"Listen, I... I'm going to have to ask you a favour," Elizabeth Easton said to him as they neared home, inside the ship with a couple of whiskey shots between them.

"Yeah?" John B asked. He'd been wary of her ever since he boarded, not wanting to give her the impression that he liked her. He had deliberately not told Elizabeth about Tyler when talking about his friends, knowing she would be as disapproving of his and Elle's relationship as his dad was with him and Sarah's. "What's that?"

Elizabeth sighed heavily, saying. "I want Ellie to be the first person that knows I'm back on the island. So if that means you have to lie to your other friends or your wife and tell them your father was the only person you found, could you please do so?"

John B studied her, pursing his lips. He knew it was right to accept this, because Elora did deserve to be the first to know. And he also knew that this secret was not his to tell, so he nodded.

"Alright," he said. "But if you weren't aware before, she's not going to be happy when she sees you."

Elizabeth nodded, pursing her lips. "Okay."

So, when John B woke up and found Sarah sat next to his bed the next morning, he did not tell her of Elizabeth.

When Sarah met his dad and hugged him tight, gasping out in disbelief he watched, mouthing "where's Elizabeth?" when his wife's back was turned. His father just shook his head, and tapped his finger aside his nose.

He felt like shit as she left, and the redhead came round the corner, driving the Twinkie with a smirk on her face.

But that didn't stop him from jumping in.

After he stuck a note on the door, of course.

𔓘𔓘𔓘

They'd got back to Kildare early in the morning, and had camped out on the catty until sunrise. Well, all of them apart from Sarah, who they'd dropped off at the Chateau to see if John B was back.

The others were only disembarking just now, docked in Figure Eight near the Carreras.

"Welcome to the Outer Banks, Cleo," Pope said as they all walked along, in the middle of explaining his half-assed plan to have Cleo sleep at his.

"You're crazy, Pope," the girl chuckled. "Your parents are not gonna appreciate me shacking up."

"Nah, of course they will, are you kidding?" Pope exclaimed. "Heyward might put you to work, but we could always use the extra help."

"I don't know, man. You sure?"

"Yeah. Look, he might squawk a little bit, but let me talk to him."

Elora, meanwhile, was glancing at Tyler, who was tensed and alert. His head kept jerking round every few seconds, and his hands kept twitching, as if ready to curl into fists.

"You alright?" Elora asked.

"Yep," Tyler nodded. "Just, needing to keep a lookout. If my mom or my brother sees me then I'm as good as dead."

Elle nodded, her stomach crawling slightly. She didn't want to have to confront him, but she also wanted to desperately try and convince him to go home.

"This is me," Kie said as they reached the white picket fence surrounding her house and she opened the little gate. "Home sweet home."

"Damn, Kiara, you live here?" Cleo demanded. "This is like the White House, man!"

Kie wasn't as enthusiastic, her feet dragging the closer she got.

"How bad do you reckon it'll be?" Pope asked.

"Scale of one to ten?" Kie shrugged. "Twenty."

"Do you want us to stay?" Elora asked, because it wasn't like she had shit to be doing.

But Kie just sighed and shook her head. "No, I... I gotta take this. Thanks for walking me."

She said one more thing, though, as she walked up the steps. She looked down at the blonde boy who hadn't spoken much and smiled slightly. "Bye Jayj."

Elora couldn't help but smile slightly as well, looking upon this interaction. She knew by the look on JJ's face that he still didn't believe he deserved it, but he'd get there. She was sure of it.

She didn't want to leave this small garden, surrounded by its white picket fence. But she was also clawed at by painful reality in that moment.

Whilst Kie was about to get her reunion, the same way Pope was, she had nothing.

No parents. No reunion. Not even a proper home.

And she'd be damned if she let herself forget it.

𔓘𔓘𔓘

She'd never felt more embarrassed.

Tyler had been in her house before, sure, but back then there had been no pressure. She hadn't realised her love for him yet, and despite her small insecurities around him, she hadn't really felt that bad.

But entering that exact same house right now, Tyler by her side, she couldn't help the blood rushing to her ears, the heat rushing to her face.

Yet as she looked around, all that embarrassment faded, and gave way to an enormous wave of sadness, crashing over her as she looked around.

It was the exact same as before. Nothing had moved, but that just made her sadder.

Going for a shower hadn't been hard, and neither had brushing her hair or changing into new clothes.

But it was when she came out, finally out of those fucking annoying pyjamas and into some denim shorts and a tank top, and moved into the kitchen, that she properly came apart.

