We awoke bright and early, so that Pope would have enough time to talk with Carla Limbry about The Royal Merchant. Or whatever she wanted to talk to him about. After Kiara, JJ, and I carefully dropped Pope off at her house, we waited for him to come back.

"He should be back by now," I fretted.

"I don't know ..." Kiara worriedly chewed on her lip.

"There he is!" JJ shouted, pointing out the window of the car to where Pope dashed out of Carla Limbry's house at full speed.

"Step on the gas!" I yelled at Kiara.

"We can't leave Pope!" Kiara threw open the side door of the truck and ran out after Pope.

"Kiara—!" JJ and I looked at each other, then abandoned the truck to run after her and Pope.

We joined Pope, and quickly realized what—or who—he was running from. It was Limbrey's crazy brother, who chased us with a weapon, running after us like mad.

"Run—faster—" Kiara gasped at Pope who led us.

"I'm trying," Pope said, also panting.

"Not talking—just run!" I yelled.

"This is why Pope shouldn't have been on the math team!" JJ yelled from the back of our pack as we ran.

"What?!" I said.

"Never mind—run!" Pope turned the corner of an alley, so we all ran out, spilling onto the road. We screeched to a stop when suddenly a bike pulled up in front of us, with—

—John B and Sarah?!

Everyone gaped at each other for a full ten seconds, shocked, but then John B started to get us moving again. "Get in! Get in!" I guess they were also running from people too.

We all tumbled into the bicycle that had a bench, and JJ yelled at John B to "Step on the gas!"

"There isn't gas on this bike," John B grunted and peddled harder.

"Whoo—hoo!" We all cheered as we left our pursuers in the dust. (Turns out Sarah and John B had been running from this rich guy they'd shoplifted from. Figures. Limbrey Brother had also tripped and been left in the dust.)

↬——✾——↫

We got on the boat that John B and Sarah had stolen, and zoomed over the ocean from Charleston back to the OBX. Kiara, Sarah, and I went to go get a couple beers to celebrate John B and Sarah being alive, and we caught up while we paid.

"Guess what—Pope and Kiara are a thing now!" I told Sarah excitedly while we picked out a couple six packs.

"No. Freaking. Way!" She squealed.

"Shut up," Kiara mumbled, but I could tell she was smiling.

"So what was all that 'it's complicated' business?" I pressed as we left the convenience store, arms loaded with cans of beer.

"I—nothing," she said, a little aggressively.

"Okay," I side–eyed her.

"Oh come on guys, let's get ready to party!" Sarah cheered, threw one arm around my shoulder, and the other around Kiara's, and led us back to the boys in the Twinkie. That's why I loved Sarah, she was the in–betweener between Kie and I. She settled things out, and generally, she was a very good social person.

I got why John B was head over heels for her. Who wouldn't be?

We drove back to John B's place, and by the time we got out, laughing, it was night time. JJ got the Jacuzzi running, Pope and John B set up the LED lights around the trees, and us girls brought out the beer.

"To the Pogues!" We cheered, clinked our cans of beer together in a toast, and took a swig.

Everyone sort of broke off to do their own thing—Kiara and Pope left for a romantic interlude—Sarah and John B quietly spoke by the stairs of the house, and JJ and I awkwardly sat in the Jacuzzi. I'd changed into my spare swimsuit I'd left at John B's, but at night, it was pretty chilly out, even in the hot tub.

"Mercedes—" JJ started.

"Shut up, JJ." I turned away from him. "You're clearly avoiding me like I have Covid or something—which I don't. So unless you're going to stop acting like this shell of a person around me, you can zip it."

"I was just gonna say, could you pass me a beer?"

I stared at him. "Are you serious right now?!"

"What? I was just sayin' that I wanted a beer, and you're right by the cans—"

"Get the fucking beer yourself, JJ!" I stood up, water splashing around me, and went to sit by Sarah and John B.

"Um ... is everything okay?" John B asked, ever the sweetheart.

"Fine," I snapped, and swigged at a beer.

"Right ..." John B said uncertainty.

"John B, why don't you go over to JJ?" Sarah not-so-subtly encouraged him to leave. Once John B left to go hang out with JJ in the Jacuzzi, Sarah turned to me. "Okay. Spill. What's really going on between you and JJ?"

"Nothing," I said moodily.

"Mercedes! I'm not an idiot, I can see you two aren't exactly ... um, like before, I guess—"

"—Hating each other's guts—?"

"Yeah, that, but it's like, different. You guys look ... distant. What happened while we were gone?" Sarah pried.

"He's awful!" I cried out. "He's been so distant, but only around me! Around the rest of the Pogues, he's normal, crazy, stupid, annoying, JJ! But around me he turns into this—this—iceberg!"

"Hmm ..." Sarah said, thinking deeply.

"What?! What are you thinking?!" I asked. Sarah was a genius when it came to these types of social interactions. It was why she'd been named Queen Kook back at the Kook Academy.

"I think JJ isn't stupid."

"Are you listening to yourself right now? This is JJ we're talking about," I scoffed. "Of course he's stupid! He's the definition of stupid."

"No, you don't understand. I think there's a reason why he's avoiding you. He's being careful around you, but only you. He's distant. D'you think there's a reason why he's being so careful, so cautious around you, Mer?"

"Don't be silly, Sarah. He's just being JJ for a dumb reason—"

"JJ isn't as shallow as you think, Mercedes." Sarah said seriously. "He's smart. He can lie. He's dealt with his dad for years, and it isn't just some miracle that he's still here. You know JJ, he's a Pogue. You're a Pogue. So why do you think he'd be going through all this effort, to make this whole situation with you? Only you?"

