Nothing.

We had found nothing but the boat, the rusted down, barnacle filled, royal merchant.

" just pull the drone up" john b sighed " Bee" i sighed knowing this hurt him more than me." we can do another pass . We can recharge the battery and go back down " pope tried to give hope

" we went through it three times there's nothing there " JJ grunted" JJ !" i  shouted at him, he wasn't making anything better right now." what? It's true " he shouted back" the gold could be buried we don't know " Kie hummed

" if it was there , it would have been found on the metal detector . Someone already took it " john b stated I walked into the area JJ was in and leaned on the wall

" or it was never there " JJ said under his breath" time and place,JJ. " I said to him with my arms folded.When john b dropped everyone off I decided to go with Kie . Give john b some time ...

" I cant believe we did all that work and nothing.... absolutely nothing " I said to Kie as we sat on her bed

" welcome back to the pogue life " she sighed

" yeah..."

" hey , have you gotten anything about dcs recently?" Kie asked

" no .now that I think about it not in a few days . " I said " that's another thing i'm worried about.... like what If me and john b get separated again.... or I cant see you , or pope, or jj"

" don't worry about any of that right now. c'mon we gotta go pick up jj and pope and john b for the movie I have the cooler in the fridge " kie says

" k"

After we picked up pope and jj we headed to the chateau to pick up john b

To our surprise he wasn't there .

And with not having any cell service we couldn't call him. So he missed out. i was a bit worried about him  due to the heavy situation of before but i knew he was self sufficient enough.

After we got to the park where the movie was held we started to walk to some empty spots

" I'm so glad they're still doing this. Keep calm carry on back to OBX life " kie says as we carry our things to the empty lawn spot

" aren't you guys glad I made you come ?" I asked them with a big smile

" ecstatic " pope said as we put down our chairs and set up

" my couch was pretty comfy I'll be honest." Jj says sitting down in his chair" you are such a grump" I took my palm and shoved it to jj's head, he pushed away from me and smiled  with a his eyes squinted.

I set up kies blanket with her then hearing some muffled whispers coming from pope and jj

" I'm gonna go get some soda . Okay?" Kie said and I nodded

" yall good over here ?" I asked pope and JJ as they were acting suspicious

" mmh ... yup " JJ hummed as pope nodded

I put my blanket on the floor infront of jj then sitting down, not too far later, kie came back with the sodas

" just saw rafe he said and I quote ' tell your boy that we know what he did ." Kie said sitting down, I furrowed my eyebrows" where is he ?" Jj gulped nervously

"right there " kie pointed out

The two boyswhipped there necks around

" great the whole death squad " pope said

Jj turned his head back to the screen
" don't stare bro "

Me and kie gave eachother a look of confusion

" I'm on edge right now so if they corner me im gonna come out slicing and dicing. And if that doesn't work I've got this " jj says then holding up his backpack

" jj please tell me you don't have the gun there are kids around " kie gritted her teeth" no kie I do not have the gun." Jj whispered

" jj . You know the rule no secrets among pogues. So, tell us what is happening " I said in a frustrated sigh" just know that it might go down tonight " pope whispered, his body stiff in his chair " it might go down tonight?" I hummed"what are you even on about?" I squinted and  settled back down.

After the sun had gone down the movie came on

It was old and boring so I laid my head against jjs knee

" jj. I gotta take a piss" pope said I cringed my face, leaning up" no one needed to know that " I whispered

" hold it "

" I cant hold it I drank to much soda ."

" it's too exposed they'll totally see us "

" theres a tree over behind the screen go use that " I said, doing anything to get out of this conversation.

" thank you " pope stood up

" anything to make you stop talking about piss" I forced a smile out" hey where are you going ?" Kie asked them
" going to wring it out " jj said" what are you gonna hold it for eachother?" Kie asked with her face  furrowing.

The boys walked away quickly.After about 30 seconds I saw rafe , topper and kelce walking towards the boys direction

I though nothing of it for a second before I saw jjs bag on the ground next to me . Something didnt feel right .

" kie, cmon . " I said grabbing jjs bag" why ?" Kie put her drink down and  stood from her chair.. crouching as to not make a scene.