The pictures were still tacked to the fridge. The ones of her as a baby. The crumpled old drawings she'd once drawn were still shoved in a random corner. Her mother's fucking incense and candles were still in the exact same places, all around the rooms.

She almost collapsed upon the sight of it.

Tyler was in there, still dressed in the same clothes he'd worn on Poguelandia, owing to the fact he hadn't showered yet or have anything to change into.

"Hey," Tyler murmured behind her. "You okay?"

Elora nodded, wiping the tears that had come to her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine," she turned to him, her voice becoming a bit more vulnerable. "Just didn't really expect it, y'know?"

"I'm still here, Elle," he told her, standing up. "I'm here and I'm not leaving."

Elora nodded, moving towards him and hugging him tightly, his arms wrapping around her.

"Besides," he shrugged, aiming for a joking tone. "I might need somewhere to stay for the time being, cause it's not like I'm going back to mine."

And it was that, precisely that, that tipped her over the edge.

Because for the past twenty four hours she'd just gone along with it. She'd nodded and told him that not going back was the best idea, that it was okay for him to do that. She'd positively wanted him to, so there was no danger of losing him.

But hearing him just dismiss her clear sadness, even if he was trying to joke, was too far.

"You know," she said, pulling back from their hug and removing his arms from around her. Her tone was cutting, and angry, and she was fighting to keep it straight. "You may not want to go home, and I get that, but for someone with an actual family you sure do a lot of complaining about it."

Tyler faltered, looking at her narrowed eyes, her crossed arms, and pausing. He wasn't sure what to say.

"Elle-"

"I don't have a family," she snapped. "Because in case you forgot, my father committed suicide when I was twelve, right before you came into the picture and decided you wanted to ruin my life even more."

"Elora, that's not fair," Tyler fought back, and she knew it wasn't, but she was saying it anyway. "I've said sorry, I've done everything I can to show you that I am-"

"No, you actually haven't," Elora snapped, not even meeting his eyes. "Because every fucking second you get, you complain about your parents. Well, as far as I can see, they aren't that bad. At least they're here, at least they're alive!"

She was crying now, hot tears running down her face as she faced the boy she loved with all her heart, yet was angrier than ever at.

She was so fucking sick of everything around her reminding her that she had a shit family. That any hopes of reviving that died when her dad did.

"Elora, I know your family's terrible," Tyler took a step forward. "And I know I didn't help that when we were twelve, but it is unfair to tell me that I'm not allowed to say my family is-"

"You live on Figure Eight!" Elora screamed, feeling her argument die and going down with it. "You've had everything handed to you your whole life! Look at this piece of shit! Look at it!"

She gestured to their surroundings, to her house. To the place she grew up, the place she faced most of her mental abuse.

"Yeah," she nodded, staring at him with wet eyes and a sarcastic smile on her face. "You see, whilst you were growing up on three course meals, riding around in daddy's car and getting a new present everyday, this is where I was."

"That's not my fault," Tyler uttered, shaking his head.

"No," Elora shook her head. "No, of course no-"

"Listen, I may have grown up in a nice house, but that does not mean my family are nice people!" Tyler snapped, fighting back now. "Has it ever crossed your mind, Elora, that you're not the only one to have problems? My dad left when I was twelve, and my mum descended into madness-"

"Still had enough to eat though," Elora snapped. "Still got dinners at the Island Club, and rides in your fancy ass boat-"

"Elle, I'm sorry!" Tyler shouted. "I'm sorry for saying that, because I know you're hurting right now, but-"

"I think you should go back."

Tyler faltered. "What?"

"To your house," Elora explained.

"I'm not going back there," he replied immediately.

"Really?" Elora raised her eyebrows, her lips pressing together. "Because I know for a fact that no matter how mad I was at my mom, if I had been stranded on a desert island for a month, I'd want to see her."

Tyler shook his head. "That's different."

"Of course it is," Elora chuckled wryly. "You know why?"

Don'tsayitdon'tsayitdon'tsayit

"You wanna know why you're shunning your family? Why you're turning them down?"

Do. Not. Say. I-

"Cause you're a Kook," she spat. "You're a fucking Kook, Tyler, and you always will be."

Shit.

She'd known it as soon as she'd said it. That it was mean, that it was a low blow. That he wasn't a Kook. She couldn't control her mouth when she was angry. But she couldn't back down now. She could feel her old precedents coming in, that she needed to make him hate her and then he'd do what she wanted-

"Yeah," but he was agreeing with her. "Okay, I'm a Kook. I was being such a Kook when I was living with you on a desert island for a month. Y'know, I was really soaking in the golf games and the Island Club dinners there."

