𝟎𝟐𝟐.     𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝, 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝, 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝

stupid for you ──── waterparks

☀︎ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

"𝖶𝖤 𝖣𝖨𝖣 𝖨𝖳 𝖣𝖠𝖣."

That's the first thing I said when I arrived home after we found the gold. I sat in front of the picture of Dad, and I let myself cry── not in upset, but in pure fucking joy. John B let me feel the gold in my hands, and God, it felt unreal to hold something with real, monetary value. I felt as if I was living a pipe dream, I still do.

It's now the next morning and we're at the local pawn shop, ready to trade in the gold that Kiara melted down earlier this morning.

"Hell of a job melting it down, Dr. Frankenstein." JJ holds the giant hunk of gold in a bandana.

"Like you could've done better," Kiara snipes.

"I could have. I took a welding class."

I scoff, grinning. "When?"

John B places a hand on JJ's shoulder. "Chill out, okay?"

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one that has to pawn this piece of shit off." He sighs loudly, not happy that we pushed this job onto him. "How did I get this job anyway?"

"Cause you're the best liar," I say, patting my hand against his shoulder. He is, and has always been, the best liar.

It's been two days since that night in the water, where JJ touched me in a way I've only ever dreamed of. We haven't discussed it, and I don't think we will because we love to avoid painful, meaningful conversations. He said that, until I stop being afraid, he and I will not do anything which, I guess I understand.

Also, I'm not afraid of how I feel, I just don't want to tell him. Is that so bad?

Anyway, he and I are okay. Nothing is awkward between us as we're still best friends, and even if something had happened between us the other night, I truly don't think it would've been awkward.

So why can't I just let it happen?

JJ pushes open the door first, the rest of us following behind, very excited to hear how he's going to lie his way through this one. "Afternoon, ma'am." JJ nods to the woman at the front desk. "I see you buy gold."

"That's what the sign say, don't it?"

"Well, I sure hope you buy a lot of it, because I'm about to blow your mind." We step into the shop, moving away from JJ while he steps up to the counter, placing his backpack and gold down in front of the lady. We try to look interested in the store and its items, but we really don't care. 

"I ain't got much mind left to blow, so have at it."

He presents the gold to her, consequently "blowing her mind" or whatever. "How about them gold apples?"

She chuckles, shaking her head. "That ain't real." Well, she dismissed that very quickly, didn't she?

"That ain't real? Feel how heavy it is."

The pawnbroker moves to pick up the heavy amount of gold off the counter, obviously shocked to find it this heavy. "Mmh."

"Let's get some light on that."

She listens, moving the light to hover over the gold. She observes it for a few seconds, coming to a decision. "Spray-painted tungsten," she insists, flicking the light off.

She is really in denial.

"Spray-painted tungsten?" JJ scoffs, peering over his shoulder at us while he shakes his head. He looks back to the pawnbroker. "Why don't you feel how soft it is?"

She picks up a small pin and hammer. "You mind?"

"No, go for it." She knocks the pin at the gold, expecting it to break from the impact, but it doesn't even make a dent. JJ huffs out a laugh, crossing his arms over his chest. "Wow. Would you look at that?"

"Hold your horses." She holds her hand up, moving to collect something else. She is so set on falsifying this. "We ain't got to the acid test yet."

"Ooh! The acid test." JJ rubs his hands together, looking back over his shoulder at us with the brightest smile on his face. "My favourite, guys."

The pawnbroker pours a drop of acid over the shiny rock of gold, finding it to remain the same. "Well, it ain't plated, and it ain't painted."

"Ma'am, I'm telling ya, this is as real as the day is long." JJ drums his fingers against the counter, smiling like a damn fool.

"It looks like somebody tried to melt it down." Yes, Kiara didn't do the best job, but none of us could have done any better. It ain't easy to melt down gold. We melted it down to get rid of the wheat symbol── we didn't want people asking too many questions.

"My mom," JJ replies quickly, lying easily. "She had all this jewellery lying around the house, and she thought it was best to-to melt it down. To consolidate it." God, I'm impressed. Ain't he good? I know that, out of the six of us, he will forever be the better liar.

The pawnbroker lifts the lump of gold, placing it on the scales to see how much it weighs. "Seven pounds? That's a lot of earrings."