" just let's go !" I ran behind the screen to see pope and jj fighting the three other boys.I handed kie jjs bag

" let go of him you facest asshole " kie hit topper with backpack

Rafe took hold of kie and pulled her

I ran over to jj where he was getting choked by kelce

I pulled out my knife from my pocket opening it quickly" kelce. let go."  i drew the knife to the boys arm, his eyes went wide.He let go of jj quickly

" that wasnt so hard was it " I said as jj tried to catch his breath

Kelce grabbed my wrist , prying the metal knife out of my hand.   he held my  wrist back tightly, i gasped at the feeling, he  pressed my knife firmly to my wrist cutting them."aughh!"i ripped my wrist away. " hey kelce!" jjs voice caught the boys attention as i dropped to the ground my wrist  running red. soon  kelce was rolling around the ground next to me and the screen next to me was on fire. the three kooks fleaing the scene" lex ! You okay? Are you good?" Jj ran over to me bombarding me with questions

I shook my head" that bitch cut me" jj looked down at my wrist" okay, yeah we've gotta get you fixed like right now. thats alot of blood" he helped me off the ground collecting the knife kelce had dropped and his back pack.

jj and i sat in the back of kies car, him  wrapping my wrist up with one of kies old headbands she had chucked in the back of her car until we could get me real bandages."i can't belive he would actually do this to you." pope leaned back over his seat" we have to tell the cops, thats assult. might even be counted as attempted murder." kie said still focusing on the road. jj looked to me with a deeply concerned look " its not like the cops will do anything, they'll say its my fault for getting in the fight in the first place. kooks always win"i sighed out  rubbing my thumb against my sore wrist.

I stayed at kies that night after seeing john b wasn't home still

" hey my mom just texted me . She asked if you wanted to be my plus one for mid summers " kie asked i rolled my eyes" midd summers...kook ville usa? after getting assulted? no thanks."i shook my head " itll be no fun without you. and we can steal drinks from the bar" kie tried to convince me " fine. but only for you, i hope you know that ."

~

Me, pope, kie, and jj were hanging out at Heyward's

" don't let it get in your head bro . There was three of them and two of us that's typical kook shit right there ." Jj said throwing an orange up in the air and catching it

" hell, yeah. " kie said

" what was your thought process when using your head ?" Jj asked pope

" I dont know man I just kinda acted off instinct . Ok I was a cornered animal " pope says

" hey pope , someone here to see you " Heyward announced, his body shifting from his son and back to the door where shouppe walked in. i squinted an eye,wondering if this had anything to do with the fight last night.

" evening officer " pope said nervously

" I have an arrest warrant for a felony destruction of property. Keep your hands on the counter where I can see them . Young lady out of my way ." Shouppe walked over to pope

" whoa. Shoupe what he do ?" heyward questioned

" read the warrant Heyward"

" be careful !"

" wheres the proof?!"

" shouppe are you listening?"

" you cant arrest him !"

As pope got escorted all of our words jumbled togather not being able to make out a single sentence.I felt tension rise as shouppe went to open the car door. my mouth hung open words about to vomit out  when"It wasnt him !"jj yelled

Everyone stopped in there tracks

" it was me . He tried to talk me out of it , but I was mad because he had just been beaten up . And I was so sick of those assholes from figure eight that I lost my shit . " jj said

" I cant let you take the blame for something I did . You've got too much to lose . " jj admitted

I dont think jj did it ... no . I know he didn't. I didn't even know what  the "it" was 
But he took one for pope . Cause that's who he's a pogue.

" jj what are you doing ?" Pope asked

" I'm telling the truth for once in my god damn life I'm telling the truth . I took his old man's boat too . He's a good kid ... you know where i'm from" jj told shouppe

" is that the truth ?" Shouppe asked pope

" ....yeah that about covers it " pope said,Shouppe unlocked the handcuffs from pope and put them on jj

I watched as the car drove away

I knew jj didn't anything but it still hurt seeing him getting escorted

" shit !" Pope threw his cap off  and dug his foot into the dirt, kicking it up.

~

 a few hours had passed and no word from jj.he was tough, i knew it. but it hadn't stopped me from worrying,kie and i had just gotten finished getting ready.

