─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
Chapter Two
"The Marshes"
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
Kiera steps outside, checking the house behind her before closing the door. “You okay?” One of her hands reaches out and rests on Liam's cheek, her thumb gently caressing the cut.
“Never been better.” Liam says jokingly, although his whole body was in pain, as he takes in the warmth and comfort Kiera was giving him. “I… Uh. Sort of got kicked out? I don't have anything. I don't know what to do, Kie.” A crack slithers through his voice, although he hated home, he couldn't lie that he was lost without it.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
Kiera's parents certainly hadn't been too keen on Liam staying but reluctantly allowed. He was sat in Kiera's room while she tried to find him some clothes. You could say that being inside a Kook's house was a definite culture shock. Furniture not torn up or broken, air conditioning: it was a dream.
“Hey… This was all I could find.”
Liam glances over and sees it's Kiera holding a small pile of clothes. “Uh… Yeah. I'll take whatever, it's fine.” He smiles slightly, only making him wince right after as the cut stings. A slight look of worry crosses over Kiera's face, which certainly doesn't go unnoticed by Liam. “I'm fine… Had worse.” His tone must have been reassuring enough for Kiera to believe, as she nods slightly after.
Liam studies the clothes for a few moments: no tears; stains; or anything. “Thanks Kie...”
“For the clothes?” She chuckles, slightly surprised. “No need to thank me for that.”
“No, I mean for everything.”
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
The taller boy followed Kiera as she walked down the steps of her pier, cooler in one hand.
“Top of the mornin' to ya!” JJ greeted Kiera, offering her his hand to help get on the boat, making Kiera giggle. Pope was sat on the back of the MNS Pogue with John B steering.
“Ah… So this is why our mighty warrior wasn't at pickup!” John B announces in a posh voice, looking at Liam. He had forgotten to text the group explaining and when Kiera offered, he had thought it was best to explain in person.
“And with a few mighty battle scars, I see!” JJ continues in an equally stupid posh voice. “Was it a Megalodon! Or maybe a Kraken! Mighty warrior, please do tell your tale!” Kiera and Pope are both watching the scene, laughing at how big of idiots their friends are.
“Yeah… Yeah. Dicks, I get the point.” Liam chuckles, shaking his head as JJ offers Liam his hand as well. “Oh… What a true gentleman.” Liam says, mimicking their posh voice as he slaps JJ's hand away and gets on board himself. Kiera and Pope laugh as John B shakes his head smiling as he starts sailing.
“Alright grumpy…” JJ mutters as he shakes his hand slightly, in pain.
The group sailed away into the marshes, the wind blowing through their hair as the sun shone brightly, illuminating them from behind. The day was hot, so Liam decided to take off his shirt, making JJ whistle: earning himself a middle finger from Liam. Although, he couldn't tell if JJ was being serious or joking.
“So…” Pope says, dragging the word out, “What's in the cooler?”
“Oh, y'know, juice boxes…” Kiera says, jokingly, as she sits down beside Pope.
“Is there any of my type of juice box?” JJ smiles, knowing what Kiera really brought.
“Obviously idiot.” She grins as Liam sits down. JJ, excitedly, opens the cooler, revealing the whole thing is full of beer and ice.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
“You've been oddly quiet.” Pope says, nudging him. The group had been sailing deeper into the marshes and while the rest joked and drank, Liam was sat deep in thought — beer in hand.
He glances at him for a few moments before nodding, “Just a lot on my mind, I'll survive.”
“Uh… Huh… Tell that to your face, dude.” JJ chuckles as Kiera glares at him: JJ throws up his hand, showing he'll stop.
“So? What happened?” John B asks, glancing back at Liam, which allows the darker-haired boy to realize how worried his friend was about him.
“Well, for starters, I got kicked out.” Liam shrugs, taking the weed that JJ was holding out for him. “Got beat to shit, and I have absolutely nothing.”
“Damn…” JJ mumbles under his breath as Liam inhales a puff of the substance before exhaling. “So that's why you were with Kie!” JJ exclaims, proud of himself for linking the dots. “Sorry…” He mumbles as John B gives him a look that essentially says, “What the fuck?”.
“You're fine, dude.” Liam chuckles, extending his arm for JJ to take his weed back — which he does.
