✩✩✩
"Okay. So, um... we didn't see anything." Pope panicked bursting through the door on the porch.
We were now all back at the Château. Kie was sitting on the couch, me and JJ in the chairs on the other side, and John B near the door on another chair. JJ was flipping his lighter next to me as I sipped on my beer.
"We need to have total and complete amnesia" Pope continued, pointing at all of us and sitting down on the coach next to kie.
"Actually, Pope's right for once." JJ agreed. He stood up and walked to the railing, "See I agree with you sometimes. Deny. Deny. Deny."
"Guys we can't keep that money." Kiara said her voice full of worry and empathy.
"Not all of us can afford unlimited data plans Kiara." JJ sighed. I shot him a glare and he shut up.
"We have to pass that off to Lana Grubbs, otherwise it's bad karma." Kie retorted. On one hand, I felt for Lana. Scooter was all she had and now he's dead. She needs the money. But I'm the other hand...
I need money.
"Bad karma to be implicated in a felony too." Pope empathizing the word felony.
"Only a felony if we get caught" I stated and JJ pointed at me in agreement.
"We gotta go dark." Pope concluded.
"If that means we get to keep the money, then I agree." JJ replied walking over to John B and leaning against the railing beside him look outside.
"I don't agree." John B stated turning to JJ.
"What?" I said confused
"Why?" JJ asked, also confused.
"Just think about it." John B said walking to the middle of the porch and turning to the rest of us.
"This is Scooter Grubbs we're talking about. Alright? Same dude who's buying individual cigarettes at the Porthole. Shit, one time I saw this dude begging for change in the Save-A-Lot parking lot cause he needed gas! We're talking about, a dirtbag marina day who's never had more than 40 buck in his pocket and all the sudden he has a Grady-White? Just saying." He shrugged as he finished his speech.
We walked out to the deck to start fishing where we continued our conversation about the money. John B and Kiara were sitting on the railing as JJ and Pope fished off it. I was sitting on the deck with my arms resting on the railing in front of my head and my feet hanging off the deck above the water.
"So think about it, Pope. How does a marina rat get a Grady-White."
Pope inhaled before letting out a breath. "Prostitution." he said bluntly.
"Square Groupers bro. Okay? Flying under the radar. No surveillance. They don't do that stuff during a hurricane." John B corrected. "What does that mean? JJ?"
"They were straight smuggling." JJ replied keeping his eye on his pole.
"Smuggling. And I guarantee that there is a serious amount of contraband in that wreck."
"Hell yeah." I said blankly staring at the water.
"Fish on!" JJ yelled.
We walked back into the Château and gathered in John B's room. I sat on the edge of the bed examining the money, Pope at the head of it. Kiara sat at a desk in the corner, John B in a chair and JJ in the window sill.
Pope snatched the money from out of my hand. "For the record, if that is a smuggling ship, with illegal contraband it probably belongs to someone else..."
"Minor details" Kiara interrupted. I smiled at the girl.
"They could come looking for it. Taking it would be... catastrophically stupid" Pope concluded.
JJ leaned over me and snatched the money out of Pope's hand.
"Right well, stupid things..." he said as he fanned the money out on front of his face, "...have good outcomes all the time." I hummed in agreement.
"all we need to do is figure out a way to get into that cargo hold of the wreck. Until then we just..." JJ trailed off
"Lay low." I finished for him.
"Just act normal." he added looking from me to the group.
"Right and how exactly do we do that?" Pope asked.
A smile appeared on my face as I got the greatest idea ever.
"Kegger?"
✩✩✩
"Tally-ho" John B whooped as him and JJ lifted the keg.
"Hey-up"
We made our way over to the boneyard, Kiara holding the pump for the keg and me and Pope carrying the red solo cups. With some terrible flirting I managed to get us a keg, in which JJ and John B set down in the sand.
Kie tossed JJ the pump and we got ready for the event. JJ sprayed John B in the face with the beer in the keg and we all laughed. We filled up cups for ourselves. I attempted to hand on to Pope.
"No. No hell no." he declined
"I'll take it." JJ said as he took the cup from me.
Before long, people started to show up at the party, drinking, laughing and just having a good time.
John B:
Alright you can't understand the Outer Banks without understanding the Boneyard. It's kinda like a three layer burrito.
There's us and our friends. The working-class stare derelicts from The Cut.
Then there are the Kooks. The rich second Homer's. Their mostly from pouncy-ass boarding schools. Just rich, trustafarian posers. Our natural enemies.
And then there are the Tourons. Totally clueless here here for a week on vacation with their families. Chum for the sharks.
Back to Elliot:
We all partyed on, flirting with Tourons and playing drinking games. I had scoped out some cute Tourons and playfully flirted with them as John B, JJ, Kiara, and Pope did the same.
