SEVEN, scarlet begonias
( episode three, the forbidden zone )
☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎
CASSIE WOKE UP THE NEXT MORNING WITH ARMS— THAT WERE NOT GRACE'S TINY ARMS— AROUND HER. she wiped her eyes, turning around to meet jj maybank, which was the last thing she expected. her head was killing her, and she groaned at the bright light coming through the window. the girl sat up, placing a hand on jj's chest and shaking him.
"hey," she continued to shake, as the boy's eyes slightly opened. "jj."
"hey," he muttered, turning to the other side, his back to cassie. she groaned, tugging on his arm. "what?" he turned back to face her.
"what happened last night?" she questioned, anxiously.
"hm?" he hummed, finally opening his eyes to see the girl beside him. "you got really drunk."
"did we..." cassie trailed off, waving her finger between the two of them, with her brows furrowed, visibly asking if they had sex the previous night.
"no, no, no." he assured her, rubbing her arm. "you wanted me to lay with you because grace isn't in here." cassie nodded, relieved, although she couldn't remember anything past the tape recording of her father. he closed his eyes again, throwing the blanket over his head.
she got out of bed, uncomfortable since she had slept in her jean shorts. she slipped them off, now standing in just underwear— which she didn't mind jj seeing, since she had bikinis that revealed more.
cassie crossed the hall, opening the door to grace's new room. the little girl was kneeling down on the ground playing with a baby doll, pressing a plastic bottle of fake milk against the baby's closed lips. "hi, honey,"
"hi," the girl softly greeted, turning around.
out of nowhere, there was a knock on the door, making cassie jump in the fear of it being the police or those square groupers. she peeked out the window, seeing that a familiar black rolls royce was parked outside.
"jj, can you grab me some pants?" she shouted, rushing to the door.
jj groaned, getting up and pulling some lounge shorts from a chair with a pile of clothes sitting on it. he walked out into the living room, tossing them to her, and collapsing onto the couch.
the girl pulled them on quickly, opening up the door and greeting her boss with a smile. "hey, did i wake you?"
"no, we just woke up right before you knocked," the girl assured her, wiping her face in an attempt to wash away the tired and hungover-ness she was feeling. "um, what's up, what's going on?"
evelyn stepped inside, and cassie shut the door behind her. "i'm sorry to barge in like this, but i was wondering if you could come over and make breakfast. faith says my cooking is nowhere near as good as yours."
cassie chuckled, nodding, as evelyn's eyes flickered over to the blonde boy on the couch. "oh, is this jj?" she questioned, stepping forward to shake the boy's hand. "i've heard so much about you."
"oh you have?" jj asked in surprise, eyeing cassie, who shook her head in protest. "nice to meet you, ms. thompson."
"nice to meet you! it's evelyn." she corrected, turning back to cassie. "say you'll do it? my kids are sick of burnt toast."
"of course i will," cassie assured her, pushing some hair behind her ears.
the woman squealed in excitement, hugging cassie tightly. "and you can invite your friends, i have more than enough to go around," the woman replied, breaking apart from the girl.
"sure, i'll get everyone together," cassie smiled, nodding. "i'll come over in an hour, maybe?"
evelyn grinned, nodding eagerly. "i'll see you then." she turned to open the door. "thank you,"
she walked off to her car, and the routledge girl shut the door behind her, rubbing her aching head. "you tell her all about me," jj teased.
"shut up," she replied, sitting down on the couch beside the boy. "okay, we need to get ready and get pope and kie." she looked around, craning her neck to look down the hall at john b's open bedroom door. "where's john b?"
"i have no clue." jj replied, standing up and looking out the window. he spotted the routledge boy down at the dock. "looks like he's fishin'."
"okay, well get ready please." she told the boy, slipping on a pair of flip flops. she opened the front door and walked out onto the porch. she stopped, turned around and leaned against the doorway, giving pleading eyes and a pouted lip, "help get grace ready too?"
he sighed, although agreeing with a nod. the girl smiled, shutting the door behind her. she walked down to the dock, walking silently behind her brother and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"jesus christ, cass." the boy exclaimed, jumping in surprise. he held a fishing rod loosely in his hands, looking out at the water. "what's up?"
