( 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 — 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗻 )
The silence between the four remaining teenagers pierced through the air as they waited for their leader to get back. Malia didn't know how long he had been gone and she wasn't particularly looking at the time considering it just meant she was most likely needed back home. After what Malia had revealed, nobody really knew what to say to her. It was clear they were walking on eggshells around her and all they wanted was John B back so that they had something else to occupy their minds with. Even though the girl needed it, Malia was the first to break the group hug they all shared in order to go sit by herself.
That's how she got to where she was now. She sat at the end of the dock with her feet in the water looking out at the water. It wasn't long before the time by herself was interrupted. The wooden dock creaked as somebody walked along it. Malia made no efforts in turning around to see which person had finally came to her. She knew it was a matter of time before they decided to say something to her. Malia's mind told her it was Kiara coming to check on the girl and see if she wanted anything, but the silence stayed there for longer than it would have.
Malia averted her eyes to staring at her feet that were submerged in the dirty water. She kicked her feet around slightly to create small waves in order to entertain herself. The other person who had joined her made a move to sit down next to her yet still kept the silence between them. What she didn't know was that it was JJ who had made the decision to come and keep her company as they waited for John B. It's not that JJ could exactly say he knew what she was going through, but he did know what it felt like having a horrible father.
At some point, the no communication was chewing away at Malia. She let a small groan leave her lips, "Whatever you need to say, you should just say it. Being quiet doesn't really help."
"I didn't know whether or not you actually wanted me quiet." JJ started making the girl snap her head up and meet his eyes. "What? Didn't expect me to be the one to come down here?"
"I really don't have the energy to argue with you, JJ. Please." Malia softened after saying it and let her shoulders drop. She didn't stop looking at the boy even when he turned his head away, choosing to look at the water.
"At the kegger, you said your dad was a dick. I know how that is, trust me." JJ chuckled, "It gets easier. You tend to block it out at some point."
"My dad isn't even my dad."
"No, but he took you in for a reason. And it's not just because he wanted to keep you from your uncle's way of living. He most likely doesn't show you love because he sees his brother every time he looks at you."
"Well, I am his daughter apparently. And my mom. God, what about my mom? Is she the real one or do I not know anything about me?" Malia rambled out finally feeling everything sink in.
JJ turned back to the girl and stole a quick glance over his shoulder to see Kie and Pope making their way towards them. "Maybe you should go home. Talk to them and get the answers you deserve." Malia looked up at him and entertained the idea. She easily could get up and walk away from her friends, going back to the dreaded household. But she didn't want to. Not really.
She shook her head as John B pulled back up and all four of the teenagers stood together, ready to get on the boat. Malia looked at JJ and let out a small whisper for only him to hear, "I'd rather stay with you guys." JJ gave a curt nod before hopping on the boat and extending his hand for the girl to get on.
The boat arrived at the wreck making JJ throw the anchor down in order to keep the group in place. Malia looked out at the edge where the boat was and took a deep breath. John B had managed to get the gear they needed and now they just needed to actually go through with the plan. The plan that Malia most definitely did not agree with.
There were many things that could go wrong in the moment. The plan could easily fall through considering nobody really knew how to use the gear they had stolen. Of course Malia would be the one to only think about the negatives to come out of their adventure. Could anybody really blame the girl for having an pessimistic mindset after hanging out with the Pogues, specifically JJ who happened to come up with the ideas that landed them in trouble.
"This is empty. You took empty tanks?" Kie let out as she looked through the tanks that John B had gotten. "Okay, this one's a quarter full. It's enough for one of us."
"Not it." Malia pointed out as she stood next to JJ and Pope. She gave a shrug as the rest of the group turned to her.
"Love it when a plan comes together." Pope let the sarcasm drip from his voice making the girl laugh to herself.
"Does anybody know how to dive?" Kie butted in with a serious tone. The two girls wanted it all to be over already. The mindset of Malia knowing things would go wrong started to turn up which never eased her one bit.
"I read about it." Pope pointed out.
"Great, Pope read about it. Someone is definitely going to die."
"Look, you put the thing in your mouth and breathe. How hard could it be?" JJ asked and looked over at Pope.
"You have to be careful when doing it, dummy." Malia hit the boy's arm and sat down on the edge of the boat.
"If you come up too fast, nitrogen gets into your blood, and you get the bends."
"Bends like, bend over and..." The blonde boy trailed over and started to bend over earning a groan from Malia who was sitting directly behind him.
"The bends kill you." Pope let out making JJ stand up straight and go quiet.
"Look, I can dive." John B claimed, ready to stand up and get the gear on.
"You can dive. Yeah, I'm cool with that." JJ nodded in agreement.
Malia looked at the boy confused. She knew he couldn't dive at all, but one of them had to go under and it surely wouldn't be her. She stood back up and leaned over as Pope pulled out a pencil and paper to do some sort of calculation for John B. As he spoke, she walked to the front of the boat and stood up to overlook the water. Her nerves caught up with her as she heard Pope and John B's small words of acknowledgement.
