"Is that Iris?" Pope asked as he looked out of the Twinkie's window and JJ appeared beside him quickly.
"Holy shit, it is. What the hell is she doing out here? And alone?"
"We should probably ask her if she wants to come in-"
"No." Kiara said immediately, "Absolutely not."
"Kie, it's pouring out. And she's alone."
"It could be a trap. What is up with you guys and your sudden interest in Kooks and their sudden interest in you? Don't you think it's all a bit weird?"
"I mean, when you say it like that yeah, but-" JJ replied with a nod.
"So don't let her in then."
"I can't do that, Kie." JJ sighed and opened the door, "Hey Kook Queen, over here!"
They watched as she struggled to see where she was going and JJ hesitated to get out of the van.
"Iris, to your left!" JJ yelled again and she finally saw the Twinkie, running over to them as the guys helped her get in.
"Holy shit, it's pouring, oh god, I'm soaked." Iris said as she looked up at them, "Thanks guys."
"What are you doing here?" JJ asked as she gave them a confused look.
"Did Rafe and Topper and the others not follow you out here?"
"No, we've been out here for awhile and you're the only person we've seen." Pope replied, sharing a glance with JJ.
"Oh I totally fucked this up then." She took a deep breath, "After you guys left, a little while later, uh, the Kooks left and so I thought they were coming after JJ, because you know, but I guess I was wrong-"
Kiara cut her off, "Why would they be coming after JJ?"
JJ cleared his throat, "That's a great question, Kie, um, I wonder, uh."
"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Kiara asked as JJ and Iris shared a look.
"I may have, we might have, uh, kissed earlier in front of the Kooks." JJ said with a small laugh, "More specifically....Rafe..."
Pope tried to hide his smile by hiding his face in his hands, "What? Did I hear that right?"
"You what?" Kiara asked, "First John B, now you? What the hell is wrong with you guys?"
"Woah, uh, John B? No I never kissed him-" Iris began before Kiara cut her off.
"No, but Sarah did. Pretty sure they're together now."
"Sarah? Like Sarah Cameron? And John B? No way! What? No-"
"She's not lying." Pope chimed in, "That's partially why we're here, because they wanted to meet up."
"Oh my god." Iris laughed a little, "What's the other reason that you're here then?"
The Royal Merchant.
Iris didn't know much about it now.
But she would soon enough.
And her part in it would be crucial.
"Pope, don't say a word, and you too, JJ. You've done enough tonight." Kiara said, crossing her arms and glancing at both boys.
"I'm not going to pry if you guys don't want to tell me."
"Oh, we're not telling you anything." Kiara shot back, making Iris roll her eyes.
"I didn't ask you to tell me anything, Kiara."
"No one wants you to be here right now, Iris." Kie spat, glancing at the hickeys on her chest briefly, "You're all covered in...Rafe...and it's highly disturbing."
That stung.
Iris already felt alone enough most of the time when she was surrounded by the people she loved.
But hearing it from someone who didn't like her struck a nerve tonight.
And it hurt.
And it made her want drugs to take the pain away.
Distract me. Someone distract me, she thought.
"Kie, that's enough." JJ spoke up, "Why don't we just sit here in silence until John B and Sarah come back?"
Iris sensed that Kie hated when JJ stuck up for her. It also made her feel bad. But why was he doing it so often now? It's as if he was protecting her.
"That's a great idea." Pope agreed as he glanced over at Kie, who was looking the opposite way.
Iris, on the other hand, was sitting beside JJ in the back, just staring straight ahead.
Too much silence leads to her overthinking.
And overthinking led to...bad decisions.
She tried to focus on what was in front of her. What could she distract herself with?
Pope was reading some book about astronomy, but where the hell did he pull that out of? I guess reading and studying calms him down.
Kie, still looking out the window, frowning and picking at her nails. She must do that when she's anxious or upset.
And JJ, well, he was having a beer and glancing at everyone from time to time. He seemed a bit agitated, yet he was always kind of antsy.
The four of them sat in silence for at least ten minutes before they heard yelling outside and they all shot glances at each another.
"You guys hear that?" Pope asked and they all nodded.
"What if it's John B and Sarah?" Iris spoke up.
"Then we've got to go help them. We have to go check it out." JJ said, moving towards the door.
"It's pouring out, JJ!" Kie said, trying to stop him.
"That's the point, Kie." JJ opened the door and hopped out as Pope followed and finally Iris.
Kiara stayed in the Twinkie for a minute before finally deciding to go with them.
