๐“๐ก๐ž ๐‹๐ฎ๐œ๐ค๐ฒ ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐š๐ฌ๐ฌ | ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ‘

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"๐ˆ ๐ฆ๐ž๐š๐ง, ๐ข๐ญ'๐ฌ obvious, right?" John B asks as he drives us to the Redfield Lighthouse. "A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to us, right?"

"Yeah. It's possible," Kiara says from the passenger's seat.

"It could also be possible that you're concocting wild theories to help, you know..." Pope pipes up from where he's sitting in the back with JJ and I, before I interrupt him.

"Pope, please don't."

"...deal with your sad feels," he finishes anyways.

"And, you just did," I mutter to myself.

"Bro, you know how I process my sad feels? Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies, that's how I do it," JJ pipes in. I roll my eyes at him as I continue leaning over his hand to draw on it. "What are you drawing anyways?" he asks me as he leans closer to get a better look at his hand.

"Wouldn't you like to know," I respond before sticking the cap back on the pen, finished with my work of art.

"Is that a..?" he trails off. Instead of answering, I just nod my head. "Dude."

"You're the one who let me draw on your hand in the first place," I laugh out.

"Why did you draw it so detailed, though?" JJ laughs beside me, utterly amused by my choice of art.

"If I'm gonna draw it, it's gonna be an accurate drawing, okay. I don't do half-assed drawings," I explain, shrugging my shoulders. JJ's lips turn up into a wide smile before he throws his arm over my shoulder and hugs me to him.

"You're such a weirdo, you know that?" He says, looking down at me.

"I'm your weirdo, though. So, what does that say about you?" I ask, my head tilted back as I stare up at him.

"That I've got great taste in weirdos." He smiles sweetly and I can't help the redness that comes to my cheeks at his cheesiness.

"You're ridiculous," I say as I try to dismiss the fact that I'm blushing.

"Not as ridiculous as you, though."

"I beg to diffโ€”" I begin, but I cut myself off when I hear my brother's next words. I turn my head towards him as I listen.

"Look, my...my dad is missing, okay? Missing," he says. JJ follows my gaze to John B. "You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish and then have no idea what happened. Just wake up every morning wondering."

"It's been almost a year," Kiara reminds him, a sympathetic look on her face as she places her hand on his thigh.

"Hey, he could have been kidnapped. That's definitely a possibility," JJ says before turning his head to look at me, his eyebrows raising and his eyes widening in question. I scrunch my face up, telling him that that's not much better than being dead.

"Yeah, could be in a Soviet sub getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere," Pope seconds.

"Absolutely. Uh...or Atlantis."

"JJ." I hit him on the chest, not happy with how the conversation is going.

"Look, what do you think the message is?" Kiara asks John B.

"Redfield. Redfield Lighthouse," he answers, just as we drive past the sign that tells us we're there. "That's our dad's favorite place."

โ˜ผโ˜ผโ˜ผ

"Right. You're gonna post up and look out for bogeys, okay?" John B tells JJ as we all get out of the van.

"Wait... Why me?" he asks, pointing at himself and glancing at me before looking back at John B.

"Because you're not coming," I answer as I look at the lighthouse.

"Why?" he asks, still confused.

"Look, JJ, there are independent and dependent variables, and you're an independent variable. We don't know what you'll do." Pope explains, his voice getting louder as he tries to talk over JJ, who keeps yelling,

"Shut up! Shut up! Just shut up!"

"Listen to me for a second. Just listen," John B yells over them both. "Pope, you stand lookout with JJ. Okay? If we get split up, we meet back at JJ's house."

"Great," Kiara says as she raises her eyebrows, her mouth in a straight line as she looks at Pope and JJ.

"They're not wrong. I'm sorry," I tell JJ as I back away from him. He looks away from me and shakes his head.

"I'm gonna work on my merit scholarship essay, and I'm trying to keep felonies to a minimum," I hear Pope say as John B, Kiara, and I walk toward the lighthouse.

"All right, would you just shut up already?" JJ interrupts before I can no longer hear what either of them is saying.

