✩✩✩
We got out of the van and looked up at the lighthouse. On our way here we passed a sign that said it was closed due to the storm but that's never stopped us before.
"Alright here's whats gonna happen. Your gonna post up and watch out for Bogey's okay?" John B stated pointing at JJ.
"Wait. Why me." JJ said offended.
"Cause you're not coming." Pope replied.
"Why?"
"Look JJ there are independent variables and dependent variables. You're an independent variable." Pope reasoned
"What does that even mean?" I said confused
"We don't know what you'll do." Pope answered.
"Shut up Pope! Just shut up!" JJ and Pope started yelling at eachother and JJ pointed his finger at Pope.
"Just listen to me for a second! Just listen" John B stopped them. "Pope you stay on look out with JJ. Okay? If we get split up we meet back at JJ's house"
"Great." Kiara said. I started to walk away with them but John B stopped me.
"You're not going either."
"What?" I furrowed my eyebrows.
"You are also an independent variable." Pope said. I flipped him off. I looked up at the lighthouse seeing how high up it is. Knowing me I'd probably accidentally push one of them off or myself. I sighed in defeat.
"Fine." The other two walked towards the lighthouse.
"I'm gonna work on my merit scholarship essay. And I'm tryna keep felonies down to a minimum." Pope said to me and JJ.
"Alright will you just shut up already." JJ said as he kicked around a hanky sack.
As he continued to kick the hacky sack, I ran up to him and stole it. He looked at me and did a fake gasp.
"E, that is mine."
"Take it." I teased as I held it behind my back.
He lunged at me and I ran the opposite way. He eventually caught up to me and grabbed my waist and pulled me to the ground. I started laughing as we wrestled eachother for the toy. He eventually got on top of me and pinned my hands to the ground.
We locked eyes and both of our laughs stopped. We just looked at eachother. I felt myself blush as I realized how close we were. His eyes went to my lips and back to my eyes. I did the same for him.
My brain was going insane. I didn't know how to proceed. I was frozen. My skin was on fire and my stomach was erupting with butterflies. I had never felt this way before.
Then suddenly he started to tickle me. I started laughing so hard.
"No no no no no no!" I laughed hysterically. He had a huge grin on his face as he tickled my sides. I tried to get away but he had me pinned to the ground and I couldn't move. I had tears coming out of my eyes from laughing so much.
"Oh that's cute." Pope chuckled from behind us. We both quickly got up to our feet as blush creeped onto our faces.
Pope held up his hand signaling for me to throw him the toy. Soon we were in a game of pass. I for one would throw the sack as hard as I could at the boys and they would try and catch it. Great anger release if I'm being honest.
We were cut off by sirens.
"Oh shit."
Without a second of hesitation we sprinted to the van. JJ in the driver's seat, Pope in the passenger's and me in the back leaning in between them. JJ started the engine and drove off. I looked out the back window and saw John B and Kie jumping the fence and running away.
JJ noticed my worried glance. "They said if we split up we meet back at my house. They'll be fine E." I nodded at his words.
We continued to drive making small talk about anything and everything.
I couldn't get my mind off of two things. One, if John b and Kie were okay, and two, what the hell happened with JJ back there.
Why did I feel that way. Why did it happen. What even was it? And why am I so worried about it? Was he thinking the same thing? Were we really about to kiss?
There's no way. I mean he probably was just trying to catch me off guard so he could get the hanky sack. Right?
My thoughts were cut short when the van came to a stop. I looked up and we were at JJ's house. Luckily, his dad was away so we were okay to hang out there until John B and Kie met us there.
✩✩✩
We sat around at JJ's house for a few hours while me and JJ smoked and talked with Pope.
We were outside just sitting on the porch when John B drove up. We positioned for us to get in the van.
"Let's ride." JJ said as he pushed himself off the wall and walked towards the van.
"This better be good." Pope sighed.
I got up from the floor and followed JJ and Pope followed the two of us.
"Where's Kie?" I asked as I got into the van.
"We uh, we got arrested." John B answered.
"You what?" I exclaimed.
"Her dad bailed us out."
"Great he hates us even more now. So im assuming she's at the Wreck working?" I sighed.
"Yeah we're going to pick her up."
