SALTWATER.

it flooded emery's senses, filled her lungs, seeped into every crack and pore of her skin.

she felt the burn as it crawled up her throat, her head throbbing as she began coughing, saltwater pouring out of her lungs and back into the ocean. she looked around, a small figure in the water not far away.

"mara?" she called, voice hoarse from how much salt had just passed her raw throat. "mara?"

"emery?" john b called from behind her, the melville girl turning to see him holding onto a rope hanging off the boat. the phantom had flipped, but somehow managed to stay afloat.

"john b!" emery yelled, mara suddenly stirring at the other end of the boat. she was having a heavy couching fit, and emery turned to see, despite the life jacket the girl was wearing, she was struggling to stay afloat.

"ems? john b?" she called between coughs, emery already grabbing her by the strap at the top of her life jacket and pulling her towards them. the steven's girl immediately latched onto john b, who put one arm around her and another around emery. the three looked around, a sudden sense of dread washing over them.

they were in the middle of nowhere.

they couldn't see land in any direction. they were stuck in the middle of the ocean.

"guys." mara whispered, her voice trembling as she gripped john b's shirt tighter, the routledge pulling both girls impossibly closer to him.

everything hurt, their muscles ached from being tossed around by the waves all night- it was a miracle they were even still together.

"guys." emery said suddenly, eyes wide. just over the horizon, a cargo ship had come into view.

"guys, there's a boat." john b whispered, mara's grip tightening as john b shoved her off. "i'm not a fucking jungle gym, get off me."

mara flipped him off, instead moving to hold onto emery, who allowed the girl to do so while john b began to wave his arms around, all three of them yelling.

"hey!" emery screamed, voice cracking as she did so. "hey, we're over here!"

"hey!" mara shouted, reaching over into john b's backpack and taking the gold out, using it to reflect the sunlight and shine it towards the boat.

"hey!" john b yelled desperately.

"they don't see us." emery whispered, tears in her eyes as john b pulled both girls into him again.

"i'm so sorry, guys." he whispered, mara burying her face in emery's arm, the melville girl still watching the boat.

then, it flashed its lights.

repeatedly.

"guys- guys, they see us!" she shouted, waving her arms again. "hey!"

"they see us!" mara shouted happily, using the gold to shine light towards the ship again, john b laughing happily behind the two girls.

"yes- here! we're over here!" he shouted, kissing the side of emery's head.

the boat eventually made it over to them, the captain helping the three teens in boat, giving them blankets and wrapping them around their shoulders.

"here, i got you, big boy." he told john b, who was struggling to climb up the ladder, the routledge boy more worried for the two girls to get on first. "oh man, yall lucky that we came through here."

"thank you." emery said through chattering teeth as the man wrapped a blanket around her, the girl gripping the fabric tightly.

"hey, larry! get some coffee on!" he shouted into the cabin. normally, emery wouldn't drink coffee, but at this moment, anything providing her any sort of warmth she'd be grateful for. "boy, if we wouldn't have see yall, y'all'd have been a gone pecan."

mara laughed a little at the comment, staying close to emery, the melville leaning into her slightly.

"anybody i can call, let 'em know you're okay?"

a million names crossed emery's mind. levi. amelia. jj. pope. ainsley. kie.

"we don't really have anyone to call." john b muttered, mara wrinkling her eyebrows at him.

"i have a family who probably wouldn't complain that im letting them know im not dead. and a boyfriend. but whatever." she whispered so the crew couldn't hear her.

"hey, larry! put some soup on too!" he yelled, motioning towards a chair and looking between mara and emery. "sit right there, girls."

"y'all just made my day a whole lot more interesting." the captain mumbled to himself.

soon, the trio was brought cups of coffee, which they all sipped at warily. it tasted more like water with a hint of coffee sprinkled into it.

"where were y'all trying to go?" the captain asked.

"can you just drop us off at the next port?" emery asked, john b nodding from behind where she and mara were sitting, the captain laughing a little.

"i was in love once." he stated bluntly. "turned into a damn disaster."

"i have to be with them for the remainder of this trip, i'm no more excited than you." mara said flatly, the captain chuckling a little.

"where did you say the next port was?" john b asked.

"nassau."

"the bahamas." emery breathed, smiling at mara and john b.

"the gold." mara whispered.

