MARA AND JJ HAD REJOINED JOHN B AND EMERY.

none of them were in the hot tub anymore, the trio all sitting around the fire that jj had started in the small fire ring.

"is this your guys' first official date?" emery asked mara, reaching over to toss another stick of wood into the fire.

"it's yours too." she fired back, john b shaking his head.

"midsummers, bitch, try again." he retorted, emery smacking him on the arm as she leaned back into his body, the melville girl perched on her boyfriend's lap while jj and mara were in the same position on the lawn chair next to them. a sound from the driveway caught john b and emery's attention, jj and mara focusing on something else.

"guys, shut up." emery whispered, hitting mara on the shoulder and pulling her and jj from their conversation.

"yo, did you hear that?" john b asked jj, who listened closely.

"your... chicken?" he asked, before starting to cluck like on of the hens himself, john b clamping a hand over his mouth.

"it was a car door." emery breathed. "someone's here."

"it could just be levi and pope?" mara suggested, but emery shook her head, standing up and grabbing the bucket of sand next to the fire, pouring it over the flames and watching them snuff out.

"they never took a car." she reminded. "someone's here, guys."

"do we go inside?" mara asked.

"no, no, go up the tree." emery insisted, jj rolling his eyes at her.

"that's hilarious, emery-"

"i'm serious." she said bluntly, motioning for the group to follow her. "hurry up, guys!"

john b boosted emery into the tree first, she and jj helping mara up onto the branches. the two boys followed close behind them, the four barely making it up in time as footsteps approached them for the driveway.

rafe.

he looked around, his eyes falling on the fire that was still smoking. rafe's gaze lingered on the fire for a few moments before he turned around, looking at the surrounding area again.

"where the hell are you?" he mumbled, starting to pace around the back yard.

john b turned to jj, who was leaning against a branch that was to his left and behind him. on his right, mara was leaned against another branch with emery a few feet away.

the sound of glass shattering and the screen door of the porch being slammed made emerg look over to see barry walking towards where rafe was standing.

"yo!" rafe yelled. "anything?"

"no, ain't shit in there, bro." barry complained.

"no? nothing?" rafe confirmed.

"no, nothing, rafe." barry replied hastily, clearly becoming agitated. emery peered down at the sight with her breath caught in her throat. knowing her luck, if pope, lee, ainsley, or kie was going to return at any point, it would be right now.

"they were obviously just here based off the smoke." rafe exclaimed, pointing at the fire that emery had doused in sand prior to his and barry's invasion.

"yeah, yeah, yeah. great observation, boy scout." barry mocked the cameron boy.

"they're not far, you know?" rafe attempted to justify his claim, but barry continued to taunt the boy.

"smokey the bear!" he exclaimed. "look at you, bro!"

mara was looking at jj with concern all over her features. she was standing in a way that was putting strain on her stitches, and it was evident that she was biting back any exclamation of pain as well as trying not to move.

"they gotta be around here somewhere." rafe continued, but he stopped pacing the yard when his eyes fell on the trunk of the tree where emery, mara, and john b's names were burned into the trunk. barry followed his gaze to the truck and stared at it in amusement.

"p4l." barry said with false amusement in his voice, rafe laughing as he pointed at tree.

"well shit." he said through laughter, but barry wasn't done yet.

"so you and topper's little girlfriends are pogues for life, huh, rafe? now who would've thought." he stated, clearly attempting to taunt the cameron boy again. but emery watched as rafe's face darkened, his eyes flashing over as the boy saw red.

after all, the two girls barry was talking about had their names on the tree.

mara was breathing heavily, her hand clamped over her mouth to hide the labored sound as she readjusted her legs to stand more comfortably in the tree. emery looked over at john b, who raised his eyebrows to silently ask her if she was okay, the melville girl nodding and turning her attention back to the two men standing under them.

rafe chewed his bottom lip, his face contorting in anger. he nodded, starting to turn to walk away, but suddenly turned back to the tree, exclaiming loudly as he did.

