𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒; outer banks

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

"Ace, man-"

"No, John B, shut up! You two have been kissing each other, hooking up, literally fucking proposing, while our friends and family at home are grieving our deaths. Don't you ever think about that? Don't you ever think about anyone other than yourselves?" He argued. His body was shaking, hands clenched into fists by his side, as he finally poured out all he had been thinking. His friends and family had never left his mind, yet they hadn't even ventured towards the other people standing in the room.

"Of course we do. But what are we supposed to do?" Sarah retorted.

"Not be self-centred, ignorant assholes," Atticus finished, pure hatred striking in his eyes. "I'm leaving."

"Wait, did you not hear what the man just said?" John B asked as he followed after the boy, stopping at the top of the steps as Atticus clambered down them. 

"Yeah, I did. Did you hear me? I told you I'm not a fucking fugitive." The boy tried to open the door, his hand tightly clasped around the knob as he twisted it, but it was locked. He looked up at the wood, rolling his eyes as he fought the sudden urge to punch it. "Fucking hell."

"Hey, guys? There's cops down there, they're walking onto the boat," Sarah said as she leant over the window. John B quickly scrambled up the stairs as Atticus groaned, harshly pushing himself off the door before stomping up the steps. 

"Oh, shit." John B cussed. Atticus wasted no time in picking up the paper weight sitting on one of the chests beside him and drawing it up to his chest, kicking up his front leg before hurling it at the window as the other two watched the police walk briskly around the ship. The loud sound of the glass smashing into pieces echoed around the room, grabbing the attention of the lovers on the other side of the space. 

"Dude- Are you insane?" John B whisper-shouted as he held his hands to his ears, his eyes splayed wide with incredulity. 

"Do you wanna get caught or not?" The trio locked eyes, sharing thoughts, before Sarah moved forward and climbed out the window. "Are you coming or not, tough guy?" Atticus asked, impatiently tapping his fingers against the rim of the broken window. John B rolled his eyes with a hint of a smile before following after the girl, Atticus climbing out last. 

As the other two loitered outside of the window, Atticus flung himself over the side of the boat and landed on the dock, immediately taking off into a sprint. The others followed after him as soon as the hazel-eyed boy had caught sight of a police officer through the broken glass. 

They ran through the streets of the small capital until they lost both the police and the owners of the ship. However, when Sarah and John B went to go one way, Atticus went the other. 

"Atticus, c'mon," Sarah said as she gestured with her hand. Atticus just shook his head. 

"Sayonara!" He waved with a grin, continuing to bound back away.

"Where are you going?" John B asked with furrowed brows.

"Katei!" Atticus saluted before running off. 

"What the hell does that even mean? Do I look like I would know what that means?" 

Meanwhile, the following morning, Renna walked outside and leant her head against the verandah as she took in the fresh scent of the quiet marsh. She was sitting on the steps, eyes wandering, when they locked onto something different. 

Inscribed into the trunk of the huge tree in John B's backyard were two identical hearts, one above the other, both saying almost the same thing. The only difference was the names, one dedicated to each of their friends lost in the depth of the seas. Atticus and John B, their legacy forever gone to the rest of the world except for the Pogues. They would keep them alive, no matter how much it killed them.