𝟎𝟎𝟖.                           𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥

brown eyed girl       ────       van morrison

☀︎ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝖨 𝖥𝖤𝖫𝖫 𝖠𝖲𝖫𝖤𝖤𝖯 𝖭𝖤𝖷𝖳 𝖳𝖮 𝖩𝖩，𝖠𝖭𝖣 𝖶𝖮𝖪𝖤 𝖴𝖯 𝖳𝖮 𝖬𝖸 𝖡𝖱𝖮𝖳𝖧𝖤𝖱 𝖲𝖳𝖠𝖭𝖣𝖨𝖭𝖦 𝖮𝖵𝖤𝖱 𝖬𝖤 𝖶𝖨𝖳𝖧 𝖧𝖨𝖲 𝖠𝖱𝖬𝖲 𝖢𝖱𝖮𝖲𝖲𝖤𝖣．He was not happy, but neither was I because I had to wake up to his damn face. Falling asleep next to JJ was entirely innocent. We talked, and then I started to doze off. There was a good arms length between us, but John B was still not happy to see his best friend and sister sprawled across the sofa together.

We're now on our way to Figure Eight── gross, I know. They have generators and internet and a clean island, so we're heading over there to use their computers because we need to investigate these coordinates that Dad left us.

We've just picked up Kiara and Pope, and we're now guiding the boat across the water back to the Chateau so we can get back into the van.

"You guys see that?" I turn my head towards JJ, and then I look out to the water, eyes catching onto a rather fancy boat. "That's the Malibu Twenty-Four-MXZ, the world's finest wakesetter." It's heading in the opposite direction to us, about to glide past us. "Number one in luxury, quality, and performance. Two-hundred K, easy."

"We picked the wrong parents."

"I hate to break it to you guys, but that's Topper and his girlfriend." Sarah Cameron is staring at us, watching us with wide eyes. Topper has an obsessive, territorial arm around her which makes my eyes roll, disgusted.

I do not like Sarah Cameron, not after she snitched to her father about John B taking the scuba gear. Now John B has no job, and we have no money coming in. So right now, I dislike Sarah Cameron more than I've ever disliked her.

Once on dry land, we drive past enemy lines.

We are not wanted on this side of the island, but we need to use the internet, and because JJ does a few shifts as a busboy every now and then, we're able to just walk right in. Well, hopefully we can walk in without any problems.

We get out of the van, and JJ reaches for the gun we have hidden under the seat in the back. "Put that back," I hiss, lunging forward to try and steal it.

"You can never be too careful, Sunshine."

Nobody is going to attack us, so why bring a gun? Besides, we don't need a gun if somebody does attack us. I can throw a mean punch if needs be, and I'm sure we can each fend for ourselves without a weapon── key word being without.

Pope leans against the van, peering at JJ through the window. "I predict that bringing a weapon to a four-star hotel will likely cause more problems than they solve."

"Thank you, Pope."

"I swear to God, I'm gonna throw that thing in the ocean, JJ." I glare at him, and he smiles right back at me, smug. "Put it back."

John B snatches the gun, taking it by the barrel, and yanking it out of JJ's hands. "You can't grab a gun like that," he says, and I do agree with that. JJ could've accidentally let it off, and then John B's hand would've been subsequently blown off. JJ sighs, knowing he won't get to take the gun inside.

JJ leans forward, picking up his badge which gives us access to the building. "Professional busboy."

"So, where are we going now?"

"We're getting on the internet because only rich people have electricity right now. This way!" We follow after JJ, crossing the street towards the hotel.

JJ pushes open a back door that opens into a kitchen, and I watch as he interacts with each person easily. He's always been a people person── that much is obvious. "Andrew! What's up, bro?" JJ swings around the post, trying to snatch some food only to have his hand smacked away by a spatula.

We follow JJ, smiling politely to those who stare at us, and we leave the kitchen, stepping out into the long hallway. Even the hallway is fancy, how is that possible? "See, they got the backup generators going? Looks don't miss the beat."

JJ pulls us into another room, and we are greeted by the most beautiful computers I've ever seen. "Sweet Lord, the internet!" Pope runs ahead, falling down into a chair right in front of the computer. "I've missed you."