Kegger's were always a blast. Looking at it from the outside, you see a bunch of underaged kids drinking and getting wasted and making fools of themselves. But on the inside, it was called "having fun" Something today's adults frown on.
I was feeling a bit buzzed as the sun started setting and I made my way over to Kie. I sling my arm around her shoulders and pulled her away from the boy she was currently talking to. She laughed at my tipsy state. I pulled us over towards John B. Then I saw her.
"What is she doing here?" Kiara said towards the girl who was standing on top of a wooden tower.
Sarah Cameron. Kook princess. Her and Kiara were best friends freshman year, when Kiara starting attending Kook academy. But something happened and in sophmore year, they were enemies. I worked on her dad's boat sometimes with John B so I've seen her around. Sarah had never done anything to me personally, except for dirty looks every once in a while. But since Kiara hated her, and Kiara is my best friend, I hated her as well.
A boy held his hand out for Sarah laughing at the girl.
"What are you doing Sarah get down!"
Then that's Topper, Sarah's boyfriend. He was the ideal definition of a Kook. Rich. Stuck up. Button up polo shirts and cargo shorts and Sperrys with gelled down hair. Him and his crew whivh included Rafe Cameron and Kelce would always trash on us Pogues. I've cleaned his boat a few times. It's good money, and from what I've seen, his mom isn't the nicest human being. I remember one time I was cleaning his boat, I heard his mom yelling at him and he stormed out of the house. His eyes were watering and he didn't know I was there. He ended up punching the wall and then he saw me. He rolled his eyes before yelling at me "Get back to work Pogue." and walking off. I just flipped him off before going back to cleaning. He actually thinks that Pogues were bred to mow lawns.
Topper helped Sarah off the tower before the two walked off hand in hand.
As the night carried on, so did the drinking. JJ challenged me to a drinking contest to see who could down their beer fastest. He wouldn't accept defeat so we kept going more and more. We were wasted.
He drunkenly threw his arm over my shoulder and together we stumbled over the John B. He started laughing at how drunk we were.
"Hey yo John B!" I yelled to him.
"We got this for you!" JJ slurred holding out a cup to John B
"For me?" He replied acting shocked. I was sent into a drunk fit of laughter.
"Wait," JJ said turning towards the people walking towards us with the drink. "Hey-Hey Sarah! Sarah!"
"Hi" she replied.
"Sarah! Can I interest you in a tasty Milwaukee beverage." JJ said in his best waiter voice. I saw the look on Toppers face and knew this wasn't going to end well. I placed my hand on JJ's arm trying to get him to walk away but he didn't.
"No thanks." Sarah said eyeing the blonde with a cup in his hand. The wind was blowing all our hair in every which way.
"What is it not fancy enough for you?" JJ smirked.
"You know what- I'll-I'll take it man thank you!" Topper said reaching for the drink with a fake polite smile and a mocking tone to his voice.
shit.
"Oh, that's nice of you to offer that Topper, but I didn't ask you." JJ said with a fake polite smile as well.
shit.
"If you said pretty please maybe, but you didn't-" JJ started
"Oh. Oh pretty please?" Topper said reaching for the cup again
"Yeah so Sarah-" JJ said turning to the girl.
"She said she didn't want it!" Topper shouted knocking the drink out of JJ's hand and spilling it over him, me, and John B.
shit.
JJ grabbed the collar of Toppers shirt and brought him towards him. I grabbed onto JJ's arm and John B did the same as we pulled him off of Topper.
"Your so funny man!" JJ snarled as we pulled him away.
"Dirty Pogues!" Topper yelled at us. John B let go of his hold on JJ and pushed Topper harshly.
SHIT.
"John B. We're supposed to be incognito remember!" Pope yelled trying to calm John B down.
Topper swung a hard punch to John B's face with a hard thud. John B fell to into the water.
"Hey John B! Don't make me drown you like your old man okay?" Topper yelled to him. John B got up and tackled the Kook to the ground.
OH SHIT!
All hell broke lose.
A crowd formed around the two boys as they continued to punch eachother. Kiara and Pope continued to yell at John B to stop and Sarah did the same with Topper.
The boys separated and circled around eachother. John B punched Topper with a satisfying crunch.
"That's what I'm talking about!" JJ yelled
"Yes! Come one John B give it to him!" I cheered.
Pope and Kiara looked at us as if we were crazy as we egged on the fight.
Topper punched John B in the eye and I winced. That's gonna leave a mark.
"Come on!"
"You wanna go?" John B and Topper started yelling at eachother. The boys ran at eachother and John B threw Topper into the water.
"Come on Topper! Let's go!" John B yelled over the crowds chants.
John B ran towards Topper and Topper flipped him over his shoulder and pushed him into the water. He held his head under the water.
I looked at the sight with wide eyes. He was drowning him.