" how yall girls doing in here ?" Anna came into kies room after a few knocks on the door

" we're good . Thank you again mrs. Carrera for inviting me " I thanked her

" no problem honey . I thought it would be nice for you two . Ya know you guys are always hanging with those boys so some girl time is past due" she said " alright well me and your dad will be in the car when you girls are ready "

We bolth nodded as she walked out

" I look like a bourgeoisie pig " kie said, adjusting her dress in the mirror

" I still can't believe they host this thing each year .... I mean there's no power on the cut we barely have water running " I shook my head

" right . Like what the hell. But atleast this time i have you to talk to instead of sitting alone at a table drinking carbonated water and eating overpriced foods " kie hummed

I laughed" I would kill to eat some overpriced foods" I  said  and  kie smiled" well you're in luck"

" alright c'mon "

After we got in the car we drove straight to the midsummer's venue

Me and kie walked around for a bit before seeing pope

" excuse me sir ? Do we have to shuck these ourselves cause it might mess up my costume " kie said in a British accent " oh yes, that would be simply horrid" i copied her accent

Pope turned with an irritated face quickly turning to a smile" we wouldn't want that now would we " pope chuckled then doing the pogue handshake to bolth of us

" those accents were horrible " pope smiled" yeah I was gonna drop it " kie shrugged

" you ever seen this many kooks in one place ?" I asked looking around at the  people mingling in the golden hour

" yeah. Last year " pope huffed

" we're in the lions den . " kie stated

" exactly " I sighed deeply

"...have either of you heard from jj?" " pope asked

I cringed at the feeling of not knowing if he was okay " can we not talk about jj right now ?" I asked

" he's gonna be fine he's got the survival instincts of a cockroach " kie said

" this is all my fault " pope kicked himself

" uh- you didn't do this , pope. Topper almost killed you remember?" I say to pope" and kelce almost killed me. they deserved it."

It stayed silent for a moment before claps erupted all around

It was the camerons, strutting in, with their piss perfect family...

" she's gonna poke someone's eye out with that thing " pope says referring to Rose's head peice.

" alright I gotta get back to work before I get in trouble I'll catch you two later " pope said

" ok. Bye"

" bye"

Me and kie walked over to a table and talked for a while before the sun set

JJ

I got off the boat along with john b" can you believe this middsummers shit man ?" John b scoffed" of course I can it happens every year . No matter how screwed up the rest of us are " I shrug" so like what's the plan exactly ?"

" okay look, I need you to get this to sarah . " john b asks pulling peice of paper out of his pocket" ooh! Can I read it ?" I proceed to open it" no, you cant read it ." He said

" who's vlad?" I asked having obviously not listened to the boy... who does he think i am?" god, do you ever listen ?" Jb asks" hold up . Are you mackin sarah Cameron?" I asked after reading the note in its entirety" would you just shut up?" he said confirming my suspision

" you're macking sarah camron!" i gasped" alright man I'm doing it for everybody , alright?" John b shouted, he was really macking a kook... after just messing around with kie. when does he ever stop?

" what?" john b questioned 

" nothin' thanks for being I team player bro." I grunted, putting my stuff on the ground,I quickly put on a white button up shirt

" so just give that to sarah ? Huh? " I asked

" yes, just give it to Sarah." John b puts on my Tie while I finish buttoning my shirt

" vlad? Really ?"

After I had finished putting on the rest of my outfit i made my way up with a tray and some glasses I found

" I keep finding glasses half way down the beach .do me a favor and keep em corralled, will ya ? I though you were security ."I scoffed at a guard that was standing at some steps.As soon as I got past I put down the tray and tried to find sarah

 from across the venue my eye caught on a girl in a  green summery dress. she was breath taking. her dark hair tucking behind her ears. as she talked with kie. my heart in my stomach, god that feeling.