That... is a lot of earrings── an unbelievable amount of earrings.

"Okay, to be honest, ma'am..." JJ clears his throat, and from the crack in his voice, I sense he's going to turn on the waterworks. "... it's really hard to see my mom fall apart with Alzheimer's." Ah, he's a damn genius.

"Alzheimer's?" Kiara questions, grinning.

"Give me a minute." The pawnbroker leaves us in the shop, moving into the back room to talk with the manager, I assume.

Once she's stepped away, I move to join JJ's side, nudging him. "Nice one, J." He peers down at me, bottom lip caught between his teeth as he smiles. "You're awfully good at lying── makes me wonder if you've ever lied to me."

He shakes his head, brushing his knuckles over my shoulder. "I'd never lie to you, Sunshine."

Good, I'd hate if he ever lied to me.

Although, am I lying to him right now by not telling him how I feel?

I hear footsteps. "Keep on lying, sweets." I wink, saluting to him as I back away, moving back to our friends.

"So I, uh, I talked to my boss," the pawnbroker explains, moving to stand back behind the desk. "And, uh, this is what I can do." She slides a piece of paper across the counter, pushing it to JJ.

JJ picks up the paper. "Fifty thousand?" That's a lot, but not enough for seven pounds of gold. "You think I walked in here not knowin' the spot price? Ma'am, I know for a fact this is worth one forty, at least."

That's exactly how much it's worth, we ain't dumb. We know we can get a lot more money for that much gold. "Well, sweetie, you in a pawnshop. This ain't Zurich. Do I look Swiss to you?"

JJ swipes his hand across his jaw, contemplating. "Ninety, or I walk." John B and I glance at one another, smiling at the thought of having that much money. After all Dad went through, we finally went and did it── we went and got the gold, and now we may be rich. He'd be proud.

"Seventy," the pawnbroker deals. "Half piece... and, um..." Her voice drops. "I don't ask questions about where you got this."

Well, we certainly don't want questions asked.

JJ's eyes find mine. We're gonna be rich, Sunny, that's what his eyes are saying to me. I nod, smiling brightly. His eyes flick back to the pawnbroker, and he says, "I'm gonna need that in large denominations, please."

She sighs loudly, and I sense that we won't be getting the money all that easily. "Well, here's the snag. I don't have that much denominated, not here anyway. I can write you a cashier's check."

"Cash..." JJ shakes his head. "No, ma'am. I want the cold hard. That's what the sign says. Cash for gold. And that's what I expect. I'm gonna get it in cold hard." The pawnbroker looks towards us, but we just smile innocently.

"Well, I have to send you to the warehouse," she says. "I have the money there. Is that alright?"

"Where's this warehouse?"

In the middle of fucking nowhere.

John B drives us in the van, heading in the direction of the warehouse. We're heading out of town, away from any civilian life and homes, so part of me worries that this pawnbroker is leading us in the wrong direction. All I see, for miles and miles, is forest── trees and bushes and shrubbery.

We're in the middle of nowhere.

This was a scam, that much I can sense.

"So they keep money out here?"

"That's what she said." JJ chuckles, finding himself to be the funniest person in the world. "That's what she said."

I roll my eyes, smile playing on my lips. "Stop."

"I've never even heard of Resurrection Drive," Sarah says, peering out the window at the mass amount of trees.

"That's cause you're rich," JJ comments.

"You've never heard of it either," Kiara snaps.

"Thank you."

Kiara leans forward, arm brushing against mine as she peers out the window. "There's nothing but weeds back here."

"Alright, just cause it's just weeds, doesn't mean it's, like..." His sentence is cut short by the single whoop of a police siren, bringing all our attention to the cop car driving behind us.

The police?

"Cops? Out here?"

"Why are we getting pulled over?"

JJ is holding the gold, and I reach my hands out to take it from him, needing to stash it as we get pulled over. It'll cause more problems if we don't pull over. I hide the hunk of gold under my seat. "Did you bring the gun?" I ask, quietly hoping he has it just in case.

"No. Everybody told me to leave it back at the house." I can't actually believe he listened to us.

