【 𝘄𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 ━━ 𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 】

004 : take my kisses, cora
𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼 - 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗸𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀
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TO FULLY UNDERSTAND WHY this moment is as weird as it is. We have to go back a couple hours.

Arriving at the Summer Winds motel it looked rough. You were unsure how the chateau and your house had survived as well as it did when places like this were made to survive it and still got completely obliterated.

"Don't let him do anything stupid." Pope tells John B. Referring to JJ, who has a habit and track record of doing stupid shit on the daily.

"Don't die, idiot." you tell the idiot. Saluting back, he has his goofy grin in place, which makes it impossible to not smile back, "If I do, tell Storm I love her."

"I'm not telling her that."

Starting to walk away, he throws kisses, "Give these than." he calls. Kissing your middle finger you hold it up for him, "You have to catch them!"

Not doing so he stays put. Until you cave and catch the air putting it in your pocket, "Now go!" you call, which he finally does.

Turning to them, they stare back, "What?" you ask brows furrowing at their shared looks.

"You have to catch them!" Pope says, trowing the kisses. Rolling your eyes you check on the idiot, "They were for my mum, not me."

Humming he moves around the boat, "I'm just saying..." Pope trails off, "No, pogue-on-pogue macking. Besides, JJ is not my type."

"What is your type?" Kie asks. Making you shrug, you have had the same talk not long ago but you still hadn't really thought about it, yet. You just knew he wasn't it, "I don't know but he's not it."

After your answer, a not so comfortable silence took over, "So... the earth? How are we ruining it?" you ask, which got Kei going. It's always a good conversation changer.

"Easy. Giving one per cent to the environment."

"What's wrong with that?"

"We only have one Earth, Pope." you say in unison. Having heard the girl say it a thousand times before.

Pushing your arm, you chuckle softly, "Okay, seriously. What would you recommend? Things that are actually doable for us normal folks."

"Recycling. Glass instead of plastic. Reusable bottles. It helps."

Nodding, you think it over. You could try reusing those glass Fanta bottles. Maybe mum kept the cap of those, "I got one if you want it."

"Got what?"

"A bottle, you can have it if you want."

"Yeah."

"Hey, hey. Cops."

Furrowing your brows Pope point the squad car out, "Call them." he instructs Kie. Who shakes her head, "I can't. Towers are down." jumping out of the boat, you following close behind.

"If I lose my merit scholarship, I'm gonna kill someone." Pope grumbles, "That will definitely make you lose it." you mumble quietly.

Having him slap your head, you rub it. Now knowing he heard you, "Not the moment." Kie says, getting between the two of you.

"Maybe they're not going up there. Maybe they are just- just looking for a room."

Furrowing your brows at the boy and his sometimes weird reasoning. Scratch that often weird reasoning, you shake your head, "To do what? Get their freak on?" you ask him.

"I don't know."

"Think, Pope. You're the brains."

Before you could get into it, your chin gets turned back to the motel, "They are going up there." Kie states as the officers are eerily fastly approaching the room of the unknown Grady White owner.

Walking through the mud was one thing, walking over sticks on sippers is Hell, "Fuck." you curse having them continuously stab your feet.

"Just get on my back."

Shaking your head, she slides her hair to the side. Ready for you to jump on, "Come on, I got this." she nudges. Jumping on, she seems to be carrying you with easy. Until we reach the stones and you jump off, "Get back the two of you." Pope says, throwing a stone.

And missing the window completely. Looking at the boy you have to cover your mouth to not laugh, "Dude, did you ever play baseball?"

"I was on the math team."

"The mathletes, really?"

"Give me one." you whisper, not finding any suitable sizes. Getting a couple handed you take a deep breath before throwing, successfully hitting the window.

"Volleyball, bitches."

"Yes."

The curtains get pulled up and John B's face is revealed. Nudging to the side of the building, "The cops!" the three of you whisper-shout, before he disappears behind the curtains.

"Think they got the message?" you ask, as we make our way back to the boat. Well, Pope and Kie did with you on her back.

