SEASON TWO,
CHAPTER 18:
THE FAKE KEY
"Did hell just freeze over?"
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AFTER THE TRIP to the residential home for elders, the group of friends all made their way back to the porch of Heyward's restaurant. Pope had explained everything that his great-grandmother needed to tell him about the meaning of the key — that's when the boy realised that things just way more personal. The teenagers all have smiles on their faces in excitement and in disbelief to the new information; Denmark Tanny is a distant ancestor to Pope Heyward.
"Are we in the presence of a royal?" Delilah jokingly asks, gasping to add to it.
"A king? We shall crown him!" JJ exclaims with a grin. "All hail the lord of Tannyhill."
The blond places a non-existent crown on the top of Pope's head, crowning him as if he's a king attending his own coronation. The rest of the group then takes this moment to bow down and worship their friend for being a royal. Smiles are seen etched onto each of their faces as they find joy in being able to still make these types of memories.
"Relax." Pope urges.
"Relocate the Cat's Ass, question mark?" Sarah suggests.
"I'm with that." JJ agrees.
"How soon can we move in?" Kie asks.
"Yeah, because I don't have a place to stay." Delilah states, deciding to join in on making comments.
"Me either." Kie adds. "Wanna share a bunk bed with me, Lila?"
"Actually, she'll be sharing a bed with me." JJ tells the her. "You snooze you lose."
"Guys, guys." Delilah begins. "There's enough time in a day for me to go around. No need to fight."
"But you're my girl." JJ reminds.
"Okay, well, Kie's my side chick." Delilah jokes. "Sorry you had to find out this way, JJ."
The boy playfully rolls his eyes at her response to him, turning to catch John B's eye for a split second. The pair briefly nod at one another, almost looking as though they're silently plotting something. Then, John B walks forwards and sweeps Delilah up over his shoulder, allowing JJ to start tickling her. A fit of loud laughter childishly escapes the girls mouth as she squirms around in her best friends grip.
"Put me down!" Delilah demands, trying to catch her breath through the laughs. "I'm gonna beat both of your asses when I next get the chance."
JJ just laughs in response, knowing that she'll most likely forget about it anyway. He extends his arms out so that his hands are now resting underneath the girls armpits where he then pulls her from John B's hold. Delilah wraps her arms around JJ's neck to prevent herself from tumbling to the wood beneath them all. Eventually, Del's feet make contact with the floor again and causes her to turn back around to the others after letting go of him. JJ's hands slip down to her waist as he wraps his arms around her, allowing the girls back to rest against his front.
"You better watch your backs." Delilah threatens.
"Okay, Red. Got it." John B replies with a laugh.
"Guys." Pope begins, grabbing their attention. "I just keep thinking about the letter that Limbrey sent. It had the wheat symbol on it, so it must mean it has something to do with the Royal Merchant."
"Yeah. Something seems fishy." JJ agrees.
"But if we find that cross, we can split it like we were gonna split the gold." Pope tells them.
"And live happily ever after?" A female questions.
Each one of the teenagers turn their head towards the direction that the voice came from, not expecting to have anyone else join their conversation. A blonde haired woman with crutches is standing there as a man, who is the same one that chased them down, holds an umbrella over the top of her head. A silence falls upon the group as bodies tense at the sight of the two next guests joining them — JJ even lets go of Delilah and steps in front of her slightly.
"You assaulted my father!" Pope reclaims, anger laced in his voice.
"Oh, I didn't assault anybody." Limbrey denies.
"He can identify the psycho from a mile away." Kie informs, bluntly.
"Why would my employee assault your father? That's absurd." Limbrey tells him.
"Because you want the key." Delilah replies.
"You're right with that one." Limbrey states. "Listen, Pope, we can keep negotiating, but I want the key."
Renfield, who was just standing beside the woman, makes his way over to Pope and grabs a fistful of his shirt, actions harsh. Then, the boys body is suddenly slammed against one of the support beams nearby, causing a pained groan to slip past Pope's lips. JJ doesn't hesitate to rush forwards and try to pry the man away from his friend, becoming defensive.
"I won't stop until I have it." Limbrey continues. "I don't have a choice, which means you don't either."
"It's Limbrey, right?" John B questions.
The blonde turns towards the teenager that has just spoken, eyes falling onto the golden key that he had held in his hands. The sight of it is enough to grab all of Limbrey's attention straightaway, making her turn around on her crutches to face John B. Renfield also lets go of Pope as he realises that there's no point in harassing the boy for something he doesn't have. But Delilah's eyebrows just furrow together in confusion, glancing back over at Pope to see the exact same key secretly sitting in the palm of his hand.