She was caught out of her trance after hearing a splash that made her turn to see Kiara gone from the group. Her eyes went wide as she moved back away from the edge of the boat and went back to her place next to JJ.
"What was that all about?" Pope questioned from Kiara's sudden jump into the water.
"I don't know, but I liked it. A lot." JJ said with his eyes trained on the water. Malia squirmed at his words and looked at John B as he gave a small smile to the girl. She looked back to where Kiara had been and waited for the girl to reappear at the surface. Malia could tell that John B knew exactly why she reacted the way she did when JJ made his comment, and she only prayed the other two didn't know anything.
JJ began to explain what to do with the cargo hold to John B as he stood up and started to put the gear on. Kiara then reappeared making Malia let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. "I tied my t-shirt to the anchor chain about ten feet down. It's where you need to do your safety stop." Pope walked up to John B to help him with what he needed to look at. Kiara got back onto the boat as John B prepared to go under.
"This is a horrible idea, you know. Something could easily go horribly wrong." Malia aired out her opinion as she looked at John with a pleading look. She didn't want him to dive down to the boat. She didn't want anybody to dive down. She would much rather just turn the wreckage into the police like they intended on doing. JJ placed his hand on the girl's shoulder and squeezed to reassure her that they would be fine knowing that she would never believe it.
Kiara walked up to John B and gave the boy a kiss on the cheek making Malia raise her eyebrows at the interaction. She turned to Pope and JJ and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, seeing the boys do the same.
"Diver down?"
"Diver down."
Right after, John jumped into the water and the four went back to being alone together as they watched him go under. Malia stayed standing and looked up at the sky. She stood in front of JJ who watched the girl snap a rubber band on her wrist repeatedly. It was a habit she picked up when she was nervous to keep her from chewing on her nails. The silence was interrupted when a siren whooped making Pope and Malia look over to see a boat approaching them.
"Shit. JJ." Pope muttered, catching the attention of the boy. He quickly turned around to see the boat that was approaching and moved casually to face them.
"Guys, that's the police." He let out as he leaned against the bar with Malia cutting close to him. The last time they had an encounter with the police was when they were at the motel and that most definitely didn't help Malia at all.
"Just act frickin' normal." Kie pushed out as she situated herself to seem casual and chill on the boat.
"Easy for you to say." Malia muttered making JJ pull her close to him as the officers came closer. She knew something would go wrong, and now was the time for that to happen. The officers pulled up and handed Pope a rope to tie off who then just handed it off to JJ. Malia held her breath as JJ walked away from her. She watched the officers closely to make it seem as if she wasn't bothered at all by their appearance.
"You know the marsh is closed?" Officer Shoupe announced as JJ had returned to his spot by Malia, pulling her close once again. The group sounded off in 'no' and made it seem as if they were clueless to the revelation.
"Why is it closed?" Pope questioned with curiosity lacing his voice.
"Well, we're conducting a search out here. Boat went down. Seen anything?" Shoupe questioned the teens. Malia looked over at Kie who was silent with her leaving only the boys to be the ones speaking. She relaxed back against JJ with her attention going back and forth between Kie, Pope, and the two officers.
The only thing on her mind was how John B was doing. She was losing track of time with the officers staying there. Her mind and heart racing with the idea of getting them away quickly in order for John B to get back onto the boat. She looked out at the water behind Kiara where John B had just went under.
"Where's your friend you always hang with? He here?" Shoupe looked around making Malia tense up slightly at the mention of the boy who was currently at the wreck they were looking for.
"He's working." Kiara and Malia let out at the same time. Kiara gave a shrug as Malia gave the officers a tight-lipped smile.
"I'm gonna check your little boat out." He said as he hopped onto the boat. Pope got up from his seat while Malia and JJ moved over for him to look around. "You got another one of these?" He held up one of the life jackets that was out making all of the teenagers nod.
"Yeah, it's in the hold." JJ pointed over to where Kie sat which made her stand up for him to pull it out for confirmation. He pulled the life jacket out causing Kiara to smile and Shoupe to look at her in a questionable way. Malia let her eyes train on Kiara as she watched the girl come off just a little bit nervous, making Malia paranoid that they could see right through her. John B had to be running out of time and it didn't seem like the officers would be gone anytime soon.
"Be careful right there, you don't want to slip." Shoupe was now looking out at the water and specifically the places where John B would have to be during his dive. Malia chewed on her lip as she stealed glances with her friends with a small amount of worry flashing through her eyes. She latched onto JJ's hand as Shoupe got closer to the edge to get a better look.
She kept her eyes on Kiara as they both looked at each other with the same expressions. He was running out of time the longer that the officers stayed there. The group worried about what would happen if he did run completely out of time before he could rejoin the group. Suspense filled the air as the adolescents waited for Shoupe and his fellow officer to be done with their small inspection.
