SEASON TWO,
CHAPTER 10:
WELCOME HOME
"Stupid things have good outcomes all the time."
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IN THE DEEP blue waters, a pristine white boat named 'My Druthers Too' is floating on top of it. Six teenagers can be seen onboard of the boat with wide smiles still etched onto their faces, enjoying the time together that they've missed out on. Laughter fills the joyful air as it naturally slips past their lips. At times, it's not even like anything has to be said, the happiness that they hold just needing to be shown.
The group of friends talked about what the other side had missed out on during their turn apart, but this was only brief because too much sadness and chaos threatens to ruin their cheerful moods. They act like their ordinary selves, just joking around and having the time of their lives being altogether again. It almost appears as though nothing ever happened between the six, and as if they didn't lose contact and two of them were assumed to be dead. For John B and Sarah to actually be alive means the entire world to the four that were previously in mourning.
Heat rays beam down from the sun and onto the six teenagers as it hangs high in the blue sky where no clouds can be seen. The boat has been docked on the side of the banks as they mutually agreed that it's a good idea to stop and get some food to eat. With all of the travelling that they've been doing recently has left their stomachs growling in hunger, needing to consume more protein for energy. Fatigue has been dealt with as the friends slept on the boat for the rest of the last night as it continued to drift in the water.
Delilah is sitting down on the floor with her back resting against JJ's legs, his fingers twirling around strands of ginger hair. Both Kiara and Sarah offered to go looking for some food that they'll all be able to eat, leaving the four on the boat together. Whether the group are potentially stealing food or not, they couldn't seem to care any less.
"I still can't believe Rafe shot Sarah." Delilah says, shocked. "I mean, his own sister?"
"He is a psychopath." JJ states.
"True." Pope agrees.
"And did you guys seriously get married?" Delilah asks the brunet.
"It wasn't exactly legal, but yeah." John B replies, a wide smile on his face.
"Nothing we do is exactly legal." Delilah reminds.
"So, uh... What's going on with this Kiara stuff, Pope?" John B asks.
"I honestly don't know right now, man." Pope admits with a sigh. "I mean, I definitely like her. And I'm pretty sure she likes me."
"Seems like it." JJ agrees.
"But there's just a lot of conflicting information going on. Like, I'm trying to gather all the facts and put it into a folder in my mind—" Pope continues.
"A folder?" John B repeats, raising a brow.
"Alright, man, look. Why don't we just ask Ly?" JJ suggests. "I mean, girls talk to each other about this shit, right?"
"You guys always turn to me for girl advice." Delilah states. "But no, we haven't spoken about it."
"Really?" John B questions, surprised.
"I never brought Pope up because I thought it was going alright between them, so I had no reason to. But I guess I was wrong." Delilah tells them. "I'm sorry, I can try—"
"It's okay." Pope assures, interrupting the girl before she can ramble. "It's a situation between me and her anyway. You don't have to say anything."
"Are you sure?" Delilah asks. "Normally I'm able to give advice, so I feel bad now."
"Del, don't worry about it." Pope replies. "I'll just talk to her whenever she lets me get the chance."
"If." JJ corrects. "If she lets you."
"What's the deal with this Limbrey chick, by the way? You think she knew my pops?" John B asks.
"I don't know." Pope replies. "But I do think that she has the information that could exonerate you."
"That'd be ideal." John B states.
"Not to throw a monkey wrench in the entire thing, but she did literally just try to kidnap you, man." JJ reminds. "How many times do I have to say this?"
"Here we go." John B mumbles under his breath.
"Just let him get it out of his system." Delilah says.
"Why are we even going back to OBX? Why don't we go south? Or to Yucatan?" JJ asks, bombarding them with questions. "Coast of Broken Dreams, baby!"
"No! No, dude." John B protests. "I'm not running anymore."
Delilah furrows her brows. "What do you mean?"
"OBX is my home." John B states. "And besides, if I go back, I get another shot at Ward."
A silence settles over the friends at the sudden new information that three of them have just been told, not expecting him to say that. The entire reason why John B and Sarah were even assumed to be dead is because they drove out in the middle of the storm to avoid being arrested for a murder neither of them committed. Even after that incident, John B's name still hadn't been cleared for him to just be roaming around the streets.
All attention is pulled towards the docks where the girls can now be seen standing there after returning from their task of finding some food. Watermelons are held in their hands that the pair must've found from a nearby patch. But this can only mean that there's a high possibility that it's been stolen.
"Hey." Sarah greets. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Uh... Fishing." John B replies.
"Dropping lures." JJ adds.
"Hm." Sarah hums, glancing between them with a look of uncertainty. "Okay then."
"We got breakfast." Kie states with a smile.
"I haven't had watermelon in ages." Delilah says.
All of the teenagers sit back down on the boat and begin to sail along the waters once again, a calmness settling within the air around. The watermelons are shared between themselves as it's evenly distributed, not wanting to cause little arguments because of it.
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The Château can be seen just beyond the docks as the boat comes to a slow stop, being tied off in order to avoid it from drifting away while no one's around. John B smiles at the sight of his old home as tears well up in his brown eyes, starting to blur his vision and cause him to blink them back. Many memories filled with happiness come flooding back to the boys mind as they all get off of the boat and stand upon the wooden docks. Delilah catches sight of the smile widening as she smiles too, reaching out and patting his shoulder gently.
"Welcome home, guys." Delilah says.
"You know, I gotta be honest, I'm not exactly looking forward to a check-in at home." Kie tells them. "My parents probably already arranged my funeral."
"I predict unpleasantries at the Heyward household too after I left the truck in Charleston." Pope adds.
"No one knows we're here, right? And you two aren't gonna get into any more trouble for showing up 12 hours later." JJ informs. "Am I right, or am I right?"
"You're not wrong." Pope replies.
"So that means we have 12 hours to do whatever we want." JJ states.
"I'm down." Delilah agrees.
"Me too." John B adds. "We can just let shit hit the fan tomorrow."
"The cops could be looking for us. It could be really stupid." Sarah argues.
"Sarah Cameron, you've heard of my philosophy, right?" JJ asks.
"No." Sarah replies.
"Stupid things have good outcomes all the time." JJ quotes as the other four mime his words.