I felt a pair of hands on my shoulder.I jumped. ready to fight

" hey!" Pope said pulling me aside

" dude , don't sneak up on me like that right now . " I caught my breath placing a hand on my chest.Pope grabbed me in for a hug" woah ! Little unexpected pda there, dr.spock . But hey man love you too" i said then tapping his cheek

" dude , I'm sick of all this shit man." Pope complained" you're sick? you don't look sick " I teased

" I'm sick on the inside ...did shoupe do this to you ?" Pope asked referring to the cuts and bruises on my face

" oh . No . This , this is my dad he's got that right jab can really snap it off at times " I played off the situation

" that looks like more than a jab, bro." Pope points out

" it's nothing that hasn't happened before "a lump formed in my throat

" I'm sorry . I shouldn't have let you take the fall for all of this. It's my fault !" Pope kept blaming himself" no, it's not. Shut up " i groaned"You took the fall for me " pope  rambled

"Shut up " i rolled my eyes

" I'll tell the truth , go to the cops-" he started before I cut him off

" shut up , pope! Shut up. For once in my life trust someone else. John b and I got it all sorted out . Were gonna be filthy rich man. Were back in the g game baby . " i  told him, a scruffy whisper to my voice

" the gold ? I thought we lost it . How?" Pope questioned, sarah in her blonde hair and white dress caught my eye

" I'll explain later . Brb" I said rushing over to the girl on the dance floor

I tap her shoulder

" jj?" She asks

I nodd and pull out the note
And hand it to her

" from vlad" I said, really hoping that  john b wasn't stupid

"Vlad?"

" just read the note "

" oh- ok"

I walk away immediately getting caught by rafe and his flying monkey squad

" I was wondering if you could get me a mai tai my friend ?" Rafe asked holding my shoulders tightly" how about you make that two . Pogue" kelce said  his smile wide. i could  just imagine his stupid face punched in. my fist tighted, then remembering where i was. i relesed my fist" I'm on the clock right now . You guys look spiffy you know , uh, got a couple orders ahead of you , so why don't you guys just go ahead and wait by the bar? Until then help yourselves to some hors d'oeuvres" I try to exuse myself

" guys, jjs gonna serve us some hors d'oeuvres. " rafe  laughed

" oh . Well here are the hors d'oeuvres right here . I'll be right back " I said then running away as fast as I could.I make it to the men's locker room,I knocked on every stall trying to hide ...occupied,I sped walked over to the locker area

" hey what are you doing in the locker room ?" Rafe grunted, pushing me backwards,I tried to turn around but they had me cornered

" wow that's a cute outfit " I said as rafe dragged me into the locker area throwing me onto the bench

I groaned as I made contact with the hard surface

" shut up !"

Just as I got back up kelce threw me in a head lock .

" hold him still. What-- what do you think a four iron, right? " rafe said " keep his head still. I'm gonna line this up "

" very rafe of you . Five on one ?" I grunted out, my air ways getting blocked

" if you could please stop talking? It's very disrespectful when I'm trying to hit the ball. Learn your etiquette my friend . Ya know your face looks really bad " rage leaned down so he looked me straight in the face " starting to look like your dad alot more ."

I snapped and spit in his face

" oh shit ! All right. It was--" rafe starts again before getting cut off

" gentlemen!" The lights flickered

Kelce let go of my neck, dropping me down

" is there a problem here guys?" The secerity guard asked

" pardon me, officer. No, theres not an issue. I just -- no actually uh , we got a criminal trespass in progress here. Woop woop call it in . Blatant disrespect for private property. I'm in violation of all kinds of shit , sir, but these young gentlemen ...uh caught me sir , and they're about to take me away . And that's what you should do . Escort me out here . You got me " I held up my wrist

The guard grabbed me and dragged me out .

" hey you power puff girls have fun" I shout

" hey tell alexis that she's pretty hot for a pogue " rafe called out

I pull from the guard as anger rises in me

" you think I'm scared of you bro ? " I yell as the guard grabs me again

I get dragged out of the building, my blood boiling.

alexis

" look- I can walk myself . I got legs " I hear a familiar voice amoung the crowd

Jj?

I watch as he walks struggling from the hold of a guard

Me and kie look and eachother in shock and follow them

" dont worry people . Lets leave it to the men and women in uniform " jj claped

" let go of him you cant just boot him !"I shouted

" i invited him here . I'm a member of this club " kie shouted out while mike and anna tried to stop us

I pop off my shoes practically ripping off my foot ready to run over to jj

Jj pushes the guard off of him

" hey mandatory power hour rixsons , ladies !" Jj backs out of the venue

I turn to mike and anna

" thank you again for inviting me and I'm so so sorry about this " I said before running to jj who was half way down the grass

I jump into his arms him lifting me in the air and spinning us around

" oh, thank god you're okay ! " I hugged him tightly " I missed you dude "I smile while catching my breath, resting my chin on his back

" I was barely gone 5 hours " jj chuckled,his sharp k-9's coming through in his smile.i love his smile

"Exactly what i mean- hey what happened to your face ?" I ask him, furrowing my brows with concern as i saw  the bruise that ran along his cheek bone. i reached my fingers  to his  cheek brushing his face with my hand

" nothing just my dad ya know " jj says,  trying to avoid the light on his face, i frowned"jj..."

