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○ 〇 ○

○ 𝟎𝟎𝟗 ○

○ ride the changing tides ○

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The Pogues were, as expected, late. Juno sat in the foyer, her fingers drumming restlessly on the arm of the chair as her leg bobbed up and down. Had they changed their minds? Decided to go to the hotel after all? Maybe they'd rather risk JJ's job than trust her. The thought shouldn't have stung as much as it did.

Just as she was about to consider abandoning the plan, a knock echoed through the house. Juno jumped to her feet and crossed to the door, opening it to see all four Pogues standing on her porch.

JJ grinned as he peered behind Juno, surveying the entryway. "So, this is how the other half live," he whistled, brushing past Juno without waiting for an invite.

"Come on in," she stated sarcastically as she watched him take in the room, his scuffed sneakers dragging as he walked. 

The other Pogues followed more hesitantly, stopping in the foyer. For the boys, it was their first time inside the Sinclair estate, and the foyer alone was enough to leave them wide-eyed. A crystal chandelier cast light over antique mahogany furniture and large paintings with gold frames hung on each wall. 

"This is insane," Pope said under his breath as he examined one of the paintings.

John B nodded in agreement, genuinely in awe. "They weren't kidding when they said your family was rich rich."

Kiara, who wasn't completely out of her comfort zone, rolled her eyes. "It's just a house, guys."

"You're late," Juno stated as she shut the door, leaning against it with her arms crossed.

"Sorry about that," John B replied as he tore his eyes away from the painting he had been admiring. "We were just being careful. Your people aren't exactly used to seeing us around here."

Your people. The words made her chest feel hollow, disappointment being the only thing left behind. She hated how easily they grouped her with her parents and the rest of the Kooks. Clearing her throat, she pushed through and pointed down the hall. "The study is this way."

Juno started to walk, listening for their footsteps. It took a second, but eventually, they started to follow her.

"You mean we don't get to see your bedroom?" JJ teased, a devilish smirk playing on his lips.

Juno's face scrunched in disgust as she glared at him. "Not in a million lifetimes, Maybank."

JJ threw his hands up in mock surrender, his grin remaining. "Can't blame a guy for trying."

"Watch me," she shot back.

"All right," John B said, trying to ease the tension. "Maybe this can wait until later, yeah?"

"We're almost there," Juno told him

The group trailed behind her, slowing down every now and then to admire something new they'd come across. Juno tried to ignore their reactions, but she couldn't help but listen to their sounds of awe. She wasn't trying to show off, but it was nice to see the Pogues, for once, being the ones out of their elements.

"It's in here," Juno stated as she pushed open the door at the end of the hall.

As soon as he spotted the computer sitting on the ornate desk, Pope rushed into the room. "Sweet Lord, the internet!" he said excitedly as he slid into the leather chair. His fingers flew across the keys as he got to work. "I've missed you," he mumbled quietly as if reuniting with an old friend. Callie hadn't seen anyone so excited to use a computer.

"Let me get in there," JJ insisted as he leaned over Pope's shoulder to peer at the monitor. "Gotta check out my Insta models."

Juno, who had been leaning casually against the doorframe, rolled her eyes, unsurprised by the boy's remark. "Yeah, you're definitely not using my computer to do that," Juno scoffed, pushing off the frame to walk into the room. 

"Relax, princess," JJ said innocently. "Anyone would think you were jealous or something."

Kiara snorted from her spot by the window, shaking her head at her friend. "Please, JJ. Show some restraint for once."

Juno smirked, actually thankful to her cousin this once since she didn't have to dignify JJ's statement with a response. Jealous? Not a chance.

"Restraint is for people who don't know how to live," the blond shot back before turning back to Pope. "Seriously, though, hurry up. I wanna-"

"Shut up and let me work," Pope snapped, smacking JJ's hand when he reached for the computer. "This is more important than Instagram models."

It was interesting watching them when they weren't at a party. Their dynamic was chaotic but it flowed. It was a real friendship.

"Alright, fine," JJ conceded, leaning against the desk to stay nearby. "But as soon as you're done, this thing's mine."

"Not. Happening," Juno repeated flatly.

JJ smirked as if her defiance was just another part of some game. "We'll see, princess."