"Remind me what we're looking for again," I ask as we step through the rusty door and into the lighthouse.

"We'll know it when we see it," John B answers as we all look up at the stairs that wind up to the top of the lighthouse.

"Okay, that's not helpful at all," I say, rolling my eyes before John B, Kiara, and I start walking up the stair. When we get to the top, John B knocks on the metal door. We wait a few seconds, but the door doesn't open.

"Nobody home," he says as he turns back around. But the lock on the door clicks and the door opens. The large man standing on the other side of the doorframe has red, balding hair, a beard, and small glasses perched on his nose. He stares at us, unmoving until I pipe up.

"Um... we're here for the lighthouse," I say after a few awkward seconds.

"The lighthouse is closed," the man says before closing the door and locking it again.

"Um..." I mutter, looking over at John B with a question in my eyes.

"Actually, we... we aren't here about the lighthouse," John B calls out. "We're here about the, uh... the Royal Merchant." The door opens again a second later, revealing the portly man once again.

"Then you came to the right place," he says. He steps around us and walks toward another door. The three of us look at each other before JB shrugs his shoulders and follows after the man. Kiara and I follow after them before the man begins talking again. "I know more...Watch your step here....about the Royal Merchant than anyone else in Kildare County."

"Holy shit," John B mutters as we step onto the balcony and see the beautiful and expansive view.

"C'mon," the man urges before walking a few feet around the balcony. I step around the hole in the rusted floor before following closely behind Kiara and John B. "Now, the Merchant disappeared in the graveyard of the Atlantic in 1829."

"With five hundred million," John says absentmindedly.

"Correct. You're a bit of a Merchanteer yourself, huh?" he asks, looking back at John B over his glasses.

"Uh... somethin' like that," John stutters as he looks at me. I smile at the man, but I know my brother can see in my eyes that I'm uneasy about the man.

"Well, follow me. I wanna show you somethin'," he says in a voice that gives me the creeps. He begins walking to the other side of the balcony. "I've been workin' 30 years up here. The view's never changed till two days ago. The Point's almost gone." He points in front of himself while looking back at us. "One more storm like that, it'll take the lighthouse. I'll go with her."

"Now, the trick to knowin' where the Merchant is," he continues as if his last sentence hadn't been mildly ominous, "is knowin' whether she was on the north end or the south end of the eye of the storm. Now, most experts believe that she was on the south end. Now, she's on the south end, the bands from the hurricane would have pushed her back out to sea. But I don't believe that. Uh-uh. I think she was on the north end of the eye. Which means the bands would have pushed her..."

"Closer to shore," I say when the guy pauses.

"That's right. Now, by my calculations, the Royal Merchant... is about ten miles thataway." He points north before calling us back inside. "Come on. Come on."

He begins leading us into his office, but I tug on Kiara's arm before going in.

"Hey, are you okay if I head back outside? This guy's just creeping me out," I ask.

"Yeah, that's fine." She nods her head before giving me a quick hug. I give her a thumbs-up before climbing back down the stairs.

When I get back outside, JJ looks up and sees me. I walk over to him and quickly grab the ball that he's throwing up in the air.

"Hey!" he complains as he tries to get it back. I put my hand behind my back to keep the ball away from him, causing him to wrap his arms around me. "Come on, Y/n. Just give it back."

"Only if I get something in exchange." I smile up at him, and he pauses. He backs away from me and taps his finger against his chin, thinking of what to give me. After a few seconds, he looks up at me through his lashes and gives me a slightly impish look, a smirk on his lips.

"How about you give me a blโ€”"

"No!" I say quickly, causing JJ to let out a loud laugh.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," he says before quieting again to think, a few laughs slipping past his lips. My cheeks redden as I think about what the ending to that sentence was going to be. And then my mind really starts thinking about it, and I feel all of my body get hot.

Stop thinking about that, Y/n.

"I got it," he says after a few seconds, pulling me out of my thoughts. "We haven't hung out, just you and me, in a while," he proposes, his brow raising in question. "Well, actually, I guess we just did yesterday, but that doesn't count 'cause you blacked out pretty quickly."

