#JJ Kane | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

teenagegoldrush · 1 year

Text

The Bonfire

words: 9,337

MASTERLIST Season Two

A/N: I do not claim to, nor do I own Outer Banks; the concept, characters, plot, etc

DAY NINETEEN

Sarah spent the night at Tannyhill, deciding it was best to stay and grieve with her sister and Rose.

Rafe was let out of prison, on account of Ward taking the fall for everything Rafe did, and although Ward was gone, it still felt like there wasn’t quite enough justice.

Because he took the coward’s way out.

(Suicide is not the coward’s way out. In the case of Ward Cameron though, it was.)

Nobody really spoke much the rest of the day.

They all went back to the Chateau, and retreated to their own little corners of the house.

John B shut himself away in his room, Pope decided to fish, and Kie laid on a hammock.

JJ and Andy sat in silence in the guest room. Eventually, they all just went to bed.

The next morning, spirits seemed to be lifted. Granted, nobody was upset that Ward had died, they more felt sorry for Sarah.

JJ was fishing off the dock, Pope and John B laid out on the Pogue, Kie sat beside Andy on the dock.

The group was waiting for Sarah to show up. “I mean, he deserved it, right?” JJ asked, casting his line out.

“Are you joking?” Kie scoffed. “Of course he deserved it.”

“Never seen anyone blow themselves up before.” Pope sighed.

“Kinda hope I never have to see it again.” Andy nodded, swinging her legs back and forth.

“Cross it off the bucket-list.” JJ said from behind them.

“JJ!” Andy scolded him.

“But it sucks for Sarah…” He said, trying to erase his previous statement.

Kie got up, shuffling over to sit beside the boat, where John B was laying. “Are you okay?”

“It’s not me I’m worried about.”

To the rest of them, that was John B’s way of saying he wanted to be alone. So they all got up, JJ pulling up his fishing line, and retreated back to the Chateau, where a mid-afternoon nap was awaiting.

Pope, pulled his backpack out of (seemingly) thin air, and started working on homework. Kie and Andy laid down on the couches in the sunroom, and JJ disappeared somewhere inside.

When Andy awoke, it was dark. Kie was no longer on the couch, and it was quiet.

On her phone, there was two texts from JJ.

Went home to grab some clothes. be back later :)

don’t miss me too much

She nodded to herself, sending a thumbs-up.

Through the open kitchen window she could hear one of the showers, which meant somebody was in one.

Andy got up, walking outside. Nobody was in the hammocks, or in the hot-tub. The twinkle lights weren’t even on.

But she could see a figure, down by the boat, presumably John B, as that was where he was all day.

She walked across the yard, and down the dock, and sure enough John B was still laid out on the Pogue, but now with Pope beside him.

The two were on their backs, staring at the night sky.

“Got room for another?” Andy said, announcing her presence. John B turned his head, nodding.

Pope patted the space beside him, and she climbed onboard, laying down.

The three of them laid in silence, listening to the sounds of the frogs and crawdads around them. “I don’t get it.” John B said quietly. “I don’t.”

“Love is five minutes of pleasure for a lifetime of pain.” Pope sighed.

“What happened…?” Andy asked, needing to be caught-up.

“Sarah decided we needed to take a break.” John B replied, not taking his eyes off the sky.

“Oh.” Andy said. “Well, I mean, things did move pretty fast with you guys. And her dad just died… I think she just might need some time alone?”

John B nodded, not wanting to admit that Andy might be right. “So, you and Kie? What’s going on? Tell me everything.” John B nudged Pope with his knee.

Pope sighed. “Well, she just wants to be friends.”

Andy winced. Kie hadn’t updated her on the latest happenings of her and Pope. And that was a big miss.

“Death blow.” John B shook his head.

“I didn’t even see it coming.” Pope replied.

“I’m sorry man.” John B patted Pope’s shoulder. “And how ‘bout you, D? Never thought you and JJ would be the only ones with a stable relationship.“

“Ugh-“ Andy groaned, sitting upright. “Semi-stable. We’ve only tried breaking up like six times in the past four days.”

“Doesn’t matter, you’re still together-“ John B was cut off by a can of beer flying past his head and into the water.

“Hot potato, hot potato!” JJ cheered, throwing another at John B as he sat up. “That was my bad, terrible aim- And one for you!” He threw one to Pope, who also sat up.

“You want?” Pope asked, offering his beer to Andy.

What the hell? Andy shrugged, taking it from his hands.

“Ah, here Pope.” JJ threw another to him. “So what’re you guys doing down here? Having a good cry?”

Pope looked at John B, who looked at Andy. “Cry?” Pope asked, playing it cool.

“Cry? What are you talking about-“ John B scoffed.

“We don’t cry.” Andy shook her head, cracking her beer open.

“You know it’s not your fault, right?” Kie said, taking a hit of a joint.

“You think she’ll come around?” John B replied, toying with the beer in his hand.

“Yeah.” Kie nodded. “She’s one of us.”

John B’s face turned up in a smile. “Hm…” He nodded. “Sarah’s a Pogue.”

He kept nodding, thinking to himself. “She’ll come around. She’ll come back to me, right.”

“Right, John B… Back to earth now bud.” Andy snapped her fingers a few times.

“I was just thinking. I’m gonna do a backflip.” John B nodded, snapping out of his thoughts.

“Oh, so you’re a like a gymnast now?” Andy asked, taking a sip of her beer. “You’re lying.”

“You won’t!” JJ laughed.

“Oh, I won’t do it?” John B challenged him.

“No, no you won’t!”

“Hold my beer, that you already dropped!” Before Pope could react, John B threw his beer at him and backflipped off the boat, proving them all wrong.

“No shit!” Andy laughed, taking another sip of her drink. “I’m going next!”

She set her beer down, kicking off her boots and quickly undressing.

“Oh, so now you’re going next, what’re you gonna do?” JJ chuckled, trying not to make it seem obvious he was watching her undress.

“I dunno. Something really cool.” She pushed past Pope, standing at the tip of the boat.

John B swam away, waving his arms to her. “Show us what you got!”

Andy laughed, settling for a double backflip, just to show John B that he was inferior to her (at least, in the world of gymnastics).

She hit the water, her body going cold. “Holy shit, it’s cold!” She squealed, reaching the surface.

Pope, Kie and JJ were cheering. “A double backflip?” Pope laughed.

“She sure showed your ass!” JJ clapped his hands. “That’s my girl!”

Andy turned to John B, grinning at him. “I showed your ass.”

He shook his head, splashing water at her. “Don’t splash me!” She laughed, splashing him back.

The two swam for a few more minutes, the others sitting on the dock. And when it got too cold, they used the ladder on Pogue to climb out.

Andy left her clothes on the boat, sprinting past her friends and to the house, where it was significantly warmer.

She and John B hadn’t planned that very well; no towels. She wasn’t even in a bathing suit, just her bra and underwear.

The seasons were changing, and it was certainly not warm enough for night swims anymore.

Andy ran through the house, and into the guest bathroom, where she quickly stripped out of her wet clothes and jumped in the shower, the warm water running over her body.

When she finished her shower, she was shocked to find her clothes missing from the bed, where she had laid them out earlier in the day.

Wrapped in her towel, she padded out into the hallway, hearing her friends raucous from the living room. “Which one of you assholes took the clothes?”

All four of them turned to her, smiles on their faces. “I’m not hanging out in my towel all night, so somebody either gives me the clothes or I lock myself in my room.”

John B stood up, two beers in his hand, and walked over to her. “A shot-gun for your clothes.”

“It’s an even exchange!” JJ grinned.

“I am literally naked! And you want me to shot-gun a beer?” Andy scoffed, swatting at John B.

He waved the beer in front of her. “I know where your clothes are…” He teased.

Begrudgingly, Andy tightened her towel around her chest, snatching the beer from his hands. “You’re ass is getting beat when I get dressed, understand?” She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Pope, count ‘em down.” JJ nodded, watching them.

“Three, two, one!” Pope nodded.

Andy cracked open her drink, John B had already poked holes in them. She held one hand under her chin, to catch the falling liquid, and the other on the can, as she swallowed as fast as she could.

This time, she finished significantly sooner than John B did, crushing the can and throwing it at him.

“Ha! Give me my fuckin’ clothes you little bitch!” She laughed as he sputtered the last of his beer, both cans falling to the floor. “I never lose!”

Kie got up from where she was sitting, handing Andy her clothes. “And to correct you, that’s actually my shirt.” JJ nodded, taking a sip of his beer.

“Oh well you weren’t around when I picked it out, so… Snooze you loose.” She shrugged, turning and walking back to the bedroom.

She smiled to herself as changed into her sleep clothes, one of JJ’s shirts and some sweatpants.

Tonight was feeling like normal. Like how it was before Sarah, and before the gold. It felt good.

When she joined her friends back in the living room, Kie had a beer waiting for her, and a spot next to JJ on the couch.

The Pogues drank themselves to sleep that night. Playing stupid card games and building a tower of beer cans, reinforced with random duct tape.

Andy had never felt happier.

DAY TWENTY

Andy was awoken the next day by Pope, poking her in the cheek with a pair of his sunglasses. “Up. School. Thirty minutes.”

Andy groaned, covering her face with her arms. “Why?”

Pope tugged on her leg. “Um, because you’ve skipped two full weeks in a row now. You need to come back.”

Andy groaned again. “But it’s a Friday. Who the fuck goes back after skipping for two weeks, on a Friday?”

“You do.” Pope pulled her off the couch and fully onto the floor. “Now get dressed.”

Andy leaned her head against the couch, glaring at Pope. She begrudgingly got up, shuffling sleepily to the guest room, where she managed to find a clean-enough outfit for school, brushing her teeth, and then rejoining Pope and Kie in the kitchen. “

What are they doing?” She asked, pointing at JJ and John B, who were both still asleep on the pullout.

“They’re coming with.” Pope nodded, grabbing the tower of cans and walking over to the bed. He smacked John B in the face with it.

“Hey!” He hit him again. “We gotta go to school man. We have a geometry test first period.”

“Is John B even registered for school?” Andy asked Kie, leaning against the kitchen counter. “He was dead like a week ago-“

Pope turned to JJ, smacking his face lightly with his hands. “Get up, JJ!”

The kid didn’t move. Pope turned to Andy now. “Is he alive?”

“How should I know?” She sighed, walking over to him.

John B sat up, pulling on a random sweatshirt.

Andy shoved Pope aside, climbing on top of JJ, sitting on his lap. “Yo! Wake up man, Pope’s making us go to school!”

JJ’s eyes barely opened, just enough to see that Andy was sitting on him. “What a view-“ He smiled, but Pope interrupted him, throwing JJ’s boots at them.

“JJ, shoes, now. Let’s go!”

Andy rolled her eyes, rolling off of JJ. She met John B in the kitchen, tossing her backpack at him. “Carry that, would ya?”

“What are you doing today?” He asked Kie, almost fumbling the bag in his arms.

“Um, I’ll meet up with you guys later.” She shrugged, sitting down at the kitchen table.

“This way, out the door!” Pope ushered them towards the door, grabbing the keys to the Twinkie on the way out.

“I’m starving, I need some pizza-“ JJ mumbled, still half asleep.

“Nope, you missed breakfast.” Pope dragged him by the shoulder of his shirt outside.

John B was already laid out on the bench in the Twinkie, Andy’s bag discarded on the floor. She curled up beside her bag, using it as a pillow.

Pope shoved JJ inside, he flopped himself onto the seat next to her, immediately going back to sleep.

Pope started the van, driving them to school.

“He’s totally gonna sleep through ya’ll’s test, just so you know.” Andy mumbled, closing her eyes and trying to get a few more minutes of sleep before they got to school.

They reached the school just as the homeroom bell rang, they could hear it from the parking lot.

Pope dragged JJ to his feet, and John B actually carried Andy to the front doors, dumping her onto her feet at the top of the steps.

Pope made them walk JJ and John B to their homeroom, to make sure they actually made it there, and then the two of them went to their’s.

“Miss Kane, nice to finally see you again. Hope everything’s alright.” Their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Wagner said, as she took attendance.

“Yup, very nice to be back.” Andy yawned, barely staying awake to make it through homeroom.

“Yo, are you gonna be okay til third?” Pope asked, nudging her with his shoulder.

“Yes, yes, Pope I’ll be fine.” She nodded, trying to wake herself up.

“How much did you have to drink last night?” He rolled his eyes, scribbling something down in his notebook.

“Apparently, more than you.” She mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

Pope shook his head. “Well get your shit together because you’ve got a full day ahead of you-“ He was cut off by the first period bell ringing.

"See you in Sunn’s.”

Andy nodded, grabbing her bag and standing up. “Yeah, you enjoy your quiz bub.” She exited the room, turning the opposite way of Pope and heading to the art room.

Mr. Braddock wasn’t fazed by Andy’s sudden appearance, he simply told her the latest project they were working on and let her to it.

Second period English, they simply had a free reading period, and Andy took that as code for “free nap period”, so she slept, and then she was off to third period with the boys.

The three of them greeted her outside the door of her English class, JJ practically latching onto her as they walked down the hallway.

“Did you know the bonfire was tonight?” JJ asked, head leaning on her shoulder.

Andy shook her head. “Uh no, how would I know that?”

“Well John B got a special invitation to the bonfire.” JJ nodded towards John B. “Yvonne Gordon gave him a cute little note.”

“Yvonne Gordon?” Andy snickered. “Nobody even knows about you and Sarah yet, why would she give you a note like that?”

“Beats the shit outta me.” John B shrugged.

“Well regardless of the circumstances, that’s a solid invitation, so we’re going.” JJ said.

“As if we need an actual invite to attend?” Andy shook her head as they walked up the steps towards Mr. Sunn’s room.

Coincidentally, he was waiting outside the door.

"Ah, Mr. Heyward, Mr. Routledge, Mr. Maybank, Ms. Kane, just the kids I wanted to see.” He stopped John B by his shoulders, smiling sarcastically.

“Wish I could say the same-“ JJ groaned.

“Ha-ha.” Mr. Sunn rolled his eyes. “I have a question of the historical nature for you guys.”

Mr. Sunn lead them past his classroom and into his adjoining office. “I digitize documents for the Maritime Museum- please JJ, don’t look so bored.” He nodded to JJ, who was staring at the ceiling.

“Anyway… In return, I’ve been given access to the archives. And I found this.” Mr. Sunn dug through a shelf in his closet, pulling out a box.

