love and sarah snuck into her dad's office after they returned from midsummers and thanked whatever god was listening that her dad wasn't in there. "what are you doing?"
both girls jumped at the sound of ward's voice and turned to see not only him but diego as well, the two men staring at their daughters as they stood in the doorway. "we... just wanted a copy of one of the old plat maps." sarah said.
"a plat map." ward laughed. "of tannyhill?"
love nodded to back sarah up. "yeah."
"mija, you never wanted to look at those when i tried to show 'em to you." diego gave his daughter a look.
sarah and love shared a brief look before the brunette spoke. "well, papa, since then, i have become so appreciative of this beautiful property that we call home, and they're so beautiful, i thought maybe i could get them framed and hung in my room. sarah was gonna help me."
ward looked between the two. "okay, come on, girls, seriously. what is this, a school thing?"
sarah pulled out the plat map they needed and gave her dad a look. "no, it's july."
"a topper thing?" ward asked and sarah sighed.
"a rafe thing?" diego followed up.
the two girls turned to each other and rolled their eyes in sync. "it's not a rafe or topper thing." love told them as the two stood up.
"but it is a boy thing." sarah added mischievously and love elbowed her.
"a boy thing?" diego repeated, staring at his daughter knowingly.
love sighed as she stood in front of her father. "he's a real go getter. i think you'll like him."
diego raised his eyebrows, having an inkling on who she was talking about. "oh, really?"
"who is this mystery history buff? is he a cartographer or something?" ward asked.
sarah paused with her hand on the doorknob and turned to look at her dad. "we could tell you, but then he wouldn't be a myster, would he?"
ward scoffed at his daughter. "make good choices." he told her.
sarah nodded. "i will."
ward nodded to the map. "be careful with that."
"promise." she kissed the map. "thank you. you're the best."
love blew a kiss to diego. "love you, papa."
sarah parked her car near hawks nest and love thanked her before getting out the car, telling sarah she would be back in a minute. love climbed up and waited at the top of the tower for john b to arrive. the brunette frowned slightly as she listened to the thunder before turning her head as she heard footsteps.
her lips twitched up into a smile as john approached her and he set his bag down before walking closer to her. "hi." she whispered before holding the map up. "sarah and i got the map. do you wanna see?"
"oh, shit." john laughed as he took it from her. "holy hell."
"yeah." love chuckled. "did you tell your crew you were here with me?" she asked curiously, already knowing the answer.
john raised his eyebrows. "did you?"
"no, only sarah." love shook her head. "i will, though. i don't care." she sighed. "i still have to talk to rafe. tell him whatever we had is over."
john's lips parted. "really?"
love nodded her head. "yeah." her smile slowly faded as she looked at him. "what, you don't think that's a good idea?"
"no, no, no, um, it's... it's, uh... yeah." john stammered. "yeah. yeah."
at a particularly loud thunderclap, love jumped in surprise and gripped onto john who held her tightly. "oh, my god!" she laughed.
john chuckled. "you okay?"
"yeah." love wrapped her arms around his neck as he hugged her body to his. "what are we doing up here?"
"i have no idea." john told her. "you wanna go down?"
love pulled back to stare up at him and shook her head. "no."
john grinned as he cupped her face. "neither do i." he glanced down, and his smile dropped as he noticed the red marks on her arm. "what happened?"
love also looked down and shrugged lightly. "rafe grabbed my arm a little too tightly, but i'm okay. promise." she smiled softly at him.
the two leaned in at the same time, their lips meeting in the middle. they kissed without a care in the world, unaware of the drunk blonde boy making his way towards them. "i knew it, love. i knew you were lying to me and to rafe."
the two pulled apart and love stared wide eyed at her step brother, knowing how much worse he got after a few drinks. "topper, what the fuck? did you follow me here?"
topper took a step forward. "you're a stupid, lying, whore. you know that?"
love's lips parted in shock. "oh, so now i'm a whore."
"yeah, you are." topper nodded.
john stepped in front of love. "topper, stop man."
"you stop, man!" topper pushed against his chest. "you don't wanna do this." topper looked to his sister. "tell him to back off, lo, 'cause i'm about to beat your fucking ass--"
john cut him off. "walk, man. go home. go home."