"its fine." he gave me a small smile

" cmon love birds " kie called out

We let go of eachother, me interlocking my hand with his as we ran " what does she mean by l-" jj questioned " don't worry about it!" i  called out

We sat down at a small fire john b had just made after jj had changed out of his formal wear

" hey , guys so like my dad Is already gonna kill me . So what's this mandatory meeting about ? " pope asked, tapping his foot, that boy was always antsy...

John b shot a finger gun at jj"oh, that's never good" i strained my voice" might as well tell them, man , before were gaffed." Jj said, my eyes going wide.i blinked heavily before john b spoke" you ready for this ? So, the gold never went down with the merchant . " john b says mysteriously

" what?"

" it's been here the whole time . It's on the island ." John b stated

My stomach turned with excitement" you serious ?" i asked leaning forwards against my knees

He nodded, a smile drawn practically ear to ear" oh my god " i laughed

" bro!"

" I'd like to voice my skepticism " pope said

" I'm sure you would, pope, but can I please present you with my evidence, sir?" John b asked

" proceed" pope said  flicking his hand out

" all right so in my backpack ... I have a letter from Denmark tanny ." Bee pulled a piece of paper from his bag

" who the hell is that ?" I asked

" Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the royal merchant wreck. Check this out " john b said then handing me the paper, i looked on the old paper, it feeling gritty in my hands.

" okay, slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship, but dad, he found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery. So tanny used the gold from the merchant to but his freedom . " john b  informed.I handed the paper to jj " after that , he bought his farm . Drum roll please... because that farm is ... tanny hill plantation " John announced as kie drumed her legs

" what?"

" tanny hill?"

" yeah . So after that, he used his money to free even more slaves, and then he sold a shit ton of rice which pisses off all the white planters , and then they decide to lynch him . So on the day they were coming to get him , he writes a letter to his son as a fare well. And in the last line if that letter . He leaves a coded message about where to find the gold . "  john b told the story while the letter got passed around" where?" I asked basically on the edge of my seat at this point

" harvest the wheat in parcel 9, near the water, but you see there's no wheat . Be cause wheat is code for gold . Check this out " he pulls out another paper of a drawing of a gold bar with a wheat symbol In the middle" holy shit , my brother is a master mind " I  gasped standing up from my place"All we need is and original survey map of the town and we got the gold " john b said

 jj stands and  forces his way past me to john b, picking him up 

" theres fire " john b warned. i audibly laughed in disbelif.JJ puts him down , "I am so proud of you bro " jj said holding jb's face

" so what's the plan ?" Pope asked

" good question. So sarah Cameron's coming tonight.-" john b starts before me and kie cut him off, suddenly my excitement fell right to the pit of my stomach.

" woah woah woah . Like sarah Cameron Sarah Cameron?" Kie asks

" like my ex sarah Cameron?" I scoffed

" yeah? She's the only one who can get us the survey map ... and she- got me into the archives in chapel hill yesterday , and that's where I got the letter ?" John B admitted

" you were in chapel hill with sarah Cameron?" Kie freaks

" bro ... seriously? She's my ex girlfriend and you took a day trip with her. what the fuck." I shook  my head

" yeah ... uh"

" he was mackin on her" jj blurted

"You're what ?"i stuck my tongue to the inside of my cheek, standing up and walking towards john b

" no - no I did not Mack on her " john b tried to back away from me

"this is bullshit. you better not even be into her alright!" i spat out  pointing a finger to his chest

" he was definitely into her alright " jj chuckled, i  glared at him"say one more thing and I swear to god!"

