ACCORDING to Phineas and Ferb, there were 104 days of summer vacation until school came along again, ending the free for all summer and trapping teenagers in the endless hell of high school for another 9 months. 

Usually, Eden was ready for the transition back into school. She didn't entirely hate her classmates, and her teachers were okay—she was in the middle of the grade scale, usually ending semesters with at least a solid B.  By the time school was about to start, she had all her supplies packed and ready, making sure JJ and John B. were set on everything. She was ready. 

But, after wasting the final two weeks of her summer vacation on a bottomless treasure hunt, ending it her locked away in her room, away from the world.......Eden was less than prepared for six hours in front of classmates—classmates who thought John B. was guilty of murder.  Classmates who could care less about the Routledge's passing. Classmates who would judge her because she was friends with him. 

Classmates who didn't understand. 

So, when Eden's 6am alarm went off, she was the least bit ready to start junior year—one step closer to graduating entirely. It was supposed to be spent partying with fellow Pogues and Kooks; studying with Kiara and Pope; helping JJ with his math; enjoying her final years of being a teenager.

But now, Eden was just going to spend it by simply pushing through.  She didn't want to have a school year without Chateau sleepovers, or texting John B. in classes they didn't share.  She didn't want to go to prom or homecoming with having the Routledge boy as her date, because who else would she go with? She didn't want to finish the year and become a senior if she couldn't graduate with her best friend.

Yet, here she was, in the back of Kiara Carrera's 4Runner, pulling into the high school. 

With her bag hanging off of one shoulder, Eden stared out the car window as Kiara parked her vehicle.  She recognized classmates—fellow Pogues and Kooks who didn't get the privilege of attending the academy, like herself. She's ever so thankful her mother was allowing her to attend the public school this year instead of the academy.  She isn't sure she would be able to survive junior year without JJ, Pope and Kie.

The car comes to a stop, and Kiara gets out of the drivers seat, Pope following suite from the passenger side. From beside her, JJ hops out aswell, but strays next to the car door, grabbing his flask from beneath him and downing whatever liquid remained in it.

Kiara sends him an unimpressed look, "Hey, chill out."

"If I black out just don't remind me." JJ mutters, holding the door open for Eden, who exits the vehicle next. He shut the door when she got out. 

"That's not funny."

The whispers begin the moment the four Pogues step on to school grounds.

"Hey, it's them."

"There they are!"

"I wasn't sure they'd even show up."

Eden tried to keep her eyes on the ground as she walked towards the school building. For as much confidence as she normally had, she was acting rather shy—as if she was ashamed to be there. Any sort of confidence over the past two weeks had been replaced with anxiety and sadness. 

She could feel people staring at her and for once in her life, she hated it. 

"I heard they got arrested."

"That wouldn't surprise me."

"Think they have something to do with it?"

"They had to."

The Bexley clenches her fists. God, all she wants to do is scream at her classmates. To tell them what really happened, to scream that John B. was nothing more than an innocent boy wanting to finish what his dad started; that he was not a murderer.

But she couldn't. No one would ever believe her, anyway. 

The four teens stop in front of the small memorial for John B. situated in the front of the school.  It's a small surfboard with his name written out in thick black paint, pictures of the boy taped over it. It's sweet, but it makes Eden feel even worse—she can't go anywhere without thinking of her best friend. Of the boy who should be at her side right now. 

"I feel like people are staring at us." Kiara admits quietly, looking around the school grounds.  Eyes of all different kinds of teens all stray on the four remaining Pogues, and the obvious tension is easily felt. 

Eden scoffs, "No shit. They're staring at us like we're fucking zoo animals." She looks around at the passing students, who seem to have their eyes locked on the four as if they were world renown celebrities and not a bunch of kids.

JJ sighs, "Oh yeah."

Some eyes stay locked on Eden, and she can hear whispers of her name being passed through the crowd. 

"I heard she tried to tackle Shoupe when she found out. Maybe she's next to go crazy."