"you know what i'm gonna do right now? i'm about to drown you like your old man." topper threatened.
love pushed him back. "quit it, topper! get out of here!"
topper pointed his finger in her face. "tell your bitch boyfriend to back off!"
john shoved him away from love. "go home!"
"love, let's talk." topper tried to reach for her.
john pushed him back. "she doesn't want to!"
"what did i say?" topper shoved him back harshly and john went through the railing. love gasped and shrieked as she ran to the ledge, staring down in panic at the sight of john b lying on the ground below them, not moving. "love, the railing must have been rotten. i hardly touched him, okay? i barely--"
love shoved topper's hands away from her as he reached for her, and took off running down the steps, lifting the end of her dress up to make it easier. "john b!" she yelled as she sprinted over to where he was groaning in pain. "john b!" she sobbed as she fell to her knees beside him, moving his head to rest on her thighs. "oh... oh, my god. hey, can you open your eyes, please?" love cradled his face in her hands and looked up. "someone help!" she screamed loudly. "please, somebody help!" john groaned and she shushed him as tears fell from her eyes. "it's okay. it's okay. i'm with you. you're okay, okay..."
"love! what happened?" pope yelled as himself, jj, and kiara ran over to her.
love sobbed as she looked up at them, seeing sarah running over to them as well. "i don't know what to do. he needs help. topper shoved him."
jj immediately looked around for him. "where the hell is he?"
"oh, please, please, please, get help." love begged as she cried. "i don't care who. just call someone."
jj turned to pope. "go. go!"
"pope, hurry!" kiara screamed after him.
sarah held a hand over her mouth as she knelt to the ground beside her best friend. love glanced to her briefly before looking down at the boy below her. "jb, stay with me." she whimpered and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "please don't leave me. john b?"
"pope! come on!" jj screamed.
love sniffled as she sat beside john's hospital bed, her fingers playing with his as she stared at his sleeping figure. the machine beeped steadily beside them and a smile spread across love's lips as john turned his head to face her, slowly opening his eyes. "hi." she spoke softly.
"hi." john whispered back as his lips lifted into a small smile. "where am i?"
"st olive's." love told him. "you fell from the hawk's nest. you have a concussion and a broken wrist." her eyes flickered to the cast on his arm and he followed her gaze.
john lifted his arm up. "whoa."
love chuckled softly. "pretty cool."
john turned back to her. "i need to get out of here." he groaned as he tried to sit up. "dcs is gonna find me--"
"hang on there, kid. hang on." ward cameron spoke as he entered the room with sarah and diego behind him. "love and sarah told us everything. about your little adventure, about you running from the dcs, about how you were protecting love in the tower." john and love looked to each other and shared a smile.
diego walked around the bed to stand behind love, placing his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "john, i believe i owe you an apology. you were honest with me about a small indiscretion, and i went ahead and fired you anyway. and i shouldn't have. unfortunately, from time to time, i have a bit of a... short fuse. ask her."
love nodded her head. "that's a bit of an understatement." she muttered and yelped as diego pinched her shoulder.
diego rolled his eyes at his daughter before looking back at john. "anyway, i'd like to make up for it, if you'll let me. ward and i spoke with sheriff peterkin, and... ward offered to be your legal guardian, if you'll have him."
"what?" john asked, confused.
"it'd mean a roof over your head and no more running from the dcs." ward spoke.
"obviously i would offer to be your legal guardian, but with what happened at the tower, i didn't think it would be appropriate." diego quickly explained.
john glanced from ward to sarah, to diego, and finally to love, who gave him an encouraging smile. john shifted himself up slightly as he turned back to ward. "sure, yeah. uh... sounds good."
ward chuckles. "okay, then, it's settled." he placed a hand on john's shoulder. "welcome to the family." he whispered and chuckled.
love frowned and picked up her pace as she could hear what sounded like rafe groaning in pain as she made her way across to the cameron household. "rafe?" she called and gasped as she saw him on the ground, holding his arm in pain. "oh, my god." she crouched down beside him and held his wrist loosely to inspect the burn. "are you okay? what happened?"
rafe pulled his arm away from her. "nothing. i'm fine."
love huffed and stood to her feet when he did. "come on, rafe. let me at least put some burn gel on it."