ONE MONTH.

it had been a month since the storm.

two weeks since the phantom washed up.

two days since john b, mara, and emery were presumed lost at sea with no further investigation.

levi hadn't left his house, he spent his lays locked in his room. amelia had lost a considerable amount of weight. no one had heard from leah stevens, it was rumored she left the island entirely after she signed the papers for mara's death.

none of the pogues were invited to mara's funeral.

leah had one, a funeral the whole island had been invited to, everyone but jj, pope, kie, and ainsley. levi had been invited, but was more distracted by planning his sister's funeral with his mom.

the entire island- with the exception of leah- attended emery's funeral. jackson hadn't been seen since the night of the storm, he didn't show up to the funeral either. sarah and wheezie cameron were there with their stepmother, amelia making sure rafe and ward weren't allowed through the door.

amelia told jj she could pay for a funeral for john b, but the maybank rejected the offer. part of him wanted to deny john b's death, but he also knew that despite the flashy funerals the girls had been given, they deserved proper pogue send offs just like they were giving to john b.

so, standing outside the chateau with a wooden box full of pictures and trinkets from over the years, the pogues watched as pope took an axe to a tree. when the bark had been cut into a heart and the surface was flat, jj stepped forward with a torch and lit it to a crowbar, pressing the metal to the tree to burn the names of their three friends into it. when he stepped back, ainsley's eyes watered at the sight.

JOHN B ROUTLEDGE
EMERY MELVILLE
MARA STEVENS

2003 - 2020

P4L

"to john b." pope mumbled.

"and mara." jj added.

"and emery." levi whispered. all of the pogues present raised whatever drink was in their hand, before taking a long drink from it. levi reached into his pocket, pulling out a bracelet emery had bought for the two of them to wear on a vacation to jamaica- with blue thread and puka shells and crystal clear beads. as the pogues lowered the box into the hole, levi put the bracelet next to it, kiara laying a flower on top before covering the box with dirt.

"i have to get back to work." ainsley said after a moment of silence, kiara and pope nodding.

"i do too." pope said, voice strained.

"my moms gonna kill me if i don't hurry up." kiara whispered, the three hurrying away to their respective vehicles, leaving jj and levi alone.

"how have you been holding up?" jj asked levi, who took a deep breath.

"pretty shit." he mumbled. "you?"

"pretty shit." jj repeated. "how was mara's... deal?"

"it was nice, the cameron's were all there, though. rafe's keeping up his kiss-ass act, in case you're curious." he added, the two walking around the tree and sitting in the hammock.

"did amelia get your transfer done?" jj asked hopefully, levi nodding and smiling a little.

"yeah, she did. was pretty pleased to pull me out of the kook academy." levi said, half humorously. "you working tonight or coming straight home?"

"i have to work, i'll be home before dinner, though." jj replied, taking another drink from his flask.

since the storm, jj had been living with amelia and levi. he had made the guest room his own, with amelia's insistence. emery's room was in the same hallway, the door having been shut since the storm. amelia had wanted to leave it exactly how she had left it, but levi and jj both insisted that amelia at least wash and put away the wet clothes in her laundry basket and bathroom.

"okay, have you heard from mom?"

mom.

it was still so new to jj to have a mom in the picture. not just a mom, but his mom. to have a brother, a family, a safe home to come to every day.

"not today, i think she said she was going to the store and then just coming home." jj said, leaning back in the hammock and passing the flask to levi who took a sip.

"y'know... everyone talks about how bad it is when a parent has to bury their child?" levi asked, shaking his head slowly. "no one talks about how bad it is for siblings to bury each other."

"no shit." jj whispered, taking the flask back from levi and finishing it off, tossing it aside into the grass. the two sat in silence for a minute before jj spoke up again. "i have to get ready for work."

"ill drive you home." levi mumbled both of them glancing back at the chateau.

levi had only hung out with the pogues for a month, but he could tell the house was different than it was before. the first time he came over, it was full of happiness and a family by choice, like a warm hug from the favorite cousin you only see at christmas and easter every year.

but now? the wood that was once a bright white appeared to be almost sickly. the wood appeared more rotted than before. none of them had stepped foot in the house since everything happened, despite the fact that they all had inevitably left something or another in that house, but nothing seemed worth going through the pain of having to be surrounded by constant reminders of them.

the house where emery had spent more of her childhood than her own house. the place where she and mara patched up busted lips, scraped knees, injuries from falling off of trees and the roof of the house (don't ask), and where john b held the best house parties.

jj woke up countless times to taylor swift sounds playing so loud they shook the whole house, walking into the kitchen to see mara and emery singing at the top of their lungs while making breakfast for him and john b. sometimes, he'd join in, and other times he'd act mad at them for waking up.

but now, he'd give anything to wake up to red shaking thing very foundation of the house he practically lived in, to walk out of his bedroom and see the two girls spinning each other around in the kitchen and singing loudly, the smell of pancakes and sausage in the air, the slightly smoky haze from the stove making it slightly difficult to see in the kitchen.

it was quiet now. every time jj woke up. even at emery's house, he was used to hearing her or levi arguing downstairs when he woke up, or a movie playing at a medium volume on the tv, he hardly ever woke up to silence with the pogues. but now, everything was silent. things with emery, mara, and john b were never quiet, they were always the loudest in any room.

some people are too loud for the world to handle.

kens speaks 🪐

start of the s2 tidal era???

i don't like writing the start of s2 and by that i mean the first four episodes but it's fine, i'll suck it up