at least. 

They couldn't leave JJ behind like this. It wasn't right.

No one said anything, but they all seemed to have the same idea as Pope, Cleo, Kie, and Eden both started to bang against the truck window, trying to get a hold of Topper.

"Hey, stop the truck!"

"Stop the truck!"

"We have to go back for JJ!"

Sarah glanced back at her friends, and it seems she was already having the conversation with her ex boyfriend. She twists to face him and yells loud enough for the four in the back to hear, "We're going to get JJ!"

"Come on, man!"

Topper echoes back, "I'm not going to jail for ya'll! No chance!" 

Eden banged her fist even harder against the window, "Stop the fucking truck! Turn around, Topper!" 

Sarah turns around and says something inaudible to the Bexley through the window. Her eyes soften as she seems to beg. Topper spares her one glance before he yells, "Alright! Alright, damn it! Alright, alright!"

The truck comes to a sharp halt, and Pope takes his chance, "Turn around!"

Cleo repeats roughly, "Turn around!"

The truck stays in place for too long. 

Eden lets out a sharp sigh and climbs over the cross, hopping out of the bed before Pope, Kie, or Cleo can stop her. Her Converse slap against the pavement as she storms over to the drivers side and peers into the window. 

Topper is sitting pressed against the seat, chest rising and falling harshly—he seems stressed and conflicted. Eden opens the car door and sends him a look; more like the look. As much as she hated Topper, he knew what was right when it mattered....most of the time, at least. She hoped now was one of them.

"If you're not going to start this car up, I am." the Bexley sends him a warning of a smile. She has a licence, but truly, she hasn't used it in God knows how long because of JJ and John B. breaking her SUV. She doubts Topper wants her ass in the drivers seat anyways. "And I don't even have my own car anymore. So....." 

 The Thornton boy swallows, shaking his head. He looks at the Bexley. "I'm not....I'm not going to jail."

"Topper, look at me." Sarah gains his attention by placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. The boy hesitantly looks at the ex, conflict evident in his expression. "They're gonna arrest him. We can't leave him behind."

"Am I driving or what?" Eden rocks on her heels with an awaited expression. She summons up her best Sarah and manages to drag out his name in a whine, "Topper." 

Topper pauses. He lightly hits his hands against the wheel. He couldn't ignore Eden and Sarah. "Damn it, damn it, damn it—Eden, get back in the car."

The Bexley slams the front door and climbs into the backseat rather than the bed. She leans forward against the two blondes' seats, lurching as Topper slams his foot on the gas and turns to head back in the direction of the Maybank.

The Pogues drive into the dark, sirens echoing from ahead of them somewhere. Time seems to tick on forever as they speed forward, nothing but passing trees and empty road ahead.

"Go faster," Sarah tensely snaps.

Topper dryly chuckles, "I'm trying." 

"You need to go faster!"

Pope hits a hand on the top of the truck, "Let's go!" 

Kiara echoes, "Move it!"

"Majority rules, Top." Eden urges for him to hit the gas harder with a gesture of her hand, "Chop chop." 

The Thornton scoffs, "I'm risking my whole life for this shit."

"I've done this on a daily basis for the past two months, I think you'll be fine."

Standing up in the truck bed, Pope points to the side. "Turn left!"

Topper shakes his head, "No, I'm not turning—"

Sarah screams, "Go! Yes!"

"No, I'm goin'! I'm getting out of here—"

"Yes, Topper—"

"Oh my God!" Eden practically groans before throwing herself over the center console. She leans over the Thornton boy and grabs a hold of the wheel, recklessly redirecting it to the direction of her and the Pogues choice. She doesn't care that her boobs are practically in Topper's face, or that getting out of the situation would be safer. She cares about JJ. 

The tires screech against the road and Topper fumbles to shove the Bexley backwards as the rest of the car lurches to the side. 

"Oh! Get off! Get off!" Topper peels the girls hands off of the wheel, shooing her away.

Eden retreats backwards and yells, "Drive left!"

Mere seconds after the Bexley does so, JJ and the cops come into view, sirens blaring. On the other side of the street, the two vehicles sit in a heated chase, racing against one another—the motorbike in the lead.

Pope points, "There he is!" 

Topper deadpans, "What is he doing?"

"Turn right!"

"Turn right!"

"Okay!" 

The road JJ and the cruiser are on merges into an overpass but neither vehicle halts. The truck slows on the road below, trying to continue to watch the scene from where they were. 

Sarah squints. "No way, he's up on the overpass."

"He's giving these cops a run for their money, that's—" Eden's words get caught in her throat as headlights pierce the night sky. Another car is driving in the same lane as JJ, facing him square on. 