“A box.” John B said.

“More than a box.” Mr. Sunn grinned, sitting it on the desk in front of them. He opened it, revealing something, very old, in a plastic bag. “Go ahead Mr. Heyward, just be careful with that.”

Pope picked up the bag, opening it and pulling the item out.

“It’s a diary?” Andy asked as Pope held the notebook.

“The author’s unknown.” Mr. Sunn replied.

Pope opened the diary, and on the first page was a drawing of wheat, the same as the symbol on the gold, and the letter he received from Limbrey. “No shit.” Andy whispered.

“This is a sample of a letter from Denmark Tanny.” Mr. Sunn placed a piece of paper on the desk beside the box. “Compare the handwriting.”

Andy leaned over JJ’s arm, looking at the loose paper and the notebook entries. The handwriting was identical.

“It’s Denmark Tanny’s diary.” Pope said, running his fingers over the pages. He turned the page, opening it to a little drawing. “It’s Captain Limbrey.”

Pope sat down at the chair behind him, he began to read from the book. “August sixth, 1829-“

“That’s the year the Royal Merchant went down.” John B said.

“Thought ya’ll might find this interesting.” Mr. Sunn smiled, content with his explorations and discoveries.

“Thank you so much for this.” Pope answered, still reading. Andy could tell he was already getting attached to the diary.

Mr. Sunn nodded. “It’s important to know your own history.” And with that statement, he left the office, leaving them to examine the journal for themselves.

“Oh my god-“ Pope all but gasped at something he was reading. “It’s the Cross of Santo Domingo.”

Andy rushed to look at the book, peering over his shoulder. JJ and John B flanked to either side of them, also looking at the little drawing. “It was on the Royal Merchant.”

Well, there was another piece of the new puzzle. Why was the Cross of Santo Domingo so important? Duh, it was on the Royal Merchant.

After a few more minutes of reading, the quartet joined the class next door, and not without getting a few strange looks.

They trudged through the rest of the school day. Andy went through fourth and fifth period alone, rejoicing when lunch came, so she could join the boys in examining every little detail in Tanny’s journal.

Sixth, and seventh period were less of an annoyance, as she shared them both with Pope, and eighth (P.E with all the boys) period came and went, and this time John B drove them home.

“Oh my god, going to school is exhausting.” Andy groaned, flopping onto the couch in the sun room of the Chateau.

“Agreed.” JJ sighed, sitting down on top of her legs.

She managed to wiggle them out from under him, propping them on his lap as Pope read aloud from Tanny’s journal.

“August fifteenth: set sail from Port-au-Prince on calm seas. Came upon the Spanish ship San Jose, on fire. The entire deck was aflame. And we could hear the screams from the men trapped below. The Spanish captain cared only about one thing, his valuable cargo - the Cross of Santo Domingo and countless bars of gold.

Once the cargo was onboard, we went to help the crew, but Captain Limbrey ordered us to pull bayonets and not to let any of the Spanish crew onboard. He robbed them and left them to die.”

“What a piece of shit.” Andy mumbled, her face smushed against a pillow.

JJ flicked his lighter open and shut. “So it didn’t go down off Bermuda?”

Pope handed John B the letter. “And it was a Limbrey stealing shit again.” Kie sighed.

“This diary proves that both the gold and the Cross of Santo Domingo were both on the Royal Merchant.” Pope replied.

“Why didn’t we find it in the well then?” JJ asked. “I mean, if Denmark was able to get the bedazzled cross off the Merchant and to shore, why didn’t he just hide it with the gold?”

“Because it was too big?” John B shrugged.

“Think about it.” Andy rolled over onto her back.

“Hypothetically, if you were gonna hide a million dollars, and a brand-new Baja- Hypothetically, would you put the cash and the boat all in one storage unit, or would you put them in two different units, at two different buildings, so if you get robbed of one, you’d still have the other? Logic, J.”

Pope looked at her with amazement, the actual logic of her statement, settling in his brain. “You’re right.” He nodded. “He had to hide it somewhere else.”

“Yeah, but where?” Kie asked.

“Right before he was hung, Denmark said he buried the treasure at the foot of the angel.”

“I thought this was about a key?” JJ questioned.

Kie brushed him off. “Right, so what’s the connection?”

“”The path to the tomb, begins in the island room.”” Pope recited.

“But what is the island room?” Kie asked again, growing agitated.

JJ rolled off the couch. “You know what helps me figure shit out?”

“Many o’ things-“ Andy nodded.

“Smoking beers and drinking weed. The ideas just pour out of me.”

“I hope they’re not as good as “smoking beers and drinking weed.”” Andy laughed, swatting at his legs with a pillow.

He ignored her, yanking the pillow from her hands. “If we just sit here and try to figure this shit out, we’re not gonna get anywhere. But, if we get creative, and go to this bonfire tonight, maybe we’ll figure it out.”

“Well, I just got disowned by my parents, so I’m an official member of the nothing-to-lose club.” Kie shrugged.

“I’ll do anything to not have to go home to my dad.” Andy also shrugged.

“Pope?” JJ asked.

Pope shrugged. “But we’re so close.”

JJ played with the tower of cans. “Look-“ He set it down. “Think about how much you could think if you just gave your brain a rest?”

Pope looked around the room, at John B, then Kie, and Andy, as they all smiled at him, silently begging him to join in on their revelry.

It didn’t take much convincing. “Okay, fine.”

“Ha!” Andy cheered, jumping up from the couch.

“We gotta get goin’ boys!” JJ yelled.

“And shotgun before we go!” Kie agreed, the group standing up and going inside to change into warmer clothes for the impending evening.

Andy dug through the closet of the guest room, searching for one of her jackets. “Yo, Kie wants to do a group shotgun before we go- What’s up, whatcha lookin’ for?” JJ flopped down on the bed.

Andy sighed, turning back around. “I thought I left one of my jackets here at the end of spring but I apparently didn’t. I really don’t wanna stop at home to grab one either-“

“Oh, you can just wear mine.” JJ rolled off the bed, shrugging his jacket off and holding it out to her.

Andy narrowed her eyes at him, her lips turning up into a smile. “JJ Maybank, did you just offer me your jacket?”

JJ rolled his eyes, shoving it at her. “I did it for you when you got dress-coded in school too, it’s not that big of a deal.”

Andy smiled, shrugging the corduroy jacket over her. It was pretty oversized, the sleeves going a few inches past her finger tips, and the ends of it hanging well over her thighs.

“It’s just nice, s’all.” She shrugged, rolling up one of the sleeves.

JJ stepped forward, rolling up the other one. “Yeah?” He nodded, proud of himself.

“Looks pretty cute on you. Like when a toddler wears one of their dad’s t-shirts-“

“Oh my god.” Andy groaned, shaking her head.

“But it’s nice.” JJ nudged her knee with his. “I like people knowing you’re with me. You wear my clothes, it’s like a thing.” He shrugged.

“So this is you laying your claim on me?” She questioned, jokingly.

“Not like that!” JJ groaned, swatting at her arm. “Just be serious, for like one minute?”

Andy nodded, her smile still remaining on her face. “Yes, sorry, I’ll be serious.”

“This wasn’t part of a whole big plan or anything, but… you wearing my jacket to the bonfire tonight?” Andy nodded, encouraging JJ to continue, she could tell he was getting nervous about something.

“I figured this could be our “official” first party as a couple? Ya know, since we never even really officiated anything, and not everybody knows…”

Andy couldn’t help but smile, her cheeks heating up. JJ wanted to go to the bonfire as an “official” couple. “We’re in it now.” She shrugged, leaning into him.

She could feel his body relax; obviously he had been anxious about actually asking Andy to be his official girlfriend, considering the fact that he never really did.

“Hot damn!” JJ cheered, wrapping his arms around her body and squeezing her tight. “Can’t get rid of me now.”

Andy rolled her eyes. “Wasn’t planning on it slick-“

“Hey guys, you ready yet, we gotta drink before we go!” Kie practically ran down the hall to them.

“Oh-“ She grinned, stopping in the doorway. “Hm… Sorry to break this up, but we’ve been waiting like ten minutes for ya’ll.”

“Wipe that grin off your face or I’ll smack it off.” Andy said, jokingly, JJ letting go of her.

Kie slung her arm around Andy’s shoulder as they walked down the hallway. “What’d I interrupt?” She whispered, so JJ couldn’t hear them.

Andy shrugged. “Just JJ finally asking me to be his girlfriend.”

“No shit!” Kie smiled. “So ya’ll are street-official now.”

“Better than never putting a label on it.” Andy replied, letting go of Kie as they entered the living room, a beer for each of them waiting on the coffee table.

“About time!” John B groaned, jumping up from the couch. “Let’s go, everybody up, get a drink.” He was referring to Pope, who sat patiently on the couch beside him.

Each of them grabbed a beer, passing around John B’s house key to pierce the bottoms of their cans. “Lord of Tannyhill, would you do the honors?” JJ asked, bowing down to Pope.

Pope shook his head. “‘Kay. Three, two, one-“ He never really finished because they all began to drink.

Andy could barely contain her excitement as she gulped down the liquid. Everybody was home, and it was Bonfire night.

She was gonna go with her friends, and her boyfriend (!), probably get drunk, and then do absolutely nothing tomorrow. The good life was back.

She and Pope finished at the same time, high-fiving when they realized they were the first ones done.

John B and JJ were next, only finishing a split-second apart, and Kie was last. She usually was.

“Ya know how terribly irresponsible it is for you to drive now?” Pope asked, as they all walked out to the Twinkie.

“It’d be terribly irresponsible for any of us to drive right now bro.” JJ said, only slightly mocking Pope.

John B climbed into the van, JJ sitting shotgun, and the rest of them in the back. “Pope, relax, it’s only one beer. Anyway, I’ve driven with more than that in my system before.”

“You’re a nightmare.” Pope groaned, leaning back in his seat.

John B blasted music the entire ride to the pit, him and JJ jamming out in the front.

Andy and Kie messed around, playing footsie and playing hand-football with a little piece of paper they found in the back.

“Alrighty ya’ll, ready to return to the land of the living?” John B asked, parking the van.

“Ready as we’ll ever be.” Kie sighed, rolling onto her feet. Andy followed her, then Pope.

JJ stood beside the van, stretching his arms out, preparing for a night of his favorite sport: partying. Andy tucked herself under his arm, and John B walked around to join them, slinging his arm around JJ’s shoulders.

“The terrible trio, back in action-“ He grinned as they entered the party. Somebody immediately handed him a solo cup. “Oh my god, I missed you so much.”

John B took a sip, handing it to JJ, who also took a sip, and then handed it to Andy. “What is it, cause if it’s nasty, I’m not drinking it.”

JJ frowned, practically shoving the cup at her. “It tastes like it’s straight fireball, just finish it.”

Andy rolled her eyes, taking a small sip from the cup. He was right, it was literally straight cinnamon whiskey.

“Damn amateurs.” She downed the rest of the drink in one sip.

The trio continued their way through the party, dodging Kooks and Pogues alike, until they made it to where the coolers were.

“A-ha!” JJ let go of John B and Andy, ducking down to pull two beers from one of the coolers.

“You-“ He pointed to John B. “Forget about Sarah for the night. I understand you’re upset and shit, but her father blew up right in front of her. So just give her a minute, alright? And in the meantime, you and me, shotgun right now.” He handed John B one of the beers.

Andy raised her eyebrows, tapping on the empty cup in her hands. “I say go for it-“

“Hey derelicts!” Someone shouted, scaring the shit out of all three of them.

They turned, seeing Yvonne sitting up on part of the stone wall just behind them.

“Hey, there she is.” JJ sighed, looking back at John B. “That’s all you. We’re outta here. Goodnight-” JJ snatched the cup out of Andy’s hand and they dipped.

“Let’s go get this shit filled up, right?” JJ pulled her through the crowd, towards the opposite end of where they just were, looking to find the Kook coolers that were stocked with hard liquor.

“World’s worst employee, is that you?” Andy heard someone say. She turned around, seeing Matty pushing through the crowd to reach them.

She waved him over. “I thought that was you.”

JJ turned around, seeing Matty. “Matt, what’s up?”

“JJ, how you doing man?” The two of them shook hands, as if they were old friends. “What are you guys up to?”

Andy grabbed her cup back from JJ, waving it in front of Matty’s face. “Tryna find where the Kooks are keeping the hard shit. Need a refill.”

Matty’s eyes lit up. “Well, you just so happen to be in luck, because Cara let me use the budget bonus for the week to buy some shit for tonight- Follow me.”

Andy, now followed by JJ, weaved through the crowd again, following Matty to where his cooler was, of course, being guarded by some of his friends.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Was all Andy could think, when they approached the cooler, and none other than Miller Daniels was sitting on top of it.

During the summer between freshman and sophomore years, Andy had a not-so-secret and technically illegal, fling with Miller, which pissed everybody on the Cut off, including her friends.

They had never spoken about it, and hadn’t seen each other since he left for college.

“Do my eyes deceive me, or is that Andy Kane coming towards me?” Miller asked, kind of asking Matty, and kind of asking Andy.

She nodded, smiling politely. “In the flesh.”

She silently hoped that he wouldn’t stand up and give her a hug, as it was the usual polite thing to do after you hadn’t seen someone in awhile, but lucky for her, he just waved.

Beside her, she could feel JJ tense up, his grip tightening on her hand. “Maybank, ‘sup?”

JJ shrugged. “Nothing much man, just here and there.”

Matty caught the vibe, shaking his head as JJ and Miller were practically in a silent battle for domination. “Found Kane in the crowd and she’s looking for a refill. Told her I got the good stuff, so get up so I can get her a drink, alright?”

He pushed Miller out of the way, digging through the cooler.

Matty mixed her a drink, and Andy didn’t care what it was. “Maybank, you want anything?”

JJ shook his head, raising the beer in his hand. “Nah Matt, I’m good, thanks though.”

Matty nodded, closing the cooler and handing Andy her cup. “You need anymore, just come back over here. What’s mine is your’s.” He winked to her.

“Just promise me you’ll start showing up for your shifts again soon? I can’t handle my sister’s fucking whining when you don’t show up.”

Andy nodded, taking a sip of her drink. It was good. “Mhmm. I’ll get right on that.”

She and Matty rolled their eyes at the same time. “Thank you Matty, I’ll see you around.”