I sighed as I sat back down in my seat. JJ was in the passenger's seat and Pope was in the back with me while John B drove.
When we got to The Wreck John B told me to go in and get Kiara. I hopped out of the van and jogged in the door.
When I opened the door, the little bell dinged and I saw Kiara cleaning off some tables. She was wearing a green headband that covered the majority of the top of her head and forehead. She was wearing a white t shirt that was tied up and light wash jeans.
"Hey girly!" I said as I walked over to her.
"Hey E." She smiled.
"So uh John B's waiting outside. We got the crew, and he wants to go on another adventure." I sighed with an eye roll.
"You guys can go without me." She said looking back down to the table she was washing.
"What?" I furrowed my eyebrows.
"I'm kinda tired and I need to help my dad finish up. It's okay you guys can go without me." She smiled.
"Kie..." I trailed off with worry in my voice.
"John B kissed me." she blurted out. My eyes widened and my eyebrows raised. I let out a small laugh.
"He kissed you?" I yelled out.
"Shhhhh!" She scolded me.
"He kissed you?" I whisper yelled.
"Yeah." She sighed.
"Well...did you like it?" I asked curious what she was feeling.
"I don't know." She sighed. "Like it's whatever I guess, but the rules and he's my best friend you know?"
"Well what did you do? Did you kiss back?"
"No I pushed him off."
I bursted out laughing. The group of people of people who were eating gave me glares. I doubled over laughing before I saw them glare and quickly shut my mouth to muffle my laughs.
Kie looked me dead in the eyes and I stopped laughing, just leaving myself with a tight lipped smile. She sighed.
"But seriously you guys can just go without me."
"Alright." I sighed. I gave her a quick kiss on the head before waving and walking out if the restaurant.
The boys in the van turned their heads to me as I leaned against the railing.
"She said she's not coming."
"Why not?" JJ said confused. He turned to John B, "What'd you do to her John B?"
I shook my head with a small laugh as I got in the back.
"Shit." John B said. "Hang on. I deal with it." He got out of the van. I watched him walk inside with a smirk.
JJ turned back to me.
"What'd he do."
"Broke his own rule." I said with a smirk.
"No way." JJ laughed, "He kissed her?"
I smiled to him and turned my attention to the two that were now walking out of the building.
Kiara got in the back with me and Pope and we drove off.
Again.
✩✩✩
We all just sat silently in the car waiting to get where John B was taking us next. A lot had happened today.
"Mind if I just relax on this one." JJ said in the back with me and Pope. He held up a blunt. " It's been a long day and alot of weird stuff's gone down."
He was right.
We witnessed Miss Lana get home invaded.
Then we got home invaded.
We went to the lighthouse.
John B and Kie got arrested.
And now we were going to the next spot.
"Oh did you want a hit of this?" He asked holding up the blunt to Pope.
Pope held out his hand to bloke it.
"I keep the signal clear."
"My signals been clear for a bit too long." I said as I took to blunt and took a drag, handing it back to JJ.
"You know what your problem is? You don't get creative. If you got creative then..." JJ started to tease Pope.
"Look I-I know I was wrong about the lighthouse. And pretty much everything else that was going on but I was right about one thing. Okay, my dad is trying to tell me something." John B said his voice full of hope.
It was dark out and we had music playing softly on the radio as we drove. I drifted off to sleep.
I was shaken awake. I opened my eyes to see JJ in front of me.
"We're here." He said softly. I yawned and looked around. Everyone was out of the van. He took my hand and helped me to my feet as we stepped out of the van.
"What the fuck?" I said dumbfounded at the place we were. "A graveyard. At night. That's like classic horror movie suicide."
"Come on." John B said as we walked through the graveyard.
"I'm coming." Kiara responded. "This place is scary."
"Horror movie." I whispered to JJ as we shared a blunt. We were both too high to see the actual dangers around us.
"John B what are we doing?" Kiara asked.
"Shut up." He shushed. "Okay so you know you try and remember a song and you can't remember who sings it?"
"Yeah?"
"So Redfield this whole time I thought it was a place right? But it's not a place." John B said as he stopped in front of a tomb that read Redfield. "It's a person."
"Voi-effing-lá" JJ exclaimed sarcastically.
