𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗻 Sarahʼs lap, Kaci Flores rested on her back, holding her babyʼs hands as he sat up on her stomach. The two girls couldn't stop smiling; one of them had just gotten married to their guy, and the other was finally going to be reunited with hers. Yesterdayʼs mess was stuck in their stomachs, making the world feel a little lighter as they carried the memories on with them. Their eyes stung a little from the crying, but they really did it. They got through it, and now they were coming home.

"Okay, girls, are you ready?" asked John B, nodding to them from the sandy beach they stopped at. Charleston was only a couple of hours away from Outerbanks, so they decided to stop there for a while to get necessities.

"Yeah." Kaci lifted Kaz onto her chest, slowly getting used to his heavy weight and stood up from the boat, feeling a little dizzy from her lack of food and water. She and Sarah climbed off the edge of the boat, landing onto the sand with the boys, who carried a large, empty gas tank each.

"Hey, listen, we're gonna get some gas, find a phone, and get out of here, right?" said John B.

"How are we gonna pay for the gas?" questioned Sarah.

"Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out."

Luis, who still wasn't settled on the thought of returning home, smiled and slung his free arm around his little sisterʼs shoulder as they walked further down the beach together. There was a time when he thought he'd never see her again, but she was here with him now, and she even had her own little kid. The only way things could've been better were if Jordan was still with them.

The four of them walked for a little under an hour in desperate search of a gas station. Kaz was growing sleepy under the sun, tucking his head into his momʼs armpit and clutching onto her shirt a little tighter. John B laughed at the little noises he made, comparing him to a gremlin, which earned him a slap from the protective mother.

"That looks so good," he commented as they went past a couple eating lunch. "I'm starving."

Luis nodded in agreement. "I'd do anything for some pizza," he said, sighing at the thought of it.

Kaci shook her head. "A peanut butter sandwich."

Her brother looked at her dumbly. "You don't even like peanut butter."

Sarah laughed. "That's what I said!"

"Yeah, well, it's my favourite now, so..."

"We gotta get some food," John B decided, walking up the steps to the restaurant near them. "Follow my lead."

"Okay."

He turned to the other girl, who was glaring at a rich couple that were giving her judgemental looks. "Kaci, give me Gremlin," he said quietly.

"No," she answered, not looking up to him, as she was too distracted threatening people with her eyes.

"Kace -"

"No," she repeated firmly, slowly losing her temper. The man whispered something in the womanʼs ear, which caused her to look the teenage girl up and down.

Kaci tossed her hair over her shoulder and strutted towards their table with a firey look in her eye. Sarah winced, knowing what was coming. John B grinned, missing this side of the girl. Luis sighed, thinking she had grown out of it by now.

"Excuse me, do you have a problem?" she questioned, standing in front of their table fearlessly.

The woman stared at her for a moment, taking her time to train her eyes on Kaz. "You're a bit young to have one of those on your hands, don't you think?" she suggested. Her tone wasn't as kind as her words.

Kaci nodded. "Okay? And?" she asked with a raised brow. She shrugged. "I don't remember when it was your problem."

The womanʼs husband leaned forward, not liking the girlʼs attitude. "We're just a little concerned, that's all," he assured her. "Maybe he's not getting all the things he needs, like food and clothes and -"

"You know, it's so nice of you to care about other peopleʼs lives like that." Kaci stuck on a thick, sweet smile. "I'm sure, then, if you are so concerned about this, that you wouldn't mind giving us some help yourselves." She lifted Kaz up higher on her side and swiped the two plates from the table. The couplesʼ faces turned to a mix of anger and shock. Kaci glared at them. "Next time, don't be so stuck-up and cunty."

John B cheered and clapped his hands together, rushing to the girlʼs side to take the plated from her hands. Sarah snorted and looked down to the ground. Luis sighed and pinched his nose with the shake of his head. Some things never changed.

The woman rised out of her seat and slapped Kaci over the face while her head was turned. "You little whore."

Kaci turned back around to her, both eyebrows raised. She grabbed a fistful of the womanʼs hair and slammed her head off the glass table without any hesitation. She then poured a glass of sticky champagne over her head and stole her purse.