"my boss invited the pogues over for breakfast." she told him, looking to the water as well. "so, go get ready."
"okay." the boy replied, looking into the water blankly. "i can't believe we're finishing what he started." john b sighed, looking to his sister. "it's just, i always thought he was crazy, but he really found it."
there was a silence for a long time, which didn't usually happen among the routledge twins. "just, uh, get ready. we have to get kie and pope, so, we should probably hurry." the girl choked back some tears as she walked back, trying to hold it all in, but really, the tape recording had her feeling all sorts of broken inside.
☀︎☀︎☀︎
THE THOMPSON HOUSE WAS BRIGHT AND LIVELY LATER THAT MORNING, THE POGUES ALL LAUGHING AND MINGLING WITH THE THOMPSON FAMILY AS THEY AWAITED BREAKFAST TO BE DONE. jj and john b took turns on mario kart with miles, grace and faith played dolls in faith's extravagant dollhouse, and pope and naomi talked about college, all while cassie and kiara finally got to have a one on one talk in the kitchen.
"so, what's going on with you and john b?" questioned a very interested cassie, as she worked on the pancakes she was making.
"nothing," kie lied, stirring a big bowl of eggs together. cassie narrowed her eyes on the girl, knowing she was lying. "fine. we may or may not have kissed."
cassie gasped in disbelief, nearly dropping a pancake she was in the middle of flipping. "oh my god, ew!" she exclaimed quietly, in disgust. "when?!"
kie moved beside her, taking the eggs and pouring them into a pan. "right before we got arrested." she muttered, quietly.
"oh my god." the girl groaned, shaking her head. "that's disgusting." she set down the last pancake she had made, scooting over to replace kie on the eggs. "could you cut up the fruit?"
"yeah," kie answered, moving over to the cutting board.
cassie started to scramble the eggs, continuing, "so, do you like him?"
the girls made awkward eye contact, before eventually kie shrugged. "i don't know." she replied. "to be fair, he kissed me."
"disgusting," cassie muttered.
"what's disgusting is you and jj." kie brought up, making the pale girl furrow her eyebrows. "come on, cass, don't play dumb. you've been all smiley around him lately."
cassie sighed, setting her spatula down and reaching for a strawberry that kie had cut. she popped it in her mouth and swallowed, before saying, "no, i haven't. not more than normal."
"uh, way more than normal!" kie laughed in surprise she would even try to deny that when it was so obvious to everyone around them.
"well, like," the girl started, continuing to stir around the eggs. "we're best friends and i guess we've been kinda blurring the line since the whole agatha slash grady white slash square groupers fiasco."
"well, he's been, like, openly in love with you forever, right?" kie questioned, making cassie's face contort into utter confusion. "cassie, you're not that oblivious right? pope told me when i joined the group that ever since he met you guys jj has been in love with you, since, like, what, the third grade?"
cassie stared down at the eggs, mashing the spatula into them to break them apart. had it really always been like that? "it's not like i could do anything about it, anyways. if something bad happened between us it would ruin everything." she explained, frowning. "which sucks because we've been having these really sweet moments lately."
kiara nodded, dumping all of the cut fruit into a bowl. "i haven't seen you have a real crush on anyone since max." she remarked.
"ew, that makes me want to barf." she laughed, finishing up the eggs. "come on, let's eat."
they plated everything and got everyone together in the dining room. the spread was mouth watering for everyone, especially the pogues who had barely eaten for the past couple of days. there was pancakes, eggs, bacon, fruit, with lemonade and orange juice to drink. cassie was very happy with how everything had come out, she loved to cook and she hadn't been able to all week because of the storm.
"cassie, thank you again," evelyn said, smiling at the young girl gratefully. "and thank you all for coming." the pogues all replied, thanking her for inviting them, as they passed around dishes and made plates for themselves. the pogues eagerly scooped eggs and drowned their pancakes in syrup, as they had been starving since the hurricane.
everyone dug into their breakfast, while cassie cut up grace's pancake. "cass, this is incredible." pope commented, wiping syrup from the corner of his mouth.