"i said i was fine!" rafe snapped at her, his eyes narrowing.
love raised her hands. "fine."
rafe's eyes flickered over what she was wearing and he pulled a face. "let's go to your place, i can't stand being in the same household as that pogue." rafe grabbed her hand from where it was placed over her stomach and all but dragged her back to her home.
once there, rafe went straight up towards love's bedroom while the girl went towards the kitchen to get them drinks. the brunette froze in the doorway as she saw topper sitting at the kitchen bench. "hey." he spoke as he saw her come in, love didn't say anything. "hey, how's john b? is he-- is he doin' all right?"
love scoffed. "like you give a shit."
"you realize i did not push him." topper said. "he lost his balance and fell."
love shook her head. "are you fucking kidding me? don't lie."
"he fell against the rail." topper argued. "not my fault."
"that is messed up." love shook her head, grabbing the two water bottles and making her way towards the stairs as she heard the back door open and close as topper stormed out.
love stopped when she got to the bottom of the staircase, seeing rafe walking down. "what was top talking about? why were you with john b?"
"what?" love tried to appear confused, but really she was panicked. "i wasn't."
rafe gripped her shoulders tightly. "don't lie to me." he raised his voice.
"i'm not." love's voice shook as she spoke.
rafe's grip got tighter as he spoke. "midsummers was supposed to be our coming out party. that was supposed to be something special, right? that's what you said." he repeated the words she had once spoken to him when they had first started seeing each other.
"i don't care anymore, rafe." love spoke truthfully. "i can't be with you."
there was a dangerous glint in his eyes as he looked at her. "are you fucking him?"
"what?"
"are. you. fucking. that. pouge." rafe repeated, his voice getting louder.
love's eyes widened. "no!"
a gasp left the girl's lips as she was pushed into the wall behind her, rafe's hand wrapped around her throat tightly. "you're a slut! you know that? you're a slut!" he screamed in her face as his grip got tighter.
a wheeze left love's throat, her eyes stinging with tears as she tried to gasp for air. at the same time, footsteps thudded against the floor as diego martinez all but ran towards his daughter's now ex-boyfriend. "hey! watch your mouth when you talk about my daughter!" he yelled and ripped him off love.
"your daughter's banging a pouge--"
diego cut rafe off by wrapping his own hand around his throat. "you ever lay so much as another finger on my daughter and you'll wish you were never born." he threatened the boy as he choked him.
"papa." love cried.
diego dragged rafe towards the front door. "you need to go home, rafe."
"papa, please. let him go." love pleaded.
rafe looked over diego's shoulder to her. "no one's going to love you like i do, love."
diego shoved him through the door and rafe left, running off. diego turned to love who sobbed and threw herself into his chest. "come on, mija. it's alright." he rubbed her back.
love and sarah met up with john b and they walked back to john b's house as he told them about the gold. love was wearing a turtle neck crop top with her shorts to cover up the bruising that had formed on her neck, so she wouldn't have to explain what had happened to her. "so you found the gold?" sarah questioned.
"yes."
love furrowed her eyebrows. "but under an axe murderer's house?"
"well, yeah, uh-- kind of." john b said.
love and sarah shared a look. "that's perfect." they spoke sarcastically at the same time.
john looked between them for a brief second. "i mean, the only thing is the well is super sketchy deep."
"kinda wish i was there with you guys." love spoke quietly, knowing if she had been she wouldn't have had to deal with rafe.
john grabbed her hand and gave a small squeeze. "you'll be there for real tonight. both of you."
sarah gave him a look. "is it okay?"
"yeah, of couse." john said without hesitating, noticing the look on the girls faces. "what? vlad, fran, and val gotta stick together, right?"
love shook her head. "no, no. sarah means with the others."
"yeah, everything's fine." john assured her and sarah sighed. "what?"
sarah crossed her arms. "kiara said something, didn't she?"
"no." john denied.
sarah rolled her eyes. "you're the worst liar i've ever met."
"i'm not lying." john appeared offended.
love spoke over him. "look, john, if she's gonna get territorial--"
john cut her off. "hey, hey, hey, just listen. all right? you're part of this too. you guys helped figure out that the gold was here and you got us the tannyhill map. by the way, once we get with everybody, they're gonna be excited. i promise."
they were not excited.
