The second we made it back, I made JJ promise not to tell anyone about what happened. He promised not to with a 'Scout's honour' and a fake salute. However, I didn't miss the way his eyes lingered on me for the rest of the night, a look that made me feel like his mirror or like he understood in a way no one else could.

    Luckily, we stayed at John B's house late enough that everyone besides Kie ended up crashing, meaning, I didn't have to explain to JB why I didn't have a home to go back to.

    I'm pulled out of my thoughts as John B pulls the Twinkie into park, the short journey from the Cut to Figure Eight feeling longer than it ever has.

    "All right, keep a lookout. We're behind enemy lines," JJ comments like he's a war general. I peer over his shoulder, watching as he pulls his gun out and cocks it back.

    "Yo, come on, man. Put it back," John B pleads, his voice sounding like he's completely given up on JJ being rational.

    "You can never be too careful," He replies with a dopey smile on his face.

    Pope slides the van door open, climbing out first with Kie and I right behind him. He leans on the open window frame, speaking to JJ while looking out at the location in front of him, "Hey, I predict that bringing a weapon to a four-star hotel will likely cause more problems than they solve,"

    "Yeah, I have to agree," I chime in, moving to stand next to Pope on JJ's side of the car, "This may be an awful time to say this but, my parents kind of own this place so... I'd recommend leaving it in the car,"

    JJ whistles in admiration, looking out at the lavish hotel. He then whispered lowly, quiet enough for me to just make out his words as John B snatches the gun from his hands, "That's where I recognised him from,"

    "Recognise who?" Kie asks, sliding the Twinkie's door shut as she does so.

    "Did y'all hear something?" JJ brushes off with a mutter, digging in the car for something before pulling out an employee card and changing the subject, "Can't forget my badge. Professional busboy,"

    "Won't someone recognise you?" John B asks, joining my side as we approach the building.

    I shrug, "Probably not, I don't come here much. But, it's better you guys get caught with me than without,"

    "So, where are we going now?" Pope asks as JJ takes the lead.

    "We're getting on the internet because only rich people have electricity right now," JJ states matter-of-factually, leading us through rows of expensive cars before holding his arm out to gesture to the hotel, "This way,"

    We get to the Hotel with no issues, none of the guests even bothering to give us the time of day as JJ leads us past the lobby and into the kitchen. As I said before, I haven't been to the hotel much let alone the staff areas. It feels like a whole different business back here. 

    "Andrew! What's up, bro," JJ greets one of the cooks, holding his chin high like he's some sort of celebrity. I fold my arms over myself, not missing the way some of the staff gave me a double take, probably recognising me from events held here over the years. Despite only recently moving back to the Outer Banks, Linus always owned property here and would visit often.

    JJ finally exits the kitchen after greeting a few more workers, all five of us piling into a common area.

    "See, they got the backup generators going. Kooks don't miss a beat," JJ comments, his whole demeanour showing how comfortable and confident he is in these walls, something I'm currently feeling the opposite of.

    Maybe I should have waited in the car.

    We finally round a corner, reaching a set of double glass doors with white trim. JJ looks around before opening the doors, allowing us to pile in before closing it behind us.

    "Sweet Lord, the internet," I watch as Pope almost falls to the computer, dropping onto the seat and attempting to log on only to be met with an error message, "Good going, JJ. Customers only, you need a login,"

    "You can be so daft sometimes, Pope. Move," I instruct, playfully pushing him out of the way and taking the keyboard, typing in Linus's log-in for everything. The computer loads for a second before clicking over, allowing Pope to take the keyboard back to the now-unlocked computer.

    "Let me get in there. I gotta check out my Insta models," JJ comments, leaning over Pope's shoulder to stare at the screen with drool almost falling from his lips.

    "We don't have time for that," Kie comments in disgust.

    John B zips open his backpack, digging through before pulling out our now conjoined map, half a set of coordinates on each side. 

    "Coordinates, please?" Pope asks, looking down as John B drops them onto the table.

    "34 57 30 North, 75 55 42 West," John B reads them out. Pope types the numbers into the computer, the screen displaying the globe before it zooms in on its instructed location. "Boom, continental shelf right there,"

    "Okay, well, if it's off the deep end,  it's not gonna be much of a treasure hunt, is it?" Pope points out.

    The laptop very slowly starts to narrow down, JJ verbally encouraging it as voices start from outside the room. I jerk to the door, watching in paranoia as the sounds of men's boisterous voices get closer.

    "Shit, it's on the high side. It's only nine hundred feet," John B's voice sounds optimistic.

