FIVE
❝ Ava Routledge is a master deceiver. ❞
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AFTER FAILING TO SPEAK to the Coast Guards at the docks about the wreck, the Pogues took it upon themselves to investigate. As the motel comes into sight before them, JJ whistles at the state of the building and it's surroundings. A whole tree has completed collapsed over the courtyard, crushing several boats by the dock. The walls are green, presumably from flooded water and windows have been shattered.
"And I thought the Chateau looked bad," JJ sighs, squinting against the sun at the rundown building.
"This place is a shit show," John B mumbles, rolling his shoulders back as the boat begins to slow.
"Motel or meth lab?" Kiara jokes, her face screwed up in disgust.
Pope glances over at her, "You be the judge."
"Doesn't look like a place someone with a Grady-White stays," John B states.
Ava hums in agreement, "Probably because they spent all their money at the boat, and had no choice but to live in this shithole."
JJ steps up to the bow, peering down into the water as the boat pulls up to land, "Alright, here we go," He directs, "This is your captain speaking, HMS Pogue coming in for landing," He imitates a crackling radio, his hands cupping his mouth as he jumps off and ties the boat drown.
John B flicks the engine off, "We good?"
"Yeah, we good," JJ confirms, holding his hand up for Ava to take as she jumps off the boat, sending him a thankful nod which he returns with a wink, earning a shove in the shoulder from her.
"Hey," Pope clicks his fingers, quickly grabbing Ava's attention and she leans towards him as he speaks, "Don't let them do anything stupid."
"I can't promise anything?" She smirks, shrugging, "Wild beasts, the both of them. I'd need to be a dog taker to keep them under wraps."
JJ narrows his eyes as his mouth falls open. He begins to shake his head and wags his finger at Pope, "Right, what is it with everyone, literally the whole island, thinking that she is a golden girl? Pope, when was the last time you heard her be sincerely, not sarcastically, nice to someone? Hm?" He tilts his head and raises his eyebrows, earning no response and he throws his arms into the air, "Exactly. Ava Routledge is a master deceiver."
She crosses her arms over her chest, "I'm nice to you everyday."
"Uh-huh," He hums, turning to her, "You and I have very different definitions of nice, dude. Not saying anything mean isn't being nice. That's just having self control."
She smirks, "At least I have self control," Her eyes flick down to his groin area and he clenches his jaw, rolling his tongue over his teeth.
Kiara chuckles at the pair, before reaching forward and gently grabbing John B's wrist so she can pass him the motel keys, "Uh, be careful. I mean it."
"Yeah, yeah," He shakes his head, breaking himself out of the small trance he found himself in as he looked at her. He turns around, stepping between JJ and Ava, "Come on. Let's go," He can tell their making fun of him behind his back and he doesn't bother turning while he calls, "Quicker."
JJ jogs after him, "Coming, dad."
Ava walks beside her brother, nudging his side eagerly with her elbow, "We won't make you go alone, don't worry."
In frustration, John B throws his head back, wishing Pope would've agreed to accompany him, "How did I get stuck with you two?"
As they jog up a set of stairs, JJ gasps in offence, "Hey, many people would die to be blessed with our company."
"At keggers, maybe," John mutters, eyes flicking over each door number, "But not while we're breaking into a motel room."
The three of them fall silent as the two boys walk in front of Ava and her gaze runs over the dirty wet mattresses lined up against each wall and door. She grimaces slightly when her hand runs over one, and before she has the chance, her brother's already asking.
"Why are all these mattresses out here?" John B questions.
"After a hurricane, they ditch 'em cause they're mouldy," JJ explains, quickly taking the chance to change the subject as he reaches forward and begins to caress his best friend's face, "Just be so careful, John," He mimics Kiara's tone.
John B pushes him away roughly in disgust, "You're so weird."
"What the hell was that about?" JJ questions, glancing down at Kiara and Pope on the boat for a short moment.
"I don't know," John shrugs, "Maybe she wants us to be careful."
"Pft," Ava snorts, "That's not like Kie."