"I've got the map," John B announced as he placed the folded piece of paper on the desk beside Pope.

"John B, give me the coordinates," Pope instructed once he was on the website he needed.

John B nodded, reading from it steadily so that Pope could input the coordinates. "30° 57' 30" north. 75° 55' 42" west." As soon as Pope hit search and the location appeared, John B smiled. "Boom, continental shelf right there."

"Okay, well, if it's off the deep end it's not gonna be much of a treasure hunt, is it?" Pope sighed before he started to zoom in closer, trying to make the map easier to read in the area they were after.

Once they could see better, John B seemed to be more hopeful. "Shit, it's on the high side. It's only nine hundred feet," he stated, pointing at the depth marker.

"Only nine hundred?" Juno repeated, letting out a sarcastic laugh. "You make it sound easy."

"That's not that deep," JJ chimed in, siding with John B.

Kiara looked between her friends, her brow furrowed in scepticism. "What, is that doable or something?"

"Yeah, totally doable," JJ confirmed.

Pope glanced up from the computer screen to give JJ quite an unimpressed look. "Okay. Will we be taking your personal submarine?"

"How do you know this, Mr. Dive Master?" John B asked, his tone playful but cautious. He didn't seem to share JJ's unwavering confidence.

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

John B crossed his arms, slowly coming around to the plan. "And can your dad get his grimy little hands on that?"

"Well, my dad's grimy little hands got his ass fired," JJ explained, surprising no one - not even Juno. "I guess the salvage captain frowns on showing up shitfaced, turns out. But the drone's there. It's in the impound yard out back."

Kiara got up from her seat and moved to stand by the desk. "How much did you say was on the Royal Merchant again?"

"Four hundred mill," JJ and John B said in unison.

"Four hundred million dollars," Kiara repeated, letting the number sink in.

Knowing his friends well enough, Pope jumped up from the chair and rushed to block the door. When Kiara walked in his direction he immediately shook his head.
"No. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. No!"

"Pope! Move," Kiara ordered, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him away from the door.

"Guys, that's too-" Pope started, but the others were already moving past him.

"Come on," Kiara said as she headed for the front door.

"Can't we do anything legal for money?" Pope asked as he reluctantly followed JJ and Kiara down the hall.

Juno trailed behind the Pogues, locking the front door before going over to their van. She reached out for the handle to climb in, but JJ stepped in front of her, holding out his arm to block her path. 

"Uh, what're you doing?" JJ asked, his expression trying to decide whether he was amused or annoyed.

Juno raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Coming with you?"

JJ shook his head, letting out a short laugh. "Yeah, I don't think so."

"You're joking, right?" she flared, her voice rising.

John B sighed, climbing out of the van with hopes to defuse the situation. "JJ, c'mon, man."

"Nah, John B," he argued, shaking his head more firmly this time. "Using her internet is one thing, but we're not actually bringing her with us on this."

"You were more than happy to take me up on my last offer," Juno reminded him, ice in her voice.

"Yeah, because that had something in it for us," JJ retorted.

John B let his head roll back in frustration, rolling his eyes. "She knows everything we do, man."

"That doesn't mean we can trust her," he shot right back.

"And that doesn't make her one of us," Kiara added, jaw set and tone just as cold as Juno's.

"You know what?" Juno scoffed, taking a step back and raising her hands in mock surrender. "That's fine. Go and get yourselves arrested at the salvage yard. What do I care?"

"Juno," John B sighed, trying to be the voice of reason. "You gotta understand-"

"What? That I'm a Kook, so that makes me untrustworthy?" she snapped bitterly as she turned to Kiara. "Remind me - what are you, cuz?"

Kiara's expression darkened as she glared at her cousin. "I'm nothing like you, Juno," she snapped as she stepped towards her. "Don't even try to compare us."

"Oh, so you don't go back to your big house after your little bonfires at the chateau?" Juno countered sarcastically. 

"Look, I get that you think the world revolves around you, but I'm here helping my friends and-"

"Oh, here you go again," Juno bit, shaking her head. "You've done nothing but remind me that I don't belong here since the moment I showed up."

"That's because you don't!" Kiara fired back. "You're not one of us and you never will be. You're just playing at it like this is some kind of game for you because you're bored of your Kook life."

