SCARLETT RAN her fingers through her hair as she stared at the test paper on her desk. She had forgotten all about the history test and so had revised nothing- not that she had any notes to revise from anyway. A breath of relief left her mouth as a knock at the classroom door caught the attention of the room. Looking up, Scarlett saw a man dressed in a very smart suit. "Mr. Sunn, can I borrow Pope for a minute?" The man asked.
Scarlett looked over to Pope, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "What do you think he wants?" She mouthed.
Pope shrugged. "No idea." He mouthed back.
"We're in the middle of a test right now." The teacher explained, his voice no louder than a hushed whisper. He stood up from his chair, walking over to the man at the door.
"I'm from the Vanderhorst Foundation."
Scarlett's eyes widened, recognising the name. They were the people Pope had applied to do a scholarship with. The same scholarship he missed out on because of the Pogues' hunt for the lost gold. She watched as the teacher turned back to face the classroom, his eyes setting on Pope. "Mr. Heyward, it's for you."
Pope silently stood from his seat, following the man out of the room. Scarlett turned to Kiara and JJ, the three of them sharing looks of confusion. After a few minutes, Pope walked back in the room, a brown envelope in his hands. His eyes were wide as he sat back down in his chair.
"Okay, what was that?" Kiara whispered, leaning forward slightly.
Pope simply held the back of the envelope up, showing his friends the seal. Scarlett's eyes widened as she realised what the symbol was. "Oh my God." She whispered.
"Is that the wheat symbol?" Kiara asked.
Pope nodded, confirming what the Pogues were thinking. "Yeah."
JJ threw his arms behind his head as he sank back in his chair. "What the f-" He caught the teacher's eye, stammering as he changed what he was about to say. "Fu... fu... fudge?"
Scarlett shook her head slightly in shock. What would the wheat symbol be doing on the back of a scholarship envelope?
⭐⭐⭐
The Pogues walked into the library, just as the school bell rang. "Is this a game of tag?" JJ asked as he and Scarlett followed behind Kiara and Pope.
"I don't know." Kiara shrugged.
"Am I gonna have to beat you with your protractor?" JJ asked Pope. "What's going on?" Pope still hadn't said anything to them about the envelope, it's contents or his conversation during their history test.
"Pope. Talk to us, man." Scarlett whispered, avoiding the irritated gaze of the school's librarian.
The boy led them over to one of the free computers and Kiara took one of the seats. "Seriously, Pope, you are driving me insane." She whispered. Scarlett took the seat next to her, resting her elbows on the table.
"Okay, so that guy was from the scholarship committee." Pope began to explain. "Take a look at this." He handed the envelope to JJ, who tore it open. "Read it."
"Out loud." Kiara added as JJ stared blankly at the paper.
"I can't read cursive." He whispered, handing the letter to Scarlett.
She shook her head. "I can, but I'm too high right now to read anything."
Kiara sighed as she took the letter from Scarlett's hands. "You're high? Now, really?"
Scarlett nodded. "I ain't doing school sober."
Kiara shook her head at the girl, beginning to read the letter aloud. "Dear Mr. Heyward, I am reaching out because I have material evidence that can exonerate John B. Routledge."
Scarlett raised her eyebrows. "What the fuck?"
Kiara glanced up to Pope, who was pacing next to the table- before continuing. "It is of vital importance that you come and meet with me in person at my offices at 27 King Street, Charleston at 8:00pm sharp tonight. Please come alone. Regards, C. Limbrey." Her face scrunched up in confusion.
"Charleston?" JJ questioned.
"I know. It's like an eight hour drive plus the ferry." Pope stressed. "How will we get there tonight?"
"We'd have to leave right now." JJ pointed out.
"I have a free period." Kiara spoke up.
"I'm meant to be in maths at the moment, but I could give less of a shit about that subject, so..." Scarlett muttered. "Let's go to Charleston."
"'Material evidence'? What does that even mean, 'material evidence'?" JJ mumbled.
"It means he can clear John B." Kiara told him.
"Definitely going then." Scarlett said. A smile formed on her face at the thought of her and her friends actually clearing John B's name.
JJ nodded. "Lottie's right. We're definitely going to Charleston."