"He's drowning him!" Pope yelled
Without thinking, I ran over to Topper and tackled him. I managed to get him off of John B.
Topper looked at me and punched me in the cheek. "Stay out of this Ellie it isn't your fight!" He spat at me before turning back to John B and holding his head back under water.
I felt dizzy and me cheek was exploding with pain as I struggled to regain my balance.
I made eye contact with JJ. He was pissed. He turned around and grabbed something before walking over to Topper.
He pressed the gun we found at the motel to the back of the Kook's and turned off the safety.
Topper froze.
"Yeah you know what that is." JJ seethed "Your move broski!"
Most of the crowd ran away at the sight of JJ having a gun.
"JJ! JJ! Put the gun down!" Sarah yelled to him.
"Did you say something princess" JJ shouted back in a mocking tone as he continued to press the gun to Topper's head.
"We're good. We're good." Topper said his voice full of fear as he lifted his hands off of John B's head.
I looked at JJ and he looked back at me. I slightly nodded at him and he pulled the gun away from Topper. Topper ran over to Sarah.
"Kie! Can you check your psycho friend please!" Sarah yelled
"Says the bitch who's boyfriend just tried to drown someone!" I yelled at Sarah
"Alright everyone listen up!" JJ shouted to the remaining crowd. "Get the hell, off our side of the island!" He lifted the gun in the air and fired two shots. I flinched at the shots and everyone ran off.
Pope and Kiara ran to JJ.
"Are you crazy? You idiot" Pope said pushing JJ
"Stupid!" Kiara yelled
"Why would you do that!" Pope shouted at the blonde.
"I was saving his life okay?" JJ shouted back referring to John B.
I looked over to John B and saw him fall back into the water. I quickly stumbled over to him and set his head in my lap. He had passed out.
"Guys!" I shouted to the trio that was still arguing. "John B passed out!"
The three ran over and we all picked him up, going back to the Château.
✩✩✩
After tonight's events, Kiara and Pope went to their own houses and me and JJ stayed at the Château. Currently I was making sure John B was okay. He was still out due to the fight. I ran my fingers through his hair and pulled the blanket up over him.
I walked out of the room closing the door quietly behind me. JJ sat leaning on the counter looking at the floor. When I walked out he looked up at me.
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly.
"I'm okay. Are you?" I looked at him as I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a water out of the fridge.
"I'm so sorry Elliot." JJ said facing me as I sat on the couch.
"What? Why?" I furrowed my eyebrows.
"I shouldn't have pulled the gun." JJ began as he sat down next to me looking at the floor. "I shouldn't have pulled the gun, I shouldn't have shot the gun, I shouldn't have let you go after Topper like that. I should've kept you safe. I'm so sorry Ellie."
"JJ." I looked at him. He was still looking at the floor. I softly cupped the side of his face with my hand and turned him so he faced me. I looked into his blue eyes.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. You were protecting John B. It's not like you were actually going to shoot Topper. You're not a killer JJ. And as it goes for me, I was drunk, and I wasnt thinking clearly and I acted on impulse. There's nothing you could've done. And besides. Topper punches like a nine year old girl."
JJ chuckled at that last part before his eyes moved to my cheek. His finger grazed it and I winced.
"Doesn't look like it came from a nine year old girl." He said as he examined the bruise forming.
He got up from the couch and walked to the freezer. He got a bag and put some ice in it. He walked back over to me and handed me the ice.
"Put this on so it doesn't swell."
I took the ice and pressed it to my cheek. We sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before we both yawned at the same time.
"We should probably go to sleep." I chuckled
"Yeah your right. You can take the bed I'll sleep out here." He responded pointing to the couch.
"You sure?" I asked. "You can take the bed if you want. I can sleep on the couch."
"E. Go go bed." He said looking me in the eyes. I sighed as I got up and walked to the room.
"Goodnight JJ."
"Goodnight Skip."
✩✩✩
In the middle of the night I woke up to the sound of my door opening. I looked over.
In walked a shirtless JJ, who was rubbing his eyes and yawning. I giggled at his sleepy state.
He stopped in his tracks and looked at me. "Shit did I wake you up."
"It's fine" I laughed. "Couldn't sleep?"
"Yeah the couch isn't very comfortable." He sighed as he crawled into bed next to me.
"I told you I could've taken the couch." I said as I started getting up to go to the couch.
I was stopped by a pair of arms wrapping around my waist. He pulled me back down into the bed and cuddled close to me.
"Just sleep right here." he said with his eyes closed.
"JJ-"
"Shhhhh. Sleep." He cut me off wrapping him arms around me thighter.
I got comfortable in the blondes arms. I layed my head on his chest and we both relaxed into eachother. I couldn't help but smile at how I felt with his arms wrapped around my waist as I heard his soft snores. I felt safe.
I fell asleep listening to the sound of the boy's beating heart.
word count: 3001