₊ ⊹

"No effing way!" Kiara shouted, her voice echoing through the small space of John B's chateau. Sarah and I sat on the worn-out couch, watching her pace like a storm ready to strike. "You brought them here? So what? They're in on this now?" Her glare burned through us like she could cut us in half just by looking.

The boys exchanged glances, silent but clearly uncomfortable with the tension in the room.

"Look, all I care about is that their cut comes out of your share," JJ commented lazily from where he leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, giving serious looks to John B.

I whipped my head toward him, my brows furrowing in confusion. He just shrugged, as if his comment wasn't worth an explanation.

"You know, I don't remember taking a vote," Kiara continued, her voice as bitter as it could be. "This is our thing. A Pogue thing."

Pope cleared his throat, shifting nervously. "I gotta say, I'm just a tad uncomfortable with all of this."

John B rolled his eyes at him, exasperated. "Thank you, Pope. When are you not uncomfortable?"

"I dunno," Pope shot back, glancing at JJ. "I rode here on the back of JJ's bike pretty comfortably."

"It's true," JJ chimed in, smirking. "Most relaxed I've ever seen him."

John B groaned. "That's cute, guys."

Kiara ignored their banter, her focus locked on me and Sarah. "You know, we were all extremely comfortable until you brought them." Her voice was sharp, hitting us as hard as it could but also getting on our nerves.

"Stop talking about us like we're not here!" I snapped, jumping to my feet and locking eyes with her.

"Then leave," she shot back, her voice firm. She took a step forward, closer to me. She was on fire, I could feel the hate, but that wasn't gonna make me step back

"Told you," Sarah muttered, giving John B a pointed look.

"Told him what, exactly? That you're a liar?" Kiara's voice rose, and she took a step aside as she turned her attention to Sarah.

"No," Sarah said sharply, her tone colder than I'd ever heard it. "That you're a shit-talking bitch."

The room went dead silent for a moment, making only Pope and JJ's whispers to each other audible.

"Twenty bucks says Kiara slaps her," JJ muttered.

"No way," Pope whispered back. "Malia is on Sarah's team, and she is too quick. My money's on a verbal takedown."

"Y'all are ridiculous," John B grumbled, rubbing his temples, but even he couldn't stop the small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

A fight broke out, and we three were at each other's throats, hurling insults like grenades, until John B's voice cut through the chaos.

"Stop it. Just stop!" he shouted, his tone sharp enough to make us pause.

He turned to Kiara, his expression a mix of determination and hesitation. "Kie, you're my best friend, right?"

I rolled my eyes. This was nonsense. Why did Sarah have to get involved with this boy of all people? The island wasn't exactly short on guys who would do anything for her, and yet she chose John B.

"And Sarah, you're..." John B hesitated, and Sarah let out a chuckle, already knowing what he wanted to say. It made my stomach turn.

I sighed, leaning against the rail and letting my gaze drift to the horizon. It was a beautiful day, but this mess was ruining it.

John B finally spoke, his voice cracking slightly. "You're my girlfriend," he admitted, a big, stupid grin spreading across his face like he'd just solved all the world's problems.

"Oh, that's new," Pope muttered sarcastically.

Kiara's face turned red with fury. "She's your girlfriend now? What about all that talk about using her for information? 'Get a map, cut her loose'—ring any bells?"

My jaw dropped. "You said that about her?" I asked, shocked.

"No! I didn't," John B protested, but JJ piped up from the back, smirking. "Yeah, you did."

Sarah's smile faltered as she turned to John B. "You said those things about me?" she asked, her voice quieter now, almost trembling.

John B fumbled for words. "Look, love just kind of walked in, okay?"

Love? Really? Since when?

"Oh, vomit," Kiara said, pulling a face. I couldn't help but feel the same.

John B shrugged helplessly. "I didn't expect it. It just... it happened. And I'm not gonna deny it."

Pope leaned in close, whispering, "Oh, that's corny."

From behind, JJ made exaggerated gagging sounds, which I would've laughed at if the situation weren't so absurd.

"Cut the bullshit, John B," I said, trying to steer the conversation back to something resembling sanity.

Kiara folded her arms, her voice dripping with frustration. "If she's in, I'm out."

Her words were mine exactly.

"I'm not doing this. I can't," Kiara continued, stepping closer to John B. "You're gonna decide. Right here, right now."

John B looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Kiara smirked, but her tone was icy. "Me or her?"

He hesitated for a long moment before blurting out the most ridiculous answer possible. "Both."

Pope and JJ exchanged amused glances, whispering, "Ooh." I let out a low whistle. "Went for the Hail Mary," I muttered.

Kiara's jaw tightened. Without another word, she turned on her heel and stormed off.

I shook my head. "Well, nice to see you, John B. Congrats on making this ten times worse and very uncomfortable, but I'm out." I bowed in front of him in sarcasm and gestured for Sarah to follow.

Sarah hesitated, glancing back at John B. "Let me know when you've sorted this out," she said before walking after me.

We left without another word, slamming the door behind us.

"God Sarah that shit bag is what you chose?" I groaned, reversing my car and driving back to figure 8. She got lost in deep thoughts. "Yo, dream girl, back to earth and tell me what happens next?" Sarah took a deep breath. "Next, nothing, we will see him tomorrow." I rolled my eyes at her, thinking why did I sign up for this.

But somewhere deep inside me, it felt nice. It took years for me to come out of the figure 8 chains, and now I'm gonna make the best out of it.