𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 38.

𝐌𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐏 around what had just happened.

The five of us had been sitting in the van, completely breathless, driving away from an axe murderer's house in the middle of the night, when John B had pulled out a single bar of real gold. When it shined underneath the van's lights, and twinkled in John B's eyes, none of us had even questioned if the bar was fake. He was holding a piece of the lost Royal Merchant gold. After over one-hundred years of people looking for it, a group of teenagers found it within two weeks. It was hard to process.

Even though my mind was on complete overdrive— from almost being slaughtered to death by Mrs. Crain, and then getting shot at— I had been cheering the whole ride home. Jj could barely focus on driving, Pope wouldn't sit still, John B couldn't refrain from relentless cheering, and Kiara wouldn't stop shaking my shoulders with excitement. Instantly, when the van erupted with an explosion of screams, a rush had circulated through all of my veins, faster than ever. We had found the gold. I was more than happy.

I had completely forgotten about my parents. They didn't matter at the moment, as I stared at the slab of gold in John B's hand. Nothing really mattered. All that I could think about was the Pogues. The fact that they were going to be filthy rich— what they deserved. I helped them. And they had succeeded.

"Jesus, John B," I let out a groan, "You're filthy,"

The water from the hose shot out and sprayed over his body, as he stood in the grass. It was eleven o'clock at night, his body was still covered with mud, and the two of us stood outside back of the Chateau, our space lit up by lanterns in the darkness.

"No, I haven't noticed, Charlie," he answered with a giggle, his hand pulling back the hair that covered over his eyes.

"So, let me get this straight," I said, with a curious tone, while aiming the hose down at his bare chest, "You went into the well, and then what? There was a passageway at the bottom, like a— like a hole?"

"Yeah." He replied through slightly closed lips, wiping his mouth, "I crawled through it."

I stepped closer for better aim with the water, "And how many bars of gold were in there, again?" I asked for clarification, with narrowed eyebrows.

The mud slid from his body, and he wiped it off with the water, "Like— five hundred, maybe,"

I nearly dropped the hose, "Five hundred!"

"It was all covered in mud," He said with a wide grin, looking at me, "But it was there. All of it."

"Oh my god," I breathed out. The smile wouldn't wipe off of my lips.

"I still can't fucking believe it," he sighed happily, now cleaning off his legs. "Like, I really can't believe it."

"This is insane," I laughed, "Insane."

John B looked up to me as he shoved the hair out of his face. He smiled, and it sent butterflies into the pit of my stomach, just by the way he looked at me.

"Remember when you thought I was absolutely fucking crazy," he chuckled.

My jaw fell open, a laugh falling out, "I never said you were crazy,"

"Yeah, Charlie, you did," he laughed loudly.

"No I did not, John B," I shook my head from side to side, mocking him.

A smirk pulled at the side of his mouth as he suddenly lunged forward, ripping the rose out of my grasp. Before I could process it, or fight back, water was being sprayed all over me. My jaw fell open.

"John B!" I screamed, my body immediately going cold from the icy temperature, and I tried to block the current with my hands.

He let out a loud laugh as he aimed the hose at my head, drenching me with cold water, as I struggled to step towards him. My eyes were shut, and my clothes were soaked by the time I grabbed the hose back, him fighting against me to move it away.

"Give it back, you fucking idiot!" My voice was loud, and my mouth filled with water when it opened. My hands latched onto his arms, shaking them.

He wouldn't stop laughing, multiple chuckles falling past his lips. I roughly grabbed the hose back in my hands, and proceeded to spray it over him like he did to me, causing him to coward back from the cold water. I laughed out loud. From a distance, we looked like two crazy idiots spraying one another with a stupid hose in the back of a house, in the middle of the night, one person fully clothed.

"Stop, stop— it's too cold," he shouted through laughs.

With my stomach aching from laughing too hard, I flipped the switch and dropped the hose to the ground, breathless. The water flow stopped, and I slowly reached for the towel I had placed on a lonely chair near us, clutching my aching stomach with my other arm.

"This is your sweater, anyways," I said humorously, while glancing down to the drenched hoodie over my body. My hair was stringy and wet, falling in front of my eyes. I handed him the towel.

He grabbed it, the smile never leaving his face, but pulled me towards him as he did. With a small laugh, he wrapped the towel around both of us, his arms draped around my neck, and mine around his bare torso, the warmth of his body radiating onto mine. I smiled into his chest.

There was a long moment of silence, us just delicately swaying, our bodies pressed together in a hug, standing in the soft wind.

"Thank you," he breathed out after a while, quietly.

"For what," I said with a causal voice.

"Helping us," his voice was quiet, but genuine, as he placed his head on top of mine.

"You guys did most of the work," I let out a small laugh, closing my eyes.

"I'm glad you did it with us, Charlotte," he said, serious.

I tilted my head up, my chin on his chest as he looked down to me, "Aren't you sweet," I giggled, cheekily, "Making me blush and shit," a heat rose to my cheeks.

