𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣'𝙨 𝙋𝙊𝙑

"My parents are so paranoid of me being a Pogue, like it's the worst thing that could ever happen" Kiara complains as we sit in the bed of Heyward's truck that is parked on the ferry currently taking us to Charleston.

"Hey, I hear they got good weed at boarding school though" JJ comments, rolling a joint from his place on the roof of the vehicle.

"I'm not going to boarding school" Kiara huffs defiantly "They're gonna have to kidnap me, tie me up, and throw me in a van"

"I'm sure it won't come to that" I assure her, wrapping my arms around her neck as she tugs me onto her lap "But if it does, I'll come break you out"

"Promise?" She grins at me, stealing a kiss.

"I promise" I murmur against her lips.

"Well, I say" JJ declares, handing the rolled joint to Makoa "We just crumble some herb right now"

"Sounds like an excellent idea" Makoa chirps from next to him, pulling out his lighter to spark it up.

"Hey, Kie, have you tried to hit John B back on that number yet?" Pope asks.

"Like, twenty million times" Kiara answers him, tearing her eyes from me.

"That's quite a few times" JJ mumbles and Makoa snorts in response.

"Some random lady at a hotel keeps answering" Kiara adds.

"Well, until we hear from them again, we gotta try and clear his name. And right now, this letter's our best bet" Pope states.

"Right. Stay on task" JJ nods absentmindedly "That's why I love ya, Pope"

Makoa stands up and walks towards Pope, holding out the joint to him in offering.

"What Pope are you gonna be today?" He asks teasingly and Pope looks at the joint in his hand for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"I'm good" Pope answers "I'm gonna try to focus"

"Good Pope" Makoa says, sitting down next to Kiara and I as JJ slides down to sit with us "Boring Pope"

"Don't mind if I do" Kiara chirps happily, plucking the joint from Makoa's fingers and taking a hit.

"Um, do tricks now! Roll over, boy!" JJ jokes to Pope as I inhale the smoke that Kiara blows against my lips before leaning my head back and exhaling it.

"Sit" Makoa chuckles in amusement.

"Sit" JJ repeats.

"Try to catch a fish. Catch a fish" Kiara joins in with their nonsense and JJ barks loudly.

Without saying anything to the laughing trio, I crawl across the truck bed and lean over the edge that Pope is stood against, laying my chin on his shoulder. He jumps a little in surprise but relaxes when he notices that it's my curious face and he smiles softly, looking back to the letter in his hands.

"Whatcha doin'?" I question, ignoring the shuffling going on behind me.

"Just thinking" Pope replies, sounding distracted as though he's deep in thought.

"Don't overthink things, or they'll drive you crazy" I warn him and he nods in response, giving me a grateful look.

I gently knock my temple against his and then move back, only to collide with Kiara who is sitting with her back to mine as the boys snicker like children.

"Just a bit close, Kie" I tease and she throws me a scathing scowl over her shoulder that causes my brows to furrow in confusion "Are you okay?"

"Between my girlfriend's love for short skirts and bending over without a care in the world, I'm losing a little sanity" She mutters for only me to hear as I settle back on her lap and my cheeks heat up in embarrassment, glancing at JJ and Makoa who are still chuckling.

"Don't worry, princess. You have a beautiful ass" JJ smirks widely and Kiara glares at him so hard that I swear I see her left eye twitch.

»»-------------¤-------------««

"Guys, I've read this thing like a thousand times. It makes no sense" Kiara declares, holding the letter in her hand as we drive towards Charleston "I mean, the Limbreys own, like, half of Charleston. What do the Kook kings of Charleston know about a murder on Kildare Island?"

"Why you specifically? That's the other creepy thing. You know?" JJ adds.

"'Please come alone' . That's hella sus" Makoa agrees with them.

"I was thinking the same thing" Pope nods "I think it's because-"

Steam abruptly starts hissing, smoking out the front of the truck and I gasp in fright.

"Oh, come on" Pope huffs out.

"What's that?" Kiara asks.

"That is so much smoke" I point out in concern.

"Alli's right. Pull over" Kiara warns the boy "That's a lot of smoke, even for your dad's truck"

"Pope, I got sensitive lungs, man!" JJ complains, rolling the window up to keep the smoke out.