As John B pulls over, the police car pulling up behind, we panic pack all our belongings, stuffing all the weed JJ has into our bags, hoping the cop doesn't check. "He's walking up," John B says, looking through the wing mirror.

"Sunny, move." JJ places a hand on my back, moving me to one side while he opens the seat I was just comfortably sitting on. Bastard. He throws his bag on top of the gold, stuffing my bag in too.

I throw myself back down onto the chair, trying to act as nonchalant as possible as the police officer steps up to the van, walking right up to John B's open window. I still can't believe that a cop is out here, pulling us over.

I was right not to trust this situation.

John B opens his mouth to speak, ask the cop what he wants, and a gun cocks.

My head snaps over my shoulder, and I stare right at the barrel of a shotgun which points directly at my brother. The person holding the gun is so obviously not a cop. He has a bandana covering the bottom half of his face so we can't identify him. My heart starts to patter unsteadily, bouncing at an ungodly rhythm.

I wouldn't consider myself an easily scared person, but in this moment, I'm terrified. I'm terrified for my brother's life. Seeing a gun pointed at the person I love the most in the world, and not being able to do a single thing without potentially losing my own life is petrifying.

All the colour drains from my face.

"Why don't I go ahead and see them hands in the air?" I bite down on my lip, afraid I'll taste blood if I chomp down hard enough. "All y'all's hands up in the air now!" The gun is pushed closer to my brother, and every single part of me wants to jump forward and yank that gun away even if I could die.

I'm more afraid of losing the people I love rather than dying myself.

"You, out of the car! Let's go!" Following his orders, John B pushes open the van door slowly, keeping his hands in the air as he shuts it behind him, hesitating slightly. "Let them out!" John B walks to the passenger side. "Let them out!" John B opens the passenger door, letting Sarah out. He then steps away, sliding open the back door per this asshole's demands.

The gun is now pointed to us, and I find that being on the receiving end of a shotgun is something I never thought I'd have to experience. I've held a gun, pointed it at people's heads, but I've never had somebody point one at me directly. I hate it. "Let's get out of the car! Let's go!"

Sarah moves out of the passenger seat while Kiara is the first to get out the back of the van.

JJ puts a hand on my back, offering me a single second of comfort before I force myself to get out.
The gun is aimed at me as I move out of the van. "There you go, pretty girl." Jerk face. "Here we go!" Once I pass him, rushing to stand with my brother, he aims the gun at the remaining boys in the van. "Get out of the car, let's go!"

Pope and JJ climb out, their hands in the air. JJ begins to speak, "We're broke──"

"Shut the hell up!" he yells, pushing the gun in JJ's direction, and the idea of him being shot rushes through my head, horrifying me. I can't lose JJ. I need him, and he needs me to keep him alive. We need each other. We aren't ourselves without the other. Right?

JJ and Pope move towards us, and we stand together in a cluster. I'm stood in between JJ and John B, body tense and riddled with fear.

"Lay down on the ditch!" is the next demand, and we aren't stupid enough not to obey. "Lay down in the ditch! On your goddamn hands and knees! Down!" I don't get on my knees, not for any man, but if that man is pointing a gun at me, I guess I don't have a choice. So, slowly and carefully, we lower to the ground. When my knees touch the mud, I feel tears prickle in the corners of my eyes.

"Put your face on the ground!" I press my hands into the mud, sliding my knees across the ground to lay on my stomach. "Stay here just like that! Put your head down!" I drop my head, biting down on my bottom lip in an attempt to suppress the tears stinging my eyes. "Don't let me see you look up! Alright? That's all y'all gotta do."

I can hear Sarah crying on the other side of my brother── I can't say I blame her, I'm close to tears myself. I feel silly. I don't usually get emotional like this, not out of fear, that is. I've been through a lot of things in my life, but I've never truly been scared until this moment. Just the thought of dying on the side of the road, or the thought of losing my brother or friends, well, that's enough to send me spiralling into an emotional breakdown.

I do my best to swallow my emotion.

"It's a setup, guys." I knew it deep down, I just wished it wasn't true.

"That old bag shanked us." JJ hits his hand down on the ground a few times, obviously frustrated. I glance at him, offering him my best sympathetic smile.