A horn blares. Wheels screech. There's a loud crash. 

A motorbike goes flying through the storm barricades on the side of the overpass, rubble and debris falling down right in front of the Pogues. Eden barely reacts as Topper slams on the wheels, too in shock. 

Whatever's left of the bike skids to a stop right underneath the truck wheel. The Bexley's breath  is stuck in her throat. The sound of the crash still rings in her ears, but everything else blurs out. Her vision tunnels on the wreckage, the sight of the shattered motorbike lying beneath the truck wheel.

Her chest tightens, constricting painfully as panic swells inside her. 

JJ.

Kiara is in just as big of a panic, "Pope, go!"

Cleo screams, "Go! Go!"

Sarah looks back at Eden with horrified eyes. All the Bexley does is stare wide-eyed at the debris scattered across the road.

Pope, Kiara, and Cleo all hop out of the bed. Sarah throws the car door open and scrambles onto the road. Eden feels numb as she fumbles her door open, slowly retracting from her seat. Her feet hit the pavement, but it's like her legs are made of stone. Her mind is screaming at her to move, run, to look for him! but she can't. 

He would have hit that car square on. He wouldn't have survived that, or the fall down the overpass.

Dead. The thought pounds in Eden's head because it has to be the truth. JJ has to be dead—the chance he isn't is practically non-existent. 

The Bexley gasps for air—she didn't even realize her reflexes were failing under her heightened stress. A slightly shaky hand reaches for her heart and she tries to support herself against the truck.

"Jayj?!" Kiara pants, running back and forth, "Jayj?!"

Pope seems frozen in place, eyeing the debris with the same conclusion as Eden. Cleo and Sarah look around for the boy, expecting him face down and injured in a pile of rubble. He's nowhere to be found, and no ones sure whether that's any better than what they were hoping. 

"Jayj?! Where is he!?" the Carrera runs under the bridge, "No, no, no, no, no—"

"Shit!" Pope yells.

Sarah cries, "JJ!"  

"Jayj?!"

The Pogues spread around the scene, eyes darting for their friend. There was no way he actually got himself killed, right? Topper gets out last, scanning the perimeter. 

 Eden still stands against the truck, trying not to let her emotions win. Her heart pounds in her ears, hammering against her ribs as she's flooded with the same dread she felt when John B. disappeared at sea. Her hands tremble as she grips the truck for support, her lungs burning as if they've forgotten how to work; her chest clenches the same way as when the Routledge was thought to be dead because she could have just lost one of her best friends all over again. 

The Thornton boy glances over at the girl leaning against his truck, "Eden?" 

She doesn't reply, barely even registering her words. 

"Hey... uh... we'll find him, alright?" Topper hates the Maybank, but they don't. He can see the Bexley struggling under the thought of him being gone and he musters an, "He's tough. You know that."

Kiara anxiously clutches her hair, "Where is he?"

The Heyward could see the way his friend was spiraling and suggested, "Maybe he's up on the bridge."

God, Eden wants to believe Pope. But she can't. All she can see is the wreckage, the sound of the crash playing over and over again.  He's gone. Just like John B. 

Kiara's sobs ring out as she collapses to her knees on the floor, hands tugging on her curls. "No, no, no, no—"

"Hey—" Topper tries to get Sarah or Pope's attention because he doesn't think he's ever seen Eden so silent. The Bexley is trying to catch a breath that isn't there, her chest rapidly rising and falling with no relief. She hasn't tried looking for JJ like the others. She's not making sarcastic comments or being a pain in his ass. Topper doesn't like it at all. "He's—he's JJ. Eden, come on—"

Eden doesn't respond, her mind far too deep in the spiraling storm of panic and fear to hear Topper's words. He's gone. He's dead. He's dead because they couldn't just give up on this whole gold mission. 

Her breath hitches and she can feel tears prickling in her eyes. Her best friend was dead again. It's all too familiar—she feels just as empty as when she lost John B. Her brain can't catch up with the present moment.

It's silent for a moment. The air feels colder, no one says a word.

Until a familiar voice pierces the air with a smug, "I wish I could say I did that on purpose."

All six heads snap to look to the side where JJ Maybank stands, casually brushing off his hat.

Eden's head snaps up, her heart leaping at the sound of the voice. Her vision is still blurry with tears, but the weight sitting on her chest suddenly disappears. JJ was alive.

His hair is tousled and his shirt is covered in dust but he's okay. Alive. 

"But," the Maybank glances at the group, taking in their shocked expressions. Kiara stands up again, matching the rest of the group as they all gawk at him. "That was the gnarliest power slide I've ever done."