"I gotta tell my mom." Kiara sighed.
"You telling your dad?" Pope asked Scarlett as he leaned forward to type something into the computer.
She shook her head. "No. They probably already see me as the problem child. I don't wanna add to that."
"Look, if we get it this time, we are not giving it to Shoupe." Kiara said.
JJ nodded. "Yeah. No duh."
Scarlett watched as Pope looked back and forth between the letter and what he had typed in the search bar on the computer. "Pope, man, you good?"
"I'm not sure, but I think whoever this Limbrey person is, they might be related to the captain of the Royal Merchant." He answered, his eyes scanning the screen.
"Oh, shit." Scarlett mumbled, staring at the computer.
⭐⭐⭐
Sat in Pope's dad's truck on JJ's lap- there wasn't enough room for all four of them to sit on the seats- Scarlett pulled out her phone. Sticking to the promise she made to her dad and Step-mom, she pulled up their message threads.
Lottie 🏄🏻♀️
Going out with Kie for a girl's night x
Dad
When will you be coming home? x
Isobel
Don't stay out too late
And be safe x
Lottie 🏄🏻♀️
Be back some time tomorrow x
She slid her phone into her pocket, looking up to see Kiara arguing with her parents at the top of the stairs. "They're taking it really well." JJ muttered sarcastically, running his fingers through his girlfriend's hair.
"Mm-hmm." Pope hummed in agreement. "How'd your parents react, Lottie?"
"Took it really well." Scarlett grinned. "Because I told them I was going out with Kie for a girl's night. They'd probably kill me if I told the truth. Don't want any more of that." She mumbled the last part.
"How'd you get this rig?" JJ asked, referring to the car. "I know your old man didn't let you have it."
Without taking his eyes off the argument ahead of them, Pope answered. "I undid the intake valves on the carburettor. Made it start pinging."
JJ nodded. "And now you're just gonna take it to your cousin Jeff's house." He guessed the rest of Pope's story. "Just gonna get it fixed."
"Crash overnight." The boys said in unison.
"I think I'm rubbing off on you, Pope." JJ mused.
Scarlett hummed in agreement. "Becoming a bit of a bad influence." She joked.
"Lying to your old man, stealing his truck." JJ added. "Kinda sounds familiar." He noticed how tense Pope seemed to become after his comment. "All right, that's a sore subject. My bad." He raised his hands slightly.
"J, you've been a bad influence ever since I've known you." Scarlett teased. "I used to be an angel, you know." She joked. "Never did a thing wrong. Now look at me." She shrugged.
"You're both as bad as each other." Pope joked, nudging Scarlett's leg. "I'd say we have about eighteen hours before my dad absolutely loses his shit."
Scarlett nodded. "Works for me. Told my folks I'd be back at some point tomorrow."
"So as long as we get the truck back before then, I think we're good." Pope added.
Scarlett hopped off JJ's lap as the two climbed out the truck, moving out of the way so Kiara could climb in. Her parents were calling after her, yelling something about a boarding school. "It's good to see y'all, Mr. and Mrs. Carrera." JJ called, waving to them.
Scarlett nodded her head at them, waving a hand at them. "Nice to see you, Mr. and Mrs. C. We'll keep Kie safe!"
"Hi, uh, ma'am, sir." Pope called, leaning his head out the window. "I... I promise to have her back at a reasonable hour and safe."
"What are you doing?" Kiara asked him.
"Kiara, listen to me." Mrs. Carrera yelled. "You wanna go, then you can go. But if you don't come back at the proper time, then don't come back at all!"
"She's bluffin'." JJ mumbled as Kiara climbed into the car. "Y'all have a good day." He called to the two adults, sending them a wave before climbing in after Kiara. Scarlett sent a wave to her friend's parents, climbing onto JJ's lap.
"This shit would be so much easier without parents." Kiara commented.
"You got that right." Scarlett muttered, pulling the door shut.
⭐⭐⭐
The Pogues made it to the ferry without any complications and now found themselves hanging at the back of the truck. Scarlett pulled her knees up to her chest, taking a hit of her joint as she listened to Kiara rant about the fight with her parents. "My parents are so paranoid of me being a Pogue, like it's the worst thing that could ever happen."
