𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 22.

━ 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗶𝘅𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲.

"𝐋𝐄𝐓'𝐒 𝐆𝐎 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 plan, ladies and gents." John B announced.

I was sitting in the passenger seat of the van as the sun blazed through the window. Beside me, his turquoise button-down with patterns on it was blowing in the wind, as we drove through the streets with the windows fully open. My loose strands of hair were falling in wisps over my eyes. It gave me a certain sense of déjà-vu from from when we had gone to the RedField lighthouse, but the grave difference this time was that I agreed to come with.

We had already gone to the country club. I had eaten the rest of my burger on the way, slightly staining the seat due to my lack of manners, while we drove up smoothly to the beautiful club. It didn't even look like the hurricane had hit the hill. The lawn was perfect and beautiful, and the army-green painted manoir was clean and quite exquisite, with expensive cars parked all along the parking lot. Our brown van looked very out of place.

Apparently, Jj was a busboy in the kitchen, which got us a free pass inside and we had quickly walked in a single file, like idiots, until we made it to the computer room. John B practically shoved me inside the room and shut the door, because I was taking too much time examining all the gorgeous paintings along the walls in the hallway. I had glared at him, and ended up staring out the window on the door the whole time, since they claimed me to be "temporary lookout" while they'd searched the coordinates on the computers.

I wasn't really listening to what they were talking about, as I wasn't paying attention— rather squinting my eyes to see the paintings through the stained-glass windows. Soon, the had teenagers rushed out of the room, scrambling me along with them, and we ran back to the van.

That's when I had heard them talking about a drone. I was listening then, as I had strapped in my seatbelt, and my eyes were wide while they conversed about it. I had glared at John B with my eyes, silently giving him an are-you-serious look, but he simply let a cheeky smile play over his lips, as usual, and drove the vehicle away from the country club at an ungodly speed. I didn't want to yell or get angry, because overall, I had agreed to be apart of their group and felt as though I should be willing to go along with them and their things. I was a Pogue now.

I had tried not to think about the felony we were about to commit, while John B organized a— quite structured, I had to admit— plan on how to steal the underwater drone. I had folded my hands together and bit down on my lip, to refrain from telling them it was a very illegal act. If anything, I knew how to escape for myself if the cops were to come and arrest us, so I tried my best not to worry.

"Charlie looks uncomfortable," Pope commented, while he sat in the back, diagonal to my seat on the passenger side.

Everyone looked to me.

"Thanks, Pope," I said, sarcastically, but feeling surprised that he had somehow noticed my distress.

"She's just nervous," Jj corrected, seeming distracted by doing something else. I turned my head towards the window and looked behind my seat, seeing him folding up another small paper into a thin roll on the floor. He was leaning his back against my seat.

"Don't worry about it, Charls," John B removed one hand from the wheel, and I watched as he placed it on my knee softly, looking over at me. "You'll do great," he tapped my bare skin once, before smiling cheekily and then removing his hand.

"You say that like I'm playing a role in this crime," I scoffed, ignoring the small butterflies in my stomach from his small touch.

Everyone looked at him, with expressions that held 'you didn't tell her?' written over them.

"What," I looked at them quickly, Kiara looking down, before pinning my eyes on John B driving. I looked oblivious, and slightly offended that I wasn't getting the same information they were. "I'm staying in the van, right?" I said, with a tone of voice that meant I needed clarification. "I'm still 'temporarily lookout', right?" My lack of listening was taking a toll on me.

John B tugged the side of his mouth downwards, preparing to say something that he knew I wouldn't like. "You're gonna go with Kie."

"What?" My eyebrows quickly narrowed. I knew that Kiara was supposed to pretend her tires were flat, so the security guard would be distracted, but there was no mention of me going with her.

"You're gonna go in with Kie," he said again.

"No." I firmly shook my head. "I don't like social interaction." I stared at him blankly.

"Look— it makes better sense," he began, talking fast as if he were afraid I was going to blow up any second. "Two pretty girls instead of one would keep security distracted longer."

"I agree." Pope suddenly spoke up, agreeing, "It is a better idea. And it's kinda sketch if you're just standing on lookout."

"So then who's watching the van," I crossed my arms hard over my chest.

"God." Jj mumbled from behind me.

"The van will be fine," John B assured, gripping his one hand around the wheel tighter. "You and Kie'll go up to the guy, claim your tires are flat, you know— work some magic." He slightly smirked. "That's the plan."

I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, it's a good plan and all," Pope groaned with an annoyance. "But I still don't see why we have to steal the drone. We could ask."

"Solid suggestion." I popped my bottom lip out.

"Pope, we're not stealing the drone, we're..." John B looked at him through the rear view mirror. "We're borrowing it."

He sighed loudly, "Humans are the only animal that can't tell fantasy from reality." He spoke, looking out the window.

"Did you come up with that?" John B asked.

"No, Albert Bernstein came up with that," Pope said factually, with an attitude, "but it applies to this whole treasure-hunting thing."

I laughed quietly to myself.

"Oh." John B realized.

"So, which is it?" Pope turned around in his seat, looking to everyone. "Fantasy, or reality." He used his hands as diagrams for both options.