"no effing way!" kiara exclaimed as she stood in front of the three, who sat on the couch while pope and jj sat across from them. "you brought them here? so what? they're in on this now?"
love and sarah shared a look while john looked over to where pope and jj were sat. pope shrugged at him. "i dunno."
"look, all i care about is their cut comes out of your share." jj spoke and love rolled her eyes, flipping him off.
"you know, i don't remember taking a vote." kiara spoke. "this is our thing. a pogue thing."
pope seemingly decided to retract his staying out of it as he spoke, agreeing with kiara. "i gotta say, i'm just a tad uncomfortable with all of this."
"thank you!"
john glared at him. "when are you not uncomfortable?"
"i dunno. i rode here on the back of jj's bike pretty comfortably." pope said.
jj nodded. "it's true. most relaxed i've ever seen him."
john shot them a look. "that's cute, guys."
"you know we were all extremely comfortable until you brought them." kiara said.
love finally had enough of her and spoke. "stop talking about us like we're not here!"
"then leave." kiara glared at her, everything that happened with them almost dying over the compass and seeking comfort in each other went out the window then.
love scoffed and turned her head to john. "we told you."
"told him what, exactly?" kiara asked. "that you're liars?"
"no, that you're a shit talking bitch, kiara." love snapped and jj whistled lowly.
sarah raised her eyebrows at kiara. "when have we ever lied to you?"
"you get somebody close to you--"
"i didn't lie about shit--"
john spoke over everyone, ignoring how pope and jj were putting money on them. pope for kiara and jj for love and sarah. "everybody shut up! kie, you are my best friend, right? sarah, your family took me in. and love, you're..." he chuckles. "...you're my..." love gives him an encouraging smile and a nod of her head. "you're my girlfriend."
"ohh... that's new." pope whispered to jj.
kiara scoffed. "she's your girlfriend now? what was all that talk about you were just using her for information? get a map, cut her loose."
love's heart dropped but she kept her face neutral to not show her emotions as she turned to look at john, all though he could see the hurt in her eyes. "you said you were using me?"
john briefly closed his eyes. "no."
"yeah, you did." pope spoke and sarah turned her glare onto him. "you said those things."
"look, love just walked in, okay?" john spoke, frustrated. (obviously talking about the emotion and not the person) "i didn't expect it. it just-- it kind of happened." he looked at love. "and i'm not gonna deny it. right?"
kiara looked away. "oh, vomit."
"that's corny." pope whispered as jj made retching sounds.
kiara turned back to john. "look, cut the bullshit, john b. if they're in, i'm out."
"kie, i'm not doing this." john said. "i can't!"
kiara raised her eyebrows. "you are gonna decide. i'm very interested, actually. them or me?"
"both." john shrugged.
jj whistled. "went for the hail mary." kiara stormed off as the two boys on the side tutted.
love crossed her arms over her chest. "it'll be cool, right?" she stood to her feet. "i'm gonna leave."
"love, don't." john reached his hand for hers but it slipped from his, their fingers brushing.
love grabbed her bag. "gonna let y'all chat. let me know."
jj waved his fingers at her. "bye, princess."
"jayj." love flicked his forehead as she walked past.
sarah sighed deeply and turned to john. "nice one." she rolled her eyes, getting to her feet and jogging after her best friend.
love sighed and raised her fist to knock against the front door of the chateau, having received a text from john b asking her to meet him there. the brunette tucked her hair behind her ear as she waited patiently, still feeling a tad upset over what occurred earlier. she didn't have to wait long as she could hear john b yelling to someone that he was getting the door and shortly after the door swung open, john smiling as he saw her. love's lips quirked up into a soft smile automatically at the sight of his smile. "hi."
"hi." love whispered back and allowed him to pull her inside by her hand. she dropped her bag by the end of the couch where jj was lounging. "hey, jayj."
jj glanced up at her from where he was laying and nodded to her. "princess."
"there's weed in my bag for you." she told him and chuckled as he practically dove for her bag.
"i love you." jj grinned at her.
john lightly tugged on love's hand and started leading her towards his room, giving jj a look over her head so he knew not to come in. the door shut quietly behind them and love crossed her arms across her chest, glancing around the room. her eyes shifted to where john was sitting on the edge of his bed, and she raised her eyebrows in question.