"Exactly!" JJ exclaims, looking back at the girl with a thankful smile as he points at her, "Even Ava thinks it's weird. Since she heard you're being threatened for exile, she's just been like 'Oh, be so careful, John B.'," JJ starts to massage his best friends shoulders but once more he's pushed away, "'Just give me that John D already,'."
Ava let's out a snort, her hand coming up to cover her mouth when her brother glances over his shoulder to glare at her in warning.
JJ bites back a laugh, before repeatedly hitting John B on the chest with excitement, "When are you gonna swoop on that man?"
"Bro, you know the rule. No pogue-on-pogue macking," John B states, lips pursing while he continues to check every door.
JJ rolls his eyes, throwing his arms into the air with a huff, "Fuck the rule, man. Hey, people can't control who they do and don't catch feelings for."
John B raises a sceptical brow at his blonde best friend, "Kiara and I don't have feelings for each other."
Ava shakes her head, noticing her brother looking down at Kiara and she rolls her eyes at his stupidity, "Sure doesn't look like that."
Holding his hand out low behind his back, JJ low-fives Ava before nudging his elbow into John B's side, "She's a hot, rich, hippie chick slumming with us, bro. If anyone is bound to fall for her, it's you."
"You need a help," John B points a finger at the blonde boy beside him, "Not a little help, you need a lot of help. It's like every girl who has a heartbeat you're like uhhh," John grabs the air in front him, and proceeds to act like he's humping someone, causing his sister to roll her eyes.
"What?" JJ shrugs "It's not a big deal. I like chicks, nothing wrong with that."
"Next thing I know, you'll be having sex with my sister," John laughs, nodding behind him at Ava, who's eyes widen, "You flirt with her daily, like it's normal."
JJ nods firmly, before he shrugs nonchalantly as if it was common knowledge, "You're sister's hot, dude. You know may not see that, 'cause you know incest, but holy fuck. Obviously I'm gonna flirt with her."
Rolling her jaw, Ava comes to a stop at the last door on that floor, staring over at JJ while he leans back against the balcony railing with a triumphant smirk as he watches her carefully.
"I'm right here," She snaps harshly, she motions up and down at her body enthusiastically, "Keep your boy talk for when you're in private."
He purses his lips, "Nothing but truth."
Pinching her lips between her teeth in attempt to hide her smile, Ava whirls around to the door, pointing to the wonky number glued to the surface, "This is, uh, this is us."
"Twenty nine," JJ reads out the number, nodding in confirmation as he pushes away from the railing to knock on the door, "Housekeeping!" He squeals in a high pitched tone, causing Ava to snort.
When there's no reply from inside the room, John B digs his hand into his pocket, revealing the key, gazing over at his friends, "Should we try it?"
"Well unless you want us to just stand out here like idiots and wait for the owner to come back," Ava snarls, ripping the key from his grasp and places it into the keyhole, "Yes, we should try it."
"No power. Now security cameras. No one's gonna know," JJ witters on to himself quietly, his two friends completely ignoring him and stepping into the room once the door swings open.
The room's nothing special. There's a few bags of luggage laid out on the bed. The two boys pull flashlights from their shorts pockets and flick them on as they both begin to weigh through the bags. Ava kneels down on the floor, squinted eyes flicking over the dusty shelves while she tries to see through the dark.
"How come I didn't get a flashlight?" She mutters, instead running her hand over the shelves like a blind person reading brail.
As he enters the bathroom, JJ mumbles, "Cause you didn't think ahead."
Screwing her face up in confusion, she turns her head to him, watching as he empties a toiletries bag, "How was I supposed to know we'd be breaking into a pitch black motel room today?"
"Should of used your female sixth sense," John B joins the conversation as he pats her head while he steps around her to read a sheet of paper laid across the bed side table.
Ava squeezes her eyes shut, refraining from spitting an insult at him as she continues to run her hands over the objects set on the shelves.
"Too far, man," JJ mutters quietly at his best friend from the other room, "Too far— oooo."
"What? JJ? Have you found something?" Ava asks, her head snapping over to the bathroom, "JJ?"