"John B. and Eden were practically siblings. I wouldn't be surprised if he rubbed off on her."

"She goes to grief counseling. Might as well put her on meds if she's so depressed."

"I did try and tackle Shoupe." Eden blurts out. Her fists are clenched against her sides, and her anger can't be contained anymore—she knew it was a bad idea to return to school. "You know why? Because he doesn't listen. None of you do!" All chatter stops at her outburst. "John B. was innocent and Shoupe didn't do shit. Instead, he just let all of you closed mind people blame your fellow Pogue on a murder he didn't commit."

The teens stay quiet, and the Bexley continues. "You want someone to blame for Peterkin? Blame Rafe Cameron. Blame him and his son of a bitch—"

Kiara tugs on Eden's arm, causing her words to get cut off, "Do you want to get in more trouble? Have more eyes on you?" 

"No, I want my friend's name cleared—"

"Guys, I can't be late." Pope speaks up from Kiara's other side, beginning to walk away from his three friends. He sounds irritated, but he couldn't be late for classes, and not on the first day—school was his only shot at getting a scholarship after he ran out of the interview.

"Hey, hey." Kiara calls out, stepping forward. Pope turns around to face the curly haired girl.  She holds out a hand, "We gotta stick together."  The couple—Eden's still unsure of what they are—intertwine fingers. 

JJ comes forward, and Kie wraps an arm around his bicep. "Stick together. Yeah."

Eden wraps an arm around the Maybank boy and leans into his side as the group of four trudges into the first day of a very long year. 

The day passed by dreadfully slow.

After parting ways with her friends for first period, which none of them shared, Eden kept to herself in her classes. She didn't tell anyone how her summer went, or even talk to any of her classmates. She kept her head down, only speaking to let her teacher know she was present—physically yes, but mentally she was still on the HMS Pogue, laughing with John B., JJ, Pope and Kiara, riding into the setting sun. 

Luckily, the girl now found herself in history, which she happened to share with the Pogues. It was rare for the four to share many classes, given the difference in their levels—JJ was in many extra help classes, where Pope was in the higher level options. Kiara and Eden sat in the middle—but Eden was glad they happened to share at least one class, even if it happens to be history. 

Eden sits in the back of the class, which was another blessing. Beside her is JJ, who is fighting back the urge to sleep; Kiara sits in the middle row, half listening, half doodling on her notebook; Pope is in the very front, intently noting and listening to what Mr. Sunn had to say.

 The Bexley herself sits with an Airpod in one ear, listening to folklore as she scribbles down whatever details she manages to catch, pausing every few seconds to continue the game of Tic-Tac-Toe she and JJ were playing using a sticky note.

"—and the slave becomes the new ruler. Now, Diocletian splits the sprawling Roman Empire....."

Eden manages to write down Diocletian in her notebook when her music dims for a minute, signaling a message had been sent to her. On the top of her phone, she reads that she's been sent an image from an unknown number. 

As she does so, she hears the vibration of another phone—JJ —and simultaneously, two other dings, which she can only assume came from the Carrera and Heyward's phone based on their not so smooth attempt at sliding their phone from their desks to their laps to cover the sound. 

Mr. Sunn seemed to hear the repetitive notification, and turned to face the class, "Whose phone was that? Nobody?" The whole class stays silent, more so Pope, Kie, and JJ, who all try and look as un-suspicious as possible. "You will be tested." His eyes land on Eden in the back of class and he sends an unimpressed look, "Eden, open ears, please." 

Eden holds back her sigh as she takes out her Airpod and sets it back in the case, sliding the case back in her pocket to show that she was indeed listening to him rather than Taylor Swift.

"Now, to recap, who was Diocletian?" Mr. Sunn asks, turning his back to the class once more. "An ex-slave who became ruler of the Roman Empire. His reign began in 284 A.D following the murder of the emperor."

Eden slides her eyes down towards her phone again, the unread message still at the top. She looks beside her to see JJ looking at his own device, and when he notices her eyes on him, the Maybank holds up his phone to show the unknown message sitting on the top of his unread notifications. 