"HEY!" a waiter called, and the teen mom flipped him off.

"C'mon, Kace, let's go!" said John B, pulling her away by the arm before a proper fight broke out.

Luis, Sarah, Kaci and John B sprinted away, collecting even more food on their way out with some much-needed adrenaline coursing through their veins. Kaz giggled and peeked over his momʼs shoulder to see the chaos she'd caused behind them.

"They didn't even say anything rude!" Luis called to the girl.

Kaci shrugged. "They were thinking it!"

"Seriously?"

"They shouldn't have looked at me like that!"

"You can be such a bitch sometimes!"

𖧷

𝗞𝗮𝗰𝗶 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 smiled at the sight of all the cash in the purse she stole. When she was younger, she never had to worry about how much money she had in her pocket. Anything and everything she wanted was handed to her on a silver platter, no matter the cost. But, now, seeing the mere colour of messy green excited her.

John B waited for her at the till, waiting to pay for the gas and extras they were buying. She browsed through the baby things, picking up a pack of diapers, a few bottles and a box of formula.

Outside, Sarah and Luis watched over Kaz as they ate the remainders of the food they stole from the restaurant. Kaci hadn't hit someone in a while, and she'd be lying if she said it didn't feel good. She loved the rush she felt when it happened.

"Forty bucks," the cashier said as they slammed all their things on the counter.

Kaci slid it under the glass screening and left the store with John B following beside her.

"Whoever makes it to the boat last has to clean Kazʼs shitty diaper," stated John B, mouth full of the gas station snacks he managed to sneak into his pocket, as he and Kaci walked back to Luis and Sarah.

"Shh. Shhh." Sarah and Luis were ducked behind the gas tanks.

"What?" asked Kaci, sending them a weird look.

Sarah pointed to the left. "They're right there," she hissed. "They're literally right there."

Kaci and John B followed her gesture, eyes going wide at the sight of the couple from the restaurant.

However, it was in that moment that they noticed them, too. "Hey! You!" The man pointed at Kaci. "Come here! Thief! You stole my money! Come here."

"Okay." Kaci shrugged, going towards them.

Luis leaped forward and pulled his sister back before anything escalated. "Just run," he told her.

"Why? He's literally asking for a fight?"

"Kaci," warned the older brother in a tone she remembered well.

The girl groaned and started to run with the others, trying her hardest not to shout back at the couple who were calling after them. Sarah had hold of Kaz, protecting him from falling over with her arms.

"Come here! Come here! You!"

Kaci turned to Luis with a desperate look. He sighed and shook his head, causing her to groan again, pushing herself forward to run more. She hated running.

John B was honestly surprised that Kaci listened to anyone. He couldn't wait to tell the others how tame she'd been lately, although he knew that would probably end up with him being punched. Once they got back home, he was sure Kaci would go back to being her old, slightly terrifying self.

"I'm gonna fucking kill them," she muttered, hearing the couple get louder and louder.

"Punch a pillow," Luis suggested, shaking his head.

They sprinted across a road, almost being hit by a rouge van, and that was what set Kaciʼs anger off completely. "Stupid, idiotic cunts!" she shouted at the people, throwing an empty baby bottle through the open window, causing a recognisable voice to cry out in pain.

Kaci froze. John Bʼs eyes went wide. Sarah grinned. Kaz laughed. Luis had no idea what was going on.

"Pope," gasped Kaci.

"Heywardʼs truck," nodded John B.

It took a few moments, but then Kaci finally took in the meaning off the truck that sped part. Pope. Kie.

JJ.

Kaci took Kaz from Sarah with a grin. "Let's go and find the dumbass," she said sweetly, unable to wipe off the smile on her face.

Luis smiled down at her, not having ever seen his sister in love. The way her face lit up just at the thought of JJ Maybank made him happy. She was always such a hard-ass, and it was unusual to see her go soft. But for her son and his dad, the girl melted down to jelly.

"Hey, come here!"

Kaci rolled her eyes. "Shut the fuck up, you can literally see your tiny dick through those white, skinny jeans!" she finally screamed at the man, causing her brother to sigh and shake his head in disappointment. "No wonder you were so shocked about a baby - that thing probably doesn't get far enough in for you to let your swimmers free!"