Having a handing help onto it, she shrugs, "Let's hope so." Pope offers. As Kie starts the HSM Pogue, "Should we peep?" she asks.

"You never leave a pogue behind."

"No, seriously. Should we peel?"

"Maybe." Pope nods. Shaking your head, you turn your attention to Kie, "No." you deny.

Before continuing to watching the two boys. Who are now stand on the edge of a roof, shaking your head at the situation, Pope tries to ask what they're doing, which they for obvious reasons didn't hear.

As they keep standing there, JJ drops something. Which makes an obnoxious loud thud, making the curtains fly up in seconds. Turning around, you take a seat on the edge of the boat, "So... water. Plants. Weather." you mumble nodding. Attempting at making this conversation seem as real as possible.

"Yes, ants. Vessels. Grenades." Pope joins. Which makes Kei nod, snapping her fingers, "What about pollution, the environment and kittens?" she asks.

"Good point." you nod, not knowing where the conversation was going, at all.

Having the two boys jump in, you sigh relieved. Speeding up not a word was said until you got on the march, "Well, that was fun. Could have warned us a little sooner."

"We would have except Pope was on the math team." Kie grumbles, annoyed by the boys' inability to throw.

"You were on the math team?"

Ignoring the question, John B focuses on what actually happened, "The cops took everything like it was a crime scene." he tells all of you like it was the weirdest thing.

"Isn't it?"

"Did you guys find anything?" Pope asks, which is a good question. He had to know the answer, JJ has kleptomaniac tendencies so it wasn't surprising when he went into his pockets.

What was surprising is how he held up a stack of money and a gun.

"What the fuck, Jay."

"Why would you take that from a crime scene?"

"It's better than the cops having it."

"Better than people who were trained and have a license. You should have it?"

"You weren't there."

"I'm gonna lose my merit scholarship." that's Pope's measurement for everything bad. If it has the possibility to make him lose his scholarship. It's bad.

Making JJ jump up, shushing the boy as he wraps his arm around him. Placing the gun on his lips. Which makes Pope tense up, "You still have us right?" Jay offers.

"I'm living the nightmare."

Arriving at land there was a whole group crowded around the Coast Guard. Which made us crowd around it, "Scotter. Scotter?" an older woman asks running up to the paramedics. Crying over the body I'm assuming it's a loved one of hers, "Who's that?" JJ asks.

Shrugging, all of you watch the scene, "Scooter Grubbs. He was out during the storm." Kie tells us, as we watch the woman stand there.

Holding a phone up, Dylan shows a picture, "Check out this pic I got. Dead body. Insane." your brows furrow at the picture on her screen, "Don't look at that." you say, turning the blonds chin up to not look.

"What kind of boat did he have?"

Looking at him, he shakes his head, "Somehow that dirtbag copped a brand-new Grady-White. Everyone's out looking for it." Dylan informs us.

"Okay, so. We didn't see anything. We don't know anything. We need to have total and complete amnesia." Pope states taking a seat on the couch.

Making JJ stand up, "Actually, Pope's right for once." he nods, clipping his lighter closed.

"For once?" you ask, "See, I agree with you sometimes," Jay adds, ignoring your look.

Rolling your eyes, you look outside, "Deny, deny, deny." he continues to say. Making Kiara look flabbergasted, "Guys we can't keep that money." she denies.

"Okay. Not all of us can afford unlimited data plans, Kiara."

"We have to pass that off to Lana Grubbs. Otherwise, it's bad karma."

"Bad karma to be implicated in a felony, too. We have to go dark."

Tying up your — borrowed from Kie — shoelaces, "I don't believe in karma. If someone does something you do it back; eye for an eye." you tell the group.

Making JJ nod eagerly, rubbing your shoulders, "If that means we can keep the money, then I agree."

"I don't agree."

"What, why?"

"Just think about it." JB sketches an image. How Scooter Grubbs, the man who never had more than forty bucks to his name. Buys individual cigarettes, and begs for change at the gas station.