"Why you so weird, Pope?" Jj commented. I turned my head back around again to see him holding up a blunt, examining it.

"It's fantasy... but," Kiara said lightly, from all the way in the back. "Possible reality."

I poked at the skin around my nails. "I want more fries."

"Reality." John B said with a confident tone, glancing to his friend in the mirror.

I heard a lighter flick open. "Virtual reality," Jj said, through slightly closed lips. I chuckled to myself.

"Keep the signal clear." Pope ordered with a serious tone of voice. I turned my head to the side to see the blunt being thrown away somewhere in the van by Pope's two fingers, as Jj clenched his jaw.

The van slowed down, and my heart rate began to pick up when it stopped on the side of the road, a green Toyota with their fishing boat attached to the back, coming into view. We had already discussed the plan, and I knew what was going to happen, I just couldn't help but feel nervous with the switch of ideas and adding me into it.

Kiara smiled at me from the back, as she crouched and stepped over to slide the van door open.

John B extended his arm out to reach the headrest of my seat as I pushed open the door and stepped out. I walked around the front of the vehicle with a grimace on my face, following Kiara. John B propped his arms on the rim of his open window, leaning his chin onto them.

"Hey, don't worry," He told me with a calm voice, and I stopped to look at him. "You got this."

I stared at him for a second. His hair was pushed back on his head, the small waves piling on top of one another, his straight teeth were poking through the usual charming smile, and his hands gripped on to his large arms over the window. The bruise on his eye was fading, and the cuts on his forehead were almost gone.

"Yeah— okay," I said with a sarcastic tone, "I don't know how to flirt, John B." I narrowed my eyes at him, while crossing my arms. That was my biggest worry.

"Yeah you do," Jj hummed from inside the van, "it's worked on JB this whole time." He said, which made me roll my eyes.

"Shut up, Jj," John B glanced back at his friends casually. "You'll do fine," he turned back to me, leaning on the window again. "Just smile, it'll work, I promise."

I formed my lips in a tight line, eyebrows perking up in a quick motion as I turned away. Kiara was starting the car, and looked up at me as I pulled open the heavy door of her vehicle. I hopped in, she waved to the boys, and we were off down the road, them following behind us.

John B

"So," Jj started, sort of sounding awkward, "what's up with you and Charlotte, JB."

The three of us were crouched behind a long wooden board on the side, all eyes watching Charlie and Kiara walk up to the security office. The bald man was walking out the door. Charlie had her arms crossed over her chest, and a small frown that only I could see. I wanted to yell out and tell her to smile.

"What do you mean," I answered, trying to stay casual as I stared forward. They were talking to the bald man.

"Did you kiss her last night," Jj asked, rolling his eyes at my lack of comprehension.

"Dude," Pope scoffed.

"What?" I sharply narrowed my eyebrows at Jj as well.

"You guys seemed pretty close when we came out," He said.

"We were just talking." I said.

"Mhm," he hummed, not believing.

"And... like maybe—" I rubbed over my eyes, trying to decide if I should continue.

Jj grinned. "Maybe what?"

"I wanted to kiss her—" I said the words quickly, regretting them almost immediately. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"There we go." Jj nodded approvingly, getting what he wanted. "So it seems to me," he placed a hand on his chest, "that you guys, clearly, have a little sum' sum' going on, no?"

"Oh, come on Jj," I placed my head into my palm. "I was just emotional, you know that."

"Yeah okay," he rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying," he defended himself, and then continued, "Maybe you should just go for it, bro."

Pope groaned. "Can we keep a solid lookout, guys."

"She's a super hot city girl, dude," he persisted in gloat, "and she's hanging with us. How long is she on the island for?"

"The next year." I said, quietly.

"Bro! It's the perfect fuckin' chance," he grabbed both of my shoulders and shook them, "She's clearly into you, John B. Right Pope,"

Pope shut his eyes.

I looked at him dumbly, "And how do you know that,"

"I see your google-y eye stuff y'all do, you almost kissed her," he claimed, sounding confident. "And you're always bringing her around— this abducting thing you're doing. Any normal girl would have called the cops by now if they weren't into you like she is."

"What are you, now, like, the fuckin' love doctor," my eyes rolled, dramatically, to the back of my head.

Jj leaned forward and looked past my body. "Tell him I'm right, Pope."

"I don't really care, right now," Pope closed his eyes in a hard blink again, this time only momentarily. "Please, let's just keep lookout, the guy went back inside,"

"Wait, hold on, how did you even meet Charlie?" Jj was genuinely confused, and seemed a little bit offended that I still hadn't told him.

"She shoved a can of Cherry Cola into my chest." I said blatantly. I was looking forward, like Pope, as Kiara turned her head in our direction with ease.

"She, what?" Jj repeated, eyes squinted.

"After we went to that new house, I went to go and pick up your chips at the corner store," I said, and he nodded from my peripheral vision, "Right— so I was running late for the DCS meeting and her bike was parked in front of the van."

"Did you run over it?" he quickly asked, "Cause she seemed pretty mad when we met her—"

"Then she just shoved her can of soda at me and biked away." I explained.