John B snorted.

"I love you, Pineapple," said Sarah, resting her head on the girlʼs shoulder for a moment.

"I love you, too, Blueberry." Kaci patted her on the head, and Kaz copied her by tapping his aunt on the arm, causing both girls to laugh.

"And you, my gorgeous grape," added Sarah, turning around to pinch his cheeks, making him giggle at her and shake his head.

"Alright, let's go," said John B, seeing that the man was finally getting across the road, having left his wife somewhere behind.

Kaci flipped him off, and shouted, "Get run over!" before joining the other three in another run, knees growing exhausted from being chased.

They ran past a corner, seeing their other friends again. Kaciʼs heart leaped at the clear sight of JJ jumping out of the truck. Her eyes started to water, skin flushing hot as she thought over the events of yesterday. How all she needed was JJ to comfort her through it all. How to only way she could get to sleep was to imagine herself in his arms again.

She was so close. She was going to get him back to her.

"Hey! JJ! Pope! Kie!" John B called, but none of them heard, too busy running away from their own creepy man.

"Here!" Luis shouted to them, pulling a bike and carriage away from a lamppost and sitting on the seat. "Get in the back!"

Kaci, Sarah and John B jumped onto the back, bearly able to fit in the carriage all together, but Luis was surprisingly good at peddling fast while carrying all their weight. Kaz looked around them, trying to climb over to his uncle.

John B laughed. "He likes me better than you."

"Fuck off," Kaci deadpanned him.

More people started chasing after them on the bike because they'd stolen somebody elseʼs property; John B and Kaci stuck their middle fingers up at everyone who had a problem with them.

"Pope, Kie, JJ!"

"Einstein, Tomato, Dumbass!"

Luis almost broke his knees chasing after the three teenagers on the bike, peddling faster and faster each second to avoid the riots behind them. Soon, JJ, Kie and Pope turned into an alley that the bike wouldn't fit through, which made him zoom towards the exit of it, where the trio of pouges finally saw them.

Everyone froze for a second, taking a long moment to go through and make meaningful eye contact with each person there.

JJʼs stopped on Kaciʼs, his heart sinking right to the floor. He really believed she was dead. That he lost both her and Kaz. But they were here now. The two of them. The most important people in his life. It was the best, most meaningful moment of his life. JJ wasn't sure if he had ever felt so many emotions in a single second. He had her back. His girl. He had him back. His boy. He had everything he needed back with him. Back where they belonged.

Kaciʼs cheeks were starting to hurt, she was smiling so much. She'd never felt like this before. That was the moment she knew that that stupid blonde boy really was her soulmate.

Time jogged back up to speed again, and Luis was the one to break their moment. "Get in!" he told them, very much aware of all the people chasing them. "Get in! Get in!"

Kie threw herself onto Sarahʼs lap with a loud laugh, leaning forward to kiss her nephewʼs forehead. Pope and JJ helped Luis out, pushing the carriage from behind, running with it to give them a head start.

Kaci turned around to face JJ, her eyes lighting up with happiness. Kaz did, too, holding his arms out for his daddy.

"I missed you, Princess." He let one hand go off the carriage to ruffle the little brown hairs growing on Kazʼs head. "ʼNʼ I missed you, too, Killer."

Kaz grinned. Kaci smiled. She really smiled. He was the only person in the world who cold make her heart see this much colour.

As the pouges - all together again, at last - got faster, most of the people gave up with their chase. Except one man. The man who was originally going for Pope, Kie and JJ.

Growing annoyed of his attempts to grab the boys at the back, Kaci pulled out another baby bottle and launched it at his head, sending the man flying to the ground.

Popeʼs jaw dropped. "That was you?!" he asked incredulously, rubbing his head as if it was happening again.

Kaci shrugged. "Shouldn't have been driving like an asshat."

JJ grinned even wider. "I really fucking missed you."

Authorʼs Note
our babies are back together!!! finally!! i love them sm, i can't deal. lmk if you're still reading. also, please check out my latest announcement to hear something about my upcoming tvd fic!!
love, tay </3