The "cop" checks our van, searching for something── the gold, I assume. While he is occupied and rummaging through our van, John B starts to lift himself up and off the ground. "Wait. No." I lift my head, looking to John B who has his finger over his lips, insisting we stay quiet. "No, no, no, no. John B..."

The emotion swells in my throat and my eyes sting as John B continues to move backwards, heading towards this guy's vehicle. "John B, what are you doing?"

"John B. Don't be a hero, man."

We watch him, terrified for his safety as he moves to climb into the backseat of this guy's car, laying himself down. I don't know what his plan is, but he doesn't need to play hero. I don't need him risking his life. I need him alive.

This jerk eventually steps out of our van, and I fear that he'll remember that there's supposed to be six of us, but he doesn't even blink, he just says, "Alright, y'all stay just like that. Unless you want your brains blown out all over this road, don't move your goddamn heads, okay?"

We move our heads.

We watch him get into his car, and the moment he closes his door, John B lunges out from his hiding spot. We see some scuffling in the car through the windscreen, suggesting that they're fighting with one another. I'm the first one to pull myself up and off the ground, wanting to rush to my brother's aid.

The back door swings open and John B pulls himself out. "Guys, I got the gun!" I charge forward, ignoring the fact that I could be attacked as this guy is climbing out of the car along with John B, ready to snatch his gun back.

"Brooke!" JJ comes up behind me, pushing me to one side as he takes a swing at the guy who just stole our gold. JJ punches him in the stomach, knocking him back against his car, and kneeing him for good measure.

Pope rushes to snatch the gold from the passenger seat while John B lunges forward, slamming the barrel of the gun down into the guy's back, consequently knocking him to the ground.

"I got the gold!" Pope yells, slamming the door shut. Thank God.

Sarah steps forward next, grabbing ahold of the car door. She knocks it into the guy's body, keeping him on the ground as he tries to lift himself up. Kiara and I move forward, kicking our feet into his body as he squirms on the floor.

We are not letting this asshole get away with stealing from us. "You son of a bitch!"

JJ crouches down, lifting him up and shoving him against the car door. He pulls down his bandana, revealing the bottom half of his face. "I know this piece of shit! He's a basehead!"

"Probably knows my brother!" Sarah yells.

"He sells coke to my dad." JJ kicks him again.

"Listen, I could've hurt any single one of y'all──" JJ doesn't let him finish that sentence, he just takes the gun from John B and slams it into the side of this guy's face, knocking him to one side.

I grasp JJ's arm. "JJ!"

"Let's get out of here."

JJ reaches into this guy's pocket, pulling out his wallet. He retrieves his ID card before throwing his wallet down onto the ground. "We got one last stop." JJ begins to back away, heading for the van. "Let's go see where this son of a bitch lives."

We follow JJ, heading for the van as John B throws this asshole's keys into the forest.

"I'm gonna remember this shit!" he yells at us. "You can't hide from me! I know exactly who y'all are!" JJ gets in the driver's seat, and I climb into the back with Kiara, Pope and Sarah.

Once John B is in the van, JJ drives away.

──────────────────────────

𝖡𝖠𝖱𝖱𝖸 𝖨𝖲 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖭𝖠𝖬𝖤 𝖮𝖥 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖦𝖴𝖸 𝖶𝖤 𝖩𝖴𝖲𝖳 𝖠𝖳𝖳𝖠𝖢𝖪𝖤𝖣，𝖠𝖭𝖣 𝖭𝖮𝖶 𝖶𝖤'𝖱𝖤 𝖯𝖴𝖫𝖫𝖨𝖭𝖦 𝖴𝖯 𝖳𝖮 𝖧𝖨𝖲 𝖧𝖮𝖬𝖤．From what I've heard, he's a local drug dealer who is affiliated with Rafe Cameron── Sarah's brother. He's also sold coke to JJ's father in the past so JJ is familiar with him.

Basically, we're at a drug dealer's home── how exciting.

"Welcome to Crackhead Wasteland."

"I don't know about this, man."

"Dude, why are we at Barry's?" Now that is an expert question. Why are we at a drug dealer's home?

JJ pushes open the door, climbing out. "This'll only take a second." He begins to walk away, leaving us to contemplate on how best to handle this. Do we follow him? Do we stay here?

I push open the back door. "Where you going?"