"mhm," jj agreed in reply, with a full mouth. he swallowed, then smiled to her sweetly. "i swear this is the best thing i've had in months." he told her, making her bashfully smile.
more compliments went around, making cassie happier and happier as she begun to dig into her own food. "thank you guys," she thanked them softly, getting a forkful of eggs. "i've missed cooking these past few days,"
"you can cook for us whenever you want." remarked miles. "mom always burns it."
"or puts too much salt," added naomi, covering her mouth as she spoke.
"last night she burnt the spaghetti. i didn't even know you could do that."
evelyn laughed, shaking her head. "you two think you're so funny."
"it's really bad," faith whispered, making everyone laugh. "i missed cassie."
cassie smiled, putting a hand over her heart. "and i missed you too," she replied, before taking a sip of her lemonade. "and gracie too," she grabbed a fork and a knife, standing up to reach over the table and cut faith's pancakes the way she had grace's.
"no, no," evelyn stopped her, shaking her head. "i've got it. it's your day off." she remarked, digging her own knife into the pancake on her daughter's plate.
silence fell upon the room, as they all continued eating. the pogues looked around at each other, scarfing down their food like wild animals.
"did you guys hear about scooter grubbs?" naomi questioned. the pogues all stopped, jj dropping his fork and it clattered when it hit the floor.
jj dove to grab it, holding it up and remarking with a dry chuckle, "oopsie daisy."
"naomi, not at the table," evelyn scolded, shaking her head. "sorry, about that, you guys, she's been obsessed with this."
"no, it's fine." kie assured the woman, eyeing her friends quickly and subtly.
"it's really sad, what happened to him." cassie remarked, nodding. she frowned, pushing at her food.
naomi continued, though, "he managed to get ahold of a brand new grady white."
"naomi," the woman muttered, strongly.
"it costs more than our boat." the girl revealed. "something sketchy is going on there, i know it! and i know you five know something."
"naomi jasmine thompson!" the woman erupted, standing up in a hurry. she composed herself quickly, grabbing her daughter's arm and taking her to another room.
everyone looked around at each other, nervous and confused. "we should get out of here." john b whispered, standing up.
"john b, sit down." cassie told him, seriously. "c'mon, it's fine."
"no, maybe he's right." pope said. "we have to go to the hotel, anyways." they had come up with a plan to look up the coordinates on the map at the hotel jj worked at, since they had power and computers. everyone suggested they do it when evelyn wasn't in her office, but cassie refused.
cassie shook her head, turning to her friends seriously. "we're not just disappearing on evelyn, okay?" the girl declared. "after she invited you four into her home, and let you eat her food and use her shit."
"cassie's right," jj agreed, which turned all of their heads to him. usually, jj would be the first to flee, but lately he seemed to be joined at the waist with cassie, no matter what.
before any of the pogues could say anything, faith spoke up, asking, "can i be 'scused?"
"of course, faith," cassie replied, unclipping grace's table booster seat and helping her down. "you two go play. miles? you done too?"
"yeah," he replied, grabbing faith and grace's plates, as well as his own. "can i put a star on my chart?" cassie nodded, making the boy smile in delight as he walked to the kitchen.
when the kids were gone, cassie looked to the others, informing them quietly, "if we leave after that, it's insanely suspicious." she stood up, gathering dishes swiftly. "come on, help me out."
jj stood up, along with kie, helping collect plates and cups and silverware. the three walked to the kitchen, setting everything into the huge sink. "is naomi always weird like that?" asked kie, turning to cassie.
"probably. rich people are weird, bro." jj replied, wrapping an arm around cassie's waist.
"no, she's usually normal." cassie said, sliding her hand over jj's.
kie gave cassie a look, before continuing, "it couldn't be a reasonable accusation."
"probably just based on the way we reacted— or the fact we're pogues?" cassie theorized.
"where's cassie?" they heard from the other room, making the brunette girl rush back into the dining room, with the two following.
"hey," she greeted, trying her best to keep her cool. "just cleaning up."