JJ couldn’t seem to drag her away from them fast enough. “Miller, what a dick.” He grumbled, searching for literally anyone else to talk to.

“He didn’t even do anything, just calm down.” Andy shook her head.

“Yeah, okay.” JJ snapped back, spotting a few of his co-workers from the hotel setting up a pong table. “You play pong?” He turned to ask her.

“Well yeah, I’m a great pong partner.” She shrugged. “Only if you chill out though. Stop tensing up over every little thing that happens.”

JJ rolled his eyes again. “Andy-“

“Knock it the fuck off or I’ll make you hang out alone.” She shoved her cup at his lips. “Drink some of this, we can get another one then.”

JJ took a sip of the drink. “Right, anyway, pong?” His tune changed the moment she threatened to leave him alone.

JJ sweet-talked one of his co-workers to convince them to let him and Andy play against him and a friend.

She and JJ shared her drink, and obviously, a few beers, and completely dominated three games of pong.

Andy overturned her cup, frowning when she realized it was empty.

JJ was celebrating their win, with a few Pogues he knew from school, so Andy didn’t see the harm in slipping away and having Matty make her another drink.

Miller’s face lit up as soon as she entered his eye-sight, Matty nowhere to be found. “Kandy-Kane, back so soon?” He smiled at her.

Andy shrugged, overturning her cup again. “My cup runneth empty.” She approached the cooler, looking around. “Where’s Matty?”

Miller shrugged. “Think he’s tryna sweet-talk his way into a rando’s pants. Whatcha want?”

“Something- Anything.” She shrugged. “I can do it myself, it’s no big deal.”

“I dunno Kane, Matty gave the first one on the house, but this next drink might cost you.” He tilted his head, seeing if she was catching his vibe.

“Hm…” She hummed, contemplating what he really meant. “What kind of payment are you thinking, because I really only have like thirty cents to my name right now.”

“How ‘bout a little kiss? For old times sake.” Miller shrugged, tapping his cheek.

Andy narrowed her eyes at him. “Ah, in that case, I think I’m gonna have to pass on the drink. Since we’re gatekeeping liquor now…”

She turned on her heel, attempting to walk away, but Miller held onto her wrist.

“Now, c’mon, where’s the Kane I used to know? She’d usually offer more than just a kiss for a drink-“

“Well this Kane’s gone through some shit and realized she’s worth more than kissing her ex for a fucking drink- So let go of me.” She yanked at her wrist out of his grip and turned to walk away.

Miller shook his head. “You’ve gone soft, Kane! Spending too much time on Figure 8? Or did Daddy finally break you down?”

Andy’s mouth opened in shock, she didn’t even know why she was giving him a reaction.

Anger and alcohol surged through her as she turned back around, stomping over to the cooler. “Wanna say that again to my face, this time?”

With a shit-eating grin on his face, Miller nodded. “I said, you’ve gone soft. Did your Daddy finally get to you?”

Andy knew exactly what was coming next.

See, Miller knew her before she decided fighting her way through life was the best option, so he never even saw what was coming.

Andy reeled her arm back, sending her fist straight into Miller’s cheek. The impact sending him backwards off the cooler and on his ass in the dirt.

“If you ever lay a hand on me, or threaten my integrity again, you’ll be six-feet under instead of just knocked on your ass, do you understand?” She spat, towering over him.

Miller sputtered on the ground, blood running down his face and onto his neck. “What the fuck!” He shouted, now drawing attention to them.

Suddenly, Matty, JJ, and all his work friends, and a handful of others were crowded around them.

“Yo, what’s going on?” Matty shoved through the group, JJ right behind him.

“D, what happened?”

Matty pushed past Andy, helping Miller to his feet, and JJ pulled her backwards, into his side. “Don’t waste your time with her, Maybank, she’s a fucking prude.”

“What the fuck did you say?” JJ immediately let go of her, stepping forward to him. “That’s my girlfriend you’re talking about-“

Andy couldn’t help but grin when JJ said that, her heart fluttering, despite the current circumstances.

Matty let go of Miller, placing his hand on JJ’s chest. “JJ, it’s not worth it man, you’re both wasted. Just get outta here.”

“I’m not wasted, man. I can tell right from wrong perfectly fine.” JJ wasn’t backing down.

Matty looked over JJ’s shoulder, silently begging Andy for help. As much as she wanted to see JJ beat the shit out of Miller, it would end up ruining the night for the rest of their friends.

She rolled her eyes, tugging on the back of JJ’s shirt. “C’mon, let’s just go.”

JJ whipped around. “You seriously just wanna let him talk shit on you like that?”

Andy shrugged, smiling slyly at Miller, from behind JJ’s shoulder. “Well you know it’s not true. He’s just mad he could never get that far with me.”

She winked, more at Miler than JJ, and slid her hand into his, flipping the middle finger with her other hand as they walked away.

As they pushed their way through the crowd, Andy could feel JJ lightening back up. “You all good?” He asked, squeezing her hand.

“I can handle myself J.”

“That’s not what I asked.” He stopped, staring at her. “Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you or touch you at all?”

Andy shook her head. “Not a finger.” She shrugged. “He was just being a dick, and I was sick of his shit. Besides, it was a long-time coming anyway.”

JJ’s frown slowly turned up into a smile. “Good, cause seeing you handle your own shit like that was hot as fuck-“

JJ was cut off by another commotion, from right by the fire. Andy stood on her toes, peering over the tops of heads to see, none other than John B and Topper, almost nose-to-nose.

“Well that’s our boy.” She shook her head, standing back on flat-feet. “Let’s go.” She pulled JJ towards the raucous.

“You wanna start some shit right now?” Topper shouted at John B.

“Do I wanna start some shit?” John B repeated, almost challenging Topper.

“They all know what happened last time!”

Andy let go of JJ’s hand, stepping between John B and Topper. “Howdy- Howdy boys, what’s going on?”

Sarah also stepped between them, shoving at John B. “Just get out! Just go!”

Andy did a double-take at Sarah, the fire from Miller not fully burnt-out yet. “Oh, so Sarah Cameron gets to decide who stays and goes at an island party? Is that right?”

Sarah rolled her eyes, holding Topper back. “Don’t even start Andy, you don’t even know what this is about.”

“It doesn’t take much to put the pieces together.“ Andy shrugged, hand on John B’s arm.

Sarah almost laughed, almost. “How drunk are you right now?”

“What does me drinking have anything to do with this? You don’t decide who stays and who goes, so fuck off!” Andy let go of John B, stepping forward to Sarah.

John B grabbed her arm now, pulling her back. “Yo, no!” He pulled Andy to his side.

“Just get out of here, quit looking for problems where there is none.” Sarah snapped, turning back to Topper.

“He started it Sarah!” John B shook his head, trying to reason with her.

Out of nowhere, Kelce showed up, pushing past Sarah and Topper and standing nose-to-nose with John B. “Hey! She don’t want you anymore, bro!”

John B laughed, not fazed by Kelce’s scare-tactics. “Shut the hell up.” He rolled his eyes, turning, and pulling Andy with him.

“What’re you gonna do, John B? Kill me like you killed Sheriff Peterkin?” Kelce snapped.

John B beat her to the punch, literally. Before she could even react, John B had turned back around, whacking Kelce in the face and sending him stumbling back into Topper and Sarah.

Topper stepped in next, shoving John B and wrestling him onto the ground. Now a crowd had formed, and somehow pushed Andy and Sarah back together.

“Look what you did now Cameron.” Andy shook her head as Sarah watched them in shock.

Sarah didn’t retaliate, she simply watched as her ex boyfriends fought each other.

In the crowd around them, it had turned into a full-blown mosh pit, everybody seemed to be fighting each other.

From over Sarah’s shoulder, Andy could see Yvonne pushing through the crowd, probably looking for John B.

From the movement of the people, Sarah got shoved into Yvonne, and Yvonne shoved back, knocking Sarah onto the ground below where John B and Topper where.

“Sarah!” John B screamed, noticing as she hit the ground.

Andy, despite being pissed that Sarah just argued with her, decided to take her frustrations out on Yvonne instead, pushing past the few people that separated them, and shoving at her from behind.

“What the fuck?” She snapped, whirling around to see Andy.

“Don’t fucking touch her!” Andy snapped, punching Yvonne right in the face. Unfortunately for Andy, Yvonne was also an experienced fighter, so the fight was nothing if not fair.

The pair wrestled, eventually landing down where Sarah was still sat on the ground.

Yvonne landed a particularly hard blow to Andy’s mouth, a metal taste erupting on her tongue. She was at a disadvantage, laying on the ground.

Yvonne straddled her, holding her hair in one hand and reeling her other fist back so land the finishing blow.

But Sarah reacted faster, standing up and using all her strength to push Yvonne off of Andy. Kie showed up too, shoving Yvonne again when she tried to stand back up. “Move bitch! What’s your problem!”

Kie turned to Sarah, whose chest was heaving with anger.

“You alright?” Sarah nodded. Kie then turned to Andy, helping her off the ground. “You good? You’re bleeding.” Kie patted her own lips.

Andy used her palm to wipe her lip, her hand coming back red. “I’ll be fine.” She mumbled, spitting blood from her mouth onto the ground.

Above them, Pope ran up to Topper and John B. “Guys, we gotta go!” Kie called to them.

JJ jumped down from the wall, going to help Pope. “Get the hell off me!” Topper pushed back at Pope, who was pushed into another person, who began beating on him.

JJ was having a hell of a time reaching Topper, who still had John B pinned on the ground.

Andy shook her head, of course she’d have to do it herself. “Andy, don’t! It’s not worth it!”

Andy brushed her off, climbing back up the small wall to Topper.

She grabbed the back of his shirt with one hand and his arm with the other, using all her strength to pull backwards.

“Back off Kane! It’s not your fight!” Topper struggled against her, still holding onto John B but not landing anymore punches.

“JJ, a little help here!” John B croaked, still laying under Topper.

JJ finally arrived, taking over for Andy and putting Topper in a choke-hold, pulling the two of them fully onto their backs.

John B jumped up, pulling Andy with him, and quickly going to help Pope out of his fight.

Kie had climbed up the wall, holding Andy back from joining in with JJ and Topper. “Guys, we gotta get out of here, come on!” She shouted.

Andy wriggled herself out of Kie’s grasp again, first going to JJ and Topper.

JJ still had him by the throat, holding him still. “Hey, no!” JJ groaned, struggling to keep Topper still, and seeing Andy approaching.

Andy waved him off, punching Topper in the face. That’s for John B, bitch.

She stumbled as Pope and John B flanked either side of her, also sending a few precautionary blows to Topper so that JJ could let go of him, unharmed.

“You good? You good?” JJ quickly asked Pope and John B, who both nodded furiously.

“You good?” He looked at Andy, whose lip was still bleeding.

She nodded. “Right!”

They all jumped down the wall, practically sprinting back to the Twinkie as people yelled at them now, pissed that they had started fight club.

“Go back to the Cut!” “Get outta here Pogues!” Were just a few things Andy heard.

Everything was moving in slow motion as she ran, the alcohol finally catching up with her.

JJ couldn’t help but laugh, scooping her up in his arms and running, carrying her like a toddler on his shoulder. “C’mon slowpoke!”

John B barely waited to make sure everyone was in the van before taking off. “Well that fucking sucked!” Andy groaned, holding a hand to her lip.

“You kicked some serious ass though.” JJ shrugged, tossing her a cold can of beer he salvaged from the party.

She took it, holding it to her face. “It was a little unexpected.”

Kie scoffed, sitting up from her position on the floor. “Was it?”

Nobody really responded.

It really wasn’t unexpected. Wherever they went, trouble seemed to follow.

Nobody spoke the entire ride home. Andy tried to focus on not throwing up, her stomach feeling funny after thinking about how Sarah defended her, even after they argued.

At the Chateau, Andy flopped onto the couch in the sunroom, never wanting to move again.

“C’mon babe, we’re gonna make smore’s.” JJ tapped her forehead, making her get up. “Damn, Yvonne really got you good.”

“Yeah well I was the last one standing so I consider that a win.” She mumbled, following him out to the fire that Pope and John B had started.

JJ laughed. “You never lose a fight.”

“I’ve had more black eyes in the past month than I’ve had in my entire life!” Pope was saying as they approached the fire.

Kie laughed, holding a smore in her hand. JJ sat down on a chair, and Andy sat in one beside him.

"That was building up for years.” He said, reaching into the bag for a marshmallow. “Rumble in the jungle.”

He winced as he grabbed a stick, placing the marshmallow on the tip of it. “Fuck that’s hot! Who used this last?” He grumbled, holding it out over the fire.

“Hey-“ John B nodded to Andy. “Did you really stick up for Sarah?”

Andy shrugged, reaching across JJ to grab a piece of chocolate. “Course I did. She’s not a real Kook.”

John B seemed confused for a moment, before shrugging. “Right.”

“Tell that to Topper.” Pope mumbled, taking a bit of his smore.

Andy leaned back in her chair, munching on her slice of chocolate.

Beside her JJ assembled a smore, dropping it as soon as he picked it up, waving his hand. Andy laughed.

“Mhm, that’s hot!” He winced, the smore falling apart on his plate.

Andy continued laughing, covering her mouth. “Stop laughing at me, that shit hurt!”

Across the fire, John B smiled, leaning over and grabbing Kie’s hand, bringing her smore to his mouth. “I just want one bite, that’s all-“

“What are you doing- No stop!” Kie gasped as the remaining bite of her smore was knocked to the ground.

“Well you’re not having any of mine either.” JJ teased, as his smore still sat unassembled on his plate.

“I spent the last of my money on that!” Kie said, in fake shock.

“Well you’re not having it!” While JJ argued with Kie, Andy quietly leaned over, reassembling the smore and taking it off the plate.

Pope watched her, trying to contain his laughter as she motioned for him to be quiet.

“I don’t think you’re having it either…” Kie smiled, nodding to his plate.

JJ looked down, mouth opening in shock at his empty plate. “Hey, what the shit!” He looked over at Andy, whose mouth was full of smore, and laughing at him.

“Snooze you loose-“

“Hey, hey, shush!” John B was bent over, picking Kie’s discarded smore off of the ground. “Somebody’s here.”

They all quieted, turning to look over at the chicken coop, where John B was staring.

Andy internally groaned. Shockingly, she had had enough conflict for one night, and just wished to finish her JJ's smore in peace.

“You don’t think Topper would?” Kie asked, sitting her stick down.