"Let me get in there." JJ steps forward next, sliding in next to Pope. Gotta check out my Insta models." I roll my eyes, and JJ notices based off the grin he flashes me. "What? I gotta check other people out that aren't you, Sunshine."

"We don't have time," I hiss, not exactly lying. We don't have time or the right to actually be in here, so we need to hurry up.

"I got the map." John B reaches into his backpack, and pulls out the map Dad left us.

"Coordinations, please?"

John B reads off the coordinates, and I watch as Pope begins to type them in. He then hits enter and a website appears, revealing where the coordinates point to on Earth.

"Boom, continental shelf right there."

"Well, if it's off the deep end, it's not gonna be much of a treasure hunt, is it?" Pope zooms in, getting a closer look at the red mark on the screen that pinpoints the middle of the water.

"Shit, it's on the high side. It's only nine hundred feet."

"That's not too deep," JJ says.

"Is that doable or something?"

"Yeah, totally doable."

"Okay, will we be taking your personal submarine?" I ask, placing my hands on my hips.

"How do you even know this, Mr. Dive Master?"

"The salvage yard," he tells. "They got a drone that can drop a thousand. It has a three sixty camera and everything. It's for, like, free dives and stuff. It's exactly what we need."

"And can your dad get his grimy little hands on that?" Pope asks, peering up at him.

"Well, my dad's grimy little hands got his ass fired." He rubs the back of his neck, shrugging. JJ's father is a waste of space in my opinion, so I'm not surprised he was fired. He could never hold a job. "I guess the salvage yard captain frowns on showing up shitfaced. But the drone's there. It's in the impound yard out back."

"How much did you say was on the Royal Merchant again?" Kiara asks, looking from the computer screen to us.

"Four hundred mil," John B and I reply.

Pope moves from his chair, and he goes to cover the door, knowing that for that much money, we'd do just about anything. I'd steal whatever for just the idea of that much money, and he knows that which explains why he's covering the door, but it's four against one.

"Pope! Move." I slap a hand on his shoulder, smiling brightly.

"No. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. No!"

"Come on!" We push Pope away from the door, and John B walks out first, each of us following behind── Pope reluctantly, but still following.

"Can't we do anything legal for money?"

"Yes, but what's the fun in that?"

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𝖶𝖤'𝖱𝖤 𝖣𝖱𝖨𝖵𝖨𝖭𝖦 𝖳𝖮 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖲𝖠𝖫𝖵𝖠𝖦𝖤 𝖸𝖠𝖱𝖣．Pope is still paranoid, but he doesn't need to be. We know what we're doing. In fact, we know better than he thinks, and he'll see that very soon.

We have a plan.

We're just going to borrow the drone and probably never return it again (smiley face).

"Pope, we're not stealing the drone," I emphasise, slapping a hand on his knee. "We're just borrowing it."

"Humans are the only animal that can't tell fantasy from reality," Pope quotes.

"Did you come up with that?"

"Albert Bernstein came up with it," he says. "but it applies to this whole treasure-hunting thing. So, which is it? Fantasy or reality?" He glances over at me, and then shifts his gaze over to John B, waiting for an answer.

"Why are you so weird, Pope?" JJ asks, earning a subtle smile from me.

"It's fantasy, but possible reality," Kiara says.

"Reality," John B answers, and I hum in full agreement.

"Virtual reality." JJ flicked his lighter open but before he could light the cigarette he had pulled from his pocket, Pope pulls the cigarette from him and flicks it out the window.

"Keep the signal clear."

Have I mentioned how much I love Pope?

John B pulls up to the salvage yard, and the boys begin to bicker. I'm climbing out, patting a hand on Pope's shoulder as I feel somewhat bad that he has to deal with JJ.

I lean against the van, looking to my brother. "You know, I feel a little weird about pimping out my sister."

"You're not pimping me out," I scoff. "I volunteered."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Kiara comes to stand next to me, hip bumping against mine. "We've got this."

"Besides, it's not us that you should worry about," Kiara comments, peering at the boys who are arguing with one another in the back of the van.

"Let's hope this works."

As the girls of the group, we were in charge of, well, just being ourselves. The security guard watching over the salvage yard would see us── the helpless, pretty girls── and come rushing out to help us, giving the boys of the group ample time to rush inside the yard and find that drone.