"shit!"

"alright, chill." barry tried, realizing he had clearly struck a nerve, but he had set off the taller boy, and he drew a handgun from his pocket, shooting a bullet directly through the 'm' of emery's last name.

"hey! whoa! hey, chill, bro! rafe!" barry exclaimed, attempting to pull the gun out of rafe's hand, but he only raised it towards the top of the tree, rafe continuing to fire the gun up into the branches, the four pogues immediately hiding behind them as best as possible, one bullet striking directly in front of jj's head. one whizzed past mara, leaving a hole on the branch almost directly behind her, the girl staring at the branch with wide eyes. one hit emery's branch, but far enough up the girl wasn't worried about being harmed by it.

jj was focused on mara. the stevens girl was staring at the hole in the branch behind her, eyes wide as saucers, her chest rising and falling rapidly. he was worried not only for her wellbeing, but also for the fact that her panicked breathing could easily attract the attention of rafe and barry.

"chill your shit! chill out!" barry was yelling at rafe, holding the cameron boy by the shoulders. "you're gonna get our asses busted, dawg! let's bounce. let's bounce. let's go!"

barry and rafe ran across the yard towards the driveway. the only sound the group in the tree heard for a moment was mara's rapid breathing, but a car pulling away on the gravel told them that rafe and barry were gone and that it was safe to get down.

"yo, is she okay?" jj asked emery, momentarily glancing at the bullet hole in the branch he was clinging onto, the hole directly in front of where his head had been just seconds before. the melville shook her head, noting the way that mara was holding her stitches with one hand while her other arm was wound around the tree tightly.

"both of you get down, help her out of the tree." emery ordered jj and john b, the two jumping out of the branches and rushing to the part of the tree closest to the ground while emery scaled across the tree to get to her friend.

"emery, she looks like she's about to pass out." jj cautioned. mara's face was pale, her eyes starting to glaze over as she breathed in short gasps rather than full breaths.

"she's having a panic attack, j." emery said firmly, finally getting to her friend. "mara, hey. look at me, okay?" she said, mara slowly turning to her friend warily, her whole body trembling. "i'm gonna help you down, okay? jj and john b are down there, rafe's gone though, okay?"

"i- i can't- breathe." mara choked out, putting the arm previously clutching her stitches around emery's shoulders while her other one went to her chest.

"hey, hey, you're okay." jj said, his voice steady from below the girls, mara turning her gaze to him and john b, who were standing underneath the tree waiting for them.

"you're okay, mar." john b added gently. "rafe's not here anymore, okay?"

"here- guys, careful." emery said, sitting down on a branch as jj and john b stood below the two girls, waiting for emery to do anything. "mara, hey, i need to you sit down here and hold my hand okay? you're gonna slide off the branch and they're gonna help you down, okay? we won't drop you, i promise."

mara didn't say anything but sat next to her friend, clutching emery's hand tightly with her trembling one and extending her leg as far as possible, her foot eventually making contact with the palm of jj's hand.

"hey, hey, i gotcha, you're okay." jj mumbled reassuringly to the girl, john b taking her other foot in his hand.

"how do you wanna do this, emery?" he asked, anxiety rising in his tone. mara had worked herself into such a state that she had tears pouring down her face as one hand clung onto emery's and the other was wrapped around the tree.

"put one hand on her back, both of you." emery insisted, the two boys immediately doing as they were told. "mara, hey, let go of the tree, okay? they've got you, you're okay."

mara slowly released her grip on the tree, jj and john b gently setting her down on the ground. she immediately curled into jj's side as emery jumped down from the tree, the maybank rubbing mara's back gently.

"what do i do?" he whispered to emery.

"what you're doing right now, just be there for her. levi always had me breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth." she explained. "some weird psychological thing- all she needs to know is that you and her are okay."

"okay." jj whispered back, turning his attention back to mara as john b and emery slowly retreated into the chateau, the maybank rubbing mara's scalp with one hand and rubbing her back with the other.