Crickets chirp. No one knows what to say. 

Pope is the first to break out of his trance, suddenly coming to terms with the fact that his best friend was right there. He let's out a cry of relief and lunges at the Maybank, "You're alive!" He practically suffocates JJ, "Dude!"

JJ groans at the harsh embrace but doesn't hesitate to reciprocate, "I know, I'm surprised too."

Topper can't help but chuckle, "Oh shit—that was gnarly!" 

"That was truckin' dude—oh, Jesus!" JJ is sent backwards as Sarah storms up and shoves him with an emotionless expression. She doesn't even let him recover before throwing her arms around his neck. "Oh God." 

The two sway as they embrace. Sarah sniffles out, "We really thought you did it this time, Jayj."

Eden has yet to move from the truck, watching her friends interact. Her hand is still over her heart, but she manages to take a small breath. The sight of JJ is grounding to whatever panic the girl had just been in.

Kiara steps forward, angered eyes piercing the blonde. She's pissed that he made them think he was dead, she's pissed at herself for how she felt at the thought of him being dead. She manages to pant out, "Don't....don't ever do that again." 

JJ just stares at the Carrera. He feels a thousand more times guilty under her gaze.

Pope glances up at the overpass and warns, "The pleasantries are nice, but we should really get out of here."

Topper nods and jogs back to the truck, "Yeah, yeah, let's roll."

Kie leaves the Maybank without hugging him, and Sarah follows after, pausing next to the Bexley. She puts a hand on Eden's shoulder and murmurs, "You okay?"

Eden shallowly nods. 

JJ puts his hat back onto his head and scuffs his boots as he comes over to Eden, who hasn't moved from the truck. She crosses her arms over her chest, like a barrier. He looks at her red rimmed eyes and frowns.

The Maybank doesn't know what to say. "I..."

Eden doesn't let him finish. Instead she simply pulls him into a tight hug, arms wrapping around him as if she's afraid he'll vanish again. JJ just holds the smaller girl, knowing she needed it.

"You're a dick," the Bexley whispers, "You scared me. I thought you were dead."

"Hey! Hey, you kids! Don't move!"

JJ and Eden both pull away at the sudden voice, looking up to see a cop looking over the overpass. 

The Maybank jumps into fight or flight, reaching past the Bexley to open the truck door. Eden doesn't hesitate before quickly climbing in, JJ throwing himself in afterwards. It's a tight squeeze for five teens to fit in the back, but it doesn't matter at the moment. 

"Stay right there! I said, stay right there!"

The door slams and Topper speeds off into the distance, the cross still within the truck bed.

The cross bounces within the truck bed as Topper drives down an empty road.

For the past fifteen minutes, the group has been oddly silent as they tried to out drive the cops. Sirens have stopped trailing behind them, but Topper didn't want to risk losing his truck or facing his father's wrath, and insisted they just pace along until they found somewhere safer to unbox it—much to Pope's dismay.

Eden sits in between Cleo and JJ, squashed up between the two. She's not sure how they managed to fit five people in the backseat, but it's working to a degree—minus Pope's cheek pressed against the window and Eden sitting half on top of Cleo. They're all fitting. 

JJ's glancing back at the cross every few seconds, Pope's finding a way to bounce his leg up and down, Cleo cringes at the sound of the cross slamming into the bed walls every bounce, Kiara fidgets with her own fingers, Sarah stiffly sits. Eden sits silently, lips pursed; Everyone's anxious. 

"Shit," Topper keeps glancing behind him, fingers drumming against the wheel. Compared to everyone, he was about to burst a blood vessel from how stressed he was over all this shit. "They definitely called it in."

"Top, Top!" JJ interrupts, reaching over to to tap the Thornton on the shoulder, "Turn here! Turn—"

Topper roughly brushes JJ's hands away, "Don't touch—okay, don't touch the driver, man." 

The Maybank taps Topper again. "Topper, just turn around—"

Sarah smacks JJ's hands like he's a toddler, "Stop. He said don't touch the driver!"

JJ rears around and looks at the Cameron, bewildered at her actions.  "I'm trying—"

"It's a liability." Topper states, defending himself. Kiara fights an eye roll. 

Cleo bites, "Then go faster!"

"If I got faster, that's gonna draw attention, you know?" the Thornton tries to reason, waving his arms around.

JJ gives Topper a look, remarking, "Yeah, I think that ship has sailed at this point." 

"It's almost like we stole a giant box from a train, got caught, and are getting chased by the cops with it hanging out of the vehicle." Eden sarcastically adds in, glancing back at the cross banging around in the back. "Pretty nonchalant if you ask me."