"Is this what you're looking for?" John B asks.
"Yes, it is." Limbrey replies.
"Looking at the tide right now, I'd say it's about 20 feet deep out there. If I just threw it in the channel, the probability of you finding it again is slim to none." John B tells them. "You wanna give it a shot? Lets see what happens?"
"No! Hey!" Limbrey exclaims.
The brunet doesn't listen, continuing on with his actions. He goes to throw the key in the direction of the ocean as Limbrey tries to follow after him with her crutches clicking against the floor. But John B was only pretending to do so, turning back around with a small smirk on his face.
"Please don't do that." Limbrey demands.
"Get your buddy to back the hell away from my friends first." John B instructs.
"Of course." Limbrey replies, turning around to face the man. "Back up."
Renfield hesitates for a moment before choosing to listen, remembering that he works for her. He walks back over to Limbrey's side while flashing dirty looks towards each of the teenagers, highly disliking them. Delilah just gives the adult a fake smile in response, putting both of her middle fingers up at him.
"As I have told you from the beginning, Pope, I am willing to be reasonable." Limbrey informs.
"Okay." Pope gives in. "I'll give you the key, but I want the tape in return."
"Of course." Limbrey agrees.
"Pope, hey, no." John B protests. "You don't have to do this, okay? This is part of your family."
"It's okay." Pope assures as he takes the key from the brunet boy. "It's about your dad. And that's way more important."
"Oh, you're a good friend." Limbrey states, glancing over at her employee. "Give him the tape."
Renfield reaches into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulls the tape out, revealing it to everyone that is standing around them. Limbrey stretches her hand out towards Pope so that she's able to take the key away from him. But Pope doesn't trust either one of the two adults enough to hand it off like that, making sure that he passes the key at the exact same time that he receives the tape — it worked that way too.
"I wish you'd have come to this decision earlier. We could've avoided all this unpleasantness." Limbrey tells the boy.
"It was nice to meet you." John B mumbles under his breath, sarcasm laced in his voice.
"See you around, Pope." Renfield says.
"Just go." Kie demands.
The man just smirks, knowing that he's been getting on their nerves ever since he's met them. They both walk back in the direction that they previously came from, most likely planning to travel to Charleston as that's where their home resides. This only leaves the six teenagers standing alone on the porch once again with a silence hanging in the air. JJ and John B just glance over at once another with grins on their faces.
"How long do you think we have until she realises she has your fathers old key?" JJ asks.
"Ten minutes, maybe." John B suggests.
"Whose idea was the fake key?" Pope asks.
"Hm, I don't know." John B replies, glancing over at the blond next to him. "Should we tell him?"
"Wow." Kie comments. "Maybe you are good for something."
"Did hell freeze over?" Pope questions.
"Even a blind pig can find an acorn at times." JJ tells them.
Both John B and Pope sling their arms around the boys shoulders, shaking his body in an attempt to excitedly show the pride they hold for him. Grins are widely spread across the threes boys faces as they do this, happiness flooding throughout their bodies at the friendly affection being shown. JJ looks so proud of himself for being praised over one of his very own ideas for once, knowing that they usually disagree.
"I'm impressed, pretty boy." Delilah states.
Blue eyes drift over to where the redhead is standing, the faintest sign of a red tint rising to his cheeks at what she had just called him. Delilah just smiles, not realising that she had this effect on him. JJ grabs her by the waist and pulls her towards his body, arms wrapping around the girl tightly as they hug. A soft kiss is then pressed to the crown of Delilah's head.
"I liked the name." JJ whispers.
"Kinda copied you." Delilah admits as a light laugh slips past her lips. "From when you used to call me 'pretty girl', you know?"
"That's because you are my pretty girl." JJ tells her, meeting her eyes. "But I've been calling you 'angel' because you're heavenly."
A blush rises to Delilah's cheeks at the suddenness of the compliments, not expecting him to give a reason as to why he calls her a particular pet name. Heart skips a beat at the sentence leaving JJ's mouth as her stomach fills with butterflies, body melting in awe. Delilah just goes in for another hug where she then buries her face into his chest to hide the fact that she's blushing at his words. JJ catches sight of this and laughs in response, placing a supporting hand on the back of her head — though, it's unknowingly.