JJ stood up. “Wouldn’t put it past him.”

“You have your gun?” She asked, standing up too.

“Oh, now she wants the gun?” JJ snapped, pulling Andy up by her arm.

“Oh now you don’t have the gun?” Kie fired back. “Isn’t it your secret weapon?”

“Hey, shut up!” Pope snapped, breaking up their argument.

“Goddamn, now she wants the gun?” JJ muttered holding an iron rod in his hand, as the five of them crept towards the chicken coop.

“No, shut up!” Andy whispered. “The stick’s gonna be fine.” JJ glared at her, following Pope.

“Hey, who’s out there?” John B called.

“You Kooks better not try anything!” Kie added.

“Who’s there?” JJ yelled. Intimidation, was definitely not their strong-suit.

A rustling came from behind the coop, and from out of the bushes, Limbrey’s brother came, hands held in the air. “How ya’ll doing?”

“Oh, it’s this piece of shit.” Pope nodded.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” JJ shook his head.

“Lovely evening we’re having.” He still held his arms up, walking towards them. “Look, I don’t hold a grudge with any of y’all, alright? But this can go hard, or this can go easy.”

“Enough with the niceties and just tell us what the fuck you want.” Andy snapped, already growing tired of his game.

He lowered his hands, narrowing his eyes at her. “You know what I’m here for.”

The key.

The real key.

Andy shook her head, playing dumb. “Let me show you a little demonstration. You see that swing right there?” He pointed to the swing attached to the tree beside them.

“I got the best bow hunters in the Army Rangers with me, hidden.”

“Oh yeah?” JJ grinned, lowering the rod.

None of them believed a word this guy said. Not especially that they were about to be hunted by a pack of Army Rangers.

The man whistled, and suddenly, an arrow flew past JJ’s head, piercing the tree behind them.

Everyone tensed up, shit was real.

“Now, they’re out there. And they’ll stick every single one of you, just as I say so.” He walked past them all to Pope, who was at the back of the group.

JJ clenched his jaw, raising the stick again, to strike him in the back of the head, but he was too fast.

He whistled, another arrow landing in the ground just between JJ’s feet.

Quickly, and for his own safety, Andy leaned over, snatching the rod out of JJ’s hands and throwing it on the ground.

There was no way out of this one.

“Now, I’m not gonna give you a countdown, or any bullshit like that.” He nodded to Pope. “I’ll simply just whistle.”

Pope looked at each of his friends, knowing there was literally no other option but to give up the key.

He pulled it out of his pocket, clutching it in his hand. “This key belongs to my family.”

“I’m losing my patience with you Pope.” The man laughed.

Pope held the key out, and he plucked it from his fingers, satisfied that he beyond-scared-straight five teenagers. “You did the right thing kid. Knowing when you don’t have a choice is an under appreciated talent.”

“Yeah, especially when there’s a grown-ass man bullying you and your four teenage friends.” Andy snapped.

The man laughed, whipping around and lunging at Andy, pushing her up against the tree. “You’re on my nerves now Andy!” He snapped, nose-to-nose with her. “You kids simply have to learn when and where to get involved!”

“If you don’t get your hands off her right now, I’ll cave your head in.” JJ clenched his jaw, holding the iron rod in his hands again.

“I’ll take every single one of those arrows.”

The man took one more second to contemplate, before letting go of Andy. “Easy there.” He nodded to JJ, holding his hands up again. “Ya’ll have a good night.”

He whistled one more time as he walked back down the driveway, signaling to his little minions that they were off the hook.

Nobody said anything until he was out of sight.

JJ dropped the iron rod, pulling Andy into a hug.

“I am so sick of this shit.” Pope gasped, chest heaving from anger.

Andy poked her head out from JJ’s chest, watching as Pope stormed off towards the dock.

Kie shook her head, heading into the house for the night.

John B went back to the fire, busying himself by cleaning up the remnants of their smore’s, and JJ decided it would be best for them to go to bed for the night, pulling Andy in the house.

Kie was laying on the pullout when they passed her, heading straight for the spare room.

“You know, I should really be mad at you, because your big-ass mouth got us into a lot of shit tonight.” JJ snapped, aggressively kicking off his boots.

Andy scoffed, sitting down on the bed. As if JJ’s mouth hadn’t gotten them into shit before.

“But honestly, I’m just impressed that you managed to handle your shit every single time.” He finished, throwing his jacket onto the floor outside of the bathroom.

“Are you sure you aren’t mad, because you’re giving off some really heavy vibes right now…” Andy winced, bracing for impact.

“No.” JJ sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “I mean yes, I’m mad but not at you!”

He groaned. “I’m fucking pissed that we keep getting shit on over and over again! Nothing can ever be easy, nothing can go our way! It’s ridiculous!”

Andy nodded, completely understanding JJ’s frustrations.

“Hey.” She stood up, grabbing his face with her hands. “I trust Pope. Shit happens, and we’ll find a way out of it. Let’s just sleep on it.”

JJ seemed to immediately calm down under her touch. “Sleep on it?”

“Whatever you want?” She shrugged, turning so he would sit down on the bed.

“Whatever I want?” His eyes lit up, realizing what the said. “

The door is locked.”

“Exactly.” She grinned, pressing her lips to his.

The damn cross could wait until the morning.

Tonight was about fun.

TAG LIST

@chaoticsteverogers @secretwilliams @writingjjfics

#kane content #obx fic #obx #obx oc #jj maybank imagine #obx imagine #obx2 #kiara carrera #pope obx #outer banks

30 notes · View notes

caiti-creative-corner · 4 months

Text

Title: Priorities Written for Fic in a Box Exchange 2023 Characters: Aaron Hotchner, JJ Jareau, Megan Kane Rating: T Summary: Aaron Hotchner knows how to prioritize, but sometimes he needs a reminder at how well he does it.

LINK TO STORY

#criminal minds #aaron hotchner #jj jareau #megan kane

3 notes · View notes

agent-cannoli · 2 years

Note

WAIT, A CANNOLI ISNT A PASTA?????

-Agent JJ

it's fried

#that's not my name! // agent jj #ask #*#it's [kaneli] not cannoli!

2 notes · View notes

7rashstar · 8 months

Text

07-17-22

#friends #johnny #jj #jack #kane #emily #will #madison #traveling

0 notes

quin-ns · 1 year

Text

Assigned Seat (JJ Maybank x Reader)

Word count: 2.8K

Summary: JJ won’t sit in the correct seat because it’s not next to you

Tags: fluff, mutual crushes, lots of flirting, JJ being cute, slightly oblivious reader, getting together, everyone ships, just cute fun fr

A/N: binged obx and this is my first fic for it and of course I had to write for JJ- he’s my fave. also, it’s s2 when school starts but let’s say they know that john b is alive before the first day of class bc I don’t want this to be angsty lol

cross-posted to ao3 • obx masterlist • writing masterlist

First day back in your first class of the day—Mr. Sunn’s history class—and you were greeted with a seating chart. Usually, you would just sit with your friends, but now you saw that Pope and Kiara weren’t in the same row like they usually would’ve been when you all shared a class. You didn’t even see JJ at all yet. You wondered if he’d show up. It was the one class that you actually had with him, so you hoped he would. Otherwise you wouldn’t see him until lunch break.

You found your seat with ease, but gave Kie a light frown when she turned around and saw you weren’t anywhere close to her or Pope.

About a minute before class was about to start, JJ walked through the door. He spotted you and grinned. He headed for the empty seat beside you and dropped down in it.

“Hey,” JJ greeted. “I was almost late but here I am.”

You laughed a little (mostly because of how proud he sounded). “Yeah, I see that.”

“So, what’s up?” he asked, side eyeing Kie and Pope. “Are we avoiding them for some reason or…?”

“What? No,” you replied quickly. “Appreciate that you were instantly on my side, though,” you said with an amused tone.

JJ smiled at the comment. “I appreciate the appreciation.”

You rolled your eyes but smiled back nonetheless.

“If you two are done flirting, perhaps Mr. Maybank could move to his correct seat and we can get class started,” Mr. Sunn called out suddenly. You and JJ both were startled, realizing he was talking to you

JJ furrowed his brows. “Correct seat?” he whispered. “What is he talking about?”

“There’s a seating chart,” you muttered back, finally remembering.

“What?” JJ asked a little louder. “That’s lame,” he grumbled.

“Well, tough,” Mr. Sunn replied, clearly having heard. “And according to my lame seating chart, you’re on the other side of the room.”

“It’s an empty seat,” JJ pointed out.

“Actually, it’s Mr. Kane’s seat,” Mr. Sunn gestured towards a boy standing near you guys that you embarrassingly enough just now noticed.

“Well, great, he can have my seat,” JJ suggested with that cheeky smile of his.

Mr. Sunn looked from JJ to you. “You must be something special, Ms. Y/L/N. I’ve never had someone fight so hard to keep a seat.”

All you could do was laugh awkwardly, very aware of all the eyes on you. You gave JJ a look, asking for him to save you from being the center of attention on the first day. The only way he could was by relenting.

With a sigh that you would deem dramatic, JJ stood and grabbed his backpack. Mr. Sunn held up the seating chart paper. Everyone watched as he went to the front of the class and glanced at the paper, and then found his actual seat on the opposite side of the room.

“You can see your girlfriend after class,” Mr. Sunn commented in response to your friend losing the argument.

You weren’t his girlfriend, but neither you or JJ corrected him. You didn’t because frankly, you’d gotten your fill of attention. You weren’t sure why JJ didn’t, though.

Besides, you weren’t totally against people thinking that. It was still weird having a teacher call you out like that, though.

The kid who had been waiting for JJ to vacate his seat gave you an apologetic look before turning his attention to pulling out a notebook.

You made eye contact with JJ across the classroom and he winked.

“Now that everyone is in their correct seat,” Mr. Sunn announced. “We can get started with class.”

Everyone turned to focus on Mr. Sunn going over the first day syllabus, except for Kie. You caught her looking at you and you met her eyes. She raised her brows as if to ask, “what was that?”

You shrugged, telling her that you didn’t know. It was true, you didn’t.

After class, no one brought it up so you didn’t say anything about it either. You all went about your day and soon, the whole seat incident left your mind.

The next day you were reminded of it.

You arrived to history with Pope, chatting about the syllabus and what supplies you still needed to get. Kie was already in class. You said hi and then bye and headed to your seat. JJ was the last to show up, cutting it close again. You gave him a small wave, assuming you weren’t going to get to talk to him until after class.

Except, he walked right up to you and sat down next to you.

You raised your brows at him. “What are you doing?”

“Well, hello to you too,” JJ acknowledged with a light chuckle.

“He’s gonna tell you to move again,” you predicted.

JJ shrugged it off. “Like some seating chart is gonna keep me away from my favorite girl,” he retorted in a playful tone.

You smiled, ready to go along with his flirting. “Favorite, huh?”

He put his elbow on his desk and leaned on his hand. “What, you didn’t know that? I coulda swore I made it obvious.”

You hummed, ready to hit back with a sly comment. Until you were interrupted.

“Is this going to become a daily occurrence?” Mr. Sunn’s voice tore you and JJ away from the gaze you held. You both looked to the front of the class, where he stood watching you two. “I believe you know your correct seat, Mr. Maybank.”

“I forgot, actually,” JJ lied easily. “I’m pretty comfortable here, though.”

Mr. Sunn rolled his eyes and held back any indication that he found the situation as funny as you did. “I can’t have my students revolting,” he decided. He pointed to JJ’s assigned seat, waiting for him to move.

“It’s only 45 minutes, JJ,” you told him. “I think you can survive.”

“Fine, fine,” he told you and Mr. Sunn. He got up and moved to his seat. The boy that sat next to you came out of nowhere and took the seat.

After class, you met up with your friends. You were about to walk with JJ to the hall where both your next classes were, but Kie decided something different.

“I gotta go to the bathroom,” she announced. “Y/N- come with me?”

Except you didn’t really feel like she was asking.

“Um, sure,” you agreed and headed off with her in the other direction of the boys.

“Why do girls always do that?” JJ wondered, watching as the two of you turned a corner.

“Girls just do that,” Pope explained. “This time they’re going to talk about you, dude. For sure.”

“About me?” JJ furrowed his brows. “What about me?”

“About how you like Y/N and that it’s totally obvious now. To everyone.”

JJ just shrugged. He thought everyone already knew. The only person he really wanted to know was you, but you never seemed to think he was serious. You always flirted back and that was fun, but maybe he had to up his game.

Oddly, no one brought up the seat incident yet again as a group. Kiara and Pope did observe you and JJ closer, but even if the flirting was a little more obvious, it didn’t go beyond that.

Next day in history, it was a repeat of the previous days.

“I’m starting to think you like me,” you joked to JJ when he sat down beside you.

“It took you this long?” he responded teasingly. You tried to not read into it, not wanting to get your hopes up. Not realizing that he was hoping you would read into it.

Mr. Sunn looked up from his desk when the bell for class to start rang. Immediately, as if in a force of habit, his eyes landed on you and JJ. Once again he would have to start the class period by telling JJ to move.

“You must have amnesia,” Mr. Sunn directed towards JJ. Everyone knew that, he didn’t have to say his name.

You and JJ exchanged a look and a small laugh. You’d gotten over any level of embarrassment that came from people chuckling and eyeing you and JJ.

“Can’t you just make an exception?” JJ asked. He was bargaining but didn’t have anything to offer.

Kie threw a smirk over her shoulder at you, but you avoided eye contact.

Yesterday she had spent the “bathroom” trip convincing you that JJ really did like you—as more than just a friend. She knew you liked him, but also knew you were avoiding telling JJ. You didn’t want to mess with your friendship by making what you had always assumed was just friendly banter into something awkward and feeling like an idiot for thinking it was some kind of signal if it wasn’t.

If she hadn’t sworn to JJ that she wouldn’t tell you how he felt, she would have cleared it up yesterday. But of course you didn’t know that.

Mr. Sunn’s lips pulled into a tight line. You couldn’t tell if he was genuinely annoyed or amused. “If you’re next to her, how can I expect you to pay attention in class?”

At that, the whole class chuckled. Even you. At least Mr. Sunn had a good sense of humor.

JJ blushed a little at that. You hadn’t seen him flustered like this in… well, it had been a long time. He couldn’t think of a comeback as quickly as he usually did. Too many seconds passed for him to recover, so he had no choice.