JJ shrugged as he listened to the exchange, giving his two cents worth, "She's got a point, princess."

"Alright, stop," John B ordered, not wanting the argument to go any further. He glanced over at Juno, his tone softening. "Juno, it's like you said, you know too much and they've seen your face - you're in this now."

"Don't act like you actually care," she bit. "I'm sitting this one out - I can only take you Pogues in small doses anyway. Come and get me when you have the drone or an actual plan or whatever. Good luck." Her voice was bitter and dripping in frustration.

The Pogues watched as Juno turned and walked away, maintaining her composure until she was back inside her house. Again, she locked the door before storming upstairs in the direction of her bedroom.

Once she was gone, the Pogues all climbed back into the Twinkie. John B got into the driver's seat but didn't start the engine. He didn't like how they had left things with the girl - after all, she had tried to help them.

Running a hand through his hair, John B exhaled heavily. "Whether you guys like it or not, she's involved now."

"Not," Kiara answered firmly. "I know her. She's going to screw us over."

"She had had every chance to rat us out already, and she didn't," John B countered. "She's not the problem here."

Kiara scoffed, rolling her eyes in frustration. "You can't trust a Kook. It'll just blow up in our faces. You know it will. Back me up, Pope."

The boy pursed his lips, sighing from where he sat in the van. "I hate to say it, but I'm with John B. She's in this now."

"I can't believe you're choosing her," Kiara stated bitterly.

John B turned around completely in his chair so that Kiara couldn't avoid his gaze. "I'm not choosing her, Kie. But I got her involved in this mess and if those guys come back, she's in danger. She's your family, don't you care about that?"

The boy was telling the truth. He felt responsible for Juno Sinclair now. He had, inadvertently, gotten her mixed up in their mess, so it was his job to make sure that she made it out the other end in one piece.

Kiara's snarky response died on her tongue, knowing that there was nothing she could say that wouldn't make her seem worse than the people they hated. She might have hated her cousin, but she didn't want her to get killed.

"Fine," she muttered, conceding. "But if she screws this up for all of us, don't say I didn't warn you. Now, can we please stop wasting time talking about Juno?"

John B nodded as he started the engine. "Let's get this done. The sooner we have the drone, the sooner we can figure out our next move."

The van rolled out of the driveway and started in the direction of the salvage yard. Kiara sat in her seat stiffly, replaying her argument with Juno in her head, telling herself that she had done nothing wrong in protecting her friends. Pope was quiet, writing notes in a book, trying to keep track of their ideas and hash out a proper plan. JJ, on the other hand, sat with an arm out the window, staring back at the Sinclair mansion. Right before it went out of sight, he caught eyes watching them from a window.

Juno stood by one of the large second-story windows, allowing the curtains to hide her partially as she watched the van rumble down the road. Eventually, it disappeared around a corner and it was only then that she released the curtain. 

She turned away from the window and slid down to sit on the ground. Juno let her fingers dive into the soft white carpet, trying to keep her emotions contained and locked away. The bitterness that she had carried for the Pogues continued to fester within her, growing stronger after their latest interaction.

Kiara had seen right through her almost instantly, pointing out what they were likely all thinking. She had joined them because she was bored with her own life. 

Juno allowed herself to fall into the thoughts, unable to stop herself before she started to spiral. Sure, boredom was part of it. How could it not be? Everything about being a Sinclair was so. . . routine. She'd so easily fallen into line, not putting up an argument as they made her walk her tightrope. 

And then the Pogues happened, crashing back into her life like some rogue wave, dragging her into their latest chaos. It wasn't just John B's fault - she could've run the other direction and maybe they wouldn't have gotten a good look at her. But instead, she went with him.

She hated the power that the Pogues had over her and her emotions. It had been this way ever since the incident. Whenever she saw them, she felt a burning within her, a toxic cocktail of hatred, jealousy, sadness and anger. 

And yet, beneath it all, there was the smallest spark of something different. Something. . . softer.

Maybe, another reason that she had joined them, was because Juno didn't want to hold onto this bitterness any longer. Being around the Pogues made her feel something, even if it was messy and painful. But she also didn't know how to find her way past it.

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(A/N)

It's still a couple of episodes/chapters away, but I'm so excited for Midsummers. It's always so messy