While Pope was stealing gas from his dad, Kie, JJ and Iris were raiding Kie's parents restaurant. Why? For food for John B and Sarah. And Kie brought up how Pope confessed his feelings to her last night.
"Kie, you sure he just wasn't being weird Pope?"
"JJ, it wasn't really the kind of thing that needed interpretation." She said, handing food to Iris, who helped JJ pack it up, "Is that enough food for them?"
JJ glanced at Iris, "Probably for a couple of weeks and that's all they need, so, yeah."
"Guys, can I be honest?"
"Sure." Iris replied as Kie sighed.
"I think I actually hurt his feelings. Pope."
"Kie, don't beat yourself up too much. He's completely changed his feels." JJ said, grabbing the box and heading outside with Kie and Iris behind him, "The past 24 hours have been like Jekyll and Hyde."
"I hate to admit it but I miss the old Pope. At least I knew what to expect from him." She admitted as her parents came storming over to them, making Iris widen her eyes.
"Where you been?"
"Um, I'm fine. I slept here. Well, we slept here." Kie said, glancing back at the building.
"Well, we were up half the night, scared to death, looking for you. Were you even gonna tell us?" Her mom yelled.
JJ and Iris shared a glance.
And JJ thought, fuck, at least her parents care enough to look for her.
"Well, I'm telling you right now."
"Alright, what the hell are you guys up to? You haven't wanted to hang out with Iris since ninth grade, and even then, you two never got along. What the hell is going on? Huh?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Anna, but we gotta go." JJ said as he shut the trunk.
"Sorry." Kie muttered.
"No, absolutely not. Have you heard what's going on out there?" Anna asked, following Kie to the drivers side door.
"Mom, I'll explain later." Kie opened the door.
"Have you seen the storm coming in? This is not safe."
"I'm sorry mom, I have to go." She replied as JJ and Iris got into the car and kept quiet.
"These cops are armed, Kiara. One of you is going to get shot. I am not letting you do this!"
"Mom, John B needs me!"
"You need to stay here."
"I understand but I'll be careful." Kie slammed the door as her mom kept yelling after them as they drove off.
Iris watched as JJ took Kie's hand in his, but she immediately pushed him off.
"JJ, I'm fine."
"Right, yeah, sorry." He dropped his head as they continued to drive to the Cut.
Kie pulled up to JJ's house as he sighed.
"Home sweet home."
"Do you want me to come?" Kie asked and he shook his head.
"No."
"JJ, are you sure? We can both come." Iris said, putting a hand on his shoulder from behind as he briefly glanced back at her.
"It'll only take a second." He said as he got out of the vehicle and disappeared inside.
"We should've went in with him." Iris said as she peeled her eyes from the house, looking back at Kie.
"I know." Kie said, glancing back at Iris, "You know he likes you a lot, right?"
She didn't want to admit it, but she knew.
It's not like she was blind.
"I know."
"I just don't want him to get hurt." She admitted, glancing back at his house, "And you seem like-"
"Kie, it's not like I plan on doing anything with him or to him. I'm with-"
"Oh, you're still with Rafe? After everything? Thought that was done." She scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Can we not do this right now?" Iris whispered as she rapidly blinked her tears away.
Iris wasn't having second thoughts about Rafe now. As much as she hated him in the last few days, she still had an unfortunate soft spot for him. She knew he was a bad person and yet, there was part of her that felt bad for him. She hated it.
"Do you even care about JJ?, Iris?"
"Kie-"
"Yeah or no?"
"Yeah, I care about all of you guys."
Kie rolled her eyes again, "I'm asking about JJ, not the rest of us."
"Yes, I care about JJ." Iris admitted, looking out the window as JJ came back outside, "A lot."
He too blinked his tears away as he got into the car, sniffling slightly, making all three of them go silent.
"Uh, how'd it go?"
JJ held up the keys as Kie nodded and they drove away from his house.
The drive to go get the Phantom was silent. Everyone was worried, especially Kie, who was anxiously fiddling with stuff in the cup holder while she drove.
"It'll be fine." JJ said, "It'll be fine with the Phantom. She'll get out quick."
Then sirens.
Panic ran through their veins.
Everyone's eyes went wide.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." JJ said, ducking as they passed numerous cops cars.
"They're still looking. It's a good sign." Iris said, letting out a breathe.
Further down the road, Barry and Rafe sat on their bikes, watching everything unfold.
Rafe smiled at the sirens, "Shit man, they're after him. Hey, you know if we get him dead or alive, there's a reward. 30K, right?"
"Yeah, obviously. That's the first thing I thought of." Barry said as the cops passed them.
"Shit." Rafe laughed slightly before seeing Kie's car drive past them, "Wait, hold up."
"What?"
"Yo, is that Kie?" Rafe said, clearly seeing Kie and JJ in the front of the vehicle, "And JJ."
"There go that little bitch, right there." Barry said.
Now, at the time that they passed them, Iris ducked as she saw the two boys.
"Fuck, there's Rafe. Don't look." Iris said, hiding behind JJ's seat.
"Odds they follow us?"
"Very high." Iris muttered, not wanting to look back to see if they were being followed.