"Hey, I hear they got good weed at boarding school, though." JJ said, wrapping his own blunt as he sat on the roof of the truck.
"I'm not going to boarding school." Kiara shrugged her shoulders. "They're gonna have to kidnap me, tie me up, and throw me in a van."
"Well, I say..." JJ spoke with half the joint in his mouth, sliding off the roof. "We just crumble some herb right now." He handed the freshly rolled up joint to Kiara.
Scarlett nodded, breathing out a small cloud of smoke. "Already on it." She grinned. JJ sat down next to her, and she tilted her head so she was leaning on his shoulder.
"Hey, Kie, have you tried to hit John B back on that number yet?" Pope asked, looking up from the letter.
"Like, twenty million times." She answered, taking a hit from the blunt.
"That's quite a few times." JJ chuckled.
Scarlett took another hit from her own joint. "I rang the number the other day but some random lady at a hotel answered. Happened the other few times I called."
"Well, until we hear from them again, we gotta try and clear his name." Pope said. "Right now this letter's our best bet."
"Right. Stay on task." JJ muttered, nodding. "That's why I love ya, Pope."
Clearing her throat, Kiara stood up and crossed to the other side of the truck that Pope was leaning on. "What Pope are you gonna be today?" She asked, holding the joint out to him.
After a moment's consideration, the boy shook his head. "I'm good. I'm gonna try to focus."
"Good Pope." Kiara said, answering her own question and taking a step back, her hand lowering. "Boring Pope." She sighed, taking a seat the other side of JJ.
The blonde boy held his hand out to her. "I'll take that." He chuckled. The three began laughing as JJ fooled around with the joint. Scarlett took another hit of her own, lifting JJ's hat from his head and placing it on her own.
⭐⭐⭐
"Guys, I've read this thing like a thousand times." Kiara said, holding the letter. They had just driven past a sign to Charleston, still nowhere near their destination. "It makes no sense." Kiara shrugged. "I mean, the Limbreys own, like, half of Charleston. What do the Kook kings of Charleston know about a murder on Kildare Island?"
Scarlett nodded, leaning into JJ's chest. "That's a very good point. You wouldn't think they'd be interested in something like that."
"Why you specifically?" JJ asked, looking across to Pope. "That's the other creepy thing. You know?"
"'Please come alone.' That's hella sus." Kiara added.
Pope nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. I think it's because-" He was cut off as the engine began to rattle and steam erupted from under the hood, blocking the front window. "Oh, come on." The boy groaned.
"What's that?" Kiara asked.
"Whatever it is, it doesn't look good." Scarlett commented.
Kiara shook her head. "Pull over." She instructed. "That's a lot of smoke, even for your dad's truck."
JJ began coughing, winding the window shut as he did so. "Pope, I got sensitive lungs, man!"
"Stop the car, dude!" Scarlett cried.
"I'm pulling over." The boy said, redirecting the truck to drive over to the side of the road.
"Pope, just slow down!" JJ yelled as the truck seemed to gain speed. He wrapped his arms around Scarlett's waist, making sure didn't fall off his lap. After a few moments of the Pogues yelling over each other, the truck finally rolled to a stop and Pope began laughing in disbelief.
"No. No. No. No." Pope muttered, hitting his hands against the wheel and switching the engine off.
Scarlett shoved open the door, climbing out of JJ's arms. "Pope, this isn't a truck. It's a death machine."
"It's gonna blow up." Kiara panicked, scrambling to climb out the truck after Pope.
JJ shook his head, going to stand next to Scarlett. "No, it's not gonna blow up." He reassured the brunette. "You probably unhooked the radiator, Pope." The boy in question was racing to the hood, waving the steam away before opening it. "I haven't seen this before. You knocked the entire hubcap off!" JJ told him, walking away to pick up part of the wheel that had fallen off. He clapped sarcastically, walking back to the truck. "You might want to reschedule your meeting tonight, Pope."
Scarlett shook her head. "I don't think he can. Even if we're not gonna make it to Charleston for eight."
"Uh, plan B? We could, um... public transportation?" Kiara stuttered out, beginning to list other ways for the group to travel. "We could hitchhike. We could rent bikes."
