𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 - sarah cameron

- 𝐨𝐧𝐞

SUMMER WAS READY. AFTER AN entire year of gaps and holes, the whole group of five was together again. The Pogues were causing havoc on the island, and nothing could've felt greater than the warm company shared between the teenage friends. Nothing had ever felt so real until the morning they reunited again after the storm of the group, Quinta James, was stolen from them in the middle of the night without any warning.

At the scene ahead of her, Quinta rolled her eyes and her body over so that she was laying on her stomach, sunbathing on the roof of the newly-built home in the estate on the richer side of Outerbanks. Every house around this neighbourhood could've been compared to a palace; meanwhile, only a few blocks away, the homes looked as though they could've been made out of cardboard, and were somehow expected to house families of six. Quinta, herself, was lucky enough to only have three people to live with, but they still had close to nothing there — the James family were lucky if they were able to have three hot showers a month.

Having heard about the new estate built for the Kooks, the Pouges were quick to go and check it out on their first day of summer vacation. Quinta and the boys — Pope, JJ and John B — spent hours that morning dancing and drinking through doorless homes, creating havoc and mess wherever they went. Eventually, by lunch time, the four calmed down and rewarded themselves with a beer as they sunbathed and chilled out on the scaffolding on one of the buildings.

Currently, John B, the leader of their group, who seriously lacked on common sense, balanced at the edge of the roof. He was a curious boy, always getting himself into all sorts of trouble, that he often didn't even mean to get into. He lived alone in what he and his friends called the Château, after his mom ditched and his dad disappeared sometime last year. Losing his dad was tough on the teenage boy, but he certainly didn't mind running his own household — which meant he'd throw parties nearly every night and have never-ending sleepovers, as half of his friends practically lived with him.

"Move out the way, John B, you're blocking all the sun," Quinta complained, trying to enjoy the outdoors again, now that she was near a beach.

There was no amount of money a person could pay her to get her out in a countryside again. A year ago, she would've jumped at the chance to go on a beautiful walk through nothing but fields and flowers; however, now, the mere thought of grass made her nauseous.

The troubled teen industry destroyed her entire perspective of what she used to think was a beautiful world, and the memories of that place would haunt her until her dying days. But she was home again. Nothing they did there would ever affect her again. All she ever wanted was to put the last year out of her mind, but everytime she shut her eyes, her heart sunk and she could smell the mud again — she could hear the shouting and the slapping and the crying. Where she was sent was inhuman, and she'd spend the rest of her life trying to shut those stupid ranches down.

Quinta shook her head, rolling her eyes at the silly thoughts that ran at her mind. She was home now, with her friends again, and she just needed to relax. To erase that place completely from her mind and wash away the memories with JJ's cheap beer, whilst bathing under the bright sun that shone on their beach town.

"That's what? A three-story fall to the deck?" Pope Heyward, the smartest member of their group stated, watching as John B lifted up one foot and wobbled at the edge of the roof. "I give you about a one in three chance of survival."

Pope was the only person in their group with a brain that was always working. Sure, some of them had their smart moments — some more than others —, but Pope Heyward was the only one who always had his head screwed on. Out of all the Pogues, he was the one most likely to get out of the slums they called their homes. Once he got a scholarship to some great college, he'd be set for life. He'd end up dying in a 50 million dollar mansion with a hot, young wife and their three, sophisticated children. He'd leave a legacy greater than Einstein. And, most importantly, he'd never forget about his friends. Pope's loyalty to the Pouges was often overlooked by how smart he was, but he truly did worship his friends like family. They were what kept him going most days.