"i am so sorry about naomi," the woman replied, sincerely. "that was an insane accusation, but i promise she doesn't mean it— or think that you guys are really involved. she's just been obsessed with this since she heard about it."
"no, it's fine." cassie assured her, nodding. "we've been hearing about it too, it's heartbreaking what happened to him."
"she watches all those true crime, murder documentaries," explained evelyn. "gets all in her head, thinks she's nancy drew." she threw her hands up, gesturing wildly as she spoke.
cassie nodded, understandingly, although incredibly terrified. "i hate to cut this so short, but we do have to go. kie, jj and i've got work, john b needs to go look for jobs and pope's dad needs him." she lied, thinking on her feet.
"who's watching grace?" evelyn questioned, arching a brow.
"uh, probably john b or pope?" cassie replied, looking to them briefly.
evelyn shook her head, putting a hand on cassie's shoulder. "i''ll watch grace,"
"really?" cassie questioned in disbelief.
evelyn brought her hand up to the girl's face, caressing her cheek gently. "you're family, honey," she assured her. "anything you need, you just ask, okay?"
"evelyn, i don't know how to thank you for all you've done for me." cassie told the woman gratefully, with teary eyes. she didn't know why this gesture had her emotional, but it had.
"no, i should be thanking you, honey." the woman replied, pulling her into a tight hug. when they pulled away, she looked back to the group, with a genuine, warm hearted smile. "and, i am so sorry about naomi. i hope you four will come back again."
the others assured they would, cassie said goodbye to grace, and soon they were on their way. back in the car, cassie curled up beside jj, who played with her hair.
he turned to her, asking quietly, "she really loves you, huh?"
"i guess so." she replied, muttering. "i don't know where i'd be without her. i hate lying to her."
"this'll be done soon, cass," he assured her, wrapping an arm around the girl and squeezing her side. "then, we'll be so rich we'll never have to lie again."
cassie smiled, lying her head on his shoulder. "i hope so. full kook." she muttered, intertwining her finger's with his.
☀︎☀︎☀︎
NOT LONG AFTER THE DISASTER AT BREAKFAST, THE TWINKIE PULLED INTO THE PARKING LOT OUTSIDE OF THE HOTEL WHERE JJ WORKED. it was incredibly huge and fancy, with amazing food and big rooms. one time jj snuck a piece of cheesecake home and it was incredible. the most perfectly crafted dish that cassie had ever tasted.
before the van even stopped, jj had climbed up into the front, grabbing his gun out of his backpack. "not this again." the girl muttered.
"yo, come on, man. just put it back." john b started, rolling his eyes. "jj."
"you can never be too careful." he replied.
"hey, i predict that bringing a weapon to a four-star hotel will likely cause more problems than they solve." pope pointed out, jumping out of the van.
"pope's right, per usual." cassie remarked, exiting the vehicle and looking at jj through the rolled down window. "put it away."
"i swear to god, i'm gonna throw that thing in the ocean, jj, put it back." kiara added, annoyed.
"save it for next time we actually need it, please." cassie told him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
jj looked at it in his hands, about to put it away before john b snatched it from him. "you can't grab a gun like that." he told him.
"come on," cassie said, opening jj's door.
"can't forget my badge." he remarked, grabbing his badge and hopping out of the car. he waved it around, grabbing cassie's waist with the other hand. "professional busboy."
cassie chuckled, letting his arm pull her beside him. his hand slowly crept from her waist to the back pocket of her jean shorts. she smiled, although nervous one of her friends might call it out.
"so, where are we going now?" john b questioned, pulling on the straps of his backpack.
"we're getting on the internet because only rich people have electricity right now." jj explained.
although he had already been told the plan, john b continued to be confused, asking, "why didn't we do this at ms. thompson's?"
"because i'm not going behind her back anymore than i already have." cassie replied, rolling her eyes.