We have Kiara's dad's car with us which is towing the HMS Pogue. Thankfully, Mike actually did have something of a flat tire── that's why Kiara asked for the car── so we wouldn't exactly be lying when we tell the security guard that we have a flat. 

We pull up to the salvage yard gate, and we get out of the car. I tug my hair out of its band, letting  it fall down my back and rest on my shoulders. It's no secret that I look better with my hair down, and we're trying to distract this guy so my hair will remain down.

"Hello?" Kiara waves her hand towards the security guard who sits in his booth. "Excuse me?"

Unsurprisingly, he steps out to see us standing here with kind, unfailingly beautiful smiles on our faces. "Can I help you guys?"

"Hi!" Kiara beams, and I'm so enthralled by, well, her that I forget to say a word, but thankfully she talks easily, "Um, we actually have a flat tire. I was wondering if maybe you could help us out?"

The man looks from me to Kiara, and we both smile. He nods, taking a step back. "Yeah."

He steps away, and Kiara turns to me, clapping her hand over mine. "It's too easy." 

She ain't wrong about that.

This guy might've fallen for Kiara's charms, but I think I may also be under whatever spell she's cast. While I have strong, irritating feelings for JJ, there's always been a large part of me that's curious about Kiara── about what she and I could have if we gave it a chance. We're already incredible friends, so I imagine we'd be an unstoppable couple. However, I also think neither of us would want to be a "couple, couple", but it would be crazy fun to hookup.

The security guard opens the gate, and it begins to slide open slowly. Once he steps towards the car, I pray to God that the boys snuck in through the gate before it comes to a crashing close.

"It's just this back one right here," Kiara explains, leading the guard towards the tire. "I mean, it must've been a slow leak of something." She leans against the car, resting her arm on the boat that's attached to the car.

"It's probably been sitting in the yard too long," he replies, and we both nod.

"Yeah."

I place my hand on my hip, tilting my head to one side as the guard crouches down. "Yeah, I── I got this," he says, looking from me to Kiara once again. It's his lucky day, isn't it?

Those boys better be in that freaking yard.

I stare down at the man who begins to pump up our leaking tire, and I find him to be gazing right back at us, obviously entranced. I can't say I blame him, especially when you look at Kiara. She is all kinds of beautiful, and I'd tell her that to her face if I wasn't so freaking terrified.

I step closer to Kiara, leaning in close to whisper, "You think we should seal the deal and make out? Give him a show?" I pull back, and Kiara's mouth forms a smile. Good.

She turns to me, still leaning back against the car. "I'm game if you are," she replies, shrugging her shoulders casually like what she just said didn't immediately make me feel all kinds of things.

I look away from her, my teeth gnawing at my bottom lip to suppress the blush creeping up my neck. I hate that I blush at any comment, even ones as small as that. I feel hot, and not from the heat, so I take a single step back, smiling politely at the man who is sorting out our tire and staring at us like we're his next meal.

We definitely aren't his next meal, I can promise that.

A dog starts to bark, and it sounds close to us── so close to us that it makes me think the boys are in a little bit of trouble. The man looks to us, but me and Kiara smile harmlessly like we have nothing to do with whatever is going on in that junkyard. "Do you hear that?"

We laugh softly, playing it cool. "Hear what?"

The guard stands up. "Tebow's got somethin'." He can't go an investigate because if he goes to investigate, he'll discover three soon-to-be-dead teenage boys.

"It's probably just a raccoon, maybe," Kiara speaks quickly, trying to keep his attention, and I am truly in awe of how she's remaining so calm. I am so not good at remaining cool undercover.

"Nothin' to worry about," I add on, trying to contribute.

Kiara begins to back away, obviously starting to worry as he's just about finished pumping our tire, and once he does, he'll likely catch the boys. She moves around the car to the other tire, and I watch her tug on her hairpin.

I follow behind her, smiling to the guard quickly. She bends down, and stabs her hairpin into the tire. We listen to the hissing noise, silently wishing it could be a little quieter because──

The guard steps around the corner. "What are you doing?" Shit.

I spin around, facing him. "This one is low too."

He shakes his head, steps away, and starts to bolt off, running away from us to check out what's going on. We've officially blown it, but I think we stalled him long enough, right?

Those boys better get that freaking drone, that's all I'm saying.

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❀ soph speaks

shorter chapter,, but hey!!

next chapter is solely a brooke & jj chapter <3