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❝ i find this kind of attractive? ❞
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𝘚𝘺𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘦'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

JJ pushes open the doors of Freedman's church and a small flock of birds flutter away in fright as we stand at the entrance, looking around the old decrepit looking building.

"Okay, you're telling me Denmark Tanny decided to hide the cross here?" JJ questions as we enter the church.

"Mmhm" Pope chirps.

"Everybody, just spread out" Kiara orders and we listen to the girl, heading off in our own ways.

"Okay, well, if I was a cross and wanted to be hidden in an old church, where would I hide?" John B asks, more so to himself than us.

"Personally I'd hide somewhere comfortable" I reply and the brunette flicks my nose, causing me to slap his hand away from me.

"Are you sure that Denmark hid the cross here, Pope? Like, are we at the right church?" JJ asks the Heyward boy curiously.

"It's gotta be here somewhere, guys" Pope assures us.

"What if we have to push a secret button or, like, play, like, a... a certain chord, and then, all of a sudden, the ground beneath us reveals the catacombs or something on which we stand?" JJ suggests.

"How about we try to find obvious clues?" John B counters.

"It's not an escape room" Kiara scoffs.

"Or the goonies" I add.

"It's gotta be in here" Pope mutters.

"Sorry. I'm sorry" JJ says softly, moving away from the piano.

"I can't see where they'd hide a giant cross here" John B points out.

"You're barely looking" I retort and he reaches out to grab me but I slip away from him with a yelp, hiding behind Sarah who glares at the boy.

John looks at me in disbelief and I grin, sticking my tongue out at him.

"No, no. There's no way he would set us up on a freaking goose chase that would lead us to a church that has nothing" Pope snaps defensively.

"Yes, I get it. I don't know what to tell you, man" John B replies, looking away from me to Pope.

"The clues led us here. The cross is in this church" Pope declares firmly, sitting down on one of the pews.

"Pope, it'll be all right. We've had setbacks in the past, and we figured it out. We're gonna find it" John B assures the boy.

"He's right" Kiara adds.

"We've just gotta think about this logically, all right? Where else would you hide a seven-foot-tall cross made of gold?" John B explains.

"What?" JJ asks when we notice Pope staring upwards in awe.

The Heyward boy gets up and slowly takes steps forwards while we all look up, trying to figure out what he's seeing other than rotting wooden beams.

"Am I just really dumb? Is that why I'm not seeing this?" I mutter out in confusion.

"Oh my God. Look at that" Kiara breathes out, elbowing me gently and pointing to the beams above us.

I finally notice the shape of the beams and my eyes widen in disbelief. They are huge wooden crosses.

"Holy fuck" I mumble in awe.

Pope hurries over to the wall and starts scaling it like he has no concern for his safety, making my eyes widen in surprise.

"Pope" Sarah frowns.

"Hey, no!" JJ scolds him.

"Now Pope's climbing the wall" John B narrates.

"With skill that I did not know he had" I add and John B nods in agreement.

"Wait. Pope, wait. This is crazy" Sarah declares.

"Pope, this church is old" Kiara warns him.

"Okay, Po, come down now!" I speak up at him with a nervous laugh.

"This isn't safe" Kiara snaps in agreement.

The wall crumbles as Pope climbs and I inhale sharply, holding my breath anxiously as I grab the nearest person to me which happens to be Sarah.

"Yo! This church gots to be at least 200 years old" JJ informs him.

"He's right, Pope. It's too dangerous!" John B shouts.

"Yo, let me just be real. You're not the most coordinated person on planet Earth" JJ points out.

"Pope? Pope!" Kiara tries to get his attention.

"You hear me? What are you doing?" JJ demands as Pope slams his fist against the wooden beam he's clinging to.

"All right, this one's solid wood. I'm gonna try the other beam" Pope tells us.

"Pope, please be careful!" I plead desperately, knowing that he's not coming down right now.

"Pope, that's rotten as shit right there, okay?" JJ says in concern.

"Hey, easy!" Kiara warns him.

"Pope, I hate to break it to you, but that's wood" JJ says to the boy knocking on the wooden beam.

"No, no. It has to be here. I know it" Pope argues, trying to pull himself around the middle beam.

