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(S1 E9)
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The Pogues begin to panic slightly, but Kiara is already thinking of a plan for them to get away. "Guys, we got to get to the HMS. We need small, no running lights--"
John B interrupts her, stating, "It's at the Château, Kie."
"And I wonder if the cops got the entire place staked out." JJ injects sarcastically. "Let me think. Oh, yeah. No. They definitely have that place locked down."
Kiara sighs dejectedly. "Yeah, copy that."
Pope seems to be coming up with an idea. "Let me think. Just give me a second." He exclaims, slightly frustrated. Parker scoffs slightly, muttering, "Alright, Popeye. Chill." Finally, Pope glances at the two Maybanks.
"JJ." The boy in question looks up at his friend. "Does your guys' dad still have that boat? The cigarette boat, the Phantom. The one he used to race." JJ shrugs his shoulders, unsure, but Parker takes some more time to think about it.
"I think so, Popeye." Pope nods at his friend, explaining his idea further. "You could get right up the coast, no problem." Parker knows he's right, but she also knows that it could be a long shot.
"It won't be easy, Pope." JJ adds in, knowing just as well as his sister that it would be hard to actually get ahold of the boat. This doesn't stop Kiara from thinking out loud, trying to figure out a plan. "The surf's running from three to four."
JJ continues to try to shut down the thought, adding, "I don't know where the keys are." Pope doesn't realize what the blonde is trying to do, so he snappily insists, "Well, find them." JJ mutters under his breath, and Parker rubs his back comfortingly.
"why is nobody moving forward?" Pope exclaims while flailing his arms around. Parker stares at the boy, not used to him acting like this. It must be the weed that JJ had given him kicking in.
"Can you relax?" Kiara snaps at her friend, before turning an accusatory gaze onto the Maybank boy. "JJ, how much weed did you give him?"
Before her brother can answer, John B speaks up. "Guys. Your car's on the poster." Pope honks the horn before asking, "Can we move it?" He presses the horn a couple more times before Kiara snaps at him again. "Pope! That won't help!"
Suddenly, the Pogues hear a boy yell, "It's that guy and girl. They're right there." Parker lets a few curses fly out of her mouth, and JJ whips around towards his high friend. "We got a snitch. Pope, turn the car on."
"We get $50,000 if we find both of them!" The boy continues to yell. Suddenly the sound of a smack echos through the car. A man is behind the car with a clear view of Parker and John B. He calls out, "Hey! They're right here!" Parker curses under her breath, thinking that this could be it.
"Hey! We gotta go!" Kiara yells at Pope, who is panicking. "Pope, turn the frickin' car on!" Pope continues to turn the key, but the engine just keeps turning over. "I am trying!"
JJ slaps the back of his seat, exclaiming, "Go, go, go, go, go!" Pope is about to say he can't again when the car jolts forward. They hit the car in front of them, and everyone gets jostled around.
"Pope! Jeez!" JJ groans.
"Dude, back up!" Kiara yells, staying just as panicked as before.
Pope ignores them all, continuing to press down on the gas pedal. The car revs, pushing the car in front of them forward a bit. Parker is about to yell and Pope again when he jerks the wheel to the right and drives up onto the sidewalk. He swerves around the car before messily driving back onto the road.
Parker can tell that he is most definitely not in the right state of mind to be driving, especially when he turns the wheel and the car angles right towards a mailbox. He doesn't even swerve away, just continues to barrel towards it. "Watch out! Pope! Whoa, whoa, whoa, watch out! Watch out!"
Parker jolts forwards as Pope runs into the mailbox, a laugh escaping his mouth as he continues to drive.
"What the fuck?" Kiara spits out, furious at the dark-skinned boy.
"I'm livin' my best life now." Pope replies, and Parker can't help but think that he must have a death wish if he wasn't even trying to prevent Kiara from staying mad at him.
"My mom'll kill me," Kiara mutters, and Parker rubs her back, attempting to comfort her.
JJ finally speaks up, surprising everyone. "I should be the last to say this, but you are not okay to drive. Stop!" As soon as the blond boy exclaims 'stop', Pope hits the brakes. The tires squeal, and Parker lets out a huge sigh of relief that they weren't in motion anymore.
