JOHN B GENTLY SHOOK THE GIRLS AWAKE EARLY THE NEXT MORNING.

"guys." he said gently, emery blinking a few times, suddenly registering the pain in her back from sleeping on the bench with mara on top of her, the two girls sitting up slowly. "guys, we're in charleston, get up."

"we're in charleston?" emery asked, turning forward to see the city in front of the boat. they were cruising under the charleston bridge that emery had crossed every weekend for years going to visit her grandparents.

"yeah, that's what i just said." john b said bluntly, running around the boat. "and we're almost out of gas, so where gonna stop."

"i want food." mara whined, holding her stomach where she had been stitched up. "and an ibuprofen."

"we'll get you something to eat." emery assured as john b steered the boat up onto the shore, tossing the anchor down and digging it into the sand.

"you got cash on you?" john b asked the melville, who jumped off the boat, helping mara down as john b grabbed the gas cans he found in the back, carrying them up the shore.

"not exactly." emery replied. "i know where we can get some, though." she added, already starting up the side of the hill that they had left the boat behind.

"i hope you guys realize how lucky you are that you don't feel like you're being stabbed every time you take a step." mara groaned as emery took her hand, practically pulling her up the slope.

"i hope you realize how lucky you are i know cpr." emery replied smoothly, turning down the street and walking into downtown, glancing up at the buildings she and her cousins had ridden their bikes past a million times- winters were never especially cold in charleston, they were often wearing shorts on christmas- and she couldn't help but smile.

even after jackson left, amelia and the kids had remained close with his side of the family, for the sole purpose of them acknowledging that despite jackson being an asshole, emery and levi were still their family.

well, levi was.

it was bittersweet to remember that the people who emery had grown up around, the people who she had called her family in charleston, were of no biological relation to her. they were levi's family, but not hers.

"where are we going?" john b asked.

"just follow my lead." emery mumbled back, the three of them walking up to a patio restaurant that emery had been to before, which she happened to know was a decently expensive place to eat. she stumbled a little as a waiter, who was carrying a tray of champagne, walked towards them bumping
into him and sending the glasses toppling into a man sitting below them, emery immediately shoving john b in front of her.

"you idiot!" the man exclaimed as he turned and saw john b, emery grabbing the silver money clip sitting on the table and shoving it into her back pocket.

"i'm so sorry!" the waiter apologized.

"your shoes!" mara exclaimed to the woman the man was sitting with.

"this is a seventeen-hundred dollar jacket!" the man said angrily.

"a hundred percent on me. i'm sorry. i bumped into him." john b apologized.

"is there anything i can do to make it up to you?" emery was asking the woman, who shook her head, emery continuing to apologize to her.

"no, i'm sorry. this is on me. i bumped into him." john b was still explaining himself.

"you're saying you're gonna pay for it?" the man fired.

"i don't have any money. i'm broke." john b replied bluntly.

"of course you don't." the man snapped, looking at john b, emery, and mara disgustedly.

"sir-" the server started, the man cutting him off.

"pathetic!" he spat, john b turning and motioning for emery and mara to follow, the server starting to explain that he was going to go get a manager to sort out the situation.

"i'm sorry." john b mumbled.

"no need to call him an idiot." emery told the man, shrugging as she followed john b off, mara walking with the two, the server starting to try and find a way to please the man.

when they were out of earshot of the restaurant, john b turned to emery.

"did you get it?"

"get what?" mara asked.

"yeah, i didn't get anything." emery added, john b raising his eyebrows at her. "oh wait- you mean this little thing?" she asked, pulling the silver money clip full of cash out of her pocket, john b sighing heavily.

"you had me for a second, you really did." he replied. "i've never loved you more."

"ben silver round two?" emery asked, wiggling the clip around in her fingers. "i'll take you to the seven-eleven on main."

"i was hoping you'd be up for another round of ben silver." john b mumbled.

"what happened at ben silver?" mara asked, john b and emery just smirked at each other.

JOHN B, EMERY, AND MARA WERE APPROACHING A GAS STATION.