"Yo soy justicia." He rushes up the steps, moving into the home. I have no idea what he said or what he means.

"Did you learn anything from that?"

"You know somebody should probably──"

"Yeah, I got it." Both John B and I say that── it's a twin thing, I say. Regardless, we both get out of the van and move towards the home. As the two people who have known JJ the longest, we know best how to handle him.

We've known him for eight, long years. In fact, John B met him first, and because I never had any friends growing up other than my brother, JJ became my friend that same day. If anyone knows how to deal with JJ, it's John B and I── maybe me a little better than him, but don't tell John B I said that.

We walk through the drug dealer's house, heading for the bedroom where we find JJ rummaging through a black duffle bag. Again, I don't know what he's looking for, but I need him to stop whatever it is that he's doing. "I know you got a stash around here somewhere," he utters, more to himself than to us.

"Yeah, so what's your plan, slick?" John B asks.

"Well, as thou hath stealeth from us, we shall stealeth from ye." Him speaking like this reminds me of the time we read Shakespeare in middle school, and we both sucked at it── him more than me. He kept talking in old English, it was beyond annoying, much like it is now. I recall us watching the Romeo and Juliet movie, and I always liked the idea of JJ being Romeo and me being Juliet── you know, without the double suicide stuff. JJ does look a little like young Leonardo DiCaprio, right?

I rub my temple. "That kind of got lost in translation," I say, smiling.

"An eye for an eye, guys."

John B steps away from me, moving to stand in front of JJ, but that does nothing. JJ moves to another shelf, pulling at another bag to find whatever it is that he's looking for. "Yeah, that's great, JJ. But what happens after you rob a drug dealer, huh?"

"He knows who we are, JJ." My voice raises unintentionally.

"I'm not scared of this guy."

He throws the other duffle bag onto the bed. "There we go." He unzips it, and we watch him, confused.

"What are you doing?" I ask, stepping forward.

"Getting even!" I glance to John B as JJ steps out of the room, money hidden in the bag. "Alright, took care of business."

We rush after him, and John B gets in front of him again. "Hey, look at me." He pushes a hand against his arm. "If you keep going down this road, you're gonna end up like your dad, do──"

My mouth gapes, surprised he'd make a comment like that. JJ snaps, snatching John B's collar. I stand still, staring at the boys. "You watch your mouth, man. Aren't you tired of being messed with?"

"That's not the point, JJ."

"Cause I am," he adds, freeing John B.

JJ moves out of the house, and we reluctantly follow. "Alright, so we're looking at five grand each for reparations for putting us through that bullshit." Five grand? Each? Yeah, no we can't do this. "Sorry about that, y'all."

"So that's what we're doing now? We're robbing drug dealers?" No... Yes?

"This Barry guy's gonna find out. And he's gonna come after us," Sarah says, and I am a little afraid that that could happen. I mean, he sounded pretty serious, and after we left him on the side of the road, he probably wants to kill us.

"Yeah, he will. This is not the time to start wilin' out," John B comments, stepping forward.

"How'd you like havin' a gun pulled on you?" JJ is trying to taunt him, get John B to snap, and from the looks of it, he's going to. "He had it right here on you, bro." JJ holds his hands up, showing where the gun was. I don't need a reminder.

"Look. We've gotta go get the gold, okay? Just give me that shit." John B reaches for the duffle bag, ready to put it back. "We're putting it back." JJ snaps once again, this time slamming my brother back against the side of the van.

"JJ!" I rush forward, grasping his arm. I don't know what's going on with him, but this is the last thing he should be doing. Fighting with John B will not solve a damn thing.

"Do you feel like a tough guy?" John B shoves JJ away. "Huh? What are you gonna do when he comes for us?"

"We punch him in the throat," JJ replies.

Is he serious?

"Yeah, good fuckin' idea, JJ."

"I'm not putting it back." JJ moves, stepping into the back of the van. We stare after him, watching as he sits down. "You guys getting in or what?" I want to get in but I don't. I just stand here, staring at him, trying to figure out why he's acting like this. When he finds that no one is getting in, he steps out. "What?"

"We're sick of your shit," John B says, speaking for everybody but me. I, personally, just want to figure out what's going on.

"Oh, my shit?"

"Yeah. Your shit."