Pope turns around in his seat and looks at his two friends who were currently fugitives. "Guys, get out."
JJ nods, quickly agreeing with his friend. "He's right. We'll draw the cops, you two run. I'll get the rig, and I'll meet you in the dump tomorrow, okay?" Three o'clock, okay? Three tomorrow at the dump." When his best friend and sister nod, he rushes them out of the car.
The two stand there for a second before taking off, not really knowing where they were heading. All they knew is that they had to find a safe spot to hide, and soon. The whole island was looking for them, and almost nowhere was safe.
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The two Pogues ran for a long time, searching for a place to hide. They couldn't go home, because that would be the first place the cops would look for them. They couldn't go to any of their most frequented spots, as the police would show up there at some point as well. The sun began to set as the two continued to run, switching up directions every time they heard police sirens. They jumped over barriers and dodged low hanging branches, ducking behind anything they could find.
Parker finally spotted an open garage, so she grabbed John B's arm and dragged him towards it. The two ducked inside and quickly flicked the lights off. Once they were submerged in darkness, John B presses a button on the garage opener and the garage door begins to shut. They duck beneath some tables, and the two Pogues huddle close together, hoping to comfort the other if possible. Sirens flickered past the house every once in a while, but it was mostly silent and dark.
Just as Parker's shoulders begin to relax, a crunch came from right outside of the garage door. She could hear the muffled noise of a police radio, and it scared John B as well. The two quickly stood up and moved towards the door leading into the house as fast as possible. The two move into a hallway, and Parker tries to move further forward when she runs into John B's back. She glances up at her best friend, seeing what had made him freeze. Sitting at his kitchen counter eating cereal was Topper's best friend, Kelce. Parker tenses up with fear, realizing just how screwed they were. Out of all the Kook houses, of course this was the one they went into.
"John B? Parker?" Kelce asks, slowly standing up from where he is seated as soon as he notices them. Parker immediately puts her hands up, and John B follows suit soon after. "Hey, man."
"John B. Parker." Kelce repeats, but this time his voice holds a more dangerous tone.
"Just listen to me for a second. Relax." John B tries, but it seems to agitate Kelce even further. "Man, what are you don' here?" The Kook boy asks, eying the Pogues carefully.
John B tries to move forward a bit, but Kelce backs up. "I-- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--" Kelce interrupts him, pointing an accusing finger in his direction. "Man, I know what you did."
Before John B seems to realize it, Parker knows that Kelce was going to turn them in. Nothing could convince him that they were innocent, no matter how hard they tried. "Please listen to me," John B tries again, but Kelce snaps. "Get out of my house!"
"We didn't do it. Just listen."
"Don't talk to me. I know what you did." Kelce turns quickly, grabbing a knife from the counter behind him. John B backs up quickly, almost tripping over Parker. "No, no, no, no." Kelce brandishes his weapon menacingly at the two Pogues, hissing, "Get outta my house!" Parker flinches as the knife gets pointed in her direction.
She keeps her hands up, and takes a step forward. "Yo, put the knife down."
Kelce moves towards the two Pogues, still holding the knife up. Parker backs up towards John B. "You just invaded the homeland, bro. I'm warnin' you."
John B pushes Parker behind him, hoping to protect her from the weapon. "Put it down." This seems to infuriate Kelce even further, and he yells, "You need to get the hell outta my house right now!"
Parker runs down the hall, grabbing John B's arm and dragging him behind her. She runs past an open room, not seeing it, but John B does and he quickly drags her back into before slamming the door behind them and locking it. The two of the lean back on the door, trying to catch their breath. John B looks to the side and sees the doorknob aggressively jiggling. They hold their breath for a second more before it suddenly stops.
"Kelce?" John B calls out. When no response comes, he puts his ear on the door. He hears some shuffling, but he can't figure out what it could be. He moves Parker out of the way before he unlocks the door and twists the handle. Instead of the doorknob turning, John B's hand slips. He tries again, but the knob seems to be stuck, meaning that Kelce had blocked the door.