"alright, how many hot dogs do you want?" john b asked the girls.

"i'll take... seventeen." emery said after a minute, passing the money clip to john b.

"seventeen?" mara asked. "of all the numbers to chose from you picked seventeen?"

"okay, genius, how many do you want?" emery snapped back, starting to fill the gas cans.

"get me a hundred." she called to john b.

"coming right up." the routledge replied, walking into the gas station as the girls continued filling the gas cans, mara looking around to make sure the man from the restaurant hadn't followed them. unfortunately, that was exactly what had happened.

"shit, emery." mara mumbled, already pulling the gas cans behind the fuel pump as emery shuffled behind the pump, mara crouching down next to her and groaning as her stitches throbbed. the bell on the door ran, john b walking out carrying three hot dogs in his hand.

"they ran out of the real deal, they're vegan!" john b called, his mouth full of food as he did, mara shushing him.

"shut the hell up!" mara whisper-shouted.

"he's literally right there!" emery snapped.

"hey! you!" the man yelled, pointing at john b. "come here! thieves? you stole my money! come here."

"shit- go!" emery yelled, dropping the pump and putting the caps back on the gas cans, john b dropping the hot dogs and grabbing the cans.

"hey, come here! come here, you!" the man yelled, emery pulling mara to her feet, the trio sprinting down the street. mara was slightly limping, emery throwing her arm over her shoulder and practically dragging her down the street. they went to cross the road at a one way, a truck suddenly pulling out in front of them, almost hitting them as another car sped past right behind it. john b fell, momentarily dropping the cans and skidding across the pavement as the man chasing them fell too, emery and mara helping john b up.

"that lunatic- wait." emery breathed.

"is that heyward?" mara asked.

"that's heyward's truck." emery continued, looking over when the man started yelling again.

"hey, come here!" he shouted as he stood up, john b grabbing the gas cans again as the three teens took off running down the street again. "hey, come back! hey!"

"let's go!" mara shouted, finally able to run herself as john b and emery followed her, the routledge clearly struggling with the gas cans. they watched the truck and the car following it turn into an alley, the three teens pausing in front of it. emery could see jj, pope, kie, levi, and ainsley all running down the alley.

"hey, jj! pope! kie!" john b yelled happily.

"jj!" emery shouted.

"lee! lee!" emery yelled, but her brother didn't turn around, they were all still running down the alley, clearly being chased by the man in the car. the man was still running after them. "shit."

"come on. we gotta find them." john b said, setting the gas cans down in the back of a tour bike sitting on a sidewalk. "how do you work this thing?"

"go, go, go!" emery yelled as john b revved the bike, the man who owned it finally looking up from his phone as the bike started.

"hey!" he shouted. emery and mara climbing into the back of the bike, john b starting to pedal.

"go!" mara shouted.

"that's my bike!" the man hollered, and suddenly they were being chased by two men, both the guy who they had taken the money from and the owner of the bike. they turned down a street, the two men still behind them as john b struggled to pedal with the two girls and the gas cans in the back, and considering how flat charleston was, there was no slant to the ground at all making the job any easier.

"jj! pope!" mara yelled.

"lee!" emery called, john b looking around frantically as he continued to pedal the bike. john b pulled onto the sidewalk instead of on the street.

suddenly, they were right there.

jj, pope, kie, ainsley, and levi had all skidded to a stop in front of the bike, john b hitting the brakes to avoid hitting them. emery's eyes widened as she met levi's, the two smiling at each other. she glanced at jj, but his eyes hadn't left mara, the two of them beaming widely. she looked back at levi, who looked ready to cry, but john b suddenly began yelling at them.

"get in! get in! get in! come on!" john b shouted.

"get in!" jj yelled at the others, kiara and ainsley climbing into the back on either side of emery and mara, emery being quick to wrap her arms around the tucker girl. jj, levi, and pope had all gone behind the bike, pushing it while john b pedaled. eventually, the rich man and the owner of the bike stopped following them, but the man from the car who had been chasing the pogues was still right behind them.

"go, john b, go!" jj shouted.

"pedal faster, jb!" emery yelled.

