𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮 𝙗𝙡𝙪𝙚 𑁍 𝙟𝙟 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙠

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧

"And you believed her?" JJ questioned his best friend.

"Yes, we believe her, JJ." John B responded with an edge to his tone.

The blond scoffed at the idea. "An actual cop, John B. You believed a cop." The blond laughed, throwing another rock out towards the marshlands. It was no secret that the Maybank boy absolutely despised the police, and he would rather be caught dead than hanging onto any words from an officer's mouth.

Blue decided to speak up, hoping she could deescalate the situation and calm JJ down before he pushed himself off that edge. "Look, all we gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a couple days, and she'll help us out." She said, her voice soft and disarming. She caught the blond's gaze for a split second before he looked away.

"It doesn't help that your ass was the one shooting a gun." John B pointed out with a tone full of agitation and malice.

Blue rolled her eyes, wondering why everything had to be so push-and-pull. "He was saving your life, dumbass." She muttered, earning a quick glare from her brother, but she just brushed him off with a shrug of her shoulders. "Just pointing out the obvious."

"You know what I should have done, man? I should have just let Topper drown your ass." JJ said the words so casually, as if they held no weight. But Blue felt them crushing her chest as she turned to the blond once again, eyes wide and full of betrayal.

"JJ." Blue spoke sternly, but she went ignored.

John B scoffed, "Topper was gonna drown me?"

"Sure looked like it." JJ egged him on.

"Funny."

"Have you looked in the mirror recently?" JJ asked, pointing at the dark bruise on John B's face, blue and purple hues spreading from the inner corner of his eye to his left temple. He stood up from the table, making his way to the shack, standing at the open doorway.

"Tell me some more. Come on."

Blue groaned at their bickering. "Can y'all quit this shit? It's not cute. Just hug it out and let it go." Kiara hummed in agreement while Pope shook his head, keeping his eyes locked on the scene playing out in front of him.

JJ rested his arm on the wooden post, looking at his friends with a satirical smile. "They always win, don't they, man?" With those words, the conversation switched from petty banter to something more serious, something angry, like it had been brewing for quite some time. "Kooks versus Pogues. They always, always win!" His exclaimed, hitting the nautical decorations hung above his head before storming back into the yard. "Goddamn!"

"JJ..." Blue trailed off, not quite knowing what to say. He was right. There were no words that could prove him wrong. She wanted to; she wanted to tell him that it would all work out in the end, but she knew he would think those were empty words full of empty promises. He wouldn't care for it. So, she kept them to herself.

"Look, it's okay!" Kiara said to him.

He quickly turned back around. "No, it's not okay! It is not!"

The feud between the Pogues and the Kooks was something that went deeper than petty arguments and the occasional fist fight. It was a clear imbalance, a perfect example of privilege, a broken system. It didn't matter what the situation was, a Kook would always come out on top. If there was a fight, they made it three against one. If there was trouble with the law, they got off on a warning. If they wanted to mess with a Pogue, they ruined their lives. They got them fired from their much-needed jobs, they pressed charges and got them arrested, and they sometimes even pushed them out of their decaying homes. Kooks had everything in the world, yet they still took from those with nothing.