"it's my great great grandmother Olivia. Redfield. that was her maiden name." He said holding out his lantern to shine on the giant tomb. It was covered in vines and was completely made of stone.
"Look help me with the door. Come on." John B told us signaling to the door of the tomb.
"Alright." Pope said as he walked over the the tomb. I walked over as well and we started to push on the door, grunting as we did so.
"Are you pushing?" Pope grunted
"Yeah pretty sure." I replied
"Come on." John B groaned.
"Here I got it." JJ said confidently as he walked over and started pushing with us.
"Com on this door's like 700 pounds man it's not gonna budge." Pope said as we all grunted putting in more effort to open the tomb.
"We didn't come this far, to get this far alright?" JJ groaned. I backed up from the tomb to regain my breath. I walked over to where Kiara was watching us in amusement.
Just as JJ finished is sentence, there was a hiss from the tomb and a giant snake slithered out. The boys all jumped and backed up, JJ running straight into me.
"That's a moccasin alright." He exclaimed. "Ye olde Doctor Cottonmouth. Death in tall grass." He said in some weird accent that was a mix of southern, and British. Then, he started barking. Barking!
"JJ!"
"JJ shut up." I grabbed him from behind and pulled him away from the snake.
"You're gonna wake the freaking dead man!" Pope sighed
"What? They're afraid of dogs man everyone knows that!" he said in a duh tone.
We all turned our attention back towards the tomb before we were once again stopped by JJ.
"Wait wait wait." He said putting his arm out in front of me.
"What?" We all asked.
"If there's one there's probably dozens."
"Stop your scaring me." Kiara complained.
JJ then started barking again, this time at the tomb.
"JJ stop barking at the snakes." John B whisper shouted.
I clamped my hand over his mouth and he looked at me with wide eyes. I looked at him and my face said "What the fuck are you doing" I let go of his face and he looked to the four of us, we were all giving him the same look.
"I was just making sure it was clear-"
"JJ shut up." Pope scolded. "John, look, we're not gonna get in there. Alright? It's not possible. We should probably just go."
We paused for a moment to see what John B would come up with this time.
"I can get through." The four of us turned to Kiara as she pointed at the hole in the tomb with her flashlight.
"What?" John B asked. "No no no no you think you're gonna fit through the hole. That hole?"
"Look this is about your dad. And honestly I really don't believe in in but, you deserve to know the truth." Kiara shrugged. "I'll do it."
"Come on." Kiara pointed to the vines. "Can you help me with that."
The four of us walked over and held the vines out of the way so she could get through.
"Ready? Here we go." John b said as we started pulling the vines out of the way.
"Oh God." I grunted as a vine whipped me in the face and hitting the faint bruise I got from the Kegger.
"Got it?" Kie asked us.
"Yeah. Got it." Pope replied.
"Give her a boost." John B told JJ. He let go of the vines and put his back against the wall so he was sitting against it.
"I'm gonna boost you." He told Kie. "I've seen it in the movies several times."
"Expert." I rolled my eyes sarcastically.
"Ready?"
"Remind me what we're looking for?" Kie asked John B. He paused for a moment.
"You'll know when you see it." He said softly.
"That's very specific." I said ruining the serious moment.
"Hold my flashlight." Kie said handing me her flashlight. She seemed nervous.
"Hey" I said serious, looking her in the eyes, "You got this. You're a bad Bitch. Olivia Redfield's got nothing on Kiara Carrera."
She chuckled at my comment and gave me a nod.
"Okay, put your hands right there." JJ directed Kiara, "Feet here. Yeah"
"Alright"
"On three." JJ stated. "One-" but was cut off by Kiara just pushing herself up into the hole.
"Okay just forget about three."
I heard Kiara's feet hit the ground. We all listened carefully.
"Okay, flashlight?" Kiara asked.
I passed the flashlight to her the flashlight through the hole.
"Here."
After a few moments of silence John B asked, "You alive?"
"Got like a-a heart beat and everything?" I added with worry for my best friend.
"So far." She replied.
"Thats-thats good." John B concluded.
"I need some more light." Kie called out.
"Yeah yeah here you go." John B said as he held out his lantern into the tomb to illuminate the space.
"You find something? Is there gold?" JJ asked.
"Oh my God."
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