THE REDHEAD ☾ jj maybank

8 | roadtrip to charleston

"All of this shit would be so much easier without parents." Kie mumbles.

"Kinda depressing though." Delilah adds, already knowing from a first hand experience. "But other than that, yeah."

"I'm sorry." Kie apologises. "It's just that my parents are so worried about me being a Pogue that they're willing to send me to boarding school because of it."

"Hey, I hear that they've got good weed at boarding school though." JJ informs.

"I'm not going." Kie protests. "They're gonna have to kidnap me, tie me up, and throw me in a van."

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

"Like twenty million times." Kie replies. "Some lady at a hotel keeps answering instead."

"Not gonna lie, he probably just stole her phone from the time being." Delilah replies.

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

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Still inside of the truck, the teenagers find that they are more cramped together than to begin with due to the long journey they've already been on, shoulders make contact with one another. Pope is driving all of them along the quiet streets with his eyes focused on the roads ahead, ensuring that they're travelling in the right direction. Meanwhile, the other three are trying to do some research in order to find as much information that they are able to gather together.

"Guys, I've read this thing a thousand times and it makes no sense." Kie tells them, sighing. "I mean, the Limbreys own like half of Charleston. What do the Kook kings of Charleston now about a murder on Kildare Island?"

"Why you specifically?" Delilah asks the boy in the drivers seat. "That's the creepy thing."

"'Please come alone' that's hella sus." Kie states.

"I was thinking the same thing." Pope informs. "But I think it's because—"

The sentence is abruptly cut off as a sudden loud clanging sound comes from the bottom of the truck, interrupting what Pope was going to say. The vehicle is immediately pulled over on the side of the road to avoid any car crashes from taking place, needing to deal with the problem as quickly as possible. Smoke starts to emit from beneath the hood of the car.

"No, no, no." Pope mutters.

"Pope, I got sensitive lungs, man!" JJ exclaims as he coughs.

"Says the person that smokes weed nearly every day." Delilah fires back.

The four push the doors open and quickly climb out of the car to assess the damage that has been made to their only way of transport. Pope rushes over to the hood of the truck and pops it open, letting even more smoke enter the air as he wafts it out of his face. JJ makes his way over to the boy to help him out in this stressful situation, especially since he knows a lot about how to mend mechanics because of his father.

"It's the radiator." JJ informs.

"My dad's gonna kill me." Pope states, in shock that it's even managed to do that.

"Yeah, he might." JJ agrees.

"You might want to reschedule your meeting tonight, Pope." Delilah tells him.

"Uh, plan B? We could get public transportation. We could hitchhike. We could rent bikes." Kie suggests.

"This is gonna be one long trip." Delilah mutters.

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After managing to get the truck to the nearest gas station, help is kindly provided as the man that owns the place offers to fix the vehicle for them. The only issue that the four is suffering with is the fact that they're going to be running low on money, which is already a lot considering they're Pogues. Pope talks to the man and tries his best to figure out the what is needed in order for the truck to be repaired, whereas the other three are standing off to the side to avoid getting in their way.

"Hey, Kie." Delilah says. "You alright? You seem upset."

"I guess." Kie replies. "I'm just think about the whole boarding school situation again."

"I guess that's what you get for hanging out with the wrong crowd." JJ comments.

"It's too late anyway." Kie states. "I already am who I am, whether they like it or not."

"You have us too." Delilah assures with a smile. "I know your parents may not like us, but we're all each others second family."

"Exactly." JJ agrees. "I mean, just look at Pope. He would do anything for us. And that's a Pogue if I've ever seen one. Bone-deep."

They all glance over to where Pope is standing, now noticing that he's making his way inside of the shop to continue talking with the man. Kiara just flashes a grateful smile towards Delilah and JJ for their help, turning on her heel and quickly following after Pope. The brunette already knows that the boy is going to be needing her help when it comes to dealing with the money side of things.

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The group of friends had successfully managed to get the truck fixed at the gas station, which the majority of the thanks goes to Pope for talking to the man and Kiara for paying for the repair. It took a little longer than they would all like, but the four had finally got back onto the road and drove some more. This is just to specifically get rid of the large distance between themselves and their destination, not wanting to be having an extremely long drive tomorrow.

However, eventually, the teenagers agreed to pull into an opening and get some sleep for the rest of the night. Multiple blankets are laid out in the back of the truck so that the surface area is a lot smoother for them to all lay upon. Backpacks are being used in replacement for pillows, despite the comfortability of it being a lot different than they're used to.

Delilah lays at the far back of the truck with her back pressed against the cold material, head resting near one of the corners. One of JJ's many jumpers has been tightly wrapped around the girls body to give her warmth during the chilly night. The boy himself is laying in front of Delilah, body close to hers as they find themselves staring at each other. A small smile is seen etched into JJ's face.

"What are you staring at?" Delilah asks.

"My beautiful, beautiful Delilah." JJ replies.

A red tint spreads across the redheads cold cheeks, not expecting that to be the answer given in response to her question. Delilah shift forwards and rests her head upon the blonds chest so that he can use the rest of the backpack, already knowing that it's not big enough to be shared between them as a pillow. JJ wraps his arms around Del's smaller frame as he holds her close to his own body. Not only does the affection make his heart flutter, but the comfort of being in her arms is enough and the heat that her body is radiating is keeping him warm.

"Goodnight, J." Delilah whispers.

"Goodnight, Ly." JJ whispers back.