Sunflower || JJ Maybank/Cassandra Routledge

19. Pogue Princess and Psycho Kook

Spy Games 4.02

He tries to take a step forward but gets stopped by Kiara placing her hand on his chest, stopping him from getting any closer. He doesn't say anything for a few moments. He simply stares at Casey, his blue eyes burning into her soul.

          Casey and JJ don't say anything at first as their friend comes barreling into the backyard. They are thankful they heard him running next to the house or they would have been screwed if he saw them kissing. But, right now, that thought is not on their minds. They are more concerned why Pope looks like he just saw a ghost. "What?" JJ finally asks, his eyes bouncing between the two, trying to figure out what is going on.

         "They know!" Pope yells again, still not giving them anything to work with. His breaths are heavy from running but they can hear the panic in his voice. Whatever he is talking about is freaking him out more than anything ever has.

          "Who knows what?!" Casey asks. "I'm gonna need a little more than they know, Pope. Help me out here."

           Although she is trying to get something out of the boy, JJ puts the pieces together in his head. He knows who Pope is talking about and what he is talking about. Topper and Rafe. The Kooks know they sank the boat. "All right, chill, bro. All right? They don't know shit." He says and rolls his eyes as he grabs the gun out of Casey's hand. Right now she does not need to be holding a deadly weapon, even if it is not loading. With the way her emotions have been, she can accidentally do something and their luck, a bullet will miraculously fire from the unloaded gun.

           "Topper knows I sunk his boat!" Pope yells frantically. He doesn't understand what the two do get about what he is saying. The Kooks, the ones who jumped him and Casey, now know they sank one of the most expensive wake setters to ever drive across the marsh. They will come looking for him. Hell, they will come looking for all of them. They attacked him and Casey for nothing! Now they have a reason.

          "How do you know they know?" JJ asks. He doesn't mean for it to come off as condescending but it does. He hates when his friends are freaking out because he never knows how to calm them down. Well, all except Casey. He seems to always know the right thing to say when it comes to her. But Pope? In the state he is in right now? He has no idea what to say besides asking him the obvious questions.

          "Because Rafe and Topper posted outside of Heyward's and mad dogged me." Pope informs them. He begins to pace the backyard, his emotions becoming too much for him to handle. "They were just sitting there watching me the entire time. They didn't even come in! I know they know!"

          "Shit." Casey mumbles, only loud enough for JJ to hear who is standing right next to her. She should have known this was going to happen. She didn't care if she was spotted when they sank the boat, but now, she is starting to panic just like Pope is. Rafe attacked her. Not Topper. Topper was trying to stop it, which means this hatred between her and the leader of the Kooks is only going to get worse. He is going to continue to escalate it because she didn't stop JJ and Pope from going after Topper. It is a never ending circle between them. Attack a Pogue? The entire group gets involved. Retaliate against a Kook? The whole death squad comes knocking on the door.

          Without looking at her, JJ feels Casey starting to lose it. She is not showing it on her face but when he glances over at her, he can see it in her eyes. She is panicking and he knows why. It's not because of the Kooks themselves. It's because of Rafe. Instinctively, he grabs her hand and gently squeezes it, bringing her out of the panic attack that is fighting to come out. She quickly takes a deep breath at his touch and closes her hand in his. As she looks over at him, she watches his eyebrows raise, silently telling her to relax. She takes another deep breath in, through her nose, and slowly lets the air escape her mouth as she squeezes his hand, telling him she is fine.