JJ looked back at Iris, then behind her, "I don't see them."
"Thank god."
"Drive faster, Kie." JJ said, glancing at the time.
"I'm driving fast enough, JJ." She glared at him as they pulled into the yard, hopping out and walking towards the building.
JJ pushed the door open and revealed the Phantom.
"There she be." JJ smiled, "Hey girl. A 1983 Formula 402 SR1." He pulled the small sheet off of it, "The Phantom."
"Nice." Kie nodded as JJ rambled on.
"The first boat to make the run to Bermuda in under 16 hours, ladies." He turned to them, "It's almost forty years old. Forty. And still the fastest thing that Kildare's ever seen."
"It's kind of a junker." Iris mumbled.
"Really, Iris? She's right there. She can hear you." JJ said as Iris and Kie shared a look, "Let's put it this way. You would not be smoking weed right now if she never existed, okay?"
"Let's hope it runs." Kie said as JJ widened his eyes.
"Oh no, she'll run all right. She's faster than any cutters the boys in blue got."
They all glanced at each other as they heard a bike approach.
It was either Pope.
Or it was Barry and Rafe.
"Pope, finally!" Kie yelled, heading towards the back end of the boat.
Oh good, it was Pope.
Until Rafe walked around the back end of the Phantom.
"Hey there. What's going on?"
Fuck.
"JJ?" Rafe continued as JJ looked up and glanced at Iris, "How you guys doing?"
Rafe jumped up on the Phantom as Barry came around the other side and whistled, "Well, well."
Rafe walked his way up the boat before jumping off behind Iris, Barry closing in on them from the other side. Barry clocked his gun, pointing it at JJ and Iris gulped. Flashbacks to the air strip flooded her mind as she tried to push it away.
"See, don't think I forgot about me and you on the side of the road. I'm here because I want my motherfucking money." Barry yelled, grabbing JJ and punching him.
"JJ! JJ!" Iris yelled, going to help him as Rafe grabbed her waist, pulling her away, "Rafe, let go of me!"
"That's what I'm here for!" Barry continued to yell.
"It's not you we want Iris, or you, Kie." He panted, looking between the girls as he put Iris down, backing her into a corner, "Where's John B?"
"I don't know!"
"You do god damn know! Tell me Iris or I swear to god-" Rafe yelled as she slapped him.
That was stupid of her but it was her immediate reaction.
"I told you I don't know!" She yelled back at him, adrenaline pumping through her veins.
Rafe scoffed, his eyes going dark, "I really wish you hadn't done that."
"Everyone knows what you did, Rafe. It's time to stop with the fucking lies. You need to come clean."
"What? What did I do?" He said, stepping towards her again as she stepped back.
"You murdered Peterkin!" She said, tears escaping her eyes as he clenched his jaw.
Without any notice, he angrily grabbed her neck, making her cry out.
"Don't you ever say those fucking words again. You hear me, Iris? Never."
"Rafe-"
"Understand?"
Kie was trying to get Barry off of JJ, not noticing what was happening with Iris and Rafe. But although JJ was getting beat on, he was focusing on Iris, trying his best to fight his way out of it to go and help her.
She needed his help. Badly.
And Iris didn't answer Rafe, his hand squeezing around her neck tighter as she cried.
Luckily, Pope came to save the day.
He hit Barry in the back with a bat, who in turn, turned on him, but Pope began to fight him off as JJ frantically got up and ran over to Iris.
"Do you understand? Where's John B? Where's John B?"
"I don't know!"
"Where is he?"
"I don't know Rafe! I don't know!"
"Where is he Iris?" Rafe yelled once more before JJ hit Rafe with the same bat, sending him to the ground, making Iris take a deep breath.
"Don't fucking touch her!" JJ said, hitting him again.
Rafe knocked the bat out of his hands, sending the two into a fist fight.
"Don't tell me what to do. She's my fucking girlfriend! Mine!"
"She's not!"
JJ threw punch after punch at Rafe. And after Pope fought off Barry, he came to JJ's side, subbing in for him and throwing multiple punches at Rafe.
Until Rafe didn't look like Rafe. Blood was everywhere.
"He's had enough, dude." JJ yelled at Pope as Rafe fell over.
But Pope wasn't done.
He wrapped something around his neck, pulling it tightly making Iris cry harder.
"Pope, stop!" Iris screamed as JJ tried to grab Pope.
"Stop, dude!" JJ yelled.
"Pope, that's too much!" Kie added as he choked Rafe.
Rafe thought he was going to die. Literally, he couldn't breathe. And in that moment, he just wanted to see the ocean eyes. Her ocean eyes.
"Iris." He gurgled as his eyes met hers.
"Pope! Get off!" Iris cried as JJ finally pulled him off.
"Stop dude! Let go, come on!"
And Pope dropped Rafe.
JJ watched as Iris' face went from that of fear to heartbroken as she immediately went to Rafe's side.
He wasn't moving.
And she panicked as she tried to find a pulse or observe his breathing.
Was she just missing it?
Try again Iris.
And then she heard gurgling in his throat.
And blood was suddenly all over her face.
~