"i- can't- breathe-" mara choked out, pressing the palm of her right hand into her sternum.

"okay- hey, let's go sit down, okay?" jj said, pulling mara over to the hammock. the two slowly sat down, mara immediately curling into jj's side again.

"i- i-" mara tried, jj shaking his head, moving the hand that was tangled in mara's hair to cup her face and pull her head up to look at him.

"i know it's hard but you have to try, okay?" jj told the girl, his voice gentle, but it was firm. "take a breath in through your nose and out through your mouth, can you do that with me?"

"i can't." mara sobbed, jj shaking his head again.

"hey, i'll do it with you, okay? you're okay, mara, you just have to breathe." the maybank said, not a tinge of anger or impatience in his tone. mara eventually nodded, jj moving one of the girl's hands to his chest, something he had seen levi do for emery a couple dozen times.

"in." jj said, taking a deep breath through his nose, mara doing the same, but hers was more shaky. "out."

they repeated the process a good fifteen times until mara slumped into her boyfriend, arms snaking around his waist as she buried her face in his chest, still trembling from the shock. jj gently pressed a kiss to the top of her head, making the stevens girl look up at him, jj giving her a small smile.

"what?" he asked quietly, mara shaking her head.

"what are we?" she asked, jj cupping her chin again.

"you're my girlfriend, i'm your boyfriend, and that's how it's been for months. unless you don't want to be." jj added quickly, his tone slightly uncertain, but mara shook her head.

"no, no, i want to be." she assured him, leaning back into his chest, but jj stopped her, pressing a kiss to her lips, which mara reciprocated after a moment. the two pulled apart, looking at each other, small smiles on their faces.

jj stood up, holding his hands out to mara so he could help the girl up. he pulled her to her feet, tossing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close.

"we'll see if emery has any of her pills here, you can take one of them." jj said, pulling mara across the yard and up the stairs. what mara didn't expect was that when she pushed the door open, john b was speed-walking towards her and tugging her into a hug.

"whoa- who the hell is this and what did he do with the shithead?" mara asked, but hugged her friend back.

"are you okay?" he asked, emery raising her eyebrows at him as she leaned forward on the couch to make sure she was seeing things properly.

"are you?" the melville asked john b, who pulled away from mara.

"can i talk to you?" he asked, mara nodding slowly and turning to emery and jj, the twins shrugging at her as she and john b went out the back door to the porch, mara folding her arms as she and john b sat on one of the couches.

"what's up?" she asked.

"you know you can talk to me, right?" john b asked, mara wrinkling her eyebrows at him.

"what're you talking about?"

"mara, what the hell happened out there?" john b asked quietly, his voice laced in concern. "you looked like you had seen a ghost or some shit."

"i don't know, jb, maybe rafe shot me once and almost shot me again." mara replied sarcastically, john b shaking his head.

"i didn't mean it like that, and you know it." he snapped. "we give each other shit all the time, but i care about you, mara. you can talk to me if you need to, you're still my best friend."

the two were silent for a moment, mara gnawing on her bottom lip as she twisted at the hem of the green and purple flowered button down that she had on over her swimsuit.

"i don't even know what happened." mara mumbled. "i saw the gun and... i couldn't breathe anymore."

"mar, rafe shot you." john b deadpanned. "it's fine to be scared of him- hell, i'm surprised emery isn't anymore."

"john b, he's constantly after us and- i don't ever want to see rafe ever again. i hate him, he ruined your life." mara breathed, looking at her friend and swallowing thickly. "it's hard to feel like i'm a burden because emery or jj or you has to help me do everything because i can't even walk by myself, maybe i should start sitting this stuff out until im good to do things myself again."

"no." john b said immediately. "mara, me and emery and jj are helping you because we know you need it. do you think anyone was bitching and crying when emery needed help because of rafe?"

"that's different." mara said immediately, john b looking at her in amusement.