The security man was back in his office, and we could see him gathering a few things from inside. The gate was still closed and we couldn't run in just yet.

I watched Charlie, who twirled her hair around her finger, her hip slightly popped out to the side. I closed my eyes in a tough blink and finally understood her lack of experience.

"What is she doing?" Pope sighed, wiping his eyes as if he'd seen something scarring.

I hit the side of his shoulder, lightly. "Relax, she's never done this before."

"Then why'd you think it was a good idea to let her go with Kie!" Pope whisper-shouted.

I sighed. "You agreed to it, dipshit."

"Yeah— so why is she on the island." Jj ignored us, and continued with the questions.

I rolled my eyes, annoyed. "She didn't say why, Jj."

"Well, it's kinda sketch how she just showed up," he popped out his bottom lip. "Not that I mind, but you know."

Jj rambled on with the questions and a few assumptions, while Pope and I looked out. just as I was about to yell at Jj to shut up, Kiara subtly nodded her head towards the gate, which was now open. We all stood up immediately, and made a run for it. We ran around the corner of the gate which was about to close, almost falling down to the floor from turning so abruptly, and dust from the dirt scattered up into the air behind us from our pounding steps.

Jj instantly gripped onto the lock on the door, pulling out the crumpled piece of yellow paper. He quickly scrambled with unsteady hands to punch in the numbers.

"Are those the right numbers?" Pope asked frantically, switching gazes from him to the lookout, as Jj roughly pulled on the lock.

"Okay— so I might've got the wrong numbers." he answered through closed lips, defeatedly turning away.

"God damnit!" Pope shouted, angry, as he threw his hands into the air.

What happened next, played out in a jumbled of quickened paces, so fast that I could barely process anything. There was a dog, a vicious one to be precise, I hid, Pope ran, Jj distracted. Faster than ever, I'd broken open the lock barricading the door when the coast was clear, rushed in, grabbed the cases, and I was back outside in less than thirty seconds.

Kiara was waiting in her car at the end of the road, behind the van. She had looked over to me as I ran past, headed straight for the van with the cases trailing behind me.

"Dude!" Jj laughed out loud. "That's what I'm talking about, man!" he was sitting in his spot behind the passenger seat.

I let the cases fall on the floor carefully, next to Pope, who was sitting against the wall with his eyes closed and his chest heaving in and out unstably. I smiled widely, proud of myself, as the van door slid closed and I hopped into the driver's seat. Just as I started the engine, Charlie pulled open the door. Kiara wizzed past us in her car, with the boat dragging behind her.

"That was the most awkward thing I have ever done," she said lowly, while shutting the door with a thud.

"You did great." I smiled at her.

"No I didn't." she looked over at me, dumbly.

"No she didn't." Pope agreed.

"Well I got the drone," I was still smiling, looking back at it sitting beside Pope. "And I don't see any cops."

She laughed lightly, looking down at her hands. I looked over at her, noticing the smallest of dimples on the corners of her cheeks as she smiled, her hand delicately pushing a strand of soft hair behind her ear. I bit the inside of my cheek.

"I have to go home," she then said, looking up to see me already staring at her. "My grandparents are gonna be home soon and I didn't tell them I was leaving."

I snapped out of my small daze, nodding quickly, "Yeah— we'll drive you home." I started the van, it's engine roaring loudly.

"And— um," she shoved another strand of hair behind her ear, turning her body to face me and everyone else. "If it's okay— and, only if you guys want to— maybe you could meet them, tomorrow?" she asked, her voice nothing but sweet. "I don't know,"

Jj and Pope glanced to each other in the back.

"Yeah, of course," a smile rose to meet my lips.

"Okay," she smiled in return, her eyes twinkling. She sat back in her original place.

"Okay." I repeated, before pressing on the gas and driving down the road.

___

Charlotte

"There's someone here for you, bug,"

I was back at home, and the sun was gone down over the water. Caroline and Daryl had gotten home after me, as usual, and we ate supper all together while the radio played softly in the background. I lied about my day over dinner, telling them how I had gone for lunch at The Wreck, went on a bike ride, and sat and read down by the water. They believed every word of it, and I sort of felt bad for lying to them so much.

My eyebrows narrowed as I placed down the magazine Caroline had loaned me, and stepped off my bed. When I made it around the corner, both grandparents were sitting on the sofa, looking to the screen door. Their eyes held weird gazes in them, almost uncomfortable and almost worried. But I was too preoccupied to ask why they seemed so out of place.

My eyes widened and I nearly chocked on my own saliva when I saw who they were looking at.

"Sarah?" I breathed out, my eyebrows then narrowing as I quickly stepped towards her at the door. "What are you doing here?" I asked as kindly as I could, letting out a small laugh. I opened the screen door and leant the side of my head on it.

She smiled. It was an excitement-filled smile, meaning that what she was about to say, was something big. "I wanna take you to a party."

༄

sorry if the pov switches are confusing.

𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵,

𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘪 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦

𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘨

𝐀𝐋𝐒𝐎: 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦, 𝐢𝐦 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟 🤓

𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 !!