Eden rips out her page of notes and crumples it into a ball, throwing it across the room towards Kiara. The sheet of paper grazes the curly haired girls skin, and she turns backwards to see the Bexley staring at her, holding up her phone to show the unknown text on her lock screen. 

Kiara in return picks up her phone and shows that she too has the same message waiting to be read on her end, too. 

Eden's brows furrow in confusion. 

The Carrera makes eye contact with Eden and JJ, and the two slowly get out of their seats and crouch their way over to in between Pope and Kiara's desks, phones drawn out in hand.

Then, in unison, the four Pogues click on the mysterious message to see a selfie of John Booker Routledge and Sarah Cameron staring—more so smiling and laughing—right back at them.

Eden feels her heart in her throat. 

The Bexley doesn't know what to say, or how to feel. This unknown number just sent a photo of her two dead  friends, she should be freaking out and trying to figure out who it is, but......she was just sent a photo of her two dead friends—there was no fucking way this was real.

There was no way that John B. was alive. There was no fucking way. 

Eden isn't sure who started to move first, but suddenly, she's grasping her phone with shaky hands and making a beeline for the door, excusing herself from Mr. Sunn's history class with a small mutter of, "Lady problems."

Mr. Sunn turns around and opens his mouth, but he doesn't get a chance to say anything to the Bexley as JJ follows after her, running out of the classroom without even bothering to make up an excuse.

"Um, can I be excused to help them in the bathroom?" Pope raises his hand but he doesn't wait for an answer before packing up his things.

Kiara brushes past her teacher, "Family emergency."

Running side by side, the four Pogues quickly rush through the hallways, unsure on what to do. Kiara quickly stated, "We can go to the courtyard—"

JJ trips over a janitorial bucket, stopping the girls words. The boy and the bucket tumble on the floor, and Eden has to remember the situation at hand to stop herself from snorting in laughter at the scene—she'd make fun of him later for it.

"Hey!" Eden turns back to see Mr. Sunn standing in the center of the hall, looking rather angry and confused. "Where do you think you're going?"

Kiara exclaims, "Shit! Shit, come on!" 

JJ gets up in a beat, "I'm good, I'm good—go, go, go!"

The Pogues rush out to the courtyard, anxiety and adrenaline pumping through their veins.

"I mean, is that even possible?" Kiara pushes the door to the courtyard open, the group filing out towards the many empty tables it currently held. "I mean, Shoupe said that they didn't make it. He said that."

Eden fumbles around and opens the text message. The image of John B. and Sarah had been sent using a new group chat including all four Pogues, showing this was no accident.  No other message had been sent, leaving the four with just the one selfie to remind them that this wasn't a dream.

"It shouldn't be. They're dead. John B. and Sarah are supposed to be lost at sea—they drowned." Eden spews. She takes a seat on one of the empty tables, and puts her head in her hands. A whirlwind of emotions are traveling through her body, and she isn't sure what to say or do. 

John B. and Sarah could be alive. 

This could be a cruel, fake, joke.

Pope seems to slightly venture towards the latter, "Yeah, I-I agree. I think we're overreacting, 'cause we can't rule out the possibility that this could all be some kind of weird, cruel, hoax." The Heyward takes a seat on the table opposite of Eden.

Kiara sits beside the girl and shrugs off her bag, "I'm just gonna ask."

JJ has a hand on his chest, rubbing the area—an anxious habit he developed, "What if it's actually him, though?" 

"Then I don't know, okay?" Pope replies, "I don't know."

Eden feels her phone vibrate, and she looks down to see that Kiara has texted the group chat.

tolerate it:                                                                                                                                                                                WTF this you???

Pope looks down at his phone, "He responded?"

"He's typing." the Carrera looks at each of her friends with hope, "He's typing."

Unknown:                                                                                                                                                                                Is Eden there?

Eden can feel the tears in her eyes as she reads the text, a small side smile appearing on her face. She knew it was him—like a son yearning for his mother, John B. always asked for Eden first. He always had.

