𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 08.

━ 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴.

"𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐎𝐅 𝐀 fib are we talking?" I shouted.

John B broke eye contact, looking to the floor. Jj stared at him, while awkwardly shifting his weight from the front of his feet to the back.

It was at that point, that I'd realized what I was really doing. I had agreed to help the boy, a simple act of recognizance, and let him use my grandfather's keys for his proclaimed "secret mission", without steering straight at all. My eyes had been merely blinded by the teenage dream— meeting kids my age, escaping on a rebellious rampage, or so it now seemed.

I'd let them take me into their van, through the town, and on their boat. All because I wanted a new experience, and all while my grandparents assumed I was at home, safe. It was worse to think about their impression of me sneaking out, then to actually get caught in the act. I had just met my grandparents, and I was standing on the verge of ruining my reputation towards them.

As the dangerous situation caught up to me in a swirl of jumbled thoughts, I took a large step back. Almost feeling paralyzed, my eyes widened, and all I could think about was running away. Only a few seconds before I was about to make a run for it, John B lunged towards me and wrapped his hand around my wrist. It wasn't a hurtful grip, but it certainly didn't feel soft.

"You can't tell anyone we were here," he ordered, through gritted teeth. He used strength to pull me back into the room.

"John B, it's not that deep," Jj said, standing by one of the beds.

"What? Am I apart of your gang now or something—" I spat back, as he closed the door behind me, "Get off of me," I jerked my arm out of his grasp, then reached up touch where he'd gripped.

"Just—" John B spoke stressfully, running a hand through his hair, "Stay here until we're done," he locked eyes with me. "Please."

"Done what," I asked, making it sound like a demand rather than a question, "Robbing this shit hole?"

John B and Jj weren't looking at me anymore, and were then continuing their frantic search.

"Hello," I said, to grab their focus, "I'd like to know, before we're caught and sent to jail," I waved my arms out, "Like, c'mon, do you even know who's room we're in?"

Jj stopped looking around, crouching down at the small table between both beds. "Yo, dude," he shouted to John B, "Maybe... this is where they went fishing?" He pointed his finger down on what looked like a map, as his friend arrived at his side.

I felt awkward standing at the door, with my arms crossed while they galavanted around. I figured I could attempt a second escape, while they focused on that paper, but I held my breath. A sigh fell past my lips as I trudged over to one of the beds.

"Nah, that's off the continental shelf," John B whispered, looking confused, while shaking his head. "Nobody goes fishing there."

I sat down on the bed, listening to the mattress creak beneath me. My legs swung, not touching the ground, and I folded my hands on my legs. John B pulled a worn pink hat out of his back pocket, and slid it on his head backwards.

"So, does this make me a witness," I thought out loud, basically only speaking to myself. "Because it looks to me, like this is a crime," I added.

Watching John B rush over to the other side of the room, he searched through the shelves underneath the box television. Jj shrugged his shoulders upwards, and began to search the bathroom, walking with a slight bounce. I quickly trailed my eyes up and down his appearance, looking at the muscles on his arms, his cargo shorts, and the black boots on his feet.

"What was your gang called again?" I asked, sarcastically sounding confused, "Your cult or whatever. Podes? Pogues?"

"Don't steal anything Jj," John B ignored me and rather shouted to his friend, "We're not stealing shit."

"What do you guys specialize in," I rose my hands up and picked at the skin around my nails. "Guns? Wait no— let me guess," I tried to sound innocent, making my voice annoying, "Drugs. I'm thinking, like, Weed, maybe Cocaine if you guys are frisky..."

"We're not a gang," Jj said casually, his voice echoing off the bathroom walls.

"Yeah— well," I let my hands fall back onto my legs, "John B was supposed to tell me everything on the way here, and he did not."

"It's not my fault you didn't even want to talk," John B muttered back. The beeping sound of buttons followed after his voice, and I looked over to see him kneeling on the ground, in front of the TV. He was looking behind a door.

A small hum emitted from my throat, my bottom lip popping out at the good point.

Jj didn't mind our conversation as he slipped something into his pocket, leaving the bathroom.

"Look— you guys are cool and all," I placed my hands on the bed behind me, leaning back, "With your vintage van, and your island groups and shit, but I have to say, it's not making me feel very safe."

"Jesus," Jj sighed loudly, "The island is divided in two, alright."

"For not feeling safe, you're still quite the fucking conversationalist, Charlotte," John B groaned, pressing more buttons.

"Well, if you talk to your kidnappers too much they'll get distracted," I shrugged, "And maybe let you go."

"We didn't kidnap you," John b groaned again, "As I remember it, you precisely stole the keys from my hands."

"I guess that's true," I hummed.

John B rose to his feet and marched over to the bedside table, drifting past me, and grabbing a smaller piece of paper that had numbers on it.

"Talk too much mumbo-jumbo and who knows, kidnappers are wildly unpredictable," I added.

"Or they'll get annoyed and just kill you," John B said. He kneeled down in front of the TV.

"Master plan, John B," I smiled sarcastically, "Killing me in my own grandpa's motel. Where you hiding the body?"