"Hm," I hum, looking up at the sky, pretending to ponder the proposal. "Yes," I finally say, throwing the ballโ€”which he catches easilyโ€”back at him.

"Hey, what're you doing out here anyways?" he asks, tossing the ball into the air again.

"The lighthouse guy was just giving me a weird vibe."

"What? Was he hitting on you or something?" I can see his fist clench, so I quickly reply before he can get mad.

"No, no. No, I was just getting a little creeped out. Anyways, I'd rather let John B and Kiara be together without me." I raise and lower my eyebrow suggestively a few times as a smirk forms on my face. JJ smiles back at me with a devilish grin. "Well, together with the creepy guy that is."

JJ laughs before walking back over to me.

"Hey, where's Pope?" I ask suddenly, looking all around me, suddenly conscious about the fact that it's just JJ and I.

"I think he had to take a piss."

"Oh. That explains it. I wouldn't have thought he would leave you alone."

"Why? Cause I'm an independent variable?" he asks, causing the mood in the...room?...to change.

"JJ, you can't seriously be mad about that, can you?"

"I just don't know why you guys don't trust me."

"We do, JJ. But you have to realize the fact that Pope was right. You do tend to be more independent than dependent," I explain, trying to word everything as gently as I can. "I mean come on, look at your life. You pretty much live on your own when you're not at one of our houses. You've never had a girlfriend for more than a few monthsโ€”"

"That's not completely my fault, okay? I didn't break up with Jodie, she broke up with me," he points out.

"Okay, but what about all the hookups you've had?" I ask, attempting to get him to see the point I'm trying to make.

"What about them? It's not like you've never had a hookup," he fires back.

"I havenโ€”" I cut myself off as a memory comes back to me. A memory that's been popping up a lot recently. A memory I hate.

"What?" JJ asks when I don't say anything for a couple of seconds.

"Nothing. It doesn't matter," I mumble, staring down at my hands.

"Are you sure?" he asks, bending down so that he can see my eyes. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

It's almost as if JJ has completely forgotten about the start of our conversationโ€”him getting upset about being an independent variable. He's gone from being slightly mad at me to being caring and thoughtful.

It's something that JJ can do so many timesโ€”at least with me. It doesn't mater how mad or upset he is about somethingโ€”anythingโ€”if he sees that I need him, he's there for me.

And it always makes me cherish him all the more.

"I know. I know I can, JJ. I just don't really wanna talk about it right now."

"Okay, that's fine. I'm always here for you if you wanna talk, though."

"Thank you."

"Hey," he says, grabbing my attention again. "Don't worry about it alright. Whatever it is, you're strong enough to handle it. Yeah?" He gives me a small smile, one that I know he wants me to return.

And I do. I mimic his smile and nod softly.

"Come here," he says after a few seconds, standing straighter and spreading his arms out towards me. I walk into them and he wraps them around me, his lean muscles holding me up as I rest my head against his chest.

My arms go around his waist and I hug him tightly, burrying my face in the fabric of his shirt.

He rubs his hands up and down my back, his thumbs drawing circles. The action soothes me, and I feel a ripple of calmness travel down my spine, causing me to shiver.

"You cold?" he asks.

I shake my head, not caring to lift my head, before mumbling a "no."

JJ squeezes me tighter to his chest and my lips turn into a smile as I'm no longer able to contain my feeling of content.

"JJ," I sigh. I only meant it as a way to say thank you, but it doesn't sound like that when it comes out, and I know JJ's doesn't think it is.

He pauses, his hands on my back coming to a standstill.

JJ moves his hands to grab onto my biceps, pulling me slightly away from him so that he can see my face. His eyes search mine, his brows furrowed.

It almost feels like time has stoppedโ€”and I know that's a cheesy thing to say, but that's what it feels like. All I can seem to focus on is JJ's searching eyes and my heavy breathing.

I know what JJ's searching for. I know what he's trying to find.

But I don't know if I want him to find it. At least not yet.

"Y/n," JJ mutters. "What are you doing to me?" he asks.

