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 "You really ought to keep a better eye on your brother... or friend. Hard to tell with him."

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MY PHONE BUZZED me awake, the familiar ring breaking through the haze of sleep. I squinted at the screen: JJ's name flashed, with a string of nervous laughter coming through the line as I answered.

"Mavie, you think you could come pick me up?" he chuckled.

I rubbed my eyes and groaned, half-awake. "From where?" I muttered, only for my ears to catch faint chatter in the background.

JJ let out a breath, "Uh... police station."

I groaned again, louder this time, but replied, "Fine, I'll be there."

Dragging myself out of bed, I tugged on an oversized T-shirt and some shorts, too tired to care about looking presentable. My eyes caught a glimpse of dark circles in the mirror, but there was no time for makeup. With a quick swipe across my phone, I dialed Kiara and John B, filling them in on JJ's latest escapade.

When I stepped into the police station, the fluorescent lights stung my tired eyes. JJ spotted me right away, grinning wide as he waved like a child with Pope sitting next to him. He looked so out of place, standing there like a kid who'd just pulled off a harmless prank and Pope looked like the innocent friend who is there by mistake.

The officer handing him over shook his head. "You really ought to keep a better eye on your brother... or friend. Hard to tell with him."

I stifled a laugh and nodded, not bothering to correct him. "I'll try my best, Officer."

As soon as we were outside, I turned to JJ, narrowing my eyes. "So, why the hell did you get arrested this time?"

JJ threw his hands up in mock innocence. "No idea! Been a perfect citizen, I swear!" he smirked.

Pope rolled his eyes. "Perfect citizen? We got pulled over, and when the cops said 'papers,' JJ here says 'scissors'—and then drove off."

I couldn't help it; I snorted. JJ's grin only widened, basking in the retelling like he was proud of it. "It's not my fault they didn't have a sense of humour," he shrugged.

I dropped Pope off where he needed to go and he waved us off. From there, JJ and I headed straight to John B's place, the morning sun creeping higher in the sky as we drove.

As soon as we got there, JJ darted to the side of the house, rummaging around until he found an old teddy bear, weathered from years in the sun. He grabbed it, set it up on a makeshift platform, and stood back with a glint of mischief in his eye.

"Welcome to the finest shooting range on the island," he grinned, gesturing toward his setup as if he'd constructed it himself.

I crossed my arms, eyebrow raised. "And the poor bear's the target?"

JJ just winked, raising his hand in a salute. With a quick pull of the trigger, the air popped, and the teddy bear took the shot like it was meant to. Shreds of stuffing puffed out of it, scattering in the wind, while JJ grinned with satisfaction.

"JJ, you're ridiculous," I muttered, shaking my head, though I couldn't stop a small smile from breaking through.

"Ridiculous is my specialty, Mavie," he laughed, tossing me the gun. "Your turn. Show ol' Teddy what you've got."

I took aim and fired. The teddy bear jerked as more stuffing spilled out, my shot landing just as JJ cheered.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

JJ AND I were still grinning, the makeshift shooting range a mess of shredded stuffing from the poor teddy bear we'd both shot at. I took off my earmuffs, brushing a few stray bits of fluff off my shirt. JJ followed, pulling off his earmuffs and giving me a sideways smirk.

"So, Mavie," he began, crossing his arms and rocking back on his heels, "what's up with that friend of yours?"

I cocked an eyebrow at him, a small smile tugging at my lips. "Friend? You mean Ashley?"

He nodded, glancing down almost shyly. "Yeah. Think you could, you know, maybe hook me up with her number?"

I let out a laugh and shook my head. "JJ, she's a Kook, and she has a boyfriend."

He let out a long, exaggerated sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Of course she does. Who's the poor guy?"

"Kelce," I shrugged. "You know, the third wheel in the Rafe and Topper trio? They're all tight, except they kind of treat him like the odd man out."

JJ rolled his eyes. "Great. Yet another reason to avoid Kooks."

His comment made my stomach twist slightly, but I kept my face neutral. "Ashley and I aren't exactly on speaking terms anymore, anyway. She started a rumor that I'm a... well, you know. She just made it clear that Kooks can only be jerks."

JJ glanced at me, frowning a little. "But Kie's a Kook too."

"Yeah, but in my eyes, she's a Pogue and always will be. Ashley? She never wanted to be anything but a Kook."

JJ nodded, that frown softening into understanding. We shared a moment of silence until we heard footsteps pounding toward us, accompanied by Pope's familiar voice.

"Oh, hey, what up, cutie?" JJ called out, his usual smirk back as Pope neared.

I elbowed him, smirking. "Moved on from Ashley quickly, huh?"

JJ chuckled, but Pope was clearly too anxious to join in the joke. "Guys!" He finally reached us, panting and frantic. "They know."

JJ waved him off, trying to keep things calm. "All right, chill, bro. They don't know anything."

Pope ran his hands over his face, his expression panicked. "Topper knows I sunk his boat!"

I stepped closer, brow furrowing. "How do you know?"

Pope glanced between us, his hands shaking slightly. "Because Rafe and Topper posted up outside Hayward's and mad dogged me."

I exchanged a glance with JJ, who looked equally serious now. 

''Will you calm down and get a grip, man? They don't know anything,'' JJ pushed. I could see Pope's nerves were frayed, though. He was pacing back and forth like he was trying to out-walk his own worry.

''They have cameras,'' Pope muttered, barely looking up as he kept moving. ''They could've seen me.''

I watched him, arms crossed. ''Look on the bright side,'' I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. ''if you get busted, we're all getting busted for being a part of it.''

Pope paused mid-step, his gaze snapping to me, exasperated. ''That's the bright side? Really, Mave?''

''Hey,'' I shrugged. ''that's as bright as it gets.''

JJ stepped in again. ''Well, it wasn't bright because there was no power, Pope. They couldn't have seen anything,'' he reasoned, like this was the most obvious thing in the world.

'It's Figure Eight. They got generators. They don't give scholarships to kids who vengefully sink boats. It's not a good look on my transcript." Pope replies.

JJ threw his hands up, clearly done with all the second-guessing. ''Enough with the regret, bro! They caved your face in,'' he reminded Pope, intensity sharp in his voice. ''They hit us, so we hit back. That's the law of the jungle.''

He stepped closer holding up two fingers and pointing at his eyes to really hammer the point home. ''If any kooks come up to you and ask if you had anything to do with it, you walk up to 'em, look 'em dead in the eye, and...'' He paused, lowering his voice in a serious whisper, ''deny the living shit out of it.''

''Deny, deny, deny,'' he echoed.

Then, he pointed at the gun lying on the nearby tree stump. ''And just for safety, none of us go anywhere without protection. Right?'' His eyes were fixed on Pope.

I glanced at the gun, feeling a familiar churn in my stomach. There was a fine line between protection and escalation, and while JJ seemed confident, it unsettled me just a bit.

''Look, Pope,'' I said, stepping forward and nudging him lightly. ''This whole mess isn't your fault, okay? We're all in this together, and we're all getting through it together.''

Pope gave a slow nod, the tension on his face softening a little. JJ slapped him on the shoulder, trying to bring back a bit of light-heartedness. ''Come on, man,'' JJ said, his grin wide and a little mischievous. ''Who's gonna mess with us now? We're the Pogues, right?''

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