I listened to him pressing the buttons on something hidden, that made a high-pitched 'beeping' sound.

"No one's killing anybody alright," Jj huffed, as he examined the large map, his blonde eyebrows narrowed. "Besides, you can't die before getting my number," he looked up to me, smirking.

"If this is your way of making new friends," I shifted my eyes between the two of them, "I hate to break it to you, but I think you guys need some new tactics." I let myself flop into the bed.

John B pressed multiple buttons again, and then finally, I heard the sound of something unlocking.

"Holy shit..." John B mumbled quietly, suddenly sounding in disbelief.

"Find what you're looking for," I chuckled to myself, staring at the ceiling. "Hurry up, and let's go."

"Jj," John B swallowed, ignoring me. "You're gonna want to see this..." he mumbled, shining his flashlight on something.

"What?" Jj said quickly, seriously.

I sat up.

John B waved a thick wad of cash behind his head.

"Are you shitting me?" I almost yelled, standing bolt right up on my feet. "Put it back, John B, that's not yours!" I stepped towards them.

John B was sitting in front of a secret safe, filled with stacks of money and a cardboard envelope. The safe door was wide open, and the two boys crowded in front of it like children in a candy store. My breath hitched when Jj reached into the compartment and pulled out a black gun.

"Dude, dude, dude, dude—" Jj squealed excitedly.

"You grabbed the gun— put the gun back Jj," John B muttered, standing up.

"Dude this is a SIG Sauer!—"

Jj then pretended to be shooting the gun, whisper-shouting loud "bam" sounds to mimic the shots. I covered my head, a small strike of fear hitting my chest, even though I knew he wouldn't shoot. I quickly swivelled to the side and sat on the bed, shielding myself.

"Dude, we are not stealing anything!" John B grabbed his friend's shoulder and pushed him back.

"What are you—" I yelled, trying to keep my voice as low as possible, "A fucking psychopath?" I threw my arms out at my sides.

"Just take a picture of me," Jj told, talking to John B. He maneuvered himself and put the gun to his chin, posing for a photo.

"You want me to take a picture of you." John B looked at him.

"Yeah dude... like—" Jj did a different pose, crossing his arms.

"I'd put the gun down before you shoot yourself— and all of us— in the head," I interjected, shifting my eyes between the gun and the boys.

John B shined his flashlight on Jj's face, "You wanna make our own incriminating evidence? Is that was your talking about?" He stood there, narrowing his eyebrows.

"Make sure I'm not in it." I added, fed up with them and deciding to just give up. I crossed my legs over one another, sitting on the bed.

Suddenly, a slight thud came from outside the window, causing all of our heads to turn.

"What was that?" Jj asked, glancing down at the gun in his hand. He admired it as John B stepped up to the window.

I sat up straighter, while John B pulled up the blinds and stuck his head under them.

"Shit!" He whisper-shouted. As quick as he'd looked out the blinds, he was running away from them.

He hopped on the bed I was sitting on, moving me aside with his hand as he jumped over.

"What is it?" Jj spat out quickly.

"Cops." John B whispered, his eyes wide, as he peeked an them the front window, beside the door.

He flew away from the window, grabbing my arm in the process of jumping off the bed. He pulled me off the mattress frantically, causing me to rise to me feet, as if I couldn't get up myself.

As soon as I heard the knock on the door, I knew he wasn't lying. Suddenly, my heart was beating faster than ever, pounding through my ear drums as everyone in the room rushed. The first thing I looked to was the window, and I ran straight for it, stepping up on the bedside table.

"Where the fuck are you going?" John B whisper shouted at me, his words quick and low.

"Where the fuck are you going?" I whispered back, mimicking his annoying tone, but I didn't look at him as I peeled the window open.

Surprisingly, the old window creaked open after a single mighty push. I didn't care about the distance it was from the window to the ground below, I wasn't about to get caught by the cops on my third day on the island. I stepping out on the slanting platform that was, fortunately, under the window, bracing my legs for the jump down. But before I could get any further, a strong hand grabbed the side of my upper arm, and pulled me back.

John B quickly shoved my front-side against the dirty-brick wall beside the window, as Jj crawled out and closed it. Jj pressed himself up against the wall on the opposite side of the window, the side of his face squished. Two hands stuck themselves on the bricks beside my head, and then I felt John B press his body up against my backside.

"I don't like this situation," I whispered quietly, referring to John B pressed up on me, my voice sounding completely opposite to what I was feeling. Inside, my stomach twisted and turned upside down, but on the outside, I seemed fed up and annoyed, my voice coming out with an attitude.

This was the closest I'd ever been to getting caught by the cops. And, of course, the most rebellious thing I've ever done. Practically hanging off a roof, while police officers search the room I just so happened to invade, and having a teenage boy pin me against a brick wall to hide, wasn't something on my bucket-list before arriving on the island.

John B removed one of his hands from the wall, putting it to his lips and whispering a low, "shh" to both me and Jj.

I swallowed the bubble of air blocking my throat, as he put his hand back down. His head was on mine, and I breathed in his scent as my stomach rose and fell against the wall. He smelled like sea-water, but a refreshing kind of sea water, and a hint of Vanilla. I felt his breath on my neck.