"Tyler, you-" Elora was speechless. "You don't understa-"

"I understand," Tyler said. "But I'm not leaving."

Elora faced him, every bit of her body tense.

"I'm going to check on John B and Sarah," she told him, arms crossed. "You can stay here if you want, but you already know where I think you should be."

And then she was off, without another word.

But filled with regret for what she said to him, because he didn't deserve any of it.

𔓘𔓘𔓘

Found the Twinkie.

Off w/ my pops

See u soon

- JB

P.S. REALLY NEED TO SPEAK TO ELLE

Elle frowned at the note, a lot of feelings rushing through her.

First was shock, that John B had actually managed to find his father, and bring him back to Kildare.

Second was confusion, because why wouldn't he just wait for them before going off on this big mission?

And third was a small amount of surprise at seeing her name at the bottom on the PS. She didn't expect to be named explicitly in this letter and wondered why JB needed to speak to her so badly, out of everyone.

"Elle!"

She was pulled from her reverie by Sarah running up to her, all changed and showered as well, with her hair put up.

"Hey, Sarah, did you see this?" She asked, gesturing to the note.

"Yeah, I did," Sarah said as she hugged Elora tight, having not seen her since they got back. "I saw Big John, as well. He's alive. He actually found him."

"I know, it's crazy," Elora chuckled as they faced each other.

Then Sarah seemed to remember what she was doing, and said. "Listen, I need you to come with me. Kie's waiting at the dock."

"Kie? I thought she'd be on lockdown?" Elora frowned.

"Clearly not," Sarah said, as they ran down to the dock, where, sure enough, Kie was waiting. She was all brand new as well, with her hair up and some new clothes on.

"Hi," Elora breathed, enveloping her in a hug.

"Hey, Elle," Kie murmured back, squeezing tight.

"What are you doing here? I thought your mom and dad would go crazy," Elora shook her head.

"They, uh... they didn't really," Kie shrugged as they pulled back. "Were more just happy I'd come back, and I was able to get out cause of that."

Both of them nodded, Elora not really wanting to talk about what her experience going home was like, and turned to Sarah, who sighed.

"Okay, so I went back to grab clothes, and a phone, and you're not gonna believe this," she looked at both of them. "Rafe is back."

Both Elora and Kie just shook their heads, casting their gaze over the marsh. Elora knew they were both thinking the same thing. That if Rafe was back, he could get his revenge on them for stealing the catamaran.

"Yeah," Sarah nodded. "I saw him at the house. I don't think he saw me, but I think the cross is coming back. To Wilmington, tomorrow night."

Elora's gaze snapped up to Sarah's, shaking her head slightly. "What?"

"Yeah," Sarah said again.

"Does Pope know?" Kie asked.

"No, I was gonna tell him at the Chateau," said Sarah.

"Well, he can't, he's on lockdown," Kie told them.

"Okay, um..." Sarah looked around at them, biting her lip. "I'll hit up Pope, and then Kie could you maybe go to the Chateau and tell John B and JJ, and Elle you could go and get Tyler?"

This news didn't hit completely right with either Kie nor Elle, but both nodded.

"Yeah," Kie said. "I need to talk to him anyway."

"Okay," Elora nodded. "Where's our rendezvous?"

"Back at the Chateau, tomorrow morning," Sarah said. "We need to get everyone and figure out a plan ASAP."

"Okay," Kie nodded as the two walked off. "My parents are gonna kill me."

"Well, I don't have any of those, so..." Elora trailed off.

Kie sighed slightly, looking at Elle. She expected to get a whooping for making it seem like her problems were graver, but instead she just got. "You know, that's exactly what JJ said."

Elora looked round, frowning slightly. "What?"

"Doesn't matter," Kie shook her head slightly. "We need to round everyone up."

Elora sighed slightly, wanting to know more but instead just nodding. "See you later?"

Kie smirked slightly, doing the Pogue handshake with her. "See you later, Elle."

𔓘𔓘𔓘

"You know, your father isn't a bad person."

It was everything and nothing that he wanted to hear right now.

And he certainly didn't want to hear it from Elizabeth Easton.

His father had killed two men. Clear as crystal, in front of both of them. Without, really, a second thought.

But nevertheless, he just nodded and looked at the redhead woman, saying. "I know."

He wasn't going to share with her the tumultuous thoughts running through his head. He didn't want to.