"A really awesome Dopp kit your brother won't let me steal," JJ answers in an annoyed tone while he rummages through the contents before throwing the bag into the sink with a huff.
"Yeah, 'cause we're not stealing shit," John B snaps sternly.
Ava shuffles slightly close to the set of shelves once her fingers run over a finger pad. Her brows furrow once she spots a tiny red light flashing. "John," She calls, immediately grabbing her brother's attention and he whirls around to look at her. She gestures him over quickly, "Come here with the light and look at this."
He squats next to her, and she aims his flashlight towards the keypad, confirming her suspicions when a black safe is illuminated by his torch. His eyes grow wide and immediately he's pushing random buttons frantically. Ava watches as he does so, her mouth dropping open in disbelief.
1 1 1 1
"It'll take a few days if you do that," Ava punches the bridge of her nose, "We have a few minutes."
He waves her off and passes her the flashlight so she can keep it on the keypad as he continues to put in numbers.
1 1 1 2
"Punching shit at random. That will definitely work," JJ mutter as he exits the bathroom, stepping over Ava's crossed legs before moving to the bedside table.
John B stands up and goes to his best friend's side, their eyes and fingers running over the sheets of paper in search for useful information. Suddenly, he snatches up a sticky note and rushes back to his sister side, silently reading off the paper as he quickly presses the correct numbers. Ava leans forward as he does so, watching as the red light flicks green when a quiet beep rings through the room.
Slowly, John B glances over at his auger, who nods, and he reaches a hand forward, hastily pulling the door open to reveal the contents. Stacks of cash, and a single hand gun lay in the black safe, causing Ava to drop back in surprise with a small laugh.
"Holy shit," She gasps, her hand shooting forward and curling around the handle of the gun in excitement. She rushes to stand up, posing with the girl before aiming it at JJ's hunched back while he continues to examine the sheets, "J, turn around."
"Hm?" He straightens and turns, his body stilling once he notices the weapon in his hand, but once he sees her smile behind the barrel, he lets out a laugh and jumps forward, "Dude, dude, dude!"
Laughing along with him, Ava throws it to him, adoring the expression on his face as he smiles brightly, inspecting the gun in his palms like a child on Christmas day.
"This a SIG sauer! This is fucking spendy gatt, man! Just Bam! Bam! Bam!" He pretends to shoot at Ava, and she jerks her shoulders back, causing him to snort before posing like James Bond, "Hey, A, just take a pic of me!"
John B watches their conversation with disbelief flashing over his face as he smacks his best friends arm, "Are you two serious? We're not stealing anything!" He snarls through gritted teeth.
"Ava, quick," JJ rushes, getting into another pose as she pulls her phone out, "Before Mr Moody Pants over here tells us off again."
John B shoots forward, smacking his sisters phone down and shoving it back into the pocket of her shorts, "You wanna make our own incriminating evidence?" He spits, "Is that what you're talking about?"
Ava rolls her eyes at her brother, "You're such a fucking buzzkill, John. Let us have—"
"I'm not a buzzkill," John B snaps, "I'm just—"
"Quit arguing for once, and listen," JJ interrupts, motioning to the window over the bedside table, "What the hell is that?"
With furrowing brows, Ava ventures over to the window and peers through the gaps in the blinds, her eyes landing on Kiara and Pope while they flail their arms around in a hurry, shouting something up to her. She tilts her head, gaze focusing on their lips.
"Wha— oh, shit." She whirls around on her heel, facing the two boys who are staring despairingly at her, "Cops! There's cops!"
John B rushes over to the other window beside the door and confirms it with a sharp nod. A knock sounds on the door, causing the three teenagers to glare at each other. Instantly, Ava is throwing open the window above the table, and motioning for JJ to go through, but he's hissing at her while he stuffs cash and the gun into his shorts. Smacking his arm, John B climbs through the window, helping Ava out as they both slip to opposite sides of the window, their backs flat against the brick walls.
Finally, JJ rushes out, scrambling over Ava and pressing his chest over hers in an attempt to stay flat against the wall. She turns her head, squeezing her eyes shut while he lowers his gaze to look at her flushed cheeks.