Jj turned his head, and quietly laughed, causing our heads to turn as well. Kiara and Pope were in the boat, annoyed and worried looks on their faces, as they mouthed the word "what are you doing" and "are you crazy".

Then suddenly, a loud sound of something hitting against the rain gutter caught our attentions. Jj swore cuss words under his breath, as the black gun skidded down the roof-platform and landed in the dirt. John B leaned his head on top of mine, and I could tell he was crunching his nose and blinking hard.

"Oh my god," I said, my voice lower than a whisper.

Everyone stopped breathing when one of the cops peeled open the blinds with his fingers. I almost had to cover my own mouth because of how dramatically it hitched. Two blue eyes and bushy grey eyebrows peered outside the window, and Jj quickly pressed his body up harder on the wall. John B then had his hand on the side of my arm, pushing us to the edge, as far as we could go. My left foot hung off the roof-platform, and so did his, all while we held our breath.

I wanted to take John B's arms and shove them away from me, for thinking I wasn't able to hold myself up. But that was too much movement, and would've landed us in the police station. So, I simply closed my eyes in a hard blink as his large biceps caged me in.

Then, just as I was about to jump off the roof and make a run for it, the cop disappeared from the window. Not long after that, we heard two voices speaking to one another as the motel-room door closed shut. The cops were walking away, and we'd succeeded.

No one moved an inch until the cops were, for sure, in their car, and were driving away on the other side of the motel.

"You can get off me now," I said to John B, intentionally letting an attitude slip through.

"Wow, after all that I can't even get a thank you," he replied.

He peeled his body away from mine, and I felt like I could finally breathe. His hands tore away from the walls, and I could no longer smell his scent or feel his breath on the back of my neck.

"Dickhead!" I scoffed, as he stepped away from me, standing close to the wall, "I'm the one who climbed out the window first. I should get a thank you," I crossed my arms hard over my chest, "What were you guys gonna do, hide behind the fucking shower curtain?"

"I was going under the bed," Jj stated calmly, fixing something in the back of his pocket, "Before JB yanked the shit out of my shirt." He stepped towards the window.

John B pulled him back with a strong hand, "We're not going back in there, idiot," he said, "unless it's to return the gun, which is down there," he pointed a finger down at the gun laying in the dirt, his voice coming off salty at the fact that Jj dropped it.

"It slipped." Jj mumbled, before turning around and sitting on his bottom.

He slid down to the end of the short platform, grabbing the ends with his hands and pushing off. I looked down to see him land perfectly on his feet, before wiping his hands on his shorts and reaching for the gun. John B followed his actions, sliding off the end and falling to the ground. He landed, and then it was my turn.

"Yeah— no." I claimed, "I'm going back through the room."

"I'll catch you, Cherry Cola," John B smiled up at me jokingly, putting his arms out. "Like they do in the movies!"

"Yeah— like you know how to catch a female," I laughed sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"Just jump," he ordered, rolling his eyes.

"No, I'm okay," I nodded, popping out my bottom lip before starting to turn away.

"Alright then, we're leaving," John B shrugged, his words causing me to stop, "and you'll be left behind, with your grandfather who's probably on his way up here right now, to check the room for himself, you know, since he's the owner and all," John B acted like I wasn't there, glancing back to Jj a few times who nodded in agreement. "And don't think you can just run home, because I know you have no fucking idea where we are."

"Son of a bitch," I spat out under my breath, uncrossing my arms. I pushed my hair behind my ears, and sat my butt down on the scratchy roof like I'd seen the boys do, feeling it burn against my thighs as I slid. "I swear to god, John B, if you don't catch me-"

"You'll kill me, I know." He blinked, nodding once, sounding fed up.

"I'll punch you," I held onto the end of the platform, staring down at him with serous eyes, "Violently. In the stomach. With a baseball bat."

He stared up at me with an dumb look written on his face, his arms still out as if holding an imaginary bin of laundry. I closed my eyes in a hard blink, breathing out slowly, bracing for death. My fingers let go of the roof, and I pushed off, falling through the air.

Faster than I'd let go, I landed in John B's arms. Surprisingly, my back wasn't on the ground, and was rather resting smoothly between both of his arms, one hand wrapped around my waist, and the other wrapped underneath my two legs. My own arms automatically wrapped around his neck, over the cloth piece. I could barely brace what had happened, but when I opened my eyes to realize that I wasn't dead, John B was smiling down at me.

"See, that wasn't so bad?" He spoke at a normal volume, letting out a laugh.

For a quick second when I looked up at him, I didn't want to punch him in the face. He was cute. Very cute. And the way he held onto my body made a certain feeling spread through my stomach, before I pushed it away.

Jj was already heading for the boat, while Pope prepared it to leave again.

"Yeah, whatever," I mumbled, tapping his shoulder, my tone of voice disregarding what I was feeling. I squirmed out of his grasp, and to my surprise he got the message, and let me down on my feet. I began to walk away from him. "Let's go John B," I called back when he didn't follow, "You're driving me home before my grandparents catch me and send me back to New York."

༄

𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 !