"oh shit!" pope yelled.

"come on, pope! push! come on!" jj shouted at the heyward boy. the maybank ran around the side of the cart, leaving pope and levi pushing. levi also rounded the side of the cart, leaving pope to be the only one pushing while john b pedaled.

"pedal, bitch, he's getting closer!" levi yelled to john b.

"im pedaling." john b gritted.

"he's gaining, man." jj exclaimed. pope tripped behind the cart, falling and rolling across the asphalt before jumping back to his feet, running close behind the cart.

"pope, get up! let's go!" john b demanded, not slowing down at all as pope got closer. the road had started to slope a little as they got closer to where the boat was anchored, making pedaling a little easier for the routledge.

"pedal, john b!" jj shouted. kiara reached back, grabbing pope's hand and pulling him into the cart, but the man chasing them had also grabbed onto the bike, the girls all hitting his arms repeatedly until he let go and fell.

"get off!" kiara yelled as the man tumbled across the road, everyone whooping in joy.

"see you later, alligator!" john b called to the man.

"see you later, asshole!" pope added, the pogues all looking around the cart and laughing.

"you look disgusting!" levi yelled to emery, the girl covered in dirt and sweat from the past couple of days.

"you're an asshole!" emery retorted. jj still hasn't acknowledged his twin's existence, but he and mara hadn't exchanged any words, the two of them only staring at each other the entire time.

"blowin' you a little big kiss!" jj called behind him to the man who had just stood up, watching the retreating bike in disbelief. they stopped the bike in front of the beach where the boat was stopped, kiara tossing her bag onto the sand as they jumped down off of the concrete next to the water, emery passing the gas cans down to john b before helping mara down the ladder along the side of the wall.

"is this you?" jj asked the trio, emery shaking her head.

"no, we're the original continental congress." emery replied sarcastically, climbing over the fence by the wall and jumping down next to him, pulling the maybank boy into a hug.

"missed you, twin." jj mumbled into her shoulder, emery laughing as she pulled away, patting the boy on his shoulder.

"i miss you, too." she replied quietly, the two of them running over to the boat. jj and pope helped shove the boat off shore once everyone was on and they had filled the fuel tank.

emery turned to levi, her brother staring at her. she smiled a little.

"sup?" she asked quietly, levi wordlessly tugging her into a hug, which emery reciprocated quickly. wrapping her arms tightly around her brother's shoulders as he pulled her impossibly closer by the waist.

"don't ever do that again." levi choked out. "you're never running away again."

"i know, i know." emery whispered, still not letting go of levi, his grip on her like iron as they swayed gently back and forth.

"i thought i was never gonna see you again." levi mumbled, finally pulling away from emery and grabbing his younger sister by the shoulders. "emery, i thought you were dead."

"but i wasn't." emery replied quietly. "lee, im fine."

"but this wasn't fine, emery." levi snapped, emery clamping her hand over his mouth.

"i don't wanna hear it. i'm back now, and everything's fine. now let's not be sad sacks, and let's go have fun with our friends." emery demanded, but when she pulled her hand away, levi was smiling. she slung an arm around her shoulders, the melville siblings walking back over to the group, who was discussing the events that had occurred while they were separated.

"i got shot because i'm an attention whore." mara said casually. "john b even cried for me."

"shut up!" john b yelled, everyone laughing.

"i did cpr like the hot wife i am- oh, by the way, im married." emery added, everyone's jaws falling slightly as emery smirked at john b.

"literally nothing traumatic happened to john b because me and emery do everything- i feel like we glossed over the part where emery was kidnapped." mara added.

"we watched ward cameron shoot his pilot." ainsley stated cockily.

"and then i was almost kidnapped myself five minutes ago." pope added.

suddenly, sitting around the boat, laughing and telling stories, it felt like the day they had all been thrown into this mess. when they were all sitting around the hms pogue drinking and laughing while jj did party tricks that ended in disaster.

they felt like pogues again.

they were together again.

kens speaks 🪐

sappy moments will be next chapter or the chapter after, i haven't decided yet