JJ grabbed his backpack. “I’ll see you after class,” he promised.

“You always do,” you replied just loud enough for him to hear as he stood. He shot you a smile before walking over to his assigned seat.

Class moved slowly, although at least the subject was mildly interesting compared to your other ones this semester.

When the bell rang, you waited for your friends and you all walked out of class together.

“JJ, are you trying to get in trouble?” Pope asked, almost accusingly.

JJ scoffed out a laugh. “Don’t be dramatic, I’m not gonna get in trouble over a seat.”

“Interesting that you keep going for a seat that’s right next to Y/N,” Kiara mused in a knowing tone.

“Whatever you’re thinking, stop,” you told her, but not in a serious way. You and JJ flirted but you didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable by her comments, implying that there was more.

Turns out it was the opposite. You didn’t see the way JJ looked at you. You were focused on the eye roll Kie gave before saying bye and heading to her next class. Pope followed suit, leaving you and JJ to walk to your next classes together.

“Y’know, if Kie wants to think… that,” JJ started, referencing her very obvious implication. “Or if anyone else does… I wouldn’t mind.”

You stared up at him, a bit taken aback. You and JJ had always been close and flirted, and even though you had a crush on him and all your friends were convinced he had a crush on you, neither of you brought it up or confronted it. JJ was taking the first step.

“I wouldn’t mind either,” you admitted, smiling lightly.

JJ looked surprised, then relieved. “Really?”

You only let out a small laugh, “I’ll see you later,” you told him. You were about to walk to your class further down the hall, but stuck around for a moment longer. “Tomorrow, just sit in your seat,” you suggested. “Mr. Sunn is a chill guy but it’s gonna be a long year if we start off annoying him.”

“We’re not annoying,” JJ faked offense. “But yeah, alright,” he relented. “I guess I’ll just have to stare longing across the class,” he teased.

Your smile grew. “Yeah, I guess so,” you replied smoothly. Then, you walked away towards your class.

“We’re still meeting up with Pope and Kie later, right?” JJ called after you.

“Yeah,” you called back, not looking over your shoulder.

You hung out with your friends later and gone about your day. You and JJ of course flirted, but nothing more than usual. Pope didn’t bring it up again and Kiara just shot you knowing smirks.

Next day in Mr. Sunn’s class, much to your surprise, when JJ walked into class he gave you a light wave and continued on to his assigned seat. He was following your advice, which was a hard thing to get JJ to do. You looked over and realized he was standing near where his seat was.

And that someone was already in it.

The guy who was supposed to sit by you was in JJ’s seat. Meaning there was an empty seat right beside you.

JJ looked over his shoulder at you and grinned. He waltzed over, suddenly in a much better mood.

“Is this seat taken?” he asked you cheekily.

You looked past him to see the guy in JJ’s seat. He gave you a shrug and a look that said, “you’re welcome.” You almost laughed.

“I guess not,” you answered JJ, looking back at him with a smile of your own.

He sat down in the seat, victorious.

Mr. Sunn walked in when class started and went to the board.

“I see my words mean nothing to you, Mr. Maybank,” Mr. Sunn said, spotting JJ.

A smirk crossed your friend's face. “Actually,” he started, perking up. “My seat was taken.”

Mr. Sunn looked at JJ's actual seat and sighed. The kid looked a little guilty but didn’t say anything. He looked back at JJ. “Fine, you win,” he decided. Then, he began to write on the board.

After class, you and JJ parted from Kie and Pope to walk together to your next class.

“I can’t believe he finally gave in,” you said with a laugh.

“I can be persuasive,” JJ replied smoothly.

You let out another laugh. “That was not persuasive. That was…I don’t know what that was,” you admitted.

“Fine, but I got what I wanted,” JJ revealed. It was no surprise, but there was something underlying in his tone.

“Hey, I’m not complaining,” you held your hands up in surrender. The two of you stopped outside of your class and faced one another.

A small smile tugged at his lips. “I would hope not.”

“I’ll see you later,” you told him. “Don’t miss me too much,” you decided to add on.

“Oh, baby, I always do,” he played along casually.

Your face felt warm at the nickname, but you didn’t say anything more. When you all hung out later, the interaction played through your mind.

You were too distracted to realize JJ was staring at you all night—or at least that’s what Kie had told you later.

The next day in Mr. Sunn’s class, JJ was there before you. You couldn’t remember the last time he was ever in a class before you. You walked to your seat and he smiled up at you.

“Hi there,” you greeted, sitting down beside JJ. “For once you actually came to class early,” you pointed out.

“Well, I had a reason to,” JJ replied with a smile. “I wanted to ask you something.”

You chuckled, thinking of a joke. “Do you need an alibi?”

“Ha ha,” he said sarcastically. “I’m serious though.” Your expression turned confused. “Not like, serious serious. Don’t look so worried.”

“Alright, what is it?”

“After school today would you wanna hang out? Just me and you?” JJ asked with a hint of nervousness.

“We hang out all the time,” you started knowingly. “So if you’re asking…” you mused, suppressing a smile (you were having a hard time with that, though). “Is this you asking me on a date, JJ?”

“Maybe,” JJ said with a tad of nervousness. “Would you want to?”

“Yeah,” you answered without hesitation. You could’ve held out longer and maybe messed with a little, but you decided against that.

JJ looked pleasantly surprised. “Really?”

In your head, you were beaming with excitement. Out loud you confirmed, “it’s a date.”

“Don’t let me interrupt,” Mr. Sunn called to you and JJ, interrupting. “But since it seems important, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind sharing with the class.”

“Well, I’ve got a date later, so that’s pretty great,” JJ practically bragged, not missing a beat. “As for how that goes, I don’t kiss and tell.”

JJ shot you a wink after that, Kie and Pope looked over their shoulders so fast you thought their heads were gonna spin, and Mr. Sunn actually looked impressed.

“About time,” someone in the class spoke up. It was an unfamiliar voice. When you located the source, you found it was the boy in JJ’s old seat.

And what did you do? Well, all you could do was let out a laugh and share a smile with JJ.

You had a feeling this class was going to be much more fun now—although, maybe not as much fun as your date with JJ.

#quin-ns writing #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank x you #jj maybank #outer banks #jj maybank imagine #outer banks fanfiction #obx fanfiction #obx #rudy pankow

6K notes · View notes

radiomaxmusic · 11 days

Text

Tuesday, April 16, 2024: 4am ET: That JJ Kane Show

View On WordPress

#JJ Kane #RadioMax #Wikipedia

0 notes

radiomax · 10 months

Text

Wednesday, July 12, 2023 4pm ET: That JJ Kane Show with JJ Kane FRSA @caravanmediapr

JJ Kane on Twitter Listen Live: http://158.69.114.190:8018/stream Earth Wind And Fire – Going UndergroundThe Petal Falls – Side By SideSpirit Box – Let’s Circle TogetherKahila – HighFunked 3d – WeightlessSarantos – Happy AxxidentsThe Lightening Seeds – Why Why WhyDylan Flyy & The Dead Poets Society Ft Laura Duff – WhyTizanne – Don’t Tell Me The EndMichael Rattray – Human LifeSimon Collins –…

View On WordPress

#http://158.69.114.190:8018/stream #JJ Kane #Quite Great Radio Show #RadioMax #That Show

0 notes

release-your-sweets · 6 months

Text

Criminal Minds episodes I rewatch the most (Seasons 1-5)

Season 1

1x01 Extreme Aggressor

1x05 Broken Mirror (Highlight: Gideon sharing his orange)

1x06 L.D.S.K. (Highlight: Reid's gun plot)

1x09 Derailed (Highlight: Spencer Reid)

1x10 The Popular Kids

1x18 Somebody's Watching (Highlight: Spencer Reid)

1x22 The Fisher King Part 1

Season 2

2x01 The Fisher King Part 2 (Highlight: Spencer Reid)

2x02 P911

2x06 The Boogeyman (Highlights: The fear conversation, the plot twist)

2x08 The Empty Planet (Highlight: Derek Morgan)

2x09 The Last Word (Highlight: How they catch the unsubs are so funny)

2x11 Sex, Birth, Death (Highlight: Anton Yelchin)

2x12 Profiler, Profiled (Highlight: Derek Morgan)

2x18 Jones (Highlights: William Lamontagne Jr., Ethan)

Season 3

3x03 Scared to Death (Highlight: Elevator scene)

3x05 Seven Seconds (This whole episode is just good)

3x13 Limelight

3x14 Damaged (Highlights: David Rossi, Spencer Reid)

3x16 Elephant's Memory (Highlight: Spencer Reid)

3x17 In Heat (Highlight: JJ and Will)

3x18 The Crossing (Both cases are super interesting to me)

3x19 Tabula Rasa

Season 4

4x02 The Angel Maker (Highlight: "He's so lifelike")

4x03 Minimal Loss

4x07 Memoriam

4x08 Masterpiece (Highlight: the Fibonacci sequence)

4x09 52 Pickup (Highlights: Emily Prentiss, Magic)

4x11 Normal

4x12 Soul Mates

4x16 Pleasure is My Business (Highlights: Megan Kane, "How am I a whore?"

4x20 Conflicted

4x21 A Shade of Gray (Highlight: The plot twist)

4x22 The Big Wheel

4x24 Amplification

Season 5

5x01 Nameless, Faceless (Highlight: The way they had MGG sitting the whole episode)

5x02 Haunted

5x03 Reckoner

5x07 The Performer (Highlight: Twilight)

5x11 Retaliation

5x12 The Uncanny Valley (Highlight: Spencer Reid)

5x13 Risky Business (Highlights: Penelope Garcia, The Star Puzzle)

5x14 Parasite

5x15 Public Enemy

5x19 A Rite of Passage

5x20 ...A Thousand Words

5x22 The Internet is Forever (Highlight: Boyband hair)

#criminal minds #spencer reid #derek morgan #david rossi #emily prentiss #jason gideon #penelope garcia #jennifer jareau #will lamontagne jr

46 notes · View notes

monsterinmyboxers · 1 year

Text

masked kane kinda fine

#jj rambles #yes. wwe kane WHEN HE WAS MAKSED OK #im like 97% sure i have a mask kink

5 notes · View notes

teenagegoldrush · 1 year

Text

The Cross

words: 9,213

MASTERLIST Season Two

A/N: I do not claim to, nor do I own Outer Banks; the concept, characters, plot, etc

DAY TWENTY-ONE

The next morning, Andy awoke to an empty bed. She was extremely disoriented, compared to her usual state of disoriented-ness. She was wearing only her underwear and a random sweatshirt, which due to the fit, she assumed, was Kie’s, and the door was wide-open.

She took a moment to remind herself what happened the night before: Bonfire, borderline-blackout drunk, fighting club, camp fire, almost die, sleep with JJ….Right.

She could hear her friends usual raucous from down the hall, but before joining them, she decided she should shower. So she did.

Andy examined her face in the foggy mirror, wiping a spot for herself.

Her bottom lip was split, thanks to Yvonne, and her knuckles on both hands were split open. The only other “injuries” she had, were that her knees were bruised up, but they were always bruised.

She brushed her teeth, fixed her hair up a bit, got dressed, and sleepily shuffled down the hall, and out to the sun room, where her friends were.

John B was slouched on one of the arm chairs, sunglasses covering his eyes, Kie was laid up on a couch, her beanie over her eyes, Pope was sat in one of the wicker chairs, wrapped in a blanket.

JJ was leaning against the wall, a foam basketball in his hand.

“And she rises!” John B said, peering at her over his glasses.

She shrugged, sitting down beside Kie’s feet. “With the sun.”

Pope laughed, mockingly. “Sun came up like two hours ago.”

“Tomato, tomat-o.” Andy narrowed her eyes at him. “What have I missed?”

“Just discussing last night’s unfortunate events.” Kie replied, her voice muffled by her arm as she had it over her head.

“What kinda injuries you got?” John B nodded at her.

She held her hands up, showing her knuckles. “Busted my hands open, bruised my knees.” She patted her lip. “Split lip too, but I’ll live.”

JJ shrugged, toying with the ball in his hands. “Could always be worse- Hey.”

His eyes trailed to the door, across the room, where Sarah was entering. “Well hello Princess.”

“What’s up?” Kie groaned, pulling the beanie off her eyes.

“Shouldn’t you be on Figure 8 with your little group of polo players?” John B asked, sitting up. “Or did you break up with Topper?”

Sarah grinned at him, narrowing her eyes. “We’re just friends.”

“You seem to have a lot of friends Sarah Cameron…” John B’s eyes followed her.

“Yeah and it seems you have some of your own too.” Sarah snapped back.

“Alright, what are you doing here?” He asked, growing tired of the childish argument.

Sarah sat down in a chair next to Pope. “I’m here for Pope.”

Pope’s eyes widened in surprise. “I think I found the island room.”

Pope sat upright, throwing the blanket off of him. “What? What are you talking about?”

Sarah nodded. “The Island Room. It’s at Tannyhill.”

Pope’s eyes never got smaller as he looked around the room at everyone.

“Well shit, let’s load up ya’ll. We gotta go!” JJ made the first move, clapping his hands so that everyone would get a move on.

They all got up, going their separate ways to find their shoes and then meeting up at the van, where John B drove them towards Tannyhill.

“Okay, listen to this.” Pope announced, reading from his copy of Tanny’s diary. “The diary says the cross holds the most holy relic in all of Christendom, the Garment of the Savior.”

“So there’s a holy garment, inside a holy artifact?” Andy questioned.

“Yes.” Pope nodded. “It says the garment is capable of healing the sick from any malady-“

“”If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.”” JJ recited, looking over Pope’s shoulder.

Pope whipped around to look at him.

“What! I went to Sunday school.” JJ shrugged.

“Well that explains why Limbrey wants the cross so bad.” Kie said. “She thinks it can heal her. What else does it say?”

“”Many feel that we have sinned, to steal such a sacred thing. And God will strike his vengeance on us.”” Pope replied.

“That’s the thing.” Andy shook her head.

“God did have his vengeance.” Kie agreed.

“He sent a hurricane to sink the ship.” Pope sighed. “Only Denmark survived.”

Heavy vibes settled over the group again, making the rest of the ride a silent one.

When they arrived at Tannyhill, Sarah let them in, Kie following closely by her, then Pope, and Andy, JJ and John B last.

The house was silent. Assumedly, Wheezie was at school, Rafe was god-knows-where, and Rose was at the Cameron offices.