His face broke out into a happy smile, and he looked the other way to hide it. My eyes twinkled, just by looking at him. The two of us were standing there, in the grass, lit up by lanterns, sharing a towel as the cold breeze brushed past us.

I suddenly stood up on my tippy toes when he looked back down to me. With a quick glance of eye contact, I reached up and attached out lips, and he kissed back immediately. His hand on the back of my neck, delicately, a sea of butterflies scattered inside my stomach, and a certain feeling began to rush through my veins. He moved our lips together, and each time they reattached, my heart rate increased.

"Dude, I fuckin' told you," we heard Jj's voice whisper-shout from the porch, "they're makin' out, bro,"

I pulled away with a laugh, "The mood is great," a giggle fell from my mouth.

John B couldn't help but softly chuckle, his hands slowly sliding away from the back of my neck, but never breaking contact. I turned my head around, to see Jj and Pope leaning over the porch banisters, a blunt between Jj's fingers, while Kiara sat on the couch behind them, trying to pull them away from watching. I slid my arm away from John B's body to move it out of the towel, and flipped them off with an uncontrollable smile on my lips.

"Come on," John B laughed, while placing his hand on my upper back, beginning to guide me away with the towel still over both of our shoulders.

I couldn't wipe the dumb, cheeky smile off of my lips— nor did I want to. When we walked towards the porch, hip-to-hip, the rest of the Pogues now comfortably sitting on the couches and chairs, I picked up one of the lanterns and so did John B. I didn't feel embarrassed when we walked up the steps, there was no more hiding what John B and I had. Even though we both never established "what we were".

I felt my cheeks heat up when we stopped in front of everyone, no one saying anything. Kiara winked at me. I let out a small laugh and looked up to John B, who now had his hand on my waist.

"We're uh, gonna go change," He said calmly.

Pope and Jj exchanged a glance. Jj was holding back a smirk.

"Alright, come back soon," Kiara nodded, giving me a certain excited look, "We're gonna celebrate, Jj found some beers."

"Okay," I gave them a small nod, holding in a laugh at the foolish awkwardness.

Without saying anything else John B turned towards the door, guiding me with him as we stepped over the threshold and into the warm house, lit up only by lanterns. We could hear them whispering as we walked inside. I went straight for the bathroom at the end of the hall, tearing away from underneath the towel.

"Here," John B called for me, as he reached for a clean sweater hanging on his bedroom doorknob. "There's towels on the back of the door. Let me know if you need anything else," he smiled.

"Alright," I couldn't help but laugh at him, finding it cute, while I grabbed the hoodie. I gave him a thumbs up.

We smiled at one another once more, before I stepped into the bathroom and he closed the door to his bedroom. With the smile never leaving my lips, I took off the wet hoodie and switched it out for the clean one, and dried off my legs. Not long after, I was stepping into his bedroom quietly. He looked up at me as he slid a new shirt over his body.

The room was quiet, a comfortable quiet, as I stepped over to him, where he plopped down on to sit his bed. My hands were holding the towel, and I was scrunching my hair to drain the water.

"You look cute in my sweaters," He grinned at me, staring up at my face with twinkling eyes.

I moved to stand between his legs. "Is that so," I giggled softly. He let out a tiny laugh as I placed the towel onto the bed beside him, my hands then moving to rest on his neck.

When he placed his hands just above the back of my knees, I used a hand to push his hair back, my fingers running through it gently.

"I'm happy for you, John B," I said, with a serious tone. "Your dad would be proud." I looked into his eyes, my lips pulling up into a soft smile.

"You think so," he looked up to me.

"Duh," I scoffed jokingly, "You found the frickin' gold, John B. He would be more than proud of you. Proud is an understatement."

He was looking down for a moment, before trailing his eyes up to meet mine. He gave me a certain look. It was the same, meaningful look, but more. We stood for a second, him staring up at me, examining my whole face.

And then he said it, with the softest voice, and most delicate eyes, "I want you to be my girlfriend."

My heart skipped a whole beat, "What?" I breathed out, sort of in a happy disbelief.

"Look— I don't know how to not make this cheesy," he laughed, never breaking eye contact, "And I've been wanting to ask you for a while," with every word he said, it was sinking in, "I don't know," he laughed and looked down, embarrassed. "It's stupid—"

I placed my hands on both sides of his face, and wasted no time in smashing my lips against his, cutting off his words. The second he kissed back, it felt like my heart had stopped beating, but started up again when his hands met my waist. Butterflies were a vast understatement. Chills scattered down my whole body, and I felt happy. Really happy.

"Is that a yes?" He chuckled, when he pulled away for a moment.

I let out a loud laugh, my thumbs grazing the skin on his cheeks softly, "What do you think, idiot."

He smiled bigger than I had ever seen him smile before, and then attached our lips yet again. Both of his hands gripped my waist and gently picked me up as he laid himself down, my legs falling on either side of him while he kissed me repeatedly. I couldn't stop laughing— not because of him, but because I was happy. Too happy. When his fingers gripped onto the bottom hem of my shirt, I placed a hand on his chest, out of breath from chuckling.