"this way!" the boy said in an accent that cassie could not pin down.
they walked around the building, through a back door, into the kitchen. "andrew!" called jj, who held cassie's hand, leading her through and around the kitchen. "what up, bro?"
cassie smiled at how he greeted all of his coworkers, so sweetly. "mama l, good to see you!" he said, turning a corner. he tried to slyly sneak a piece of shrimp from the plate in front of the older woman.
"hey, no! jj!" the woman remarked, slapping his hand with her wooden spoon. they continued walking, although cassie giggled at how mama l had smacked his hand.
"see, they got the backup generators going?" jj pointed out as they exited the kitchen and entered a nice looking hallway. "kooks don't miss a beat."
they walked down the hall for a while, before jj sneakily opened the door to a room, holding it open for his friends and then quickly closing it.
"sweet lord, the internet!" exclaimed pope, rushing to one of the computers. "i've missed you."
cassie chuckled, staying near the door with jj, who checked the window, before remarking, "let me get in there. gotta check out my insta models."
the smile on cassie's face dropped and she rolled her eyes at the boy, leaving him behind to join the others. she felt jealous— and stupid for thinking she could ever be his type. he immediately felt bad when he realized he shouldn't have said that, following her over to the computer.
john b rummaged through his backpack, setting down in front of pope. "hey, hey, hey. i got the map,"
"coordinates, please?"
"34° 57' 30 " north. 75° 55' 42" west." john b recited. the screen showed the world, then it zoomed in slowly to the coordinates. "boom, continental shelf right there."
"well, if it's off the deep end, it's not gonna be much of a treasure hunt, is it?" pope sighed.
they all waited as it slowly loaded, making cassie tap her foot impatiently. "god, this is taking forever." she sighed.
"shit, it's on the high side." john b remarked as it finally zoomed in closer. "it's only 900 feet."
"that's not too deep." jj said, making cassie and pope furrow their eyebrows.
"is that doable or something?" kie questioned.
"yeah, totally doable." jj informed her.
cassie shook her head, remarking, "i'm sorry, last time i checked i don't remember this being h2o, just add water?" kie smiled, smacking her hand against cassie's at the reference.
"will we be taking your personal submarine?" added pope.
"how do you know this, mr. dive master?" john b questioned.
"the salvage yard." he answered, like it was obvious. "they got a drone that can drop 1,000. it has a 360 camera and everything. it's for, like, deep dives and stuff."
"can your dad get his grimy little hands on that?" john b asked, in intrigue.
"well, my dad's grimy little hands got his ass fired." jj answered, making cassie sigh. "i guess the salvage captain frowns on showing up shitfaced, turns out."
"who would've thought?" she remarked, cracking her knuckles.
"but the drone's there. it's in the impound yard out back." the blonde continued.
"how much did you say was on the royal merchant again?" questioned kie.
"uh, five hundred million." john b replied.
"five hundred mil." jj said at the same time.
"five hundred million dollars?" kie repeats as pope shoots up from his seat and blocks the door.
cassie follows him, speaking over his protests, telling him, "five. hundred. million. dollars."
pope continued to stand his ground. "absolutely not. no!" kie pushed his arm down and opened up the door.
"think about it, p," cassie started, putting a hand on his shoulder. "you'll be able to get into any college you want." jj grabbed cassie's hand, dragging her out the door behind him, john b and pope trailing close behind.
☀︎☀︎☀︎
THE POGUES WERE ON THEIR WAY TO THE JUNKYARD, TRYING TO CONVINCE POPE THAT THIS WOULD END WELL— ALTHOUGH THEY COULD BARELY CONVINCE THEMSELVES OF THAT. "pope, we're not stealing the drone. we're borrowing it." john b assured him. cassie was sat in between jj's legs, laying against his chest as he roll a joint. pope was sat beside them, on the seat, and john b and kie were up front.
"'humans are the only animal that can't tell fantasy from reality.'" quoted pope, looking out the window.
"did you come up with that?" john b questioned.
"no, albert bernstein came up with it, but it applies to this whole treasure-hunting thing." he replied. he turned to his friends, "so, which is it? fantasy or reality?"
"why are you so weird, pope?" asked jj, making cassie giggle silently. she smacked his arm lightly to defend him, trying to make sure he didn't see her laughter.