JJ walked other to the front of the truck, taking a closer look at the engine. "Yeah, it's the radiator."
Pope sighed. "My dad's gonna kill me."
Scarlett looked over to Kiara, walking round to the other side of the truck. "By the way, Kie. In case my dad messages you, we're on a girl's night."
"You didn't tell them we're going to Charleston?" She asked, looking shocked.
"Nope. My dad would kill me."
"Does your dad also not know that you skip school?"
Scarlett shook her head. "Absolutely not. Don't plan on getting my ass beat again."
Kiara's face fell and she walked over to her friend, pulling her into a hug. "I'm sure he wouldn't."
Scarlett buried her face in the girl's shoulder, unable to stop the few tears that began to roll down her cheeks. "I know, but I just... I don't wanna chance it. Ya know? What if he turns out like my step-dad? What if it's because I'm the problem?"
"You're not the problem, Lottie." Kiara whispered. "You're never a problem. You're one of the best people I know."
⭐⭐⭐
Somehow, the Pogues managed to get the truck to a garage. Scarlett sat in the back with Kiara as they waited for the boys to talk to the mechanic. They hadn't said much to each other, having been sat in a comfortable silence while passing one of Scarlett's joints back and forth. JJ left Pope with the mechanic, walking back over to the girls and resting his arms on the side of the truck. "Dude's in heaven right now. 'Gotta know the calibration point before you do anything with the intake valve, JJ. You do the-'" He impersonated Pope.
Scarlett shook her head at him. "Now's not the time." She mouthed, tilting her head towards Kiara. The girl had a frown on her face, obviously not okay.
"Hey." The blonde boy reached over, tapping the brunette on the leg. "You all right?"
Kiara shrugged. "My mom is so worried that I'm gonna be a Pogue that she's willing to send me to boarding school." Not knowing what to say, Scarlett wrapped her arm around Kiara's shoulder, bringing the girl into a side hug.
"Well, I guess that's what you get for hanging out with the wrong crowd, Kie." JJ joked, taking a sip from the flask he seemed to always have on him.
"I mean, I'm not gonna go." Kiara added.
"Then don't." Scarlett shrugged. "They shouldn't force you to go somewhere if you don't want to."
Kiara nodded, leaning her head on the blonde's shoulder. "It's too late anyway. I already am who I am."
"Ain't all that bad." JJ said, his voice soft. "Just look at that guy over there." He gestured to the right, where Pope was frantically talking to the garage owner. "He would do anything for us. That's a Pogue if I've ever seen one. Bone-deep."
Scarlett nodded. "One of the purest souls I've ever met." She added.
"That's just our opinion though." JJ said as Kiara turned her gaze away from Pope.
⭐⭐⭐
Finally, with the truck fixed, the Pogues were able to leave the garage. They drove a little further before stopping in a filed by a huge tree, deciding to park up for the night. Using whatever they could find in the truck, the teens made themselves some make-shift beds in the back. Scarlett sat down next to JJ, the blonde already lying down with his eyes closed and his baseball cap pulled over his face. Scarlett put out her joint on the side of the truck before taking the flask from JJ's fingers and setting it aside.
"Good night, everyone." Pope mumbled.
"Night, losers." Scarlett smiled, laying herself down next to JJ and cuddling into his side. She leaned her face up, pressing her lips against his cheek. "Goodnight babe."
A small smile worked it's way onto the boy's face and he pulled the girl closer to him. "Night, Doll."
Scarlett smiled. From where she was laying down, she was able to see Kiara lean over and place a small kiss on Pope's cheek before lying down herself. Scarlett shot the girl a thumbs up, knowing from the look on Kiara's face that she had some feelings for the boy. "Good night." Kiara whispered.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Scarlett slept through the whole night without any nightmares. There was something about being around her friends and curled up with JJ that just made them disappear. She still found herself worrying about John B and Sarah, but she knew the pair were smart enough to keep themselves safe. She just wished she they were back in the OBX.
⭐⭐⭐
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A/N:
I'm turning 20 as I post this chapter so I hope you enjoyed it!!
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Edited: 06/09/2021