"is it really?" he asked. "how?"

mara was silent at his question, but she inhaled deeply after a few moments, looking down at the floor and raking her fingers through her hair.

"you don't get it." she mumbled.

"so help me get it." john b said mara shaking her head and biting on her lip again.

"i can't help you get it because you don't understand." she said, voice raised slightly. "my mom found out i was dead and the first thing she did was bury the body she didn't have and leave. no one's heard from her in almost two weeks. meanwhile emery and levi have all these issues with jackson who was never father of the year but i had no idea it was this bad and your dad left and jj's dad is jj's dad and- this could've all been avoided if our parents hadn't been such assholes."

"i'm sorry about your mom." john b mumbled. "but sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to make you feel any better or make anyone else's situations any better. yeah, we're all about chest-deep in shit right now, but we're together."

"i almost feel bad for being a bitch to you right now." mara deadpanned, cracking a small smile at john b who threw an arm over her shoulders, pulling her into his side, the two laughing.

"i know we're assholes to each other, but i care about you, you piece of shit." john b said bluntly. "i don't want you to think you can't tell me things."

"i care about you too, you asshat." mara replied, a small smile still on her face.

"jj and emery are gonna think we're cheating on them." john b said bluntly, mara tossing his arm off her shoulders and standing up off the couch, walking towards the door while john b stayed on the couch.

"get off your fat ass and get inside!" mara exclaimed, hitting her fist on the wall next to the door. "i'm honestly surprised your whole house didn't fall in because of that."

john b laughed, standing up and following mara into the house. "the fan's probably on the floor right now."

"i'll have pope bring the ladder when he's done hooking up with levi." mara said flatly, the two entering the living room where jj and emery could be heard in the kitchen, seemingly throwing things at each other.

mara and john b rounded the corner to see the two of them with the silverware drawer pulled open, both of them with handfuls of assorted forks and spoons, throwing them as hard as they could at each other, one hitting the wall and flying at john b, who was quick to duck.

"seems like the basic interaction between my mom and dad." mara said nonchalantly, leaning against the counter and tucking when a stray spoon flew past her head. "how did this even start?"

"she threw a spoon to me- and hit me in the forehead." jj explained through gritted teeth as he dodged the fork emery threw at him, picking one up from the floor and tossing it at the melville.

"your lack of coordination is concerning." the girl replied, throwing another fork, but both of the twins stopped when the piece of cutlery stuck into the wall almost to the start of the points, the four teens all staring at the metal object in silence.

"you owe me a new wall." john b broke the silence, picking up a fork that now only had two points on it. "and new silverware."

"how hard were you throwing this shit?" mara breathed, picking up a bent spoon from the hardwood.

"sibling rage is a very powerful thing." jj said, mara rolling her eyes.

"unhelpful. thank you." she whispered.

"we're pulling an all-nighter after that shit, right?" emery confirmed, john b, mara, and jj all nodding at her.

"can you go get us food." jj practically begged.

"with what money? because my credit card is currently on a counter in nassau." emery told the maybank flatly as the two began picking up silverware from the floor while john b and mara sat on top of the countertop and watched.

"go home." jj said simply. "i'm sure mom wouldn't be against knowing you're alive."

"i'll go tomorrow." emery breathed. "it's gotta be almost two am right now."

"in the mean time." john b cut the two off, both of them putting the silverware back in the drawer as though they hadn't just picked it up off the floor and turning to their friend. "we can break into my fire cracker stash and throw them in the ocean."

"absolutely!" mara exclaimed, emery already walking to john b's bedroom to grab the rest plastic bag of little dynamite sticks out of his drawer of t-shirts.

"hurry up, ems!" john b exclaimed, emery running after the three already on the porch.

they were regular pogues all over again.

kens speaks 🪐

lots of mara in this chapter bc it's harringtonssss birthday!! happy birthday, mara. you're my favorite person on this app by far and i'm so glad you can be the name for multiple of my characters. go read her obx fic summertime sadness as well as her other books or you smell like cheese!!