"i'm sorry." he breathed out and love turned fully towards him. "about earlier." he clarified with a small sigh. "i should have never said that i was using you, when i wasn't. and i'm sorry for kiara, she's just upset."
love nodded slowly, approaching him. "it's okay." she muttered, loud enough for him to hear her.
john shook his head. "no, it's not. i feel shitty."
love cupped his face in her hands and gave him a smile. "it's okay, really." she leaned down and connected their lips. she pulled back a little bit, her lips hovering an inch from his. "i promise."
john's hands slid to her hips and he pulled her onto his lap as their lips pressed together. love shifted so she was straddling him, one hand moving from his face to tangle in his hair. the brunette parted her lips, and john b slid his tongue into her mouth. love couldn't help the moan that slid past her lips at the feel of his tongue tangling with hers. his hands slid up her waist and underneath her shirt, his thumb brushing agains the side of her breast.
"john." she whispered against his lips and he pulled back enough to tug her shirt over her head, and she let him as she forgot about the contusion on her neck.
however, as soon as her shirt was removed, john's eyes fell onto her neck and he froze, his fingers gently going to her neck. love winced as her neck stung, and john pulled his hand away from her throat as it felt stiff and firm from the swelling. he was also scared to hurt her further than she had been already. "what the hell happened? who did this to you?" john questioned quickly, his eyes not leaving the angry blue, purple, and black bruise at the base of her neck.
love's hands were wrapped around his neck and she avoided looking him in the eyes as one of her hands twisted the hair at the back of his neck. her bottom lip was pulled in between her teeth as she thought carefully about telling him what happened. "hey." john whispered, tilting her chin up so she was looking at him. "what's going on?" he asked concerned, eyes darting between her watery ones. as his thumb pulled her bottom lip out from between her teeth, she gave a shaky sigh and john immediately connected the dots. "did rafe do this to you?"
love was silent for a moment before slowly nodding her head. "yeah." john shifted, muttering something about how he was going to kill him, and love latched onto him. "please don't go."
john paused, his eyes softening at the sight of the panic in hers and he pressed a kiss to her forehead before picking her up and moving them onto his bed properly. love slotted in between his legs, her head resting against his chest. "what happened?"
"he got mad at me earlier." love sighed. "i told him i couldn't see him anymore and that i didn't want anything to do with him and he accused me of sleeping with you and when i told him that wasn't the reason why, he lost it. he grabbed me and slammed me into the wall." at feeling john tense, she spoke. "my dad was home and heard it happening. he almost killed rafe for what he did."
john's fingers brushed through love's hair and he leant down to kiss the top of her head once more. "why didn't you tell me?"
"i didn't want to worry you." love muttered and tilted her head up to look at him, kissing his jaw for him to look down at her. he lowered his head to her and she leaned up, pressing her lips to his.
not long after john b had fallen asleep beside her, a quick and quiet knock on the door was heard before it was pushed open and jj stuck his head in. love chuckled quietly at seeing him covering his eyes. "are we all dressed and decent in here?" he asked.
"yes." love giggled and jj sighed in relief before stepping in.
love turned over, feeling john's arms tighten around her waist yet he didn't wake as jj sat on the edge of the bed beside her. "i just wanted to tell you that i know what you're going through." jj spoke quietly, his eyes darting to her neck and love understood what he meant, feeling her heart grow heavy at the revelation. "lo, just know you're not alone, okay? rafe is a piece of shit and he doesn't deserve you. don't worry about what anyone else says, you belong here with us. you mean a lot to jb so you mean a lot to me."
love smiled as her eyes filled with unshed tears and she reached her hand out to grasp his and she squeezed it gently. "thank you, jayj. means a lot to me."
love crossed her arms over her chest as she sat with her back pressed against the boat with sarah sitting on one side of her and kiara on the other. she was about ready to murder her boyfriend who had tricked her and sarah onto coming on the boat only to leave them there with kiara for the night. the only good thing was jj had left them a blunt and the three were sharing it.
"wow." sarah breathed out and love giggled at her. "hey, guess what? would you rather have--" she cleared her throat. "i was imagining you like this just now. it was pretty funny. would you imagine-- would you rather have nipples for eyes or eyes for nipples?" she asked with a serious face and love couldn't help the giggles leaving her lips while kiara rolled her eyes. "imagine if you get really old and your nipples-- your boobs get saggy, and your nipples, if they were your eyes, you could see if your shoes were untied.
kiara turned her head. "is this like your first time smoking or something?"
sarah looked away from her, her laughter stopped. "no." she sighed before speaking. "hey, kiara..."