" dude you let a kook in on our secret? What about pouge life? What about the t- shirt company bro ?" Kie  coughed

" I was just using her for information." John b said

" why don't I believe you ?" I  tilted my head, my eye brows furrowed

" I'm trying to make is filthy rich here . So we could pay off a boat or send pope to autopsy school to study dead bodys . Look you know me. do I look like the kind of guy to fall for sarah Cameron?" John b rants

" do you want us to answer that ?"

" we're twins .... so yes "

" look you don't know her yet . We do. you cant trust her " kie shouted

" her brother did hit me in the back of the head with a golf club " pope says

" rafe and sarah are two different people " john b gives an excuse

" what did she do to you two anyways? " jj asked

" she's like a spitting cobra first she gets you then she injects venom in you --" kie started

" that's a bad analogy " pope chimed

" listen to us ! Whatever we get shes gonna try to take . " i warned them

" she's waiting for us now so we have to go " john b informed

" none of you listen to me ever do you !" I said as we all walk towards the van

Once we got to the van we drove it over to the hawks nest

Pope opened the back door" hit it boys! Were goin" " recon misson"

" yo , uh..m so, uh , I think I'm gonna do this one by myself ...tonight . " john B  hesitated

" really?" Jj said

"What?"

"Nothin' "

" I just don't wanna spook sarah with the peanut gallery " john b made up excuses

" I just dont understand why were involving her at all ." Kie shrugged

" honestly" I agreed shaking my head

" were not involving her , okay ? It's just a like uh - a business meeting ... look once we get what we need from her well cut her loose . Plus , we need the map " john b says

" promise me nothing's happening between you two ?" I asked

" nothing is happing alexis " he mocked me. i didn't beleve a word coming out of his mouth, thats what i said before i relized how i felt for jj.

" look john b this has nothing to do with me and sarah ... okay ? This has to do with me and kiara. and how we got Thrown to the side like peices of trash ... we dont want that happening to you . So promise me... okay?" I asked of him

" ... I promise you nothing is happening " John b swore" that was really believable " jj said sarcastically

" anyways , I'm gonna go take care of business " john B says getting out of the van

" you go take care of that buisness" jj said

" yup just leave us here in the hot car while its thundering " pope complained

" if anyone needs me I'll be over by the lake " I said getting out of the passenger seat

I walked over to the lake angrily ,hoping to calm down

I sat on a log Watching the water as I heard footsteps approach

" hey, can I sit? " I heard jj say

" be my guest " I scooted over

" you okay ?" He asked sitting down

" yeah, totally . It's not like I just found out my brother likes my ex girlfriend or anything " I grunted out 

" ...you really cared about her didn't you ?" He asked

" yeah , but apparently that was a one way street " I sighed 

We sat in silence for a second as he held is arm over my shoulder

"hey j."i tilted my head into his  shoulder " thanks for being so nice to me all the time"i focused my eyes up at him. " why wouldnt i be. you're like the coolest of our friend group... at least i think so" he pulled my shoulder in a kaleidoscope of butterflies  swimming through my stomach and up to my chest."jj"i pulled myself off of him 

"lex." he hummed  his eybrows  scrunched, his hand still streched across to my shoulder "whats going on?" i asked him, finally breaking " what?" he tugged on his inner cheek "don't say 'what?'  things are changing, getting weird between us"i suddenly felt like i was saying too much like.jj exhaled his eyes shutting tight "i knew this day would come. where you just couldn't resist my crazy sex appeal" jj said in a joking voice "jj i'm being serious. we think about eachother more than normal for friends, we think of eachother as more than friends and-" i started to pour my heart out , my heart actually racing out of my chest  before i cut myself off." did you hear that ?" I asked 

" what ?"

" Help " someone yelled

" oh shit now I hear it " jj's eye widened, we both shot up running to the noise, We saw john b laying on the floorSarah holding him

" sarah what happened ?" Pope asked frantically

" I dont know what to do . He needs help . Topper shoved him " she pleaded

" pope, go call 911!" jj instructed

I get down on my knees in tears, " john b" i placed my hand on him." john b wake up"i called out. a hand warmed my chilly shoulder . i didn't need to turn to know who it was. god what could go worse tonight...

kat speaks...

this chapter has to be one of my faves, it changes everything... like...everything.

I fucking loveeeeee my babies!