"it's fantasy, but possible reality." kie answered, ignoring jj.
"reality." john b declares, looking to kie.
"virtual reality." jj says, placing the joint in his mouth. cassie grabbed the lighter beside them, bringing it up to the end and fiddling with it, trying to light it. before she could, though, pope snatched it out of jj's mouth.
jj's mouth hung open in shock as pope flicked it away, to the other side of the van. "keep the signal clear." pope remarked. cassie shook her head in annoyance and leaned forward to grab it.
"you know what your problem is?" questioned jj as kie jumped out of the van.
"you?" pope retorted.
kie opened the door to the back, grabbing cassie by the arm and tugging on her. "come on,"
"don't have to tell me twice." cassie remarked, as kie dragged her out of the twinkie.
as cassie straightened herself out, shutting the van door behind her, kie walked around, where john b assured her, "hey, don't worry. you got this."
"it's not me that i'm worried about." kie remarked, as cassie joined her, pointing to the other two boys through the window.
"yeah, can you get them to stop bickering?" cassie asked, as kie grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind her.
"got it." john b remarked, giving his sister a thumbs up.
the two made a quick visit to kie's car, pulling it up closer to the gate. cassie quickly stabbed a small hole into it with the key.
the girls walked up closer to the gate of the junkyard. "hello?" kie yelled, waving her hand in the air. "excuse me?"
the guard walked out of his tiny room. "can i help you?" he questioned.
"hi!" kie said in her best customer service voice. "um, we actually have a flat tire."
"we were wondering if maybe you could help us out?" cassie continued, smiling at him.
"yeah. yeah." the man replied, walking back inside to open the gate.
"it's too easy." kie muttered, holding a hand out low.
cassie slapped her own hand against it, smiling. "we're just too good." she remarked.
back with the boys, jj questions john b, "how's it going with kiara?"
"it's not awkward, weird, or anything." the boy sarcastically remarked.
"honestly, i did not think you were gonna actually listen to me." jj said, after a chuckle. "i was a hundred percent sure she was into you. pope would agree."
"ehh..."
"so, like, kie, she, like, definitely gave you the heisman?" asked jj.
"oh, no question. yup." replied john b. "what's up with you and cass?"
jj bit his lip, his gaze not leaving the routledge girl. "nothing."
"oh, so you were sleeping in her bed for shits and giggles then?" questioned john b.
"you guys slept together?" pope asked, his mouth agape.
"no, man." jj replied, shaking his head. "we just fell asleep together."
"but you want to," pope added, making john b jokingly shudder in horror.
john b looked ahead at the girls, telling him, "remember the rule."
"the rule that you already broke?" jj questioned, chuckling.
"jj's been in love with cassie since before the rule." pope pointed out.
"true," john b nodded, sucking his teeth. "but, she doesn't date anymore, so i doubt anything else is gonna happen."
"did you forget i'm playing the long game?" jj questioned. "have been since third grade, not gonna stop anytime soon."
the girls led the man around to the tire they had poked a hole in. "it's just this back one right here." kie remarked.
"i mean, it must've been a slow leak or something." cassie explained, in a voice that made her sound innocent. she quickly glanced behind her to see the boys rushing through the open gate.
"probably just been sitting in the yard too long?" the guard questioned.
"yeah," the girls replied in unison, smiling sweetly. cassie almost wanted to laugh at how easy it was to fool men.
"i got this." the man assured them, leaning down beside it.
"thank you." kie smiled, as cassie moved from behind the man to next to her. the girls grabbed hands, cassie nervously squeezing her hand in fear. the man looked the girl's up and down, creepily as he fixed the tire. "got it?"
cassie faked a smile, although she was extremely uncomfortable. a dog began to bark in the yard, making the man look up confused.
"do you hear that?" he questioned.
"hear what?" kie questioned, making cassie hit her side.
"oh, t-bo's got somethin'." the man remarked, standing up.
"it's probably just a raccoon, or something." cassie nervously suggested, fiddling with the straps on her tank top nervously.