Shoupe nodded and turned to get back onto the police boat making Malia relax more once he got on. She wasted no time in peering over the edge of the boat to look for John B once the boat got farther away from them, the other three quickly joining her in looking out.
"Where is he?" Malia gritted her teeth together. Her breathing started to get heavier before John B finally came back up for air.
"There he is!" JJ exclaimed as smiles broke out on all of their faces for seeing their friend alive. She felt like she couldn't move from the place she stood as JJ rushed to help his best friend back on the boat. "Did you find anything?"
"Did I find anything?" John B chuckled before pulling a bag up from under the water and throwing it on the boat with a bright smile.
"Yeah, there we go. That's my boy!" Everyone gathered around the ladder watching as John B climbed back onto the boat. Malia shook her head as Pope informed his friend of the visit from the cops. She turned back around to go take a seat and cool down from her nerves when a boat came into her view.
"We got a problem!" Malia turned her attention to the group. Kie was the first to take notice of what Malia had just saw.
"Guys, bogey, two o'clock." She turned back towards the boys who then looked to see the boat approaching.
"Do you recognize that boat?"
"I've never seen it."
"What are they doing here? The marsh is closed."
"Maybe helping with the search?"
"Okay, lets not stick around and find out." JJ proclaimed as he made his way to the anchor. Malia never took her attention away from the boat that was drawing closer to them as time went on. The boat drew closer as JJ pulled the bowline up making her breath hitch as she took a step forward almost to pull Pope and JJ back. "Don't wait on me, just go!" JJ yelled back as the HMS Pogue came to life.
"I don't like this." John B admitted. The entire group stared at the two men who were unfamiliar to them.
"John B, just drive!" Malia slapped his arm as he pulled off and into the marsh. She tuned everyone out as she looked back at the boat. She watched them turn to the marsh along with them, the boat accelerating as they attempted to catch up with the teenagers.
"They're following us!"
"Dude, you gotta go faster! Gun it." JJ yelled towards John B making him become frantic as he made them go faster through the marsh. Malia held on as she turned her attention away from the boat in order to keep her from freaking out. The group was oblivious to the gun the other boat had pulled out until a gunshot rang through the air.
The group ducked with profanities coursing out of their bodies. "Get down!" Malia turned back to see one of the men aiming the gun towards them making her heart rate increase drastically. JJ grabbed the girl and pulled her down out of the way. She slid under his body as he towered over the small girl, shielding her from the next shots being fired. Flashbacks from the motel filled her mind as she pushed her head into JJ's shoulder just like she did on the roof.
"Kie, get down!" John B yelled at the girl making Malia turn her attention to see Kiara grabbing a net. She was standing up exposing herself to possibly getting shot.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Malia called out towards the other girl. She stayed put in her spot and watched the girl closely as much as she wanted to help. "Get down!" Everyone slowly started to stand up after Kiara threw the net behind them right in the line of the boat behind them. Malia hesitantly rose to her feet as she watched the boat slow down after getting caught in it. Laughs erupted in the boat from JJ, John B, and Kiara as they sped away and out of view. Pope and Malia looked at each other with wide eyes.
She pushed everything to the back of her mind as they docked back at the Chateau. Malia had been quiet the rest of the ride. She hopped off the boat after Kie and made her way back over to where John B had now stopped to look through the bag. Everyone crowded around the boy as he started to sort through the bag.
"What do you think it is?"
"Gotta be money, right?"
"That or a couple of keys with street value to the low-to-mid-mils!" Three out of five of the teenagers had excitement and thrill running through their veins. The other two, Pope and Malia, were on their toes ready to get it all over with.
"Can we please just open the bag?" Pope boomed out making John B halt his movements and look over at the boy. The main group quickly went through the bag to get their treasure while Malia leaned over the dock and let her head hang. She could have joined the group, but after being shot at over the bag, she could really care less about whatever was in the bag. All she knew was that it better have been worth all of the trouble.
She waited in suspense for the reactions from the rest of the group to whatever they would find. She could hear John B moving around in a rush to get everything open. "Good job, everybody. We found a compass." Pope let out making Malia turn back to the group. Kiara, JJ, and Pope looked defeated and bored while John B eyed the compass and flipped it in his hands.
"Dude, what? It's not worth anything." JJ turned towards the boy on the ground. Malia inched closer to get a better look at the find, making her eyebrows furrow once again. She found it odd that John B kept his eyes on the prized possession he held in his hands.
"This was my father's." John B chuckled making everyone freeze at his declaration. Everyone stayed in silence while John B let a smile form on his face from the sight of compass. Maybe it was worth getting shot at.
𝘈𝘜𝘛𝘏𝘖𝘙𝘚 𝘕𝘖𝘛𝘌...
whew that was A LOT. i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as i enjoyed writing soft jj and malia. i also change the cover for this story so much, but hopefully this one sticks because i loki like these covers i'm making even though they are so simple.