John B begins to panic, banging on the door. "Hey, man. Hey, hey, hey." Through the door, Kelce calls, "You're in the house of pain now, bro. You hear that? I got you. I got you, man." Parker can hear the grin in his voice, not even needing to see his face.
"Fuck," Parker mutters, rubbing her face with her hands. They were trapped in Kelce's laundry room, and they were going to get caught by the cops. She couldn't go to jail. She swore to Peterkin that she would try to stay out of trouble. She wouldn't dishonor her memory by going to jail.
John B can see that his best friend is starting to truly panic, and he needed to act quickly. He grabs Parker's hands and holds them, making direct eye contact with her. "We will figure this out, P. We always do. That's not gonna change now."
Parker nods before wrapping her arms around John B's neck and pulling him into a tight hug, one that they both needed very much. They stand there like that until they hear, "Knock, knock!"
John B quickly detangles himself from the Maybank girl and moved towards the door. "Hey! Hey, Kelce. Hey, buddy." He tries to open the door again, but there is still resistance. "Please just-- just let us out."
"I don't think so, bitch." Kelce spits out, making Parker wince at the violent and angry tone his voice had taken. "Word on the street is that you got a bounty on both of your heads, bros." Parker winces. They were even more screwed now. Even though these Kooks had money, they always wanted more.
"Please, Kelce. It's not-- No. It's not what it seems." Kelce doesn't seem to hear her protests, too consumed with the amount of money. "25K cash money, dead or alive." That last addition is what truly shakes Parker. Dead or alive? People were trying to actually kill them?
"Isn't that right, guys?" Kelce finishes up.
Neither of the Pogues responded to him, but he didn't seem to care that much. It went silent on the other side of the door, and John B took that as his queue to ransack the laundry room for a key that they could use to get out. He soon found one, but of course, it didn't work with the lock. They were still trapped. Parker leans back against the door, thinking over the past few days. So much had happened that she hadn't been able to process it all. They were framed for murder, Ward had tried to murder them, and there was a whole-ass bounty on their heads. It was all too much for her. She was ready to just give up, but it didn't seem like John B was on the same page.
"Look, Kelce, just-- just-- just let us out, man." The laugh that came through the door was distinctly not Kelce's, and it made Parker shoot up from where she was seated. "Yeah, Kelce isn't here, bro. It's Topper."
Parker shares a look with John B before cursing under her breath. If they thought they were screwed before, they were dead ten times over now. Topper would do anything to see Parker's downfall, especially because she "stole" his girlfriend.
The Thornton boy chuckles. "Yeah, yeah. Surprise." John B panics, gesturing for Parker to talk. She gives him an incredulous look, wonder how that would help in the slightest, but she gives in in the end. "Hey, Top. It's Parker."
"Hey, P." Topper replies, and Parker is surprised by the more calm tone his voice has taken.
"Hey, man. So--" Her hopes of convincing him to let them go are crushed when he interrupts, "Gonna try to talk your way out?" Parker sighs, resigning herself to let him continue. "Just cut the bullshit, all right? Like, the-- the chickens are roostin', sister. Like, it-- it is over. You're in some deep shit now, man. Both of you."
Parker scrunches up her face at his metaphor. "Listen to me! I-- We didn't kill the sheriff." She can practically hear Topper cross his arms and nod through the door before he shoots back, "You didn't shoot the sheriff?"
"No, I didn't. It was Rafe! All right? Sarah was there. She saw the whole thing." As soon as the words come out of her mouth, she knows that Topper won't believe them.
"Oh, it was Rafe. Okay. My bad." He sarcastically replies, and Parker sighs. "Look, I get it, man. You don't believe me, and honestly, I probably wouldn't believe myself either, but..." She pauses for a second, trying to not get angry at the boy. "I-- I get it, all right? You hate me because of Sarah." Parker takes a deep breath, knowing that she had much better reasons for hating the Thornton boy's guts, but this wasn't the time.
"You knew we were boyfriend and girlfriend, right?" Parker tries to hold back her incredulous laugh. Of course the boy on the other side of the door still talked about relationships as if they were in elementary school or something. Finally, she let his question hit her.