"nothin' to worry about." kie added, disappearing onto the other side of the boat.
cassie panicked at this, because the man had gotten back down with the tire, so she really prayed that whatever kie was about to do wasn't stupid. but it was. a tire on the other side hissed loudly as air escaped it.
cassie and the man walked over to see what was happening and kie kneeled beneath the tire, a hair clip in her hand. cassie nearly threw up from nervousness at this point.
"what are you doing?" the man asked her.
"this one looks a little low too..." kie tried to lie, but the man now ran after the barking. "wait! wait!" she called after him, but he wouldn't stop. "shit."
the girls rushed to the car, kie jumping in the driver's seat and quickly getting the girl's out of the junkyard's parking lot. they returned to the spot they had left the twinkie, nervously awaiting the boys.
☀︎☀︎☀︎
THE BOYS MADE IT BACK TO THE VAN IN ONE PIECE, WITH THE DRONE, SO THAT WAS A WIN IN CASSIE'S BOOK. kiara had suggested they go eat at the wreck, before cassie had to go pick up grace from evelyn's. "stealing drones makes you hungry." she remarked, getting out of the car.
cassie, who had just smoked with jj, was starving and extremely excited that kie was hooking them up with free food. "what i would do to a beer and shrimp and grits right now." jj said, getting out of the van.
"it would not be pretty." pope muttered, shaking his head.
the group walked into the wreck, kie's dad sighing at the sight of the misfits his daughter hung out with. he couldn't stand them, to put it politely, especially after john b had gotten kie arrested.
"hey, dad." the curly haired girl greeted.
the pogues walked past him, knowing that he didn't like them and he wasn't one to sugarcoat. unlike heyward, who actually did like them— although he didn't like to admit it— mr. carrera openly hated on the pogues any chance he got. he didn't like that his daughter was hanging out with a group of criminals, idiots, and a teen mom.
kie quickly persuaded him into giving the group the food he had to throw away at the end of the night anyways. the five cheered in excitement, sitting down beside the only other people still in the restaurant.
everyone scarfed down food like it might be their last meal, which was semi true. before that morning's breakfast with evelyn, cassie wasn't sure the next time she'd eat a full meal.
kie had taken control over the music, playing jamming by bob marley. she started to dance, motioning her finger for john b to dance with her. cassie and jj furrowed their eyebrows at this. it seemed like one minute john b was stuck in the friend zone and the next, kie was all over him again. john b got up to dance with her and cassie sighed, she didn't know what kie was thinking at all about her brother.
cassie stood up, grabbing jj's arm and pulling him up with her. the two also danced, until the end of the song, when cassie noticed that pope looked left out. as the next song started, scarlet begonias by sublime, cassie's eyes lit up, and she had a perfect idea.
"this song is my favorite," she remarked, grinning.
she walked over to pope, pulling him over to where she had stood before and forcing him to dance with her. it took a bit of arguing, but eventually pope caved and proceeded to dance his heart out with cassie.
"as i was walkin' down rub-a-dub square" cassie loudly sung, making her friends laugh. "not a chill to the weather, but a nip to the air"
"from another direction, she was calling my eye" she continued, as jj stood up and walked over to them. she grinned, pulling him over and forcing him to dance with her as well. "it could be an illusion, but i might as well try, might as well try"
the five danced to whatever came on, even if they didn't like it, until kie's dad kicked them out when it was time to close. the pogues had a good night and for a second, they remembered that they were just kids and that summer was about having fun.
they stopped by evelyn's house, but grace insisted on a sleepover, which evelyn said would be alright, so the pogues— excluding kie, who had stayed with her dad at the wreck— went back to the chateau, had a few beers and continued to have dumb, careless, teenage fun. then, eventually, pope fell asleep on the pullout, john b went to his room, and cassie and jj went to bed together.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ HARPER SPEAKS
okayyy i wanna tell u guys rn but sapphic kie is coming bc,, let's be honest jiara or not kie def like girls, I MIGHT TELL U A JOKE BUT I'LL NEVER TELL U A LIE
anyways jassie kiss is coming soon but i won't tell you when (monkey covering eyes emoji)