"oh, my god." kiara groaned. "enough of the hey kiara bullshit! why'd you do it?"
sarah's eyes darted between kiara's. "why'd i do what?"
"we were best friends." kiara stated. "we-- we stole beers from your dad's fridge, we watched movies together, we cried about boys. and the next thing i know, i'm watching your birthday party happen from instagram."
love looked to the floor as they spoke, letting them talk it out. she fiddled with the end of john b's shirt she was wearing - the garment only half buttoned up as her boyfriend wore it, paired with a pair of shorts and a light pink bikini - tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear as sarah looked away. "it was one party."
"you invited everybody except me." a hurt expression crossed kiara's face. "and then you told everybody i was the reason that the party got busted."
love raised her eyebrows. "okay, well, who else would've called the cops?"
"you never asked!" kiara exclaimed. "you just let the rumour go that i was a rat. you were my best friend, and then you ghosted me, and i don't even know why! i mean, really, what did i do?"
sarah thought for a moment. "you liked me. when... people get... close to me, i feel trapped. and... i bail. and then i blame them for it." kiara glanced away from her as sarah turned her head to her. "love has been helping me with that and i'm getting better. i'm really sorry..." she took a deep breath. "...and i miss you. do you think there's a chance that we could be okay again?"
"honestly..." kiara shrugged her shoulders. "i don't know."
as they were getting ready to go to sleep - love was in between the two girls - kiara spoke into the silent air. "hey, love."
love licked her lips before speaking. "hey, kiara."
"promise me that you won't bail on john b." kiara said and love turned her head to the side to face her. "he's not just some other guy. and he really, really, likes you."
"i won't." love stated. "and i really, really, like him too."
kiara swallowed thickly. "promise me."
love nodded. "i promise." she whispered.
kiara sighed. "also, i'm sorry i called the cops."
"i knew it." sarah gasped and the three girls broke out into laughter. "i knew it, you bitch! i told you!"
kiara cackled as she shrugged. "you-- you should've invited me."
"so you call the cops?" love giggled.
"yes!" kiara laughed.
morning came quick and the three girls stood out waiting for the boys to arrive and when they did, john b called out to them. "uh-oh. you forget your keys or something?"
"you need a tow?" pope asked.
kiara turned to the two. "don't give them the satisfaction of thinking this worked."
"absolutely not." sarah agreed and love raised her eyebrows in agreement.
john b smiled as he looked up at them. "you gotta admit it was kinda funny."
"john b. mastermind, huh?" kiara huffed.
john nodded. "always planning."
"some patriarchal bullshit." kiara stated.
sarah nodded. "yeah, that sucked."
jj grinned at them. "you still love us though, right?"
love rolled her eyes and caught the rope he threw to her. "yeah, whatever." she mumbled as she tied the boat off.
john smiled at her and raised a brow. "hey, you still hate me?"
"a little." love stood with her hands on her hips, a small smile on her face to tell him she was only teasing.
"we're gonna get you back when you least expect it." sarah told them.
"watch your back, boys." kiara added.
pope looked between them. "well, i, for one, welcome that challenge."
"me too." jj agreed.
love rose her eyebrows. "really?"
jj winced. "okay, love still scares me a little bit."
she chuckled at him while pope motioned between the girls. "so, did you guys, you know?"
love tilted her head. "reconcile our differences?"
sarah shook her head and kiara shrugged. "not even close." the later said.
"but we're... willing... to work together." sarah added.
john raised his eyebrows. "you know what? that's victory. wiggedy-wiggedy-wiggedy!" he and pope did their handshake.
sarah turned her head to the two girls, who were fighting back their smiles, and winked at them as jj glanced around. "you know why? hydroponic."
pope shook his head. "don't say that."
"all right, shut up." john stopped them. "you guys ready to jack some loot?"
"yeah, whatever." kiara grinned as she jumped down into the boat.
"yep." sarah followed her.
love rolled her eyes with a grin as she placed her hand in john's outstretched one, stepping down onto the boat. "let's do this."