"Yeah." Kiara agrees, shaking her head. "You're pulling guns on people shit."

"You acting like a maniac──"

"Okay, Pope, I took the fall for you, man!" JJ yells, more mad than I've ever seen him. "Know how much I owe because of you?"

Thirty thousand dollars── also known as a lot of fucking money that nobody has.

"I'm gonna pay you back, and I didn't ask you to that!" Pope yells back, and I find that I don't like how this is turning out. How did we get here? Oh, right, drug dealer.

"I just did!" I won't fault JJ's for his loyalty. He'd walk through Hell for us, that much I know. He probably the most loyal friend in the group.

"Pay it back," he then says, staring at Pope. "Right here, right now, by myself." He looks at each of his friends, his eyes lingering on mine for a tiny moment longer, like he's wanting to speak to me, but he doesn't. "You know what? That's exactly what I'm gonna do. Go off by myself."

He slings the duffle bag over his shoulder, and he begins to move away. That catches my attention. I can't just let him walk off, not when he's obviously upset. "JJ." I take a step away, but I feel John B grasp my arm to stop me.

"B, don't." He doesn't know me at all if he thinks I'm just going to stand here and watch my best friend walk off.

"I-I'll be back in a second." I free my arm from his grasp, and I step away, rushing forward to catch up with JJ while our friends hang in the back, waiting to see if I can convince him to just put the money back and get in the van.

JJ is storming off, not even looking back to see if anyone cares enough to follow── I freaking do, look at me. "Hey, JJ."

I reach him, and I reach out for his arm, stopping him. He doesn't push me away which I appreciate, but he looks pissed regardless when he turns to face me. "What, Brooke?" I won't lie, it stings not to hear him call me Sunshine, but I understand that he's upset.

I keep my hand on his arm, forcing him to stay right here.

"JJ, come on." I sigh, stepping a tiny bit closer. "Just put the money back. W-We don't need it. We already hit him, alright? We don't need to steal from him too."

"Yeah, we do, Brooke. That's how it works."

"No, it isn't." I let go of his arm, letting it fall. "We don't need to take from him. J-Just put the money back, JJ."

"Do you realise how much I owe, Brooke?"

"Yes, I realise that, JJ, but we're going to get the gold and we're going to──"

"Oh, because getting the gold is going to be so easy." I stare at him, he stares right back. Unlike the other night, there's no softness to his eyes, there's just upset and annoyance. "You saw what happened today. You saw what happens when we have the gold. People ask questions and we get hit. I'm not letting that happen again, alright? I'm getting even. I am helping us."

He begins to back away, turning from me, and I could leave it at that, but I psychically can't.

"What is going on with you?" I yell, and I'm pretty sure our friends can hear us. "I-I mean, I know that you're sick of us getting hit and losing shit, but why do we need to get even? Don't you realise that one day, all this is going to catch up with you, JJ. I'm just trying to stop you before that happens── before I lose you to something stupid like stealing money from a drug dealer."

He stops, shaking his head as he looks back at me. "I don't need saving, Brooklyn." Well, that one stung more than I expected. "I've never needed saving, especially from you."

I stare at him, not seeing those eyes that I fell in love with years ago. He doesn't even look like him anymore. "What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't need you to save me." I think back to all those conversations we've had when he's told me that I am the one who keeps him alive, that I will be the one to save him from falling off the face of the earth. I guess it all means jackshit now.

I stare down at the ground, feeling oddly emotional.

"Go home, Brooke. I'll see you."

I lift my head, watching as he begins to walk away from me. It hurts, more than I'd like to admit. "Where are you going?" He doesn't answer me, he just keeps walking, and I have no energy to chase after him, I just watch with glossy eyes as he walks away, leaving me to question where he will go. Will he even come back? Yes, of course he will. I hold onto that hope.

John B steps to me, hand sliding against my shoulder. "Come on."

From Barry The Drug Dealer's house, we drive to The Wreck. I didn't talk the entire drive, and I still haven't uttered a word. John B keeps looking at me, obviously wanting to say something, but he never does. He's usually good at talking to me even on a personal level. He's really good at just being there, I guess.