“This place still freaks me out.” John B mumbled.

“Yeah, same.” JJ agreed, as they walked through the labyrinth of hallways in the mansion.

Sarah lead them to a room at the end of a hallway. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Pope practically gasped when he stepped inside.

“Yep, I know, right? It’s the island room.” Sarah shrugged, as the others entered the room. “It’s been here this whole time.”

The room seemed to be a dining room. The table was set for a party, and a china cabinet was stocked with plates, bowls and cutlery.

“This definitely means something.” JJ did a double-take of the room.

Each of them went to a different part of the mural, examining and trying to decipher the images.

Andy came across Rixton’s Cove, and looked across the room, to where the old church was on the wall. “This is a map of the island.” She said, speaking for the first time in awhile.

“Yeah, D, you’re right.” JJ nodded, walking over to her. “Rixton’s here. Then the lighthouse.” JJ pointed at the wall in front of her.

“Guys look. Parcel 9 and the well.” Kie ran her hand along her wall.

“So if that’s Parcel 9, and this is Rixton’s-“ Andy turned to look at the far wall. “That’s the surf break at Mase.”

Two houses on a hill, surrounded by water.

JJ and John B followed her, John B, holding the copies of Tanny’s diary.

“Pope, c’mere.” JJ said, concentrating. “This is Denmark’s handwriting, for sure.”

Pope joined them as JJ snatched the drawing out of John B’s hand and held it up for comparison. The drawings were almost identical.

“Denmark, you genius!” Pope cheered. “These are all his drawings, he painted the whole room.”

“The question is why.” Kie said, still looking at her wall. “What’s he trying to tell us?”

“It’s gotta have something to do with the key, right?” JJ asked, rhetorically.

“How did you know to uncover this?” John B asked, turning to Sarah.

“I didn’t.” She replied, a confused look on her face. “It was like this when I got home.”

Andy’s heart dropped. Somebody beat them to it.

Limbrey.

“Okay, then who did it?” Kie asked.

“I don’t know!” Sarah shrugged.

“The freaks.” Wheezie said, appearing out of nowhere and scaring them all.

“Jesus Christ!” JJ clutched his chest.

“Wheeze? Aren’t you supposed to be in school?” Sarah asked, walking over to her.

“Wait, what freaks are we talking about Wheezie?” JJ asked.

“That sick lady and her attack dogs.” Wheezie nodded. “They showed up last night and wanted to talk to Rafe.”

Rafe. Great.

Rafe’s potential involvement just made the game a thousand times more dangerous and unpredictable. Especially after his stunt with Sarah at the boat lot.

“Pale blond lady? With crutches?” JJ asked.

Wheezie nodded to both statements.

“It’s gotta be Limbrey.” John B said. “What happened?”

“Well they searched the whole house looking for something. Then Rafe told me to go upstairs. But I didn’t wanna miss out so I listened through the grate.”

“Where was Rose?” Sarah asked.

“Around here somewhere. You know how she is. Quiet as a mouse.” Wheezie replied. “And they were talking about getting across the sand flamingo.”

“That’s code for something.” JJ nodded.

“The cross?” Andy asked. “The Cross of Santo Domingo.”

Wheezie nodded. “Yes, yep. That’s it. They were talking about angels. A lot of angel talk.”

“Angels?” John B asked.

“Denmark’s famous last words.” Pope said, eyes wide again. “He buried the real treasure at the foot of the angel. They’re looking for an angel. We need to find an angel in the room!”

He immediately began to search through the paintings for an angel.

Everyone else followed his lead, examining the walls, inch by inch and looking for an angel. They were all speaking out loud, the room becoming more and more chaotic the longer they looked.

“What’s going on? Are you guys gonna tell me?” Wheezie asked, as she watched them all.

They ignored her.

“Hey, yo, I found something!” JJ shouted, making them all go silent.

“This humongous tree is still on Goat Island.” He placed his palm against the painting of a huge knotted oak tree.

“Oh yeah.” Andy nodded, approaching him. “That’s where we used to go when we didn’t want Big John to bust us smoking weed.”

“It’s called Angel Oak.” JJ replied. “And look right there, it’s a key hole.” He pointed to a keyhole painted at the center of the tree.

“That means the cross is buried at the foot of the angel.” Pope recited. “That must be where he put it. That must be where they are right now, we have to go!”

“I think I’m Sherlock Holmes, right?” JJ grinned, proud of his discovery. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“‘Kay, hurry up Sherlock.” Andy shook her head, pulling him out the door as everyone else bolted towards the van.

John B drove once again, back towards the Cut to get to Goat Island

“Freedman’s church.” Pope said as they passed the oldest church on the island. “The church Denmark built for all the slaves he freed.”

As they came across the land-bridge, they could see the oak in the distance, towering over the crops.

“Oh shit. Tide’s coming in.” John B groaned, slamming to a stop.

Andy leaned up between him and JJ, seeing that the road was a muddy mess, and the water would start slowly rising soon.

“They already came through here.” Pope pointed at the road. “Those have to be Limbrey’s tire tracks.”

“Mmm, what do you think chief?” JJ ignored him, looking over at John B.

“Lookin’ a little dicey.” John B shrugged.

“Yeah, I’m gonna have to agree with that statement.” JJ nodded.

“Twinkie can take it.” Andy said, patting the dashboard.

“Why are ya’ll acting like you’re not gonna do it anyway?” Sarah asked, trying not to laugh. “Like when have ya’ll ever done the safe thing?

John B looked at JJ, then at Andy. “She’s got a point.”

“Speed is your friend here.” JJ sat upright, bracing himself. “Put her in second and hammer down, bro.”

“Stick to the ground in the middle.” Pope reminded them.

John B let off the brake, shifting into second, and flooring it. “You’re not gonna make it. You’re not going fast enough!” JJ shouted.

Andy crouched on the floor, one hand on each headrest as she watched through the cracked windshield, the mud pit grow closer.

They fishtailed a bit, and Pope was muttering complaints as they barely made it through the mud.

“That’s my girl!” John B cheered, smacking the steering wheel.

“Twinkie’s nothing if not reliable.” Andy nodded as they finally made a stop.

“Angel Oak, right through here.” JJ climbed out of the van, motioning to a small path cut through the trees. “And word to the wise: there’s definitely gator nests out here, so keep your eyes peeled, right?”

“Gators have nests…?” Kie asked, questioning JJ’s credibility.

“Yeah?” JJ said, matter-of-factly. “You don’t wanna be a Pat Womack. Got her calf chewed off by an alligator.”

“That’s actually not true?” Kie corrected him. “Pat Womack was injured in a car accident, but I hear you.”

“Okay, just live in ignorance.” JJ shrugged, grabbing a big stick as they were walking. “But she had half her calf chewed off by a mama gator and that’s just a fact. They like the brackish water.”

JJ stopped, standing over the ledge of a patch of water. “Hang on, I see something.”

Andy sighed, knowing exactly what he was doing. He was playing a scare-tactic with Kie and Sarah, just something to liven up the energy.

JJ crouched down, the stick slung over his shoulder. Without a word, he smacked the stick into the water twice.

“Right. Wake them up. How smart.” Sarah shook her head.

JJ shrugged, standing upright. “I was just making sure it wasn’t a gator. That’s all.”

He dropped the stick, throwing his arm around Andy’s shoulders, and they began to follow Pope through the brush towards the tree.

The closer they got, the louder the island became.

They crouched down behind some bushes, watching as Limbrey, her “assistant”, Rafe, and a whole excavation team dug up the ground around the tree.

Limbrey was sat, in an old beach chair, supervising as the team lifted a casket out of one of the holes in the ground.

“They got the cross?” JJ nudged Andy. “What do we do?”

“Just shush and watch!” She nudged him back.

Rafe pried the casket open, and Andy could see Limbrey’s shoulders drop. It wasn’t the cross.

“We’re going back! We’re going back, it’s not over!” She shouted, announcing to her employees.

The workers listened, loading up their equipment and tools, and driving their vehicles out of the swamp.

The Pogues ducked behind the bush, waiting until there was complete silence to stand back up.

Pope went first, stomping his way over to the casket that was left above ground.

Andy quickly chased after him, the rest of them following. “Cecelia Tanny, Denmark’s wife.” Pope said, crouched over the open casket.

Andy frowned, staring at the remains of Cecelia. Just a skull, and some dirt. “So they unearthed her and left her here… To the elements.”

Pope stood up, turning to look at her with solemn eyes, then turning back to the tree. “He wasn’t talking about the cross. He buried her at the foot of the angel.”

Andy sighed, understanding what Pope was saying. To Denmark Tanny, his wife was his treasure. The true treasure. Buried at the foot of the angel.

“The true treasure.” She said, peering up at the tree.

Pope turned back around, teary-eyed, and sat down beside the coffin. “Denmark was hung for burying his wife. And now they defiled her grave.”

Andy sat down beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

The rest of their friends sat down around the casket, and Sarah reached inside, pulling out a small gold ring.

“This must’ve been her wedding ring.” She and John B shared a look.

“We can’t leave her like this.” Pope said.

Andy lifted her head from his shoulder. “No. Of course not.” She nodded to JJ and John B.

They all stood, the boys lifting the lid back onto the casket. Pope and Sarah went searching for some flowers while JJ and John B hammered the lid.

Pope returned with a bundle of wild flowers, placing them on top of the box.

Everyone stepped back to give him some space, then the three boys carefully maneuvered the casket back into the hole, and JJ and Andy began shoveling dirt on top of it again.

In the mean-time, Kie and John B went back to the van, bringing it inland to where they were. Sarah sat at the base of the tree, listening as Pope paced back and forth and expressed his grievances to them.

“I still don’t get it. You guys saw the map!”

“He hides his gold so nobody finds it for one-hundred and seventy years. And then he sends a message to his son Robert, to come to his mother’s grave. But-“

“The message never makes it.” Sarah nods, knowing the story.

Andy bushed the dirt off of her jeans, handing her shovel to JJ and he put them in the back of the van.

Shoutout to the excavation crew for leaving them, conveniently.

“Denmark wanted him to find the cross. It was his legacy, I know we’re in the right spot. It just feels like-“

“Like we missed something?” JJ asked, staring up at the tree.

Andy turned, confused as to what he was looking at. “What’s up?” She asked, walking over to him.

He ignored her, climbing up to the roof of the van. Albeit confused, Andy followed him, climbing up to stand beside him on the roof.

He nudged her with his elbow, staring at the center of the tree, where a hole, exactly like the keyhole in the painting was.

“Bullseye.” JJ grinned, tapping the tree bark.

“It’s the keyhole.” Andy said, looking down at the others. “From the painting at Tannyhill.”

She looked back at JJ. “It’s worth a shot, right?” She shrugged as he stepped aside. “Go for it.”

Andy scoffed. “No chance, slick. You’re the one who discovered it, you stick your hand in.” JJ wouldn’t move. “If I recall correctly, I did almost drown in the storm drain so…”

Below them Kie nodded. “She did almost drown. It’s totally your turn.”

JJ sighed. “Yeah, no I’m gonna do it.” He pulled his sleeve back. “It’s just-“

“He’s scared?” Andy suggested, watching over JJ’s shoulder.

“I am not scared dude.” He scoffed, peering back at her.

“You seem scared.” Andy grinned.

JJ shook his head, wiggling his hand around to find a suitable position for it to fit inside the tree, and then sticking it in. All the way up to his shoulder.

“There’s something in here.” He said, focusing on whatever his hand was feeling. “Wait-“

“Shit!” JJ shouted, his arm being tugged inside the tree. He screamed, scaring the shit out of Andy.

She grabbed his shoulder, using all her strength to pull him back, and his arm out of the tree.

JJ stopped suddenly, pulling his arm out of the tree, and laughing. Andy’s mouth opened in shock as she let go of his body.

“Oh, you asshole!” Pope scoffed from below them.

“I got all of you on that one.” JJ laughed, absolutely tickled pink with his prank. “Even you, babe-“ He turned to Andy.

“Move!” Andy snapped, stepping in front of him. Shaking her head, she stuck her arm inside the hole, feeling around for literally anything.

“Is there really something?” Kie asked.

Andy’s hand wrapped around something cold and cylindrical. Almost like a soda can, but too long. “Yeah, hold on.” She pulled at it, slowly maneuvering it out of the hole.

In her hand was a capsule. Big enough to hold with both of her hands. She handed it down to Pope, who had his hand held up to her.

John B held his arm out, and she grabbed it, jumping down from the roof of the van.

JJ followed her, and Pope handed the capsule back to her. “H.M.S Royal Merchant.” She read, dusting the engravement off with her finger.

JJ snatched it from her hands. “Give it to the captain!” He grinned, stepping away from her and extending it. “It’s a spyglass.”

“No, there’s something on the end!” Andy scoffed, noticing more inscriptions.

She grabbed it back from him, holding it so she and Pope could look at it.

“”You’ve come this far, do not falter. The cross is on the Freedman’s alter.”” Pope read from the spyglass.

“Freedman’s alter.” Andy repeated. “The cross is at the church.”

Pope smiled, taking the spyglass from her and closing it up.

“What are we doing here guys, we gotta goooo!” JJ shook his head, confused as to why they were all still standing around.

That was all it took for them to jump back into action, piling back into the van and heading back across the island.

They made it fairly far, before they came back to the patch of water they encountered before, except this now if had transformed into a pond.

“Shit. The tide.” Pope groaned.

“How deep d’ya think?” Andy asked, leaning back up in the front.

John B shrugged. “Can’t tell. The road’s gone.”

He slammed the van to a stop, the six of them staring at the water. “The tide rose a little faster than I thought…” JJ said.

“So how high are the spark plugs?” Andy asked.

“Uh… they’re good? We’re fine. We’ll be fine.” John B replied, clutching the wheel.

“That’s very convincing.” She nodded. “How high are they?” She repeated.

He winced, turning and poking his head out the window. “Just above the tail light.”

“So… three feet?”

JJ nodded. “Three feet.”

“There’s no way that water is three feet deep.” Kie said.

JJ smiled. “So then there’s no problem. We’re good, she’ll make it.”

Andy raised her eyebrows at his blind faith in the Twinkie’s capabilities. She was a van, not a submarine.

“Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts and or hold onto something. We’re going into hyperdrive.” John B announced.

Andy braced herself, gripping both the seats as she squatted between him and JJ. John B shifted into second again, and hit the gas.

“And, splash!” She said as the front tires plowed through the water.