    "Can we speed this up, please?" I ask, turning back to the group as I play with the lining of my shirt. From the corner of my vision, I notice JJ turn and study me for a split second but, I ignore it.

    "That's not too deep," JJ comments, standing up straight.

    "Is that doable?" I ask, distracting my brain from the approaching voices. The closer they get, the less they sound like Linus. 

     "Yeah, totally doable," JJ nods, his voice sounding gentle for once.

    "Will we be taking your personal submarine?" Pope sarcastically comments, turning to look at JJ over his shoulder. 

    "Give him a pair of goggles and a snorkel and JJ will get it himself, right?" I smile, turning to the blond who grins in pride, nodding in agreement. 

     "Seriously, how do you know this, Mr Dive Master?" John B asks in disbelief. 

    "The salvage yard," JJ says like it's obvious. He grins before explaining further, "They got a drone that can drop a thousand. It has a 360 camera and everything. It's for like, deep dives and stuff. It's exactly what we need,"

    "Can your Dad get his grimy little hands on that?" John B asks harshly. 

    "Well, my Dad's grimy little hands got his ass fired. I guess, the salvage captain frowns on showing up shit-faced, turns out," JJ explains, his face falling into a faraway stare for a second before I watch him snap back to the present, "But, the drones there. It's in the impound yard out back,"

    "So, what? We're gonna break in there and steal it?" I ask, looking around the group for confirmation.

    "If you're game enough," JJ teases. 

    "How much did you say was on the Royal Merchant again?" Kie's voice dominates the conversation, dollar signs almost physically appearing in the boys' eyes.

    "Four hundred million," They all reply in sync, sounding like robots on auto pilot.

    "Definitely worth it," I shrug, turning on my heels and heading to the door, the four other members of the room following close behind me. 

    "Can't we do anything legal for money?" Pope sighs from behind.

                    "Pope, we're not stealing the drone. We're borrowing it," John B attempts to reassure Pope for the hundredth time now. Pope sits in the back of the van with JJ and I, his arms crossed as he looks out the window.

    "Humans are the only animals that can't tell fantasy from reality," Pope quotes. I can't help but crack a grin at his dramatics, leaning back on my palms as I study him.

    "Pope, why are you so uptight about all this stuff anyway? Morals?" I question, feeling genuinely curious.

    "Personally? I wouldn't count following the law as uptight-"

    "Spare her the speech, Pope," Kie cuts him off, turning over her shoulder before sending me a wink to say 'you're welcome'. 

    JJ lifts a joint to his mouth, holding it between his lips and he plays with the lighter in front of him, "Why are you so weird, Pope?"

    Just as JJ pulls the lighter towards the end of his blunt, Pope plucks it from his lips and flicks it away from them, the blunt landing somewhere in the cluttered van. "Let's keep the signal clear,"

    JJ stares at him dumbfounded, my eyes moving to the ground near my feet where the blunt landed. 

    "I'm going digging for that later," JJ mumbles. 

    "No need," I say, picking it up from the ground and holding it between my fingers, holding my hand out for the lighter. JJ hands it to me instantly before I light the end of the joint. I inhale a lungful, holding the smoke in my lungs as I squash the light end of the joint, putting it out to save for later. 

    John B pulls the car into park, just out of sight of the salvage yard and any employees that might be looking. Kiara climbs out almost immediately, no doubts showing about her part of the plan to distract the employee with a fake flat tyre.

    "You got this, Kie," I call out, smoke leaving my lips with a slight cough from holding it in too long. 

    "Seriously, guys?" Pope whines, wafting the smoke away from him as I hand the items back to JJ. Nothing beats having a line with Rafe whenever things get bad, but smoking weed with JJ comes pretty close distraction-wise. Plus, I feel way more calm.

     I don't notice that Kiara is gone until John B is scolding the three of us, telling us to get out of the van and hurry up. I laugh at his parental-like behaviour, piling out of the van and following him to a hidden spot behind random items.

     "So, Kie..." JJ speaks into the silence, gaining John B's attention. "She definitely gave you the Heisman?"

    "Oh, no question. Yup," John B replies all too quickly.

    "You laid it on Kie and she rejected you?" My jaw drops into a smile. I shrug, still grinning as I turn ahead to watch the girl in question talking to the worker, "Sucks to suck,"

    "Coming from Mrs Rafe Cameron?" John B claps back with a cocky grin. 

    "Well, it's definitely not coming from Mr Kiara Carrera," I nudge his shoulder, ignoring how he slaps my arm in return.