"You guys are a nightmare." Topper states, glancing between the friend group. He doesn't get how they've managed to stay friends when all they do is this—argue, talk over each other, yell. How they functioned was beyond him. "Do you argue about absolutely everything?"

Pope harshly scoffs, "Yes!"

"You kinda get used to it after a while." Eden shrugs in an answer to Topper's statement. 

Cleo slams a hand against the center console, "Now put the pedal to the metal, boy!"

"Maybe put it a little bit," JJ raises his voice, "You're going sixty-five!"

Sarah nods encouragingly, "Let's just go faster."

Over all the commotion, the Kook finally gives in and slams his foot against the gas to speed up. "Alright, alright! Screw it! Let's—here we go!"

The engine rumbles and the truck excels in speed. The Pogues all cheer and applaud the Thornton for the new speed.

JJ cheers, "There you go! That's what I'm talking about!"

The group gets lost in a mess of chatter and Topper doesn't catch the bump in front of him. He drives right over it and—with how fast they're going—the passengers all go lurching forward. Eden groans as she's whipped right back against the seat and the rest of the Pogues let out a murmur of complaints and groans.

There's a shift of weight in the bed and a loud thud on the road. Topper immediately hits the brakes and the truck skids against the road with an obnoxious screech.

Pope looks back to see that the cross no longer sits within the bed, "Stop, stop! We lost the cross!"

"Shit, man!" Cleo roars, "Shit!"

JJ gives a fake smiles as he opens the door, "Great, Topper." 

Topper unbuckled with a scoff of, "You guys told me to go faster!"

Eden files out of the car after the rest of the group, Converse slamming against the road as she runs over to the box. The teens all crowd around the cross, examining the box to make sure everything was still intact.

Pope quickly slides the lid off, fingers anxiously wanting to check the cross. His cross. 

However, as they all peer into the box, there is no golden artifact waiting for them. There's nothing special at all. 

Just three giant tires full of cement. 

Eden lets out a dry scoff as she looks down in the box. No. There was no way they almost lost JJ for a fucking fake; almost lost him to be played for what felt like the thousandth time. 

"What the hell?" Kiara states, confused.

"Shit..." Pope breathes, looking at the tires with a clenched heart. "It's fake." 

JJ's jaw clenches and he rips his hat off. Pope gets down onto his knees in front of what should be his item. Cleo's hands sat on the back of her neck, her brown eyes looking down at the Heyward.

Eden crosses her arms, disappointment and anger evident in her gaze. They had been played again, stolen from again. All of their work, tears, arguments—it meant fucking nothing because the cross wasn't theirs to keep after all. The cross was still with Rafe, with someone else.  And they're left as the fools who thought they could win for once.

"Great," Eden spits out surely, tongue toying with the inside of her cheek for a moment. "We stole a fucking fake." 

"Of course we did," JJ nods in agreement, just as upset as the Bexley. "Of course we stole a fake."

 Topper glances off into the distance with a solemn look toying on his face because as much as he hated whatever the hell he'd been a part of tonight, he didn't do it for nothing. He'd done it for Sarah, and she had done it for Pope. He couldn't help but feel slightly bad because he knew that cross meant something to the boy.

Sarah musters up a week apology, "Pope, I'm so sorry."

JJ steps forward and puts a hand on his shoulder in solace, rubbing it lightly. 

Sirens started up again in the distance, signaling that the cops were growing nearer. The Pogues all let out sighs, knowing they had to go before they got caught, without the cross.

"Ya'll hear that?" Topper speaks up, beginning to back up toward his truck again. "Okay, I can't be here." He waves his hands around and states, "My grandfather's a judge."

"Dog, could you relax?" JJ follows after the Thornton, annoyed with his constant fretting. "They're not gonna think some dude in flip-flops is apart of a robbery, okay?"

"Oh yeah, with the crate sitting right next to my truck?" Topper retorts sarcastically, "I'm sure we'll be fine." 

Pope doesn't move and Kiara ushers, "Pope, we gotta go."

"Are ya'll —are ya'll comin'?" Topper echos.

Eden walks to the truck, dragging, "Coming." 

She follows Kiara and JJ into the truck. A few moments later, Cleo appears with Pope, dragging the boy after her and forcing him into the truck.

Doors slam and the Pogues stare grimly at the fake cross as Topper speeds off.  

"This shit is straight out of the Pope's vault, bro."

Barry brushes his fingers over the cross with delicacy, in awe of such a priceless item—or more so, the money and worth within it. He'd had no clue such an artifact even existed, not until now. "You don't think we can get more off for it as it is?" He glances sideways. "I mean, this is straight out of church, bro." 