They were actually moving pretty decently, and making good time. Until the mud beneath them got the better of the tires and suddenly they were wedged between two trees.

Twinkie’s engine sputtered, crying for help. “I think we miscalculated.” Andy mumbled, sitting back on her feet.

“I knew I should’ve driven.” JJ shrugged.

A few moments of silence passed, and they all decided to climb out the back.

Andy winced as she stepped into the murky water, it rose just below her knees, water seeping into her socks.

“Maybe we can walk from here?” Pope suggested, leaning against the van.

“What, and leave the Twinkie? The tide’s coming in, she’ll be gone.” John B replied.

“So then what are we supposed to do?” Sarah asked.

“Not stay here.” JJ said, growing fidgety.

“I can take my dad’s truck.” Kie suggested. “I just gotta get home and get the keys.”

Kie still had time to change things with her mom and dad. Running away from home wasn’t the absolute worst thing she could do. It was fixable.

Stealing your dad’s truck however, didn’t seem like something Kie could come back from.

Andy longed for a decent relationship with her parental figures, but unfortunately for her, every single parent she’d ever had, ended up leaving her. Or just not caring.

Kie was lucky. She could come back from her stint as an orphan.

And Andy was done being selfish. She’d done enough self-reflecting and alone time in the past few weeks, to know that her friends were the only ones that were there for her. No matter what, they were always there, even if they had some rocky moments.

She would take the fall for Kie.

Andy’s head whipped around. “No, Kie.” She shook her head. “I’ll do it. I’ll take your dad’s truck.”

“Um, what?” Kie scoffed. “You wanna steal my dad’s truck.”

“Shit might be rocky with your parents right now but your relationship with them is still repairable. If you steal the truck, it’s endgame for you.

Me on the other hand, I got nothing to lose. No relationship with your parents, no fear of authority.

I already have a criminal record, so if I were to be caught, it wouldn’t be any worse than anything that’s already happened to me. Just let me do it.”

Kie didn’t say anything for a moment. “Shockingly, you have a point.” She sighed. “It’s a suicide mission, but-“

“Don’t try and talk me out of it.” Andy waved her off. “You’ve still got a future. Don’t worry about me.”

“I’m coming with you.” JJ said, stepping forward. “Well need something to pull her out with and I know there’s a winch at the Chateau. That’s like two miles.”

“Okay, if you’re gonna do it, let’s go?” John B shrugged. “Tide’s coming in, and Twinkie’s going for a swim.”

“Right.” Andy nodded.

“Okay, D, the keys should be right inside the foyer. On the table by the steps. Get in, get out, make sure nobody knows you were there, understood?” Kie explained.

Andy nodded, absorbing all the information. “Just be careful, alright?”

Andy nodded, turning to follow JJ through the water. They trudged through the muck, making it to land.

“How long do you think you can run for?” JJ asked.

Andy shrugged. “Well I’m not drunk, and I did track in middle school, so probably most of the way?”

JJ nodded. “Right, then let’s go.”

The pair ran as much as they could, knowing time was important.

By the time they reached Kie’s house, their clothes had dried, although there was mud and grass caked on the bottom of her boots, which she managed to stomp off on the sidewalk outside.

She could tell JJ was nervous. “You sure you wanna do this? Grand theft auto’s a hell of a charge.”

Andy shook her head. “Possession is worse. Go wait by the truck. I’ll only be a minute.”

She opened the latch on the gate, crouching beside the house and quietly heading to the front door. She inhaled nervously, turning the handle on the door and going inside, tip-toeing into the foyer.

She could hear Kie’s parents in the kitchen, laughing about something.

Andy sighed, searching for the keys. She hoped that Kie could repair her relationship with her parents. Something that Andy could never do herself.

Andy finally saw the keys, in a basket. She grabbed them, turning on her heel and quietly leaving the house.

She sprinted back outside, out the gate and to the truck, where JJ was waiting. In a sickening way, JJ had a smile on his face, proud of what they were about to accomplish.

Although, Andy felt tremendous guilt, for continually screwing over the Carerras, she was glad she volunteered to do it instead of Kie.

She jumped in the driver’s seat, JJ beside her. “You sure you can handle this thing?” He asked.

Andy scoffed, starting the truck. “I was born for the big rigs baby.”

She floored it, getting away from the house as fast as she could, and out of Figure 8, and heading towards the Chateau.

“This’ll only take a sec. I think it’s in the bungalow. I’ll be right back.”

No sooner did Andy put the truck in park, than did JJ jump out, running towards the bungalow.

He took a few steps, then attempted to jump over a pile of brush from the fire the night before, but fell flat on his face.

Andy couldn’t help but laugh, covering her hand with her mouth as JJ stood back up and continued to the bungalow, as if nothing had happened.

She waited, patiently. But it seemed to take longer than he said. He just had to grab the winch and come back, it wasn’t a five-minute operation, so what was taking so long?

She honked the horn. “JJ?”

“One sec babe!” JJ replied, not in sight. “Still looking for it!”

Andy sighed, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. If she got out, she could find the winch in like five seconds- No shit.

Her eyes widened, when out from behind a wall in the bungalow stepped Luke Maybank, followed closely by JJ.

“Oh hell no. Immediately no.” She scoffed, opening the door and getting out of the truck.

JJ had his arms full of the winch as he rushed towards the truck. “Ah, just get in the truck.”

“Excuse me?” Andy shook her head as JJ passed her, tossing the winch into the bed of the truck.

“Not talking to you!” JJ snapped as he watched his dad climb into the back seat.

“The Twinkie’s drowning right now. Our friends are stuck in high-tide on Goat Island and your dad’s here? I thought he was in prison? What happened, what’s going on-“

JJ clenched his jaw, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her into the truck. “Just listen to me! Shut your damn mouth and listen to me, one time!”

Andy’s initial reaction to the physical contact was to shove him off, punch him in the face, and tell him and his dirtbag dad to have a nice life; but her secondary reaction was the opposite.

Stand still, don’t speak, let him explain.

JJ was sensitive when it came to his father.

“Do you think your dad would help get my dad out of the country?”

Andy shook her head. “Boat’s out of commission, remember? He’s land-bound for the foreseeable future.”

JJ groaned. “Then I need to get into the marina at the Island Club. There’s a boat he can take. The sticker’s on the truck, we just need like twenty extra minutes.”

He released her arms, walking back around to the passenger side of the truck. “The Twinkie will be a submarine in twenty minutes, JJ.”

“I know D.” JJ sighed.

“Leave his ass!” She snapped back. “We can come back later?”

“The cops are after him!” JJ shouted, smacking the hood of the truck. “If I do this now, maybe I’ll never have to do it again.”

“You don’t have to keep doing this JJ.” She sighed, staring at him. “You can’t keep helping him.”

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” JJ replied, refusing to look at her. “Just get in the truck.”

Without another word, he got back into the truck.

Taking another moment to think it through, Andy got in too.

JJ would risk everything for his dad, clearly. And she knew he would risk everything for her too. So the least she could do was help him, help his shitty dad, hopefully one last time.

Then it was back to the others.

Andy reversed out of the yard and floored it down the driveway, nobody speaking the entire time.

A few minutes into the drive, Father-of-the-Century finally spoke. “Pull up to Home Foods here, I’m gonna need some provisions.”

“What does this look like, an Uber? I don’t take directions from you-“

“Just do it.” JJ shook his head. “Please.”

Andy internally screamed, begrudgingly pulling into the dirt parking lot of the grocery stand.

“Crackers and baked beans, and tuna, alright? And some salt and pepper. Five days worth.” Luke nodded at JJ as he climbed out of the truck and headed inside.

A few moments of silence passed. Then Luke began drumming on the back of Andy’s seat.

She clenched her jaw, holding it in for as long as possible, until she couldn’t anymore.

“Do you mind!” She snapped, whipping her head around to look at him.

Luke looked pleased with his agitating her, but stopped. “You’re a terrible father, do you know that?”

Luke laughed, nodding. “Preach it to me. Set me straight.”

Andy turned back around, and fought every urge to physically lash out at him, and instead opted for the mental game.

“Do you have any idea who your son is? How special he is? How bright and loving and selfless he is? He would do anything for his friends, for the people he loves. He would lay his life down for me in a heartbeat. Do you see what he’s doing for you right now?”

“He’s a thief, is what he is.” Luke replied.

“I’m a thief!” Andy snapped. “You think this is my truck? You know where I come from, this doesn’t belong to me!

And you’re no better. You’re just a wasted local salt, who never amounted to shit. In and out of jail, shitty father, can’t keep a job. Nothing to gloat about.”

Luke laughed at Andy’s insults. “You sound just like your mama.”

She whipped back around to him. “I don’t know who my mom even is.” She snapped.

Luke raised his eyebrows at him. “She sounded just like you. Always thought she was better than everyone else. Kook princess… Then again, them Camerons always did.”

Andy clenched her jaw, not understanding what he was saying.

“I see you’re actually a lot like your mama.” Luke leaned towards her. “Slumming with the bad boys, hanging around on the Cut.”

“I don’t know who you think I am, but I am not a Cameron. I’m a Kane. Born and raised to live and die on the Cut. I’m not a Kook, and I never will be.”

“You’re telling me, your daddy never told you about your mama? The real story?”

Andy narrowed her eyes at Luke. “He told me my mom was a Kook, and couldn’t hack it on the Cut, so she abandoned me. Simple as that.”

“Ain’t nothing simple about it.” Luke shook his head. “Your mom was an ungrateful shit, and you seem to be just like her-“

Andy didn’t let Luke say another word, as she clocked him right in the face with her fist.

“Shut the fuck up.” She snapped, turning back to the front, where JJ was walking towards them, his arms full of grocery bags.

Andy didn’t hit Luke hard enough to draw blood, just enough to scare him into finally being quiet.

JJ hopped back in the truck, looking at both of them, confused. “Everything alright?”

Andy clutched the steering wheel, her busted knuckles almost white. “Peachy. Let’s get going.” She put the truck into drive, and they were on their way.

They made it through the club gates without issue, due to the membership sticker on Mr. Carrera’s windshield.

Andy parked, sitting silently as JJ got out, rounding the back of the truck to grab his dad’s supplies.

“Think. About what I said.” Luke said. “Maybe go ask your papa a few questions… and tell him I said I’ll see him down below.”

Andy turned back to him, her jaw clenched. “Shut up!” JJ snapped, before she could retaliate, grabbing him by his shoulder.

Andy grabbed the steering wheel again, to keep her hands from shaking. Out of anger? Maybe fear?

"Make it quick.” She snapped.

JJ nodded, pulling his dad behind him, and out of sight.

Andy’s head was reeling. Her face was fuzzy and she was dying hot, even though she was only in a tank top and jeans.

She blinked a few times, trying to calm herself down.

What did Luke mean, her mother was a Cameron?

It was Luke Maybank for fucks sake, he lied like it was his full-time job. There was no way her mom was a Cameron.

Yes, her dad did tell her she was a Kook. But a Cameron?

He must’ve had her mistaken with Sarah.

And what did he mean, he’d see her dad "down below?"

Hopefully he meant in hell, which was for-sure where they were both ending up. But Andy had a sick feeling he meant somewhere in this world.

The walls of the truck felt like they were closing in. The air was growing blistering, and Andy swore she could feel her heart start to beat out of her chest.

She needed to get out.

She jumped out of the truck, following in the direction that JJ had went minutes before.

As she rounded the corner, she could see the boat at the end of the dock. And as she got closer, she could see JJ and his dad, engaging in a seemingly heart-felt conversation.

When she reached the end of the dock, JJ was hugging his dad. And her heart dropped.

She knew it was goodbye.

But as soon as JJ saw her, he released his dad, stepping back and out of the boat. “Hey, you good?” He asked, concerned.

Andy swallowed her tears, nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay. Just came to check on you.”

JJ nodded too. “Help me let him loose?”

Andy nodded again, grabbing the rope to the front of the boat and untying it from the dock.

She waited for JJ, watching him intently as he held the rope in his hand, taking a moment to think about everything. And when he tossed the rope into the boat, so did she.

They watched his father float away.

She walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle. JJ stood, watching as his dad faded further and further into the ocean.

He sniffled, holding back big tears as he shrugged Andy off, taking two pill bottles in his hand and emptying them into the ocean, leaving the empty bottles on the dock.

Andy bit her lip, giving him his moment. And when he was finished, he stopped, staring at her with teary eyes. “I’m sorry.” She whispered as he grabbed her, pulling her into him.

JJ shook his head, not saying anything for a moment. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah. You can drive though.” She nodded as he let go of her, opting to hold her hand instead, as they walked back to the truck.

“You sure you’re okay? He didn’t get into your head or anything, did he?” JJ asked as they exited the country club.

Andy nodded, lying, once again. “It’s all good. It just pisses me off, that you have to keep going through that.”

JJ shook his head. “Don’t worry about me. It’s better that he’s gone.”

Andy nodded. That was a courageous, and very non-JJ thing to say. But it was the truth.

JJ Maybank was better off without his dad.

When they got back to Goat Island, the other four were on top of the van.

“Where the hell have you been?” Pope shouted, clearly frustrated.

Andy sighed, getting out of the truck. “Paternal complications…. His, not mine.”

JJ also got out, digging through the truck bed for the winch. “Luke was at the Chateau.”

“Great!” Pope scoffed. “While you were having family time, John B got bit by a gator!”

“Like for real?” JJ asked.

Andy squinted, trying to see them clearly.

“Does it look like we’re joking?” Kie asked, motioning to the blood smeared on the roof.

“Well what the hell happened?” Andy asked.

“What happened?” John B repeated. “I got bit by a gator!”

“He got bit by a gator!” Pope yelled at the same time.

Andy’s mouth opened in shock. “I dunno why I’m being yelled at? I put my ass on the line for all of you!”

“You volunteered to steal the truck!” Kie yelled back.

“You’re being yelled at because it was a twenty-minute operation that took two hours!” Pope yelled too.

“We got here as fast as we could-“ Andy defended herself.

“Shut up!” JJ screamed, making everyone finally stop yelling. “Seriously, I can’t take it anymore! All we ever do is argue!” He sighed, leaning his back against a tree near him.

“Look, I just helped my dad leave the island for good. Like he’s not ever coming back. He’s straight-up, like the Spanish, “bon-voyage”.”

Despite the severity of the situation, Andy couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“That’s not the right language…” She heard Sarah whisper.

