IT HAD BEEN A LONG NIGHT. Between worrying about where John B was and laying tightly next to JJ on the hard wooden booth, Carson hadn't gotten much sleep. After a while of just staring up at the ceiling, she finally decided to get up. She was sitting outside of The Wreck when she heard the screen door open.

"Couldn't sleep?" she said. JJ sighed and sat down next to her, shaking his head. "Me neither."

"Remember when we were almost rich?" he said after a couple minutes of silence. She looked over at him and let out a humorless laugh. It had been a long journey since John B first led them on the wild goose chase. Now look where they were.

"Could have gone full Kook," she said. "But I guess that's just not in the playing cards for us." None of them had actually wanted to be a Kook, but it would have been nice to have a taste of that life for once.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad Ward wasn't in your life," he said. To anyone that didn't know the situation, it would have sounded bad. But to Carson, she felt the same way. Her life could have been completely different if he had decided to raise her. She could have been a Kook, which meant that she may have never been friends with them. She may have never been with JJ.

"I can't imagine my life like that," she said. "I can't imagine my life without you, or without the others." He nodded his head and wrapped his arm around her shoulder to pull her into him. They were surrounded by chaos, but for that moment, they were almost able to forget everything that was going on because they had each other.

After a while they went back inside the restaurant, but continued to stand by the door so they didn't wake the others. Sirens kept passing by, which just put them on edge even more. Eventually Pope got up and joined them.

"He's pinched for sure, man," JJ said.

"No. They wouldn't still be patrolling if they caught him," Pope pointed out. They were still looking for him, which meant he still had the chance to get away. 

"Let's hope."

"You know, we were in that car. They're probably looking for us too," Kiara said.

"Well, if we're gonna be outlaws, we might as well help John B," Pope said. Carson smiled. She wasn't used to this side of Pope. Normally he would have been too worried about the consequences of their actions. Now he was the one initiating it.

"Gotta be honest, Pope, I don't know whether this new rebel side of you is more concerning or more amusing," Carson commented.

"I'm just doing what has to be done," he said simply. She understood that, but again, that wasn't his typical mentality. She didn't know what had changed in him. Maybe it was when he had pretty much blown his interview, the one thing that he had been working so hard for.

"So, we find him before they do?" JJ said. They were just trying to figure out what was going on through his head, but he just walked out the door like he couldn't be bothered to stay. "Pope."

"I'm gonna get gas for the boat," he said.

"Hey, you be careful, okay?" Kiara said. He just looked at her with a blank expression on his face before turning back to JJ.

"Meet me at the dock at three. Don't be late."

"Okay, I've decided. This new side of him is more concerning," Carson said. Kiara jumped up and followed him out of the restaurant.

"Okay, what is your problem?" she screamed.

"No problem, Officer. I'm just doing my job," he said, basically just repeating what he had said to Carson. He was being blunt and standoffish and that wasn't Pope. He was neurotic but kind and compassionate. They were all going through stuff, but Carson didn't like to see how he was changing. Then again, maybe they had all had to change a bit to get through it.

✰

"You sure he wasn't just being weird Pope?" JJ asked as they prepared food for John B and Sarah. It had become apparent that his name wasn't being cleared any time soon, so they had to stick to their plan of getting John B out of there. The cops wouldn't stop until they found him, so they had to get him as far away as they could until hopefully things got better. No one knew how long that was even going to be, or if that would even happen.

"It wasn't really the kind of thing that needed interpretation," Kiara said. "Is that gonna be enough food for them?"

"I mean, for a couple of weeks, and that's all they need so..."

"Let's hope that's all they need," Carson said.

"Look, I think I actually hurt his feelings," Kiara said, going back to the Pope situation. She had explained what had happened with his confession and how she had rejected him. Carson wasn't really too surprised. She could see the way Pope looked at Kiara. She just didn't think that he would have ever confessed his feelings for her.

"Look, don't beat yourself up too much," JJ said. "He's completely changed his feels. The past 24 hours have been like Jekyll and Hyde."

"He's just taking it hard now," Carson added. "I'm sure he just needs time to get over it. He would never want to lose you as a friend, Kie."

"I hate to admit it, but I miss the old Pope," she said. "At least I knew what to expect from him." Just as the two girls went to round the car, their moms were there.

"Where have you been?" Kiara's mom asked.

"Uh, I'm fine. I slept here," she said.

"Mom," Carson said, a bit surprised. She didn't think that her mom would have joined up with Kiara's mom to come looking for them, especially considering the fact that she had spent days without going back home before. It hadn't even been a full day and yet she was there. She supposed it was just the circumstances that made it different.

"Are you okay?" her mom asked. "Where's John B?" Their conversation was much different than the one that Kiara was having with her mom, which was more of an argument than anything. It's not that Carson's mom wasn't upset with her, but she was more concerned.

"Mom, he didn't do it," Carson insisted. "You know he didn't." Just as Big John had acted like a father for Carson when she didn't have one, Penelope Keller had acted like a mother for John B. For all of fifth grade, the two had even tried to set up their parents in hopes that they would get married, so Carson and John B would be step-siblings. It hadn't worked, but that didn't stop them from loving each other like brother and sister would.

"I know, sweetheart," Penelope assured her. "I just needed to make sure you were okay."

"I'm okay," Carson said. 

"And JJ?" She glanced over to see JJ motioning to the car, indicating that they needed to go. 

"He's okay too," she said. "But we have to go. We'll be okay, I promise. I love you."