How a man like that can have a boat like a Grady-White. A boat that can easy be five-hundred thousand dollars.

"Maybe he won the lottery."

"Naive, sweet, little, Lake. He didn't win the lottery." JJ denies, pulling the fish up, "He was straight up smuggling." John B adds, agreeing with the bond.

Unhooking the fish you throw it back in the water, "Maybe he did something else." you offer.

"Like what, prostitution?"

"There are more ways to make money."

"Not in a town like this." John B denies, "I bet there is a serious amount of contraband." JJ agrees.

"Okay," Pope says louder, grabbing your attention, "let's say it's true. That is a smuggling ship. With illegal contraband inside of it. It belongs to someone else." he continues.

"Minor details."

"They could come looking for it. Taking it would be catastrophically stupid."

"Right, well. Stupid things have good outcomes all the time." JJ smiles. Spreading the money out, "How much is that?" you ask. Looking over at the stack of hundred dollar bills, "Enough to figure out what's on that wreck. Until then we just have to lay low. Act normal."

"Right, and how exactly do we do that?"

"Kegger?" Kie suggests. Making JJ nod eagerly pointing at the girl, "That's an amazing idea."

Leaving us in this moment, at said kegger. Literally the last place you wanted to be but here we are. Standing at the edge of the water, the wind being pushed forward by the see.

Hair moving all the way, it blows softly in your ears. Dimming the loudest noises at the party and giving you a false sense of peace; "What you're up to?" a certain activists voice questions.

"Nothing." you mumble, keeping your eyes close — you can almost feel her eyes burning in the side of your face, but — you don't glance over, "Just standing?" she asks.

Humming, you slowly lean your head back, "Yeah, try it." you say softly, not wanting to break the calming atmosphere you had created for yourself.

Nudging her hand against yours, Kei hums, "This is pretty calming."

"I know." you breath out, just continuing to stand there. Now with the girl instead of a solitaire calm fest, it manifested itself in two — huh, that sounded funny. It manifested into two.

"So... how did you think to do this?"

Peeking one eye open the girl next to you has her eyes closed, standing more relaxed than you had seen her the past weeks, "If the water can calm itself, so can we. We are both salt water mixed with air."

Watching her brows furrow up, she opens her eyes, "Are you high?"

A laugh burst out of your mouth, not expecting the blunt question, "No, just watched friends."

"Don't be in the Phoebe mood."

"You know I can't help it. My personally needs the extremeness that is Phoebe to feel truly like Lake."

"Then why watch it alone? I can be your Rachel." she offers.

"That's Monica."

"Your chandler?"

"Joe."

"Who's with Phoebe?"

"Everyone, she's the glue. They might be mad and joke how she's expendable because she's not blood nor dating the scooby doo gang. But none of them would have been who they were meant to be without her." shifting your gaze from the girl to the horizon, "Yes, they are mad in the moment but it always works out in the end."

Humming, silence takes over, "That's because it's a white-washed rom-com from the nineties." she mumbles.

"True. But I see our friend group in it. Not the characters just... The found family aspect. Not needing each other per se but wanting to spend time together. Always."

Turning your head back to her, she nods, "That makes sense." Kie whispers, "Your our glue too, you know."

"JB is the glue."

Watching the sun bleed into the water, the stars get their chance to shine. Feeling a handhold on to yours, Kei raises it to the sky, "That's a turtle."

Your brows furrow, to be honest, you never knew much about astrology. It's pretty but beyond that, you never had the interest to know more.

But suddenly you wish you did. Not seeing the turtle the girl was referring too, "I don't see it." you deny, "How can you not see it?" she questions.

Stepping a little closer, she tilts your head, "It's right there." she whispers.

Not seeing anything, you just nod. Your lips forming an O-shape, "Right, a turtle. Duh." you nod, trying your best to make it seem like you did.

"Really?"

authors note    still doing one chapter a day. should not pat myself to quickly but still. pretty good if you ask me! <welovekie3