“All we got, is each other.” JJ said. “I know for a fact, you guys are all I got. Okay? You’re it.” He paused, looking over at Andy, who nodded at him.

“And I’ve come too close to losing all of you! I mean, shit you and Kie almost drowned.” He pointed at Andy.

“Pope, you were kidnapped. Sarah, you were shot. John B, you were almost dinner for an alligator. So this blaming each other, is some Kook-ass bullshit. It needs to stop. We don’t do that, we’re Pogues.” JJ took another moment.

“Sorry, that was a lot right now.”

Nobody said anything for a moment, until John B and Pope began clapping. Kie, Sarah, and Andy followed their lead, giving a round of applause for JJ’s speech.

Andy shook her head. “No need to apologize for speaking your truth.”

“I gotta be honest, that was the best freaking speech you’ve ever given.” John B smiled at him. “But also, you should think about Rosetta Stone, because your Spanish and French are flip-flopped.”

JJ shook his head, flipping them all off with both of his hands.

“How about we bon-voyage outta here?” Sarah suggested, considering they were still stuck in the rising tide.

“Right!” JJ clapped his hands together, jumping back into action. “Let’s get this damn Twinkie outta here.”

JJ and Pope attached the winch and cable from the truck to the van, Kie got behind the Twinkie’s wheel and Andy behind the truck, and shockingly, as a group, they managed to free the Twinkie from the marsh.

After a few minutes of celebration, they were off to their next location: Freedman’s church.

The church was creepy. It was old, dirty, and seemed to be not structurally-sound. Vines grew up the walls, cracks ran across the ceiling, and there were holes all over the floor.

“So you’re telling me Denmark Tanny decided to hide the cross here?” JJ asked, looking around.

Pope ignored him. “Everybody just spread out.” Kie said.

“Well if I was a cross and wanted to be hidden in an old church, where would I be…” John B thought out-loud.

Nobody really did any progressive looking, save for Pope. He was on his hands and knees, searching the floors and under the pews.

“Are you sure he really hid the cross here, Pope?” JJ asked. “Like, are we at the right church?”

“It’s gotta be here somewhere guys.” Pope shrugged, standing up.

“The spyglass said Freedman’s church.” Andy shook her head, looking up at the walls.

“What if we have to push a secret button, or like play a certain chord?” JJ wondered aloud, walking over to the old piano. “And all of the sudden, the ground beneath us reveals the catacombs or something.”

“How about we try to find the obvious clues?” John B suggested. “Where would you hide a seven-foot tall cross, made of gold?”

Andy searched the ceiling, looking for any sign of a secret hiding spot. Different-colored paint, or a loose board- Her eyes stopped on the support beams.

They were assembled in the shape of crosses. Three of them.

“Pope?” Andy said, startling them all from their search.

“What?” He asked, walking over to her. She said nothing, but simply pointed at the ceiling. “You don’t think-“

She looked at him, nodding. “Going up?”

“You’re coming with.” He replied.

The pair, went over to the wall, examining it. There seemed to be enough gaps and holes in the concrete to provide foot-holds for them to scale it.

Pope went first.

“Hey, yo, what are you doing?” JJ asked, watching Pope begin to climb.

“What, are you Spiderman suddenly? What are ya’ll doing?” Kie also asked.

They both ignored them, as Andy followed Pope carefully up to the top of the wall.

“This church is old, you really shouldn’t be doing that-“ John B said, peering up at them.

Pope reached the end of the beam, rushing to sit himself on top of it so that Andy could get up there too.

“Let me just be real, neither of ya’ll are the most coordinated people on the planet. Do you hear me?” JJ scolded them.

Pope ignored them, as Andy maneuvered herself to the other side of the first cross.

He pounded the side of his fist on the wood. “This one’s solid wood.”

Andy nodded, turning carefully and crawling to the middle cross. She sat down, leaning her back against the wood behind her and kicking at it with her boot. “Solid too.” She shook her head.

Pope crawled to meet her. “Go to the next one.”

She nodded, carefully standing up and walking to the edge of the beam. “Yo, watch out for that wasp’s next right above you!” JJ said from below them.

Andy looked up, and sure enough, there was a monster nest just above the cross. She could hear the bees buzzing, and a few of them were flying around. Fuck.

Pope slowly met up with her, holding onto the last cross for support. “This one’s all you.” She shook her head, squatting down beside the cross.

Pope tapped it with his foot, a knocking sound emitting from the wood. “It’s hollow.” He whispered. “Go get me a crowbar!” He commanded.

Sarah shook her head, turning and running out of the church, only to return, with a crowbar.

“Here Pope!” She tossed it into the air, and to everyone’s surprise, Pope caught it.

“Pope, forget ye not about the bees? ‘Kay?” Andy raised her eyebrows. “Just don’t get us killed.”

Pope nodded, taking his first hit to the wood. Then another, and another, until he smashed a hole into it.

He used the curved end of the crowbar to pull a chunk out of the wood, and in the sunlight Andy could see a small glimpse of gold.

Pope set the crowbar down, and he and Andy used their hands to rip the rest of the wood off of the beam. Andy couldn’t help but smile, her face emitting the cheesiest grin she could, as they revealed a giant gold cross.

Across from her Pope was silent, his eyes wide in shock. He did it.

Below them, their friends cheered, laughing and hugging each other in celebration. Another mystery solved, another treasure found.

“We did it.” Pope laughed, in disbelief. “We did it!”

Andy nodded, feeling a prick on her neck. “Ouch, damnit.” She winced, smacking her neck. The body of a dead wasp was on her hand, when she pulled it back.

Shit.

Another one, on the top of her hand, and then another on her neck.

Across from her, the wasps were swarming Pope, he swatted and swung the crowbar in an attempt to stop the attack, but it was no use.

“Guys, they’re stinging now!” He shouted, alerting their friends. “D, you gotta get down!”

“Pope?” Andy scoffed, swatting another wasp away from her. “What about you?”

“You go first! If we jump at the same time, the cross might come down with us, and then the whole church. Just go!”

Andy shook her head, smacking another wasp off of her arm. “JJ?” She yelled, looking down at them.

“I got you!” He nodded, holding his arms up.

Andy didn’t wait for a countdown, she simply jumped, pushing her fear to the back burner and hoping that JJ would catch her.

Which he did.

The force of her jumping from so high up, sent the both of them on their asses, but it was better than the entire church collapsing on them. “You okay?” JJ asked, out of breath.

“I’ll be fine.” Andy shook her head, standing back up.

Above them, Pope had stood up, but the wood was now weak, and he slipped, hanging from the edge of the beam. “We gotta get cushions. Pope’s gonna fall!”

Everyone sprung into action, Kie and Sarah pushing pews out of the way, and Andy, JJ and John B grabbing cushions from the benches and piling them beneath Pope.

No sooner did they set the cushions in a pile, than did Pope lose his grip, falling to the ground. Everyone collectively let out a sigh of relief as he hit the ground, and Kie and Sarah helped him sit up.

Everyone was asking him questions; if he was okay, hurt, anything broken, feeling alright, etc. But Pope didn’t answer. He just stared up at the ceiling, looking at the cross.

Suddenly his eyes grew wide, and he rolled to the side, taking Andy with him. Everyone else took that as a sign, and dove out of the way, in just enough time for the cross to come flying out of it’s place, and onto the cushions below.

Andy sat back up, Pope still laying down beside her. “Pope… are you okay?” She asked, slightly out of breath.

Pope nodded softly. “I’m good. I’m alive. Just give me like one second to catch my breath?”

Andy let out another sigh of relief, trying to regulate her breathing as she stared at the giant golden cross. Pope did it.

Everyone else stood back up, checking themselves for injuries.

JJ and John B examined the cross, smiles on their faces. Sarah watched in awe, and Kie did too.

“Pope, she’s beautiful.” JJ nodded.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. The detail’s insane.” Sarah agreed.

“If we melted her old bones down, how much you think it’s worth? Like high billions, is what I’m thinking.”

“No, JJ. No. It belongs in a museum.” John B shook his head.

“A museum? Where nobody can see her?”

“In a museum where everyone can see her!” John B replied.

Pope finally sat up, breathing heavily still. “Hey! It’s my ancestor’s cross. This is bigger than money. And the world’s gotta know the truth.”

“Yes, and if we don’t get this shit outta here before Limbrey finds it, nobody’s gonna know. So saddle up-“ John B said.

Andy shook her head, as all six of them gathered around the cross, beginning to lift it. It was heavy as shit, and compared to the cross, they were simply too weak. Just six scrawny children.

They managed to get it off the ground, before Pope groaned. “Okay guys. I can’t- I can’t!” He dropped his part, almost taking Andy out with it, as the weight dropped to the floor.

When she collapsed, so did everyone else, dropping their portion of the cross onto the floor.

Pope laid himself out on the nearest pew, still breathing heavily. Andy frowned, noticing Pope’s deteriorating condition. “Pope…” She walked over to him, grabbing his hand.

“I’m not okay.” He gasped between breaths. “I’m. Not. Okay.”

Andy’s eyes widened, watching as Pope gasped for breath. His face was swollen, as was his hand. He was struggling to breath, and his skin was blazing to touch.

“He’s having an allergic reaction.” Andy said, but everyone else was still arguing, so nobody heard her.

“Hey!” She shouted, grabbing their attention. “Pope’s allergic to bees!”

On the bench, Pope was wheezing, his breaths becoming shorter. “I can’t breathe!” He cried out, clutching Andy’s hand.

The others gathered around them. “We have to go!” Andy yelled, pulling Pope upright.

“Right!” John B nodded. “JJ, Sarah, hide the cross. D, come on, we gotta come back later!”

She held Pope’s one arm, and John B held the other. Kie walked ahead of them to open the doors, as Sarah and JJ haphazardly covered the cross with the cushions from the church pews.

They dragged Pope to the truck, John B trying his best to settle Pope on the back seats comfortably.

“He needs adrenaline!” Andy frowned, watching as Pope fought to breathe. “An EpiPen. Do you not have one with you?”

Pope lazily shook his head no.

She whipped her head around to look at the other. “What are we supposed to do?!”

“I know where to go!” JJ announced. “Give me the keys.” Andy placed them in his palm as JJ jumped into the driver’s seat.

Andy climbed into the truck beside Pope, who was now sat up, his head out the window. “Is it better for you to breathe this way? Sitting up? Pope-“

Pope didn’t answer, but simply reached out, grabbing tightly at Andy’s sleeve. She stared intently at him, trying to hope for the best.

“What’s going on, it’s real quiet back there!” JJ shouted as he sped through the woods.

Andy’s breath hitched in her throat, trying to play it cool. “Thinking it’s better to be as calm as possible for Pope.” She replied softly. “But he’s still kicking.”

Her eye’s didn’t leave Pope’s, not until JJ haphazardly pulled up outside of his cousin Ricky’s, honking the horn to alert his of their arrival.

JJ jumped out of the truck, running up to the front door. “Ricky! Bro, hey! Ricky!” He pounded his fist on the door.

“Just stay here. I’ll be right back.” Andy said to Pope, and quickly followed JJ.

John B and Kie helped Pope out of the truck.

“Hey! I got a problem bro!” JJ rattled the door handle, trying to yank it open. “I know you’re mad at me-“

“Remember that time you stole my ambulance?” Ricky glared at JJ from behind the glass.

Andy bounded up the sidewalk, rushing beside JJ as Ricky slammed the door. Furious, she pushed JJ aside, banging her fists on the glass.

"Ricky! Ricky, come on!” She pounded on the door. “Pope is allergic to bees, and if we don’t get your help, he’s going to die!”

JJ left the doorstep, going to the window that looked into the livingroom. “He can’t breathe Ricky, please!”

Suddenly, beneath her fists, the door opened, Ricky standing before her. “Who can’t breathe?”

Andy, chest heaving from anger, turned around, pointing to Pope, who was being dragged towards the house.

She looked back at Ricky, who solemnly nodded, opening the door wider, for the six kids to enter through.

Andy pushed past him, Sarah close behind, and they cleared off the dining room table to lay Pope on.

“What’s wrong with him?” Ricky asked, feeling for Pope’s pulse as he laid down on the table.

“Wasps.” Sarah gasped.

“Wasps?” Ricky asked.

“He’s allergic!”

“Shit.” Ricky shook his head. At the end of the table, John B and JJ raised Pope’s legs up, while Kie and Sarah stood by, watching. “Hang tight, I gotta get my kit.” Ricky headed towards the garage.

“JJ go help him!” John B commanded.

Sarah took JJ’s place, holding up Pope’s leg, Andy stood by his head, watching as Pope wheezed below her.

“Pope, just keep breathing. I know it’s hard, but keep it up-“ Kie stepped beside her, holding Pope’s face.

After some shouting from JJ and Ricky, they returned, kit in-hand. “So what do we do now?” JJ asked.

Ricky laid his kit out on the table, rooting through it to look for the epinephrine. “You don’t do anything, cause you’re not a paramedic.”

Ricky began to situate the proper dosage of medicine to administer to Pope, pulling a needle, syringe, and vial of liquid out of the kit.

“Hey Pope, how you doing?” Ricky uncapped the syringe.

“You look like shit.” Ricky filled the syringe with the meds. “This is a pediatric dose of epinephrine.”

“And?” Andy snapped, clenching her jaw. She couldn’t understand the lack of urgency.

“It’s ten times the normal dose of epinephrine!” Ricky snapped back. “So if it doesn’t stop his heart, it’ll help him… But I have to use the whole thing or it won’t work. And I’m not going down if he dies.”

“What-“ Kie asked, shocked and disgusted, that Pope could potentially be dead within a matter of minutes.

“Whatever!” Andy cut her off. “Just do it!”

The room grew eerily silent as Ricky injected Pope’s arm with the adrenaline.

His breathing slowed, from erratic gasps, to almost silent. And Pope still didn’t move.

“You killed him.” Kie said quietly. “What did you do to him?” She looked up at Ricky, tears pooling in her eyes.

“I didn’t do shit.” Ricky shook his head. “I did exactly what you asked me to do.”

Andy’s eyes widened, the sick feeling sinking in.

Pope was dead.

TAGLIST

@chaoticavery @secretwilliams @writingjjfics @sunsumonner

#kane content #obx fic #obx oc #jj maybank imagine #obx imagine #obx2 #kiara carrera #obx #pope obx #outer banks

16 notes · View notes