"You like this, hm?" He teases.
"I'll knee you in the cock if you don't shut your mouth," She whispers back, her eyes still closed and her head to the side while his palms are pressed against the bricks by either side of her head.
His eyes widen at her threat and he turns his head towards her brother, a scared expression in his face, shuffling slightly closer to her while they hear the cops searching the room. Slowly, JJ's hand glides down to Ava's waist, squeezing it gently, and as she turns to stare at him, the gun falls from the back pocket of his shorts. The weapon rattles along the roof tiles before dropping to the floor with a thud, causing the teenager's eyes to widen in shock.
Squeezing his eyes shut, JJ rests his forehead against the brick wall beside Ava's head, groaning quietly in annoyance at himself while the girl below him rolls her eyes. Suddenly, the blinds of the apartment window fly open, and Shoupe peers through the glass, having heard the gun clatter. He stays there for a few moments before turning to leave the room, finally allowing the teenagers on the roof and in the boat to let out a sigh of relief.
"You idiot," Ava snarls quietly.
JJ raises his head from the wall, meeting her eyes with a smirk while his hand continues to massage the skin of her waist, "If you weren't so fucking hot—"
She tilts her head, raising her knee slightly and he feels her skin press against lightly against his crotch in a warning, "Keep it in your pants, playboy. I'm not one of you chicks."
He shrugs as John B begins to retreat back inside, attempting to ignore their conversation, "But you could be," He chimes.
Her jaw sets and she slides out from his grip, manoeuvring along the wall to the window while he watches her with a smirk.
*ೃ༄
AS THE BOAT moves through the water, Ava lowers herself down onto her usual place on the bow, crossing her legs as she flicks her sunglasses back onto her face.
"Well, that was fun," JJ rubs his palms together in excitement, placing himself down beside Ava, "Could have warned us a little sooner, though."
"We would have, just Pope was on the math team," Kiara mutters, rolling her eyes as she remembers how the boy failed miserably to hit the window of the room with a rock.
Shooting the girl a glare, Pope sighs, "The cops took everything like it was a crime scene. Did you guys find anything?"
"Did we find anything?" JJ laughs, glancing over at Ava who smirks mischievously, nodding at him as his hands dig into his pockets, "No, I don't think so. . . oh, yeah, we did," A huge smile breaks across his face as he lifts up a stack of money, and the gun. The blond boy had rushed to search around the grassy area when the gun had fallen, while Ava hissed at him to hurry.
Pope stands up in shock, his eyes trained on the gun as he backs away slightly, "What the hell?"
Kiara's eyes grow wide, "Dude, what?"
"Guys, chill. Come on," JJ attempts to calm them down, waving his hands around as he stands, worrying them more while the twins let out quiet snorts of amusement.
"Why would you take that for a crime scene?" Pope shoves at JJ's chest roughly.
He shrugs carelessly, "Better than having the cops having it."
As the twins begin to laugh and shake their head at the blonde boys antics, Kiara's head snaps between them, "Are you both serious?" She hisses at John, causing his face to fall flat before she rotates her body to Ava, "Please tell me you didn't know."
Just as Ava opens her mouth to reply, her brother jumps in instead, "She was just as excited about the gun as him. I was the responsible one."
Kiara glares at him, motioning to the weapon resting in the blonde's palm, "Yet, he still has it!" She rubs her temples before turning away from the pair and staring at the floor.
Pope huffs, hand scratching at the back of his neck anxiously, "I'm gonna lose my merit scholarship."
"Hey, hey, hey. Sh, sh, sh, sh, sh," JJ puts an arm around Pope, the him trailing his jawbone before it's smacked away, "At least you have us, right?"
Pushing him away and slowly sitting down to rest his head in his hands, Pope mutters, "I'm living my nightmare."
Snorting, JJ returns to his seat beside Ava, sending her wink and she punches his leg gently while shaking her head with a smile before she lays down with her arms folded behind her head, taking in the uncommon silence in the group.
. . .
not proof read lmao
so excited for s3