And that question startles me. Because I'm scared. I am. I'm scared of what my own feelings that I've been pushing down are. I'm scared that their presence or absence could hurt JJ.

I know that I've been like a little sister to JJ for so many years, and I'm not completely sure if that's changed or not. I don't want to risk my heartโ€”once againโ€”for something that's never going to happen.

I'm not even 100% sure what my feelings are. If I don't know my own feelings, I can't chance JJ getting hurt. Not because of my own actions.

I won't let that happen.

So I take a step away from him and drop my gaze to my feet.

"Y/n?" JJ asks, taking a step towards me a reaching his hand out to take mine.

I take step back and look at the lighthouse before turning my eyes to look behind JJ. "They should be back soon, don't you think?" I ask instead.

"What?" He tilts his head in confusion, his brow quirking and his lips frowning.

His beautifulโ€”shut up, Y/n.

"John B and Kiara. Or Pope," I explain. "They should be back soon, right?"

"Um, yeah. I guess so. Why?"

"Well, um, Kie and John B have been up there pretty long, don't you think? Should we check on them? Pope's been pissing for awhile, too."

As if on cue, I hear the sound of sticks breaking and I turn my head to see Pope walking towards us through the trees. Following my eyes, he looks behind himself, his gaze landing on Pope.

"Are they back yet?" he asks as he gets closer to us.

"Uhh," I voice, glancing at JJ as I my brain tries to form a sentence. My mind doesn't seem to be working at the moment, though, because nothing comes out of my mouth for several more seconds. JJ turns away from Pope to look at me, waiting for me to say something.

Pope clearly doesn't notice anything wrong with me because he looks at us expectantly, waiting for an answer from either one of us.

"No," JJ finally says, turning his face towards Pope, his eyes lingering on me for a second longer before they, too, turn in Pope's direction. "They're not back yet."

"Okay, cool." Pope goes on as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred in me. He picks up the ball that had at some point fallen from JJ's grasp and landed near the tree, before throwing it up in the air.

JJ's eyes find mine once again, and he tilts his head. His gaze suggests that he's asking me what the hell is wrong with me, but I don't give him an answer.

I look down the dirt road beyond both the boys, my eyes focusing on a blue and white spot in the distance.

As I continue to look at the object, I squint, wondering why it seems to be getting larger. When I hear the sirens, I know exactly why they're getting bigger. "Guys, we gotta go," I say quickly, my body picking flight over fight as it walks with surprising calmness towards the Twinkie, the police cars driveling closer to us as the seconds go by.

"Oh shit," JJ mutters before he and Pope start running toward the van, ignoring the fact that we're leaving John B and Kiara with no getaway car.

JJ jumps into the drivers seat and Pope gets into the passengers seat, leaving me to get in the back. I open the side door but pause, turning to look behind me at the lighthouse.

"Should we wait for them?" I ask, conflicted as to what we should do.

"No, Y/n. We can't. We agreed to meet at JJ's house if we got separated, remember? None of us are of any use if we all get arrested," Pope says quickly, motioning for me to get into the van. I glance at JJ, waiting for his answer.

"They'll be okay," he assures me.

I look down at the floor of the van, contemplating my options as I bite my lip. Once I make my decision, I look back up at both of them. "Okay," I sigh before climbing into the van, shutting the door behind me as JJ drives us away from the lighthouse, leaving John B and Kiara to fend for themselves.








๐€๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ'๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ž
Hello my lovely readers! Soooo, yeah. I was definitely not correct in saying I would be able to get this chapter posted really soon. I'm real sorry about that. I've been really busy.
On another note though! It makes me soooo happy to see you guys asking for updates in the comments! I adore seeing that you guys love my story and that you're anxiously awaiting my updates. I do wish I could post more often, but I can only do as much as I flagged time for unfortunately. I do hope that I can get the next chapter updated soon, but I know it'll take longer than the others. I have hardly any of it done right now. BUT, we'll see how long it really takes to write it!
Let me know your thoughts and feelings on this chapter! Love to hear your feedback!
Love you guys!


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