"They're waiting for us, outside," I laughed, my fingers tangling in his hair.

"Charlie? John B? You guys comin' or what," Jj called from outside the door, as if on cue.

My stomach hurt from laughing, "See,"

He bit down onto his bottom lip, smiling uncontrollably, "Another time," he trailed his hands on my waist, his eyes twinkling, "Let's go fucking celebrate first."

___

"Go in there, Daryl,"

It was now past midnight, and I was back at home, sitting under the covers in my bedroom. I couldn't get John B out of my mind. After he'd asked me to be his girlfriend, we had gone out to see the rest of the Pogues, and celebrated finding the gold. Even when John B was driving me home, I couldn't stop smiling. He was my boyfriend now. I'd never had a boyfriend before.

I wanted to go home because I told Caroline and Daryl that I would be coming back later on, before I had left during the day. I would have liked to stay the night at John B's, but he didn't seem to mind when I asked for a drive. It made my cheeks crease with a smile every time I thought about him. As I had rolled myself into bed, it felt like I was in a movie, that I wasn't really me.

Three weeks ago, I would have never thought that I'd have my first kiss, become best friends with a rich girl, find lost treasure, and get a surfer boyfriend, that I liked very much. It was crazy.

Now, after midnight, my grandparents were standing outside of my bedroom door, bickering, as I sat up and stared out at the water. My mind was in a daze.

"Carol, why are you making me do this—"

"Jesus, Daryl, you're a literal child," Caroline scolded him, "Just go in and apologize for Pete's sake." She whisper-shouted with an annoyed tone.

After a long sigh was heard, my bedroom door creaked open, flooding my room with light from the hallway. I turned my head to see Daryl, in his pyjamas, standing in the doorway.

"Uh, hey, bug," he said uncomfortably.

"Hi, grandpa," a tiny smile tugged at the corners of my lips, "What are you doing up so late."

He slowly shut the door behind him, and I could see Caroline peek an eye in, just before it closed.

"I could ask you the same question," He chuckled quietly, while taking slow steps towards my bed.

"I can't really sleep," I said with a calm voice.

"Oh," he cleared his throat, and then softly sat down on the side of my bed next to my legs. "Well— uh," he stopped, as if choking on what words to say, glancing up to the door.

"I'm sorry for..." Caroline whispered through the door, giving him a suggestion. I softly narrowed my eyebrows.

"Yeah— right," he cleared his throat again, "I'm sorry for getting mad at ya the other day," he turned his head to me. "I shouldn't have lost my temper like that."

"It's okay," I responded, my tone gentle.

"No, bug, I realized that I went way outta line," he said, speaking honestly. "And Carol and I want you to know," he swallowed, it was sort of hard to see his face in the dark, "That we were only upset, because we care."

"I get it." I smiled.

"Bug, you're our only grandkid," he continued, and looked to me, meaning it, "We don't want you gettin' in trouble and possibly taken away from us, thats all," he shrugged slowly.

I felt my heart warm.

"We were so happy when Danny called back in January," a smile met his lips, and he looked down, admiring the memory, "The first time he's called in a few years. And when he said you were going to be comin' down," het let out a happy scoff, "We were more than excited, painted these walls and everythin'," he glanced around at my bedroom walls.

My fingers intertwined with one another, the small smile on my face never leaving.

"It was stupid of me to try and force you away from your friends," he shook his head disapprovingly, at his actions, "Carol and I can tell that you're really happy."

"I am," I said, not much higher than a whisper.

He looked over at my face in the dark, a refreshed smile pulling at his thin lips, "That's good." He said, and meant it. "Just— be careful, okay?" He said, tapping my calve lightly, "We've agreed that we're going to trust you, if you say they're safe people."

"That's right!" Caroline whispered with a loud tone, through the door again.

I laughed, looking down at my hands.

"As long as you don't get yourself arrested, I think we'll be fine." He smiled. "We know you're not stupid."

"Yeah," I couldn't help but smile back, my teeth showing.

He lowered his eyes at me, "And no sex, okay?"

"Daryl!" The bedroom door flew open.

I chuckled, looking at Caroline in the doorway. "Thanks guys, I love you." I said with a quiet voice.

Caroline's face lit up when she heard the last three words, but I could tell she was trying to stay calm, Daryl stood up with a huff, and joined her at the door.

"We love you too, bug," Daryl nodded to me, "Goodnight, now."

"Goodnight." I smiled.

The door shut, and I slid under the covers, resting my head onto the pillow.

"You hear that Daryl?" Caroline beamed in a whisper as they walked away from my room, "She said she loves us! We have won."

My smile grew even bigger.

✰༄✰

𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 🥺

𝐢- 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 😔✌🏻

- currently: imagining edits of John B and

Charlie in my head even though she's

not even a real person and this is just

a fanfiction 👁👄👁

𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 !!