"Fuck your lungs. I'm asthmatic, bro" Makoa coughs out dramatically.

"I'm pulling over" Pope snaps at them.

"Pope, just slow down!" JJ shouts as we speed onto the grass "What are you doing, dude?"

"Okay, sure. Yeah, right now" Kiara says sarcastically as the truck screeches to a stop.

"Holy shit" I curse.

"No. No. No. No!" Pope mutters as he gets out the car "No. No"

"Oh my" JJ comments.

"It's gonna blow up!" Kiara shrieks as she scrambles out after shoving me from the vehicle in worry.

"No, it's not gonna blow up" JJ scoffs, getting out the car too with Makoa "You probably unhooked the radiator, Pope"

"I haven't seen this before" The blonde continues, clapping sarcastically as he lifts the discarded hubcap "You knocked the entire hubcap off! Whoo!"

"You might wanna reschedule your meeting, Pope" Makoa tells the Heyward boy.

"Plan B? We could, um...public transportation" Kiara starts to think of a solution "We could hitchhike. We could rent bikes"

"Hitchhike?" I question with a raised brow.

"Is little rich girl scared to hitchhike?" Makoa teases me and I elbow him with a glare.

"You're richer than I am, asshole" I retort and he shrugs as if to say 'touché'.

"Yeah, it's the radiator" JJ tells Pope, ignoring the three of us.

"My dad's gonna kill me" Pope states in disbelief.

"Yeah, he might" JJ nods "He might"

"That's not very comforting" I sass the blonde boy and he pinches my cheek in response.

»»-------------¤-------------««

I stand wrapped up in Kiara's arms while the boys talk to the mechanic about the Heywards car and although it's still warm, the night time breeze makes me regret not slipping a sweater on.

"Middle of nowhere" I hear JJ's voice as he approaches us "Dude's in heaven right now. 'Gotta know the calibration point before you do anything with the intake valve, JJ. You do the-'"

The blonde cuts himself off when he notices the small frown my girlfriend is sporting, leaning on the side of the truck's cargo bed.

"Hey. You all right?" He asks Kiara and she shrugs.

"My mom is so worried that I'm gonna be a Pogue that she's willing to send me to boarding school" The Carrera girl states in disbelief.

"Well, I guess that's what you get for hanging out with the wrong crowd, Kie" JJ replies, sipping from his flask.

"I mean, I'm not gonna go. It's too late anyway. I already am who I am" Kiara explains and I intertwine our fingers, laying my head back against the taller girl's shoulder.

"Ain't all that bad. Just look at that guy over there" JJ chirps, pointing at Pope "He would do anything for us. That's a Pogue if I've ever seen one. Bone-deep"

"That's just one man's opinion, though" He adds.

Kiara smiles softly and I turn to look at Pope who heads to the front desk, my eyes moving to Makoa who is messing around with a wrench.

"That guy is pretty great too. He's a little goofy, but he's got a lot of heart" I speak up, causing JJ to look over at the Asterix boy "He might've been born on figure eight, but that's a Pogue"

"That's just one woman's opinion, though" I repeat his words back to him and he grins but his eyes don't leave Makoa.

JJ slips his flask back into his pocket and stalks over to Makoa without another word, snatching the wrench from his grasp and teasing the brunette who sasses him in response.

"You're a sneaky little one" Kiara hums in amusement and I turn my head to smile at her.

"I don't know what you mean" I gasp jokingly and she shakes her head at me, kissing my cheek.

Once the truck is finally fixed up we drive for a while before stopping in a wide open field to get some shut eye, covering the cargo bed with towels to make it comfier.

Climbing into the bed of the truck, we all lay down in our own space and try to drift off to sleep.

"Good night, everyone" Pope mumbles.

"Night, guys" Makoa huffs, flopping back between JJ and I.

"Good night" Kiara chirps, wrapping her arms around me as I lay my head on her chest.

"Sweet dreams" I breathe out happily, letting my eyes fall closed to the sound of Kiara's beating heart.

"The sweetest" JJ adds in agreement, making me smile.