"Is it weird that I find this kind of attractive?" I breath out, watching him climb around above us and I'm lightly slapped upside the head by a glaring JJ.

"Bro, just look out for that giant wasp nest right above your head" JJ shouts, causing Pope to look up at the wasps buzzing above him.

"Yeah" Sarah agrees.

"Hey, just... just move slow, all right? Nice and easy, all right?" John B advises him.

Pope kicks a piece of the rotting wood away and it comes flying at us, so we all have to all dodge the wood before it hits us.

"Was that necessary?!" I shriek.

"Whoa, hey! Yo!" JJ snaps at him.

"God!" Sarah huffs.

"Look! It's hollow" Pope shows us "Go get me a crowbar!"

Sarah runs out to the van to get a crowbar and a pair of arms are wrapped around me, JJ laying his head on my shoulder as we watch our friend above us.

"What are you gonna do, Pope? I don't want this entire church to collapse on top of us. That's all I'm saying" JJ questions.

"Sarah!" Pope shouts as the girl enters the church with a crowbar.

"Hey, Pope" She replies.

"Throw it" He tells her.

"Okay. Oh, for real?" She nods, swinging her arm as she readies to throw it.

"Watch your heads" John B warns us.

"Wait. Ah!" JJ panics, spinning me around behind him as Sarah throws the crowbar but Pope catches it with ease.

"Got it!" Pope grins and we turn back around, looking up at him.

"Not bad" Kiara smiles and Sarah shrugs with a grin.

"Hey, Pope, Pope, there's the wasp nest right up there, okay? Just move slow, all right?" John B explains.

"Got it" Pope nods and he starts hacking at the wooden beam with the crowbar in his hand.

"Hey, uh... What is that?" Sarah asks.

"Do you guys see that?" John B adds.

"Shit" Kiara gasps out as the cross is revealed through the rotten wood "Holy shit"

"Un-fucking-believable" I mumble in surprise.

"It's here. Oh my God" Sarah grins widely.

"You did it, buddy" JJ smiles proudly.

"Holy shit! Holy-" Kiara repeats.

"Oh my God! Oh!" Sarah squeals.

"No way!" I laugh loudly.

My sister pulls me and Kiara towards her, wrapping her arms around us and we all jump around with joy.

"We did it!" JJ and John B holler.

"Ah! Yeah!" Pope screams happily.

"Oh my God!" Kiara laughs.

"You did it, Po!" I beam up at him.

"Yeah!" Pope whoops.

"Holy shit! I thought you were crazy!" Kiara admits.

"We did it! We did it!" Pope shouts before waving his hands in front of his face with a frown "Okay, they're stinging now. Ow!"

The wasps start swarming around the boy and he drops the crowbar, causing us to scatter to avoid being hit by it.

"Take it easy!" JJ shrieks, yanking me with him.

"Ow!" Pope howls in pain.

Pope loses his grip on the beam and tips to the side, falling from the wood and managing to grab onto it as he falls.

"Hold on, Pope!" Kiara hollers as he dangles from the wooden beam.

"Wait!" Sarah panics.

"Cushions!" John B snaps and we all rush around, collecting the cushions from the pews.

"Move the pews! Move these!" Kiara shouts at us and the two girls start moving the pews from under Pope.

"John B!" JJ shouts, the both of us throwing him more cushions.

"Pope, hold on!" Sarah pleads.

"I can't hold!" Pope cries out, one of his hands slipping and we all scream.

"Hold on!" John B hollers as we fasten our pace, running around frantically.

"Po, you're going to be okay!" I assure him.

"Hang on!" JJ tells him in worry.

"Hold on!" Kiara shouts.

"Hold on!" John B repeats desperately.

"I'm slipping, guys" Pope stresses.

"Hang on! Hang on!" JJ protests.

We throw a few last cushions down before Pope's other hand slips from the beam and he is sent sprawling onto the old dusty cushions we've piled on the floor, causing us all to scream again in fright.

"Pope, are you okay?" Kiara asks as we rush to his side.

"Are you good?" Sarah questions.

"Are you hurt?" I ask him anxiously.

"Anything broken?" JJ queries in concern.

"Do you feel good?" Kiara adds.

"You okay?" John B questions.

"You did not tuck and roll, for sure" JJ states.