     "Go, go, go, go," JJ repeats in a rushed whisper. I turn to the front and see the employee now standing beside Kiara, the gate open for us to enter. I quickly push myself up slightly, running towards the fence with the other three and sliding through the gap just in time.

    JJ takes the lead, running surprisingly fast and weaving in and out of all the random objects in the ward. We stay close behind him, following his lead until we catch up to him at a tin building with a padlock on the door. I pull up to JJ's side, watching as he looks down at his sticky note of numbers and transfers the code to the door. Unsurprisingly, he tugs on the lock only for it to not budge.

    "Do you have the right numbers?" I ask, tucking my hair behind my ears and looking down at the numbers.

    "All right, so I might have the wrong numbers," JJ admits, immediately letting go of the lock and stepping away from it.

    "Ah, damn it!" Pope exclaims in frustration. 

    To my horror, the sound of dogs barking gets closer. I follow the noise, watching as a big, aggressive-looking dog comes into view. 

    "That's a cougar. Never mind," John B immediately reacts, sprinting around the corner and out of sight. I think back to when we were kids, both of us sprinting down the road as a rabid dog chased us for miles. Ever since then, we've both been terrified of dogs. 

    "Hell no," I comment, pulling myself up on the nearest item, my feet on the top of a random mini fridge as I crouch and watch the dog in fear.

    JJ runs around to a boat, Pope picking up a random pipe and waving it around at the dog, "Back off! Back off! Back off!"

    "I got a toy, boy!" JJ shouts, holding up something red in his hands. The second the dog turns around, his face drops in realisation, "Wait, no. I was just kidding!"

    JJ turns, running as fast as he can in the opposite direction while the dog chases him away.

    John B reappears around the corner of the tin shed. I drop down from the fridge, the dogs' barks fading as I pick up one of the pipes Pope was wielding and hand it to my brother. JB takes it, holding it up and using it to break the lock off the shed.

    The lock gives way, snapping apart under the force and allowing us to enter. John B takes the lead, finding the drone like it's instinct and handing me one of the cases. He latches onto the other, pulling it along like a suitcase as we run out of the shed. 

                    "Stealing drones makes me hungry," Kiara smiles as John B pulls the van into the car park of her family's restaurant. Almost on cue, my stomach rumbles, reminding me that I can't even remember the last meal I had.

    "What I would do to a beer and shrimp and grits right now," JJ almost moans in agreement, climbing out of the vehicle.

    "It would not be pretty," Pope agrees, the image of JJ sloppily eating said meal forces itself into my head.

    Kie takes the lead, walking up the ramp to The Wreck and entering into the dimly lit restaurant. "Hey, Dad,"

    I don't hear the rest of her conversation, not that I need to considering she's most likely asking for free food. Instead, I take a look at the inside of the restaurant I've only been to a few times with other Kooks. It's nice, cozy.

    Within minutes, Kiara turns to the group, addressing the boys as she tells them to sit down. I follow their lead, landing between John B and JJ as they all basically drool in anticipation. 

    The wooden table under my hands catches my eyes, my gut knotting as I think about our table at home, where my Mum would be sitting right about now with her meal. I wonder what Linus told her, more importantly, I wonder if she's fighting with him over me. But, I doubt it.

    Mr C brings over the food, setting it down on the table without addressing anyone really besides his daughter. I swallow my depressive thoughts, excusing myself from the table of wild animals destroying the food in front of them.

    "Hey, Mr C," I quietly call him, reaching the other side of the island in his restaurant. He turns at his name, smiling at me in recognition.

    "Phoebe, right? Charlize's kid?" He asks. I nod with a grin at the mention of my Mother, remembering the times they've met at parent-teacher conferences along with Kie's mother. "What can I do for you?"

    "I was wondering if you had a phone charger I could use?" I ask, holding up my dead mobile. He nods, turning to hand me a white cable already plugged into the wall. I take it from him, muttering a 'thank you' and plugging my phone in.

    I sit at the island, my cheek in my hand as I stare at the screen, waiting for it to come to life. It feels like forever before the Apple logo appears on the screen, my phone coming to life. All my missed texts come through at one time, not one of them being from my Mother.

    Almost as soon as I click on my messages, Rafe's name fills my screen as an incoming call. I sigh, deciding it's better if I answer now that he knows my phone is on. At least my location is off. I hold the phone to my ear, Rafe's voice filling the air.

    "Phoebe, finally. I've been trying to call you for hours," He sighs in relief, his voice only clenching my stomach harder as he reminds me of the life I've now been separated from. There was a point in my life where I'd run to Rafe for comfort. "Your stepdad told me about a... concerning interaction he had with you. Is it true?"