She sighs, dropping her head. "Yeah. Yeah, I did. My bad." Through the door, she hears Topper muttering under his breath.
When he finally speaks up again, he asks, "And, um, I-- I got another question." Parker humors him, responding, "Go for it, dude."
"Did you fuck her? Hm?" Topper scoffs. This makes Parker's head shoot up, and John B can see the rage instantly fill his best friends eyes.
Parker snaps coldly, "No." Topper scoffs again, clearly not believing her. "No? You sure?"
This clearly pisses Parker off even further. "Yes, I'm sure. Because we just got together, and I'm not a dick who pressures people into doing things they don't want to do. I would especially never push her into that because I lo--" Parker cuts herself off, realizing what she was about to say.
John B gives her a surprised look, not because he didn't know, but because he never thought he would see the day where Parker would admit it. Sarah really was making her change.
Topper isn't happy with this slip-up, though. "Oh, you love her? Okay, well, then... Okay, what does it feel like? Huh? What does it feel like when you're with her? Does she make you crazy? Can you sleep at night, like..."
Parker thinks about the Thornton boy's question for a second before a soft smile takes over her face. "Uh... I mean, it's-- it's... it's fun and-- and exciting and... sometimes it's scary. Sometimes it's fucking terrifying. Uh, I-- I don't know, man. It's like... getting struck by lightning and-- and not getting burned, or--"
Topper interrupts her, furious at the wistful tone the Maybank girl's voice had taken. "What the hell are you saying?"
Parker shrugs her shoulders, not caring the the boy on the other side of the door can't see her. "I don't know, man. It's like-- It's like we're in one of those romance movies that Sarah loves, but not the sad ones like The Notebook or La La Land. More like Clueless or--"
The Thornton boy practically growls, snapping, "It's like you're in a fuckin' mov-- That's not love!" John B winces, knowing that somehow Parker had infuriated Topper even further.
She takes a deep breath before fully saying something she had never said before. "I'm in love with her, and I know that hurts... but, uh..." She grins to herself. "I'm in love, man. I'm in love." John B smiles at his best friend, proud of her for admitting what he never thought she would. She was finally letting herself be vulnerable to someone, and he couldn't be happier for her.
Topper's voice breaks the prideful moment. "It's over for you guys. This is it. Your little wild adventure. Your little movie. Cops are on their way. Hope you enjoyed it."
Suddenly, a voice that both of the Pogues recognize calls out, "All right, John B! Parker! It's Shoupe out here. We got you surrounded." Parker bangs her fist against the wall, standing up. While they had been talking with Topper, Kelce had gone to the police and brought them home with him. "We don't want anymore bloodshed. We're coming in." John B curses under his breath, frantically looking around the room for anything that could help them escape.
"What a misunderstanding, bro. Like, everyone thinks it's you," Topper snidely comments, and if Parker wasn't in such a panicked state, she would want to punch his teeth in.
"We didn't do it." John B tries one last time. The only response they get is, "good," Which makes Parker seethe. The Routledge boy continues to try to talk to Topper, and he rattles the doorknob aggressively.
Parker takes a deep breath, trying to clear her mind. The washer shakes slightly, making her look in its direction and get an idea. She grins to herself as she leaps forward and attempts to push it out of the way. John B quickly joins her, and together the two of them move it off to the side. The blonde squats down and doesn't hesitate to rip out the tubes from the newly exposed wall. She is met with the cool night air, and a direct way out of the laundry room.
She grins up at John B, gesturing for him to crawl through first. She follows close behind, and as soon as the two are out, they take off. They sprint through peoples yards and leap over a fence. When they land, Parker looks to John B to see where they would be going. As soon as they make eye contact, she knows. They would be going somewhere that only the Pogues new about. But to get there, they would have to run past all of the people looking for them.
Parker smirks at her best friend. "You ready, Johnny?" When he nods, the two start to run again, hoping they would make it safely.
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A/N: It's here y'all! I hope you like it, I'm so sorry these are taking longer. I have a lot on my plate, but I'm doing my best, so thank you for being patient.
Don't forget to vote and comment what you thought!