For example, John B was there when I first got my period── embarrassing when you don't have a mother, and you live with two guys. He went out, used the last of the money Dad had left as he was away on a fishing trip, and he bought as many feminine products as he could afford. I was twelve, completely freaked out because I thought I was dying, but he talked me out of my panic, and helped me in the way that he does best. That's just one example of how he's been there, I have so many more.

I love my brother a lot, more than I let on.

Anyway, I think he knows that I have feelings for JJ── I think he's always known, call it twin intuition... twintuition. That was funny, sorry. While John B has been there for me all my life,  he and I have never really talked about boys. I think it would mortify him if he actually had to hear that I, his sister, likes his best friend.

Basically, unless he asks outright if I have feelings for JJ, I will not, under any circumstances, be telling him.

I'm sat at one of the many empty tables at The Wreck, head in hands as my friends discuss JJ. Everybody seems to be worried about him── me more than I'm letting on── but nobody knows what to do. "Look, he'll come around, alright? It's... He's doing a JJ thing."

"You think he'll go home?"

God, I freaking hope he doesn't go home.

"There's about a zero percent chance that JJ goes home." Surely he wouldn't go home, right? He knows better than to go and see his damn father. He's a waste of space. He doesn't realise just how special his son is, and I don't think he'll ever notice because he's too self-centred, the bastard. I hate his father, I don't know if you can tell.

"You okay?" John B asks Sarah, nudging her. I won't lie, it is nice to see my brother acting this way towards a girl. Over the years, I've seen him with girls, but we never discussed those girls that didn't mean anything to him. I guess there really are some things you don't discuss with your sibling, but I can see that he truly likes Sarah. It's refreshing to see.

She nods, smiling softly. "Yeah. Are you?"

"I mean, I'm in one piece, so..." They share one of those cheesy, lovesick glances, and I feel my chest tighten at the idea of never having... that.

What am I saying? I'm sixteen, I have my whole life for that.

"Okay." Pope sighs, clasping his hands together. "It's too dangerous to pawn this thing off piecemeal. So our best bet is to go down there and get the rest of it. Bring it all up at once. Put it in-in a safe or a vault or something. I-I don't know. Just until we can find someone who won't rip us off." We nod, agreeing with him because that sounds like a far better plan. "I can figure it out tonight, get it done, and we can be out there tomorrow morning."

"Alright, let's do it," John B says, answering for all of us.

"What about that thing you and Brooke have with my dad?" I lift my head, eyes finding John B's because he did not mention anything with Sarah's dad. I would've remembered if he had... I think.

"What thing?" I ask, speaking for the first time since we left Barry's.

"We have to go fishing with Ward," he answers.

I've never been less excited about anything in my life. Fishing? I have to go fish with my brother and... Ward Cameron all morning? Isn't life cruel── not just to the fish, but to me too. "We can't get four hundred mill cause we're gonna go kill fish?"

"Look, we have to go."

"Blow it off. It's four hundred million in gold!"

"Make something up!" God, can we please make something up? I'm very good at pretending I'm ill. I missed a lot of school when I was younger due to different sicknesses I didn't have. I can pretend I'm ill, that'll stop Ward from dragging poor, helpless me out to kill fish. I hope.

"Look, we-we have to, okay? He saved us, alright?" Dammit, he has a point there. "If it weren't for Ward, we'd be in foster care. So..." He sighs, looking to me. "We have to go. Plus, it'll be better to do it at night. Right?"

Nobody looks happy, but what can we done?

Fishing waits for no one! Actually, I think it does because the fish aren't exactly going anywhere, are they?

"Fine, fine. Go fishing."

"And at least JJ will probably have washed up by then," Kiara says which makes me feel a tiny bit better.

My head falls back in my hands. "I hate fishing. I can't fish. I just feel bad for them whenever we catch them." John B huffs out a laugh which brings something of a smile out of me. "Can we really not get out of it?"

"No, we can't get out of it. You're not bailing."

"But──"

"You're not bailing on me, B."

I sink back in my chair, arms crossed over my chest. "I hate fishing."

"I don't think fish like people fishing either," Pope comments, earning a few strange looks. "What?"

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❀ soph speaks

do y'all want me to write season 4 when i get there because, i wont lie, i'm tempted to just leave it at season 3 (give them a big ending, idk)