SEASON TWO,
CHAPTER 16:
RELEASED FROM JAIL
"I'm a free man now."
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ON THE PORCH of the Château, four teenagers are seen keeping one another company as they each do their own thing to pass time. Kie's fingers strum against the strings of a ukulele, allowing the noise to fill the air with its gentle music. Delilah's head rests on top of the brunettes shoulder as she quietly hums along to the tune of certain music being played.
"Hey there, Delilah. What's it like in—" Delilah sings.
"The Outer Banks." JJ interrupts.
The girl glances over to where the blond is standing next to Pope, already finding that his blue eyes have settled onto her. A small smile splits across Delilah's face as the feeling of butterflies enters her stomach and flutters around. As well as that, a feeling of deja vu washes through her body from another time that JJ had interrupted the song to do that.
"That's a lot of wax on your board, JJ. Put too much wax and it's gonna be slippery." Pope informs.
"Are you telling me how to wax my board?" JJ questions, pulling his gaze away from the redhead.
"Just saying that's a lot of wax." Pope repeats.
"No, no, no." JJ protests. "You're telling me how to wax my board. Are you kidding me?"
"That's a colossal waste of wax." Pope continues.
A car horn suddenly fills the air, grabbing the fours attention and making them all turn towards where the noise is coming from. Their campervan, which none of them have seen in ages, pulls up in front of the house as John B then steps out from the vehicle. A wide smile is spread across the brunets face as he catches sight of his friends reaction; their jaws are dropped and their eyes are wide in amazement.
"No way!"
"Is this a joke?"
"Hold on. Am I dreaming?"
"Oh my god."
"Guess who's out of the clink!" John B exclaims in excitement.
The teenagers all run over to the long haired boy, enveloping him into a group hug. Smiles are etched onto all of their faces at the sight of their best friend back in their arms, no longer having to worry about losing him again. John B holds onto the four tightly, so thankful to have them all in his life. Soon enough, the group of friends pull away and mutually agree to make their way down to the docks so that they can sit down and talk about what's happening.
"How come you're out of jail?" Delilah asks, curious.
"They dropped the charges." John B replies.
"Are you telling me that I did all of that work for nothing?" JJ questions.
"Oh, the most elaborate escape plan of all time? 'Foolproof', wasn't it?" Pope comments.
"Yeah, it was actually." JJ argues.
"Where's Sarah?" John B asks, receiving nothing in response. "Guys, where is she?"
"She went to go meet Wheezie last, but she didn't come back." Kie informs.
"She just dipped and didn't call?" John B questions.
"Yeah, man." Pope replies. "She just left her bag and didn't tell anyone."
"Okay, I... I really think Ward got to her." John B stammers. "I mean, the dude tried to have me killed in jail."
Delilah's brows furrow. "Wait, what?"
"He sent somebody to the prison who choked me and almost killed me." John B tells them.
"Do we know who this dude was?" JJ asks.
"No, I have no idea." John B replies. "Dude, I swear to god, one day I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch."
"It's okay." Kie assures.
"No, Kie, it's not okay." John B protests. "We've got to find Sarah."
"No, literally, it's okay." Kie repeats. "She's literally right behind you."
All eyes turn around to see another boat travelling towards the wooden docks that they're all sitting on. Sarah is sitting inside of that boat as Topper directs where it's going, an unreadable expression crossed over his face. The blonde haired girl's face lights up at the sight of her boyfriend and best friends, calling out to them. But they all have confused expressions at the unexpected sight of her with her ex-boyfriend.
"Kie, I thought you said she went to see Wheezie, not him." Delilah says.
"I did, because that's what she told us." Kie replies as her brows furrow. "What the hell is she doing with him anyway?"
Sarah sprints over to the brunet boy and engulfs him into a tight hug after hopping down from the boat and stepping onto the wood of the docks. John B just smiles at the feeling of her affection, wrapping his arms around her body to hold her close. Both of their bodies sway slightly as their feet move to keep them steady and stable, trying to avoid falling over.
"I didn't know if I would see you again." Sarah states as they break away. "What happened?"
"They dropped all the charges." John B replies with a smile. "I'm a free man now."
"That's amazing!" Sarah exclaims.
"I know, yeah. It's great." John B agrees. "But listen, Sarah, they're coming after Rafe."
"Good. He's completely unhinged." Sarah tells them, pausing as she takes a shaky breath. "He jumped me last night. That's why I didn't come back."