Shoes crunch over leaves. Rafe Cameron stalks towards the drug dealer, a bottle of Scotch. He doesn't spare the drug dealer or the cross a second glance, merely handing his friend the alcohol. Barry takes a drink of it without hesitation.

The Cameron crouches down and picks up a sheet of metal, dragging it over to the cross. "This is how we turn the cross into untraceable money."

The gold item sits within a brick container, hidden to those who weren't looking directly onto it. Rafe places one of the metal sheets over, covering half of the golden artifact. Barry sets the Scotch down and copies him with a murmur of, "Untraceable, huh?" 

Rafe leans forward, opening the small compartment within the cross. Ring-clad fingers nimbly plucking out the golden key that sat inside, slightly browned with age. 

The boy smugly smiles, shoving the key in his back pocket. "You know, I heard some crazy shit that happened last night."

Barry paces to get more metal. "Is that right?"

"You know that fake cross we put in there?" 

More metal is put on the cross. "Yeah?"

"It was stolen." 

Rafe knew the Pogues. He knew they would somehow find out about him returning with the cross, and he knew they would try to get it. He's not stupid. So, he did what he had to do—he planted a fake cross. Took the real one right under their noses. Let them think they won, only to have the upper hand the entire time.

Hearing the Pogues fell for his scheme made him feel good. It made him laugh.

Barry thinks it over. "Does sound like them Pogues, don't it?"

"Oh, no doubt." Rafe places down another sheet of metal. Barry moves down the alcohol and a bottle of gasoline as the Kook continues to speak, grabbing a box of matches. "I mean, I'd pay half the value of this just to see the look on their faces when they opened the box."

"I bet you would." Barry crouches down in front of the brick box, where only the top of the cross sticks out. Rafe kneels down beside him. "You know what the melting point of gold is, Country Club?" There's a brief moment of silence. "1,948 degrees. Hot enough to melt me and you." He looks at the cross, fiddling with the box of matches in his hands. "Now, I gotta be honest with you, dog. I don't know if I got this in me, bro."

Rafe doesn't hesitate. "I do." 

 The crunch of leaves underfoot echoes. A voice pierces the night air. "You better."

Isla Bexley steps into the clearing, her eyes scanning the scene, lingering briefly on the cross and then on Rafe. Dressed sharply as always, Isla's presence is as commanding as ever. She doesn't rush, instead moving with a calm, controlled purpose. Her boots cautiously walk through the overgrown grass, red fingernails brushing her bangs off of her forehead. 

Rafe looks back at the woman, jaw clenched. Barry gets back on his feet and steps back, eyes trailing over the Kook woman. 

Isla comes forward and places a hand on the boys shoulder. "Burn it."

 Sometimes, he felt like a son to her. Sometimes, Rafe felt more noticed by the Bexley than his own father. Sometimes. 

Rafe's grip tightens around the match box. He pulls a match out and lights it, tossing it into the cross's box. 

There's a roar as fire emerges within the make-shift stove Rafe and Barry had created. Orange and yellow light illuminates over faces as the Cameron shuts the small trapdoor to lock the cross of Santo Domingo within the flames. 

Isla steps back, watching the scene. 

Rafe stays low, flames dancing in his eyes. "There it is." 

"We're going to hell." Barry states from the side, watching the Kook. "That's for sure."

The Bexley woman stares ahead at the melting cross. She purses her lips. "It'll all be worth it."

Rafe just smiles at the fire. They all stand there for a while, embracing the loss of the Pogues. 

mara's misc!

longest chapter of ss ever i think??

yes isla is back!!!! and with bangs!!! as much as she's a pain in the ass, i can't just ditch her bc who else will be giving eden another panic attack??? i won't say she's "working" with rafe per day bc she will still be with you know who at the end of the season BUT she ain't just lounging it out in guadaloupe. with ward living his hannah montana life, shes getting busy.

this season actually pains me to write. like i've liked maybe 3 chapters that ive written for this season it's sad. hoping s4 is sm better

also y'all better watch out for when i rewrite s1 bc i will be making john b and sarahs death SO SO SO much worse

as always the jjeden content was for mvybanksss. i say everyone gets a fangirl friend like her bc she wrote me an essay on why jjeden should happen and it's actually good (no it won't be happening!!!).

also today i went to the pumpkin patch for my friends birthday party and it was wild. we got rained on so hard and i had 2 1/2 apple cider slushies bc those could be the best thing in all of existence

hope you enjoyed <3 see you back chapter 72!!