The rest of the group looks at the girl, waiting for her to text back.

So, she does;

Unknown:                                                                                                                                                                                  Is Eden there?                                                 

 She texts back;  Where else would I be, dumbass?

Unknown:                                                                                                                                                                                   D'you think you could make me a welcome home bracelet?                                                                    

Eden tearfully chuckles. It's him.

She replies back with; Yeah, I think I can. 

The unknown number then asks for another member of the friend group.

Unknown:                                                                                                                                                                                   Is JJ there, too?

Eden, Pope, and Kiara all look at JJ, who's fingers are already moving on the keyboard.

pain in my ass:                                                                                                                                                                         I'm here Bree

Unknown:                                                                                                                                                                                   Did you pimp my short board?

Eden can't help the breathless laugh she lets out. Happy tears form in her eyes as she looks at all her other friends, who share expressions—Kiara looks like she could sob, JJ is laughing away with similar happy tears, and Pope can't wipe the light smile off of his face. 

She hadn't felt so happy since before everything happened.

"It's him." JJ announces, as if the group hadn't already started crying out of joy.

Kiara nods, "It's him."

"It's definitely him." Pope breathes. JJ comes over to him, and they perform the Pogue handshake before hugging tightly—Eden can tell this news had just built the Pogues back up from the pile of dust they'd broken down into.

"God, he's alive." Eden wipes a tear off of her face. JJ comes forward and hugs the Bexley, and she returns the gesture, tightly holding on to her friend. He then switches over to Kiara, Eden switching over to Pope, before switching friends once again. "Our boy is alive."

All the hours spent crying or locked up in her room seemed to disappear as she pictured John B. and Sarah. Alive and breathing; smiling and laughing together. They were alive, and all of the grief  that Eden had gone through didn't even matter anymore now that she knew. 

"Yeah!" JJ cheers, unable to contain his happiness.

There's another ding, and Kiara reads the new text out loud, "Laying super low in Nassau. How the hell did they get to the Bahamas?"

JJ laughs in disbelief, "You can't kill a Pogue, dude."

"Especially John B." Pope agrees.

"He lives like a cockroach, I'm not surprised." Eden sighs. She feels her phone vibrate and looks down at the new message. 

Unknown:                                                                                                                                                                                   Can you clear my name? Wanna come home. 

"Hell yeah, we'll clear your name, boy." the Maybank exclaims out loud, texting the reply back.

Kiara looks up from her phone, another tear falling down her cheek. "Be in touch. P4L."

"P4L, man. That's what I'm talking about!" JJ shouts. He jumps on an empty table and screams into the sky, "P4L, baby! Whoo!" 

The Bexley looks down at her phone and types out a quick message.

We'll clear your name. Stay safe and low. Love you.

Eden pulls the Carrera girl in for another hug, the two girls breathlessly laughing into one another. "Holy shit, dude."

Pope and JJ then join in on the hug, the four sharing an embrace full of happiness, relief, and emotion.

John B. and Sarah were alive.

Eden was getting her best friend back.

mara's misc

holaaaa

this chapter was the result of my first deal of the season two era with kensie. go check out her obx fic tidal, as well as all of her other fics because she's my pookie and i said so!!!! 

i like this chapter! this scene is so wholesome and eden listening to folklore is so me coded. it's honestly all i did in my information technology class.  

the way mr sunn looks at the pogues when they run out of class is funny for no reason. 

my teeth are sore asf and i'm tired from rehearsal and i should be doing my homework but here i am publishing this (my priorities don't exist honestly.....).  the amount of relationship tea and bad blood in our cast isn't cute anymore, (the crush is cute—she has a crush on him and he knows and they're friends.....he gave her his jacket today and it was cute asf—but other than that.......

i have a band concert tomorrow, so praying the low brass gets their act in check bc they are shit. praying my teeth decided to chill and that my clarinet isn't a bitch. 

anyways, hope you enjoyed <3 see you back with chapter 31