"What the fuck?" Delilah mumbles.
"Rafe has lost his mind." Topper states as he decides to speak up. "He literally almost drowned his sister. Thankfully, I got there just in time."
"Uh..." John B quietly begins, trying to not appear as annoyed as he feels. "Well, I guess I owe you one, Topper, don't I?"
"It's all good." Topper replies. "I mean, somebody had to rescue your girlfriend."
"Oh, so— That's funny because she's not actually my girlfriend." John B informs, eyes drifting over to the blonde with a smile. "Right?"
"Well, what is she then?" Topper asks.
"Tell him." John B encourages.
"I'm... I'm with him." Sarah stammers after a brief pause, unsure of what to say.
"Ouch." Delilah whispers to the brunette girl next to her. "That's gotta hurt for JB."
"You're with him? Okay, yeah. I just needed a little clarity there." Topper comments, laughing at them in amusement. "You guys clear on that too?"
"I think that it's clear you've got to go now." JJ fires back, not liking the boy making fun of his friends.
"I was gonna head out anyway." Topper informs.
Sarah walks forwards and pulls the Kook in for a hug as she quietly thanks him for saving her life from her own brother. Topper just reassures the girl, locking eyes with John B the entire time to watch what his reaction will be. But the brunet remains calm on the outside, not wanting to show his anger. Then, Sarah and Topper break away from their hug as the boy returns back to his boat and sails back to his home.
"Hey, uh... Ly?" JJ calls as he captures the redheads attention. "Can we go talk?"
"Okay." Delilah agrees, quietly.
The pair walk away from the docks that everyone is crowded on and make their way inside of the house. They take a seat down onto the couch, which is still pulled out into a sofa bed — John B is to lazy to put it away because his friends always stay over. Delilah remains silent to allow JJ to say what he wants to. Green locks onto blue, staring into each others eyes.
"I just want to say that I'm sorry. And I really do mean that." JJ apologises.
"I'm sorry for snapping at you." Delilah tells him, feeling guilty.
"No, no, no. Don't apologise." JJ insists. "I get why you were so worried about the plan, and why you didn't want me to go ahead with it. I really shouldn't have lied to you. I know I fucked up."
"Did you realise that before or after the plan went wrong?" Delilah asks, curious.
"I knew the whole time." JJ replies. "I was just being stubborn, and I was certain that it would work. But yeah, in the ambulance, I realised that I should've really listened to you."
"J, I just don't want anything bad to happen to you." Delilah admits, voice wavering. "We always used to go around doing reckless shit together, but that was before we went through everything that's happened so far. John B and Sarah 'dying' broke us all, and I'm worried it'll happen to you too."
"Like I've said before, you won't lose me." JJ assures as he takes her hand. "I'll be more careful, okay?"
"I know, I know." Delilah replies with a sigh.
"And I'm also sorry for not being there for you when your mom came home." JJ adds. "It doesn't really sound like yesterday was a good day for you, so I feel bad about being one of the reasons."
"Don't apologise for that." Delilah tells him. "I was annoyed at you anyway and just wanted to be alone."
"So are we okay now? Everything's cleared up?" JJ asks, wanting to make sure they're on the same page.
Delilah nods. "Yeah, we're okay."
A smile spreads across the blonds face, opening his arms out and inviting her in for a warm hug. Delilah returns the smile before shifting in her place as she moves closer towards him. Arms wrap around JJ's neck as his arms snake around her waist in response. As well as that, a hand drops down to the girls thigh where he then comfortably pulls her onto his lap.
"I love you, angel." JJ whispers.
"I love you." Delilah replies.
JJ moves forwards and connects their lips together, feeling as she smiles into the kiss. Their lips move in sync with each other as the redheads fingers thread through the hair that rests around his neck. But JJ soon breaks the kiss and presses a gentle peck on the end of Delilah's nose, listening to the light laugh that leaves her mouth. Delilah leans down and rests her head in the crook of the boys neck as his hand rubs soothing circles into her back.
"By the way." Delilah begins, hearing a small hum in response for her to continue. "You ruined the song earlier."
"Yeah, well, you smiled at me after I did, so you didn't look too bothered about it." JJ tells her.
"Because you remembered from the last time you did that exact same thing." Delilah states.
"Of course I'd remember." JJ replies as he presses a kiss to her temple.