    "Oh," I finally find my voice, playing with the cable of my charger as I adjust my posture, "That. Yes, it's true. But, I wasn't... y'know... doing anything like that with him. He took everything way out of context-"

    "Who was the boy?" He cuts me off, his voice now stern and hard as a rock. I could practically smell the jealousy coming from him. 

    "That doesn't matter, Rafe," I tell him, feeling the weight of it all coming down on me.

     He's silent for a beat, static filling the line before he speaks again, "I missed you, Pheebs. Did you miss me?"

    I pause, thinking of the right words to say. I guess, somewhere deep down I missed an aspect of him that doesn't exist anymore. So, stupidly, I reply, "Yes,"

    He breathes through a smile, something I can tell just by the sound of his voice even without seeing his face, "I have some yayo if you wanna come over-"

    "Hold on," I cut him off quickly, putting the call on mute as JJ approaches me, dripping his arm over my shoulder with an amused grin.

    "Is that loverboy?" He asks, looking down at my screen to see Rafe's name displayed. He fakes a gasp of shock, holding his free hand to his chest, "Oh my god, he's so sweet,"

    "JJ, just give me a second-"

    He cuts me off this time by taking the phone from my hand, unmuting himself and pressing the device to his ear, "Sorry, Rafe. She can't talk right now because I'm doing her. Doing her real good-"

    "JJ," I scold, snatching the phone from him and hanging up. I feel my face turn white as I drop the phone onto the bench, Rafe's name popping up again as he continues to call me back. Clenching my eyes shut, I decide it's best if I just turn the phone off and leave it that way.

    JJ's laughter echoes in my head, anger filling me until I lift my hand and unplug my phone, jumping up from the street and tucking the device away. I turn to face JJ, his face falling as he sees the anger on my face, "Not everything is a joke, JJ. You had no right to do that,"

    "Phoebe-"

    "No, just stop," I hold a hand up stepping back from him and shaking my head. I know that he was only joking and that seems to be how JJ is a lot of the time, but my heightened emotions are making it harder to process. I turn on my heels, walking out of the wreck and tucking my hands into my elbows.

    "Hey, Pheeb- Phoebe!" I hear him shout after me, his clumsy footsteps hitting the ramp leading to the entrance of The Wreck. I don't turn around until I get to the Twinkie, leaning my back against it and watching as he catches up.

    "It's fine, J. I just need a minute," I try to wave him off, leaning my free hand against my knee. I feel embarrassed acting this way in front of me, like I'm behaving dramatically and he's judging me as just another airhead Kook. 

    "What's going on with you?" He asks gently, sitting on one of the wooden beams in front of me. He clutches his drink in his hand, studying me like a piece of paper. "I mean, the whole thing in your room-"

    "I'm sorry you had to see that but, just forget about it. That doesn't usually happen, Linus is-"

    "Don't bullshit me," He shakes his head, a bitter smile on his face as he leans on his knees. He sits up straight, taking a swing from his drink before dropping it onto the deck beneath him, "Okay, I won't push it. But, don't defend that dick,"

     "Which dick are you talking about? Rafe or Linus?" I look up, shaking my head in anger at the thought of them both.

    "Hey, those two are the same person," He points at me, trying his best to cheer me up with his correction. "Seriously, is it like a human centipede situation? Like, they've been sawn to each other's assh-"

     "Ew, stop. That's so graphic," I laugh, moving to sit on the beam next to him. I rub my palms on my knees, avoiding eye contact, "I'm sorry I freaked out on you. Rafe is... he's complicated and I don't want to give him ammo,"

     "Speaking of ammo if you want me to-" He cuts himself off, jumping up from his seat and pretending to shoot a gun in every direction, even ducking from imaginary bullets. He finally stops, looking at my smiling face as he pretends to blow smoke from his imaginary gun, "Just say the word,"

     "Oh, my hero," I laugh, turning to the door of The Wreck as the three pogues pile out in laughter.

     John B jogs down the ramp, reaching me and extending a little takeaway box with scraps of the food in it towards me, "Leftovers. You were too busy flirting with JJ to eat,"

    "Piss off, JB. I was not," I roll my eyes, snatching the box from his hand as he turns to his van, "Can I crash at yours tonight?"

    He stops, turning to me with a raised eyebrow. He glances at JJ with the same look as if his friend might be able to tell him something before dragging his eyes back, "Yeah. You don't miss your cashmere sheets and canopy bed?"

    "Oh, no. I much prefer your springy saw trap of a couch," I shake my head, watching as he laughed before climbing into the van.