"I—I don't know, Sarah! This is getting way too controversial. I think you're looking into this way too deep," I shook my head at her. "C'mon, we know JJ. He's probably going through some stupid phase or whatever."

Sarah just sighed, and took a sip of her beer. "You don't get it."

"Ohmigod, just tell me then!" I said, starting to get pissed.

"No, you'll see it when you see it," she said mischievously.

"What the fuck does that even mean?!"

"It means—WATER FIGHT!" Sarah broke into a run, shrieking, and cannonballed into the jacuzzi, splashing John B and JJ.

"C'mon, Mercedes!" John B sputtered out a bit of water while JJ and Sarah tried to drown each other.

"You're all going down!" I got a running head start, then jumped into the hot tub, sploshing everyone again. I surfaced the water, spouting water from my mouth, but then noticed that everyone had gone still. "What—?"

"Shh!" John B hissed.

We all turned to where he pointed; a car was pulling up into John B's front yard, slowly yet purposeful.

"Hide!" John B ordered, and we all shot out of the jacuzzi like it was on fire. JJ clambered up the big oak tree where we'd burned John B's name into, and we quickly followed. JJ gave me a boost, pulling me up onto a spare branch, but there was no time for arguing. I quickly let go of his hand and hid behind the tree just as Barry and Rafe stormed into the front yard.

I guess they knew that John B was alive and well, and had gotten scared or something, so planned to kill him off to keep him quiet.

Rafe held a gun in his right hand, and from the shouting he was doing, he was after John B. He angrily shot it into the sky, narrowly missing the tree where we were hiding in. A stray bullet nearly hit Sarah, but she ducked.

I wanted to do something, I wanted to storm up to Rafe and beat him to a pulp for starting this whole thing. I was so angry at him, that he was allowed to have this lucky, happy, privileged life even after he'd shot Peterkin, even if it was his fault.

How was that fair?

But instead, I kept my cool, and eventually Barry and Rafe got back into their truck and drove off.

Shakily, we got down from the tree. That'd been our millionth close call with almost getting shot—actually, I hadgotten shot. But by the time we'd climbed down and fixed everything up, the sun had risen and it was early morning.

I was exhausted, and hadn't slept at all, because of the Barry and Rafe fiasco. Everyone looked completely zonked, hungover, and was on zero sleep. So when Kie and Pope finally showed up after their "romantic interlude", we were a little harsh on them.

"Where the fuck have you been?!" I stormed down the dock.

"Uh—" Pope paused.

"We have to get out of here—Rafe knows that John B's alive, almost tried to kill him! He's probably off to the Sheriff's right this moment," JJ glanced at me.

"Yeah," I echoed.

"Looks like we're heading to Yukaton!" JJ cheered, and started to load the boat for John B.

"JJ, wait." Sarah said, and we all turned to look at her. "I think we're being a little rash—"

"A little rash?! John B's about to be arrested all over again!" Kie panicked.

"Let me talk to my dad. Maybe he can convince Rafe not to—to arrest John B!" Sarah insisted.

"I dunno," I chewed on my lip. "Sounds a little too hopeful."

"Like naive hopeful," Kiara agreed.

"Sarah, you've got an hour." John B decided for us. She cheered, hugged him, and left to go talk to her dad.

"You've grown way too soft, man," Pope teased John B.

"Yeah, no offense John B but ..." Kiara shrugged.

"Been giving her a lot of John D, huh?" JJ snickered.

"Ohmigod, JJ, shut the fuck up," I rolled my eyes.

"Please," John B said, turning red.

While we waited for Sarah, I caught up on sleep. Everyone eventually passed out on the dock, and it was sort of relaxing listening to the water lap against the bank, in the early morning.

Sarah came back a couple hours later, but she looked horrible. She had tear streaks down her cheeks, and she ran straight to us, blubbering. "I tried to talk to him, but he just wouldn't listen—!"

"Sarah, shhh," John B hugged her.

"What do you mean?!" The rest of us panicked.

"They're coming after you, John B, you've got to run," Sarah sobbed.

"Oh shit," JJ swore, and we all turned to see what he was looking at.

Deputy's started pouring in, sirens blasting. They were here to arrest John B.

"Guys—move!" Kiara started running, and we followed her. John B helped Sara along, since she'd just been shot, but the rest of us full on sprinted.

Kiara led us into the marsh, and we moved as fast as we could to get out of the sigh of the cops, but it was too late. We swam up onto the bank, panting, and hid behind a tree.

The cops started to pull up, and I knew it was too late. We were surrounded.

JJ started to pull out the gun from his pocket, but I knocked it to the floor. I shook my head, and he looked at me—really looked at me. It wouldn't work, we were overwhelmed anyway. We were just kids, we had no power, even if we went around shooting bullets at them.

It was no use.

And JJ finally understood that. I could see it come to him as he understood, and he just nodded firmly, and kicked dirt over the gun to hide it.

We were ignoring the fact that we'd been fighting, I was ignoring the fact that I was still angry at him, and JJ was doing whatever he was doing to put all that behind him. We were doing that for John B, because he was a Pogue, and because we loved him.

"Put your hands up!" A deputy roared at us, and we obliged.

John B was quickly arrested, and thrown into jail.

a/n: reading this from months ago, bruh. like i can't. anyway, sorry for the long wait! guys I don't really update on Wattpad that often kinda forgot about this account but here it is!