He'd spontaneously put the PS on the end of his note, knowing that if Elle ever read it, she'd begin to wonder. He'd wanted to warn her of what was coming without actually warning her. To make her vigilant that something was coming, even if she wasn't aware of it.

He didn't look over as Elizabeth nodded and said. "Good."

He didn't try and ask her to stay as she left.

He didn't want her here.

And he was certain that Elle wouldn't, either.

𔓘𔓘𔓘

She felt uneasy upon entering her own house.

A part of her was begging he'd listened to her, and wasn't here.

Another part of her was praying he was here, hadn't listened to her and was willing to make this up.

She didn't know which was winning.

Up until she saw him, hair still damp from the shower, one of her oversized t-shirts and huge pairs of sweatpants on. He was sitting in her kitchen, looking at nothing in particular.

"Hey," came out her mouth, and he turned to see her as she stood in the doorway, not wanting to come closer.

He took a deep breath. "Hey."

She wanted to say so many things to him. That she was sorry, that she wanted him back, that she regretted ever opening her mouth.

But what she actually said was. "Rafe's back."

Tyler's head jerked up and his muscles tensed, his whole body taut. "How'd you know?" He asked, clenching his fists. Elora could tell what he really wanted to ask was 'did he do anything to you?', but she was glad he hadn't asked that.

"Sarah saw him," she answered carefully.

Tyler scoffed slightly, rolling his eyes.

"But it's not just that," Elle suddenly remembered. "She overheard him. He said that the cross is coming to Wilmington tomorrow night. Figure he must be trying to sell it."

Tyler looked at her in shock, his blue eyes shining with malice and anger, his position one of a fighter. "Great. Does Pope know?"

"Yeah. Sarah went to tell him. He's locked down."

Tyler nodded.

"And, uh... in terms of other news, John B actually found Big John," Elora continued, remembering more and more information he needed to know. "There's a note on the Chateau door. And I guess they went and got the Twinkie and now they're off to god knows where."

Tyler nodded again, still not saying anything as he looked at her.

"I was also mentioned," Elora continued. "On the note. He said he needed to speak to me."

The blonde boy before her frowned, but just said. "Probably has information or something. Anyways, I'm more concerned about the cross, cause if we know where it's gonna be, then-"

"Tyler," Elora spoke over him, saying his name for the first time in this conversation.

His eyes snapped to hers, blue but not soft, and he asked. "What?"

"I... we should talk," she said, biting her lip slightly.

Tyler sighed, looking down. He didn't really want to talk about this if she was still stuck in her own head. But he also knew that despite all she'd said, he still loved her. And that'd never stop.

"Listen, I had no right to compare our families," Elora told him. "It was wrong of me, and... and I'm sorry about that."

Tyler shrugged. "S'fine."

"No," Elora shook her head. "No, it's not. Your family's just as shit as mine, and- and I tried to say it wasn't, and-"

"Elle," Tyler stood up, finally becoming face to face with her. "It's okay, I-"

"-and I called you a Kook," tears pricked her eyes. "I called you a Kook and I shouldn't've, I called you a Kook and I-"

Tyler grabbed her hands, looking her directly in the eyes. Those eyes he always got lost in, those eyes he always longed to see, those eyes he loved, and always would.

"I know you didn't mean it," he told her in a murmur. "I know you were lashing out because you were scared, and embarrassed to be back here. I'm not going back to my house even if you tell me to, you can't get rid of me that easily."

Elora chuckled slightly, a tear falling down her cheek. "You're not a Kook," she told him, voice breaking. "You're a Pogue, Ty. A Pogue through and through."

"P4L, baby," Tyler chuckled slightly, squeezing her hands tighter.

"P4L," Elora agreed, smiling.

They both understood what that meant. That Tyler would be a Pogue for life. He may have been born a Kook, and lived his first few years as one, but he made a choice to be a Pogue, and he wasn't ever going to turn back on it.

And as he pulled Elle into his arms, he knew this for a fact, and he couldn't be more happy about it.

"I'm also really sorry about seventh grade," he murmured into her shoulder.

Elora chuckled slightly, shaking her head. "I think you've apologised enough for that one, Ty."

"Well, I think I could apologise one last time," Tyler joked, pulling back but keeping their embrace, his gaze flicking down to her lips and back up to her eyes.

"Hmm, better make it good, then," Elle joked.

Tyler chuckled, leaning in. "The best yet."

And when their lips met, it was just another confirmation that he wasn't making a mistake.

He wasn't a Kook.

And he never would be.