The four of them heard Sarah yelling and bolted towards the lighthouse, only to see John B on the ground and Sarah hovering over him, crying.
"Sarah, what happened?" Pope yelled as they ran up to them.
"I don't know what to do." Sarah cried, "He needs help, Topper shoved him."
She looked up and met eyes with Iris, giving her a confused look before Iris kneeled down and wrapped her arms around her.
"We've got him."
"Where the hell is he?" JJ asked, frantically.
"Please, please, get help. I don't care who, just call someone." Sarah said as John B groaned in agony.
"Go! Go!" JJ said, pushing Pope, who ran towards the Twinkie.
"Pope, hurry!" Kie yelled before looking back at John B.
Kie and Sarah shared a look, making Kie realize how much she actually cared for him.
"John B, stay with me." Sarah pressed a kiss to his lips, "Please don't leave me."
This was deeper than Iris thought. She was shocked by the whole situation.
And Kie had that look of sympathy on her face for them, but it was mixed in with a look of disgust.
"John B?"
"Pope, come on!" JJ yelled.
And finally, Pope came running over. An ambulance was called and within five minutes, he was taken off to the hospital.
And Topper, was no where to be found. Yet, he was very surprised to see a certain brunette Kook hanging around with the Pogues.
What the fuck? Another Kook hanging around with the Pogues...interesting...
~
John B ended up with a concussion and a broken wrist. Oh and, Ward Cameron was taking him in. So, he would be living with the Cameron's. Rafe was not thrilled, but what could he do?
Topper dropped by Iris' house the next afternoon because he needed to talk to her, well, confront her.
"Top, what are you doing here?" Iris asked as she opened the door and he walked in.
"What were you doing at Rixon's Cove last night, Iris?"
Iris raised her eyebrow at him, "You saw me."
Top scoffed, "Uh yeah, I saw you. I saw you and three Pogues run over to help John B and Sarah. What the fuck are you doing hanging around with-"
"Why did you shove John B off of the Hawk's Nest?" Iris cut him off, attempting to change the subject.
"Things got out of hand." He explained.
"Oh, really?"
"Why were you there?"
"Because I thought you and Rafe and Kelce and god knows who else were going to go after JJ and the rest of the Pogues and I'm sick of this whole Kooks versus Pogues shit, okay? So I went to protect them."
"Protect them? You mean protect JJ? What are you two like secretly hooking up and-"
"No, Top!" Iris yelled, "Not at all, what the fuck?"
"Then why?"
"Why were you there, hm?"
"Because I went with Rafe and Kelce to Tanneyhill to speak with Sarah about getting back together. Turns out Wheezie heard me confess my love, not Sarah, and anyways, I found out she was at Rixon's Cove and uh, I went there to see her making out with a Pogue."
"With Rafe and Kelce?"
"No, alone-"
"And then you got angry and shoved him off the-"
"No, Iris, not exactly-"
"Yeah? Then tell me what the fuck happened?"
"Okay, maybe that's what happened. I didn't mean to shove him hard but, yeah, I didn't come to talk about me I came to talk about you." Top took a deep breath, "You're a Kook. Your loyalty lies with us and everyone else on Figure 8, not some dirty Pogues that give you a bit of extra attention from time to time."
"I don't have to be loyal to anyone."
"Clearly, because you weren't loyal to Rafe last night when you kissed JJ."
"JJ kissed me-"
"You let him!"
"You know what's funny? You're over here lecturing me on this and Rafe isn't, why's that?"
"Oh please, Iris. We both know Rafe is coked up 99% of the time, he probably doesn't even fucking remember that. Do you really want him to remember?"
Iris glared at him.
"Look, I'm trying to protect my boy and everyone's reputation here on Figure 8-"
"Oh, fuck you Topper."
"Iris-"
"Get the fuck out of my house, I've heard enough from you for today." Iris said, ushering him out as he turned back to her.
"Listen to me, if Rafe finds out you were there, he's going to lose it, you understand?"
"Wait...you didn't tell him?"
"No, I didn't, that's why I'm here talking to you. If he knew, the Pogues would be dead. I'm trying to piece everything that happened together."
"Well, don't. And keep your mouth shut about last night and I'll keep mine shut and pretend I didn't hear you confess to shoving John B."
Topper glared at her and scoffed before finally walking away, "Fine."
Fuck.
What would happen if Rafe found out?
He was likely to as Topper was, well, certainly unhinged now that Sarah had truly moved on.
If Rafe asked, or confronted her, she just had to do one thing.
Deny, deny, deny.
After all, she had picked up a thing or two from Maybank.
~