“Why didn't you come to us? You essentially already live with us.” Pope questions.
“I did. Nobody was home.” Liam shrugs, to which Pope nods.
“Well, my parents love you more than they love me, so I wouldn't be surprised if they let you stay permanently.” Pope laughs and Liam shakes his head, chuckling as the others join in.
“I'll think about it… But for now, I think I'm fine with Kie. As long as her parents don't kill me first.” Liam grins, ignoring the pain it brought along as he looks at Kiera. The brown haired girl was smiling right at him, and the pair held eye contact for a few moments before JJ interrupts.
“Alright, love birds cut it.”
Liam rolls his eyes as he looks at JJ, who had an odd look in his eyes, one the other boy had never seen in the blonde-haired boy before.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
“Pope, go faster man!” JJ exclaims as the group watch him, he was stood on the bow with a beer in his hand as he let the wind direct the beer into his mouth — although it was going everywhere but there.
“You're not exactly doing a good job…” Liam joked, watching the blonde-haired boy who turned around to face him, a look of fake hurt on his face.
“Alright Mr. Pro? You come up and join me then.” JJ snickered, throwing Liam a new beer.
“Oh yeah? You're really challenging me?” Liam says, catching the beer before standing up — his eyebrows raised as he teases JJ. John B rolls his eyes, chuckling as Pope and Kiera watch laughing.
“Oh, you bet I am.” JJ laughs as Liam moves to beside him on the bow.
“Alright competitors!” John B calls out, putting on a fake commentator voice. “3… 2… 1… Go!”
The pair exchange a look before tilting the beers forward, letting the wind direct the beer. The darker-haired boy was doing better than JJ, although neither of them were exactly doing good.
“Guys, stop! You're getting beer in my hair!” Kiera groaned from behind them.
Before Liam or JJ can come up with a snarky response, the boat violently lurched forward before stopping — sending the pair into the water. Kiera's hip is bashed against the side of the boat as Pope and John B are pushed forward. In union, all the kids aboard the boat groaned. Liam and JJ hit the surface, their whole bodies in complete pain as a result of hitting the water.
“You guys okay?” John B asks, the ones aboard the boat all came and looked at the pair as floated in the water. Their expressions a mixture of concern and excitement, like they were about to laugh but wanted to make sure the duo were okay.
“Yeah…” Liam groaned out. “JJ?”
“I think my heels touched the back of my head, dude…” JJ swam over to Liam and the pair returned to the boat together. “What the hell did you do, Pope?!”
“Sandbar… Channel must of changed.” Pope answered.
“Well no shit, Sherlock..” Liam mutters under his breath, making JJ laugh while shaking his head at his friend's response.
The pair were holding on to the side of the boat, their chests touching as they both kept afloat — JJ's hand occasionally drifting across Liam's back.
“I'm just saying, I totally won that.” Liam smirks at his blonde-haired companion as John B checks on Kiera and Pope.
“In your dreams, maybe.” JJ smiles, rolling his eyes as he splashes Liam with water.
“Oh, you're on.” Liam laughs, shoving water right back at JJ.
Before Liam can dodge, JJ tackles him right into the water — the blonde-haired boy on top of him, his hands on his shoulders as the pair go deeper into the water.
The water cold and soothing as it wrapped around the pair. It felt like all their worries had just disappeared — just the two of them and the marshes. Nothing to worry about.
It takes Liam a few seconds to register that JJ is still on top of him before pushing him off, the boy smiling like crazy at Liam. Rolling his eyes at the boy's antics as he flips him off — only making JJ even more smiley.
Just as Liam is about to start swimming back to the surface, his eyes spot a shadow deeper in the bank. The boy blinks a few times as he tries to work out what it is before the shape comes into view. A boat.
A glance back at JJ confirms they've both seen the same thing. The next second, they're both swimming back to the surface, eager to tell their friends.
“There's a fucking boat down there, man!” JJ calls out as he breaks the surface — Liam a second after him.
“What? And where the hell did you guys go?!”
“That doesn't matter right now!” Liam insists. “There's a fucking boat!”
“Are you guys being serious?!”
“No fucking way!”
“What?!”
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
This one was a lot longer but damn the tension! The tension is only gonna rise! Thanks for reading!
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
Word count: 1637