༄ 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝗂𝖿𝗍𝗒－𝗈𝗇𝖾 ༄

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑵𝑬𝑿𝑻 𝑫𝑨𝒀, everything was normal in the Cameron household. Every one of them had a secret, and no one wanted to be found out. Thalia didn't find it hard to act civilized to Ward, as long as she didn't think about what she had seen him do, the nightmares that woke her from her drunken sleep. "So where are you going?" Ward asked, seated at the island.

Thalia pretended that she wasn't high out of her mind, a t-shirt and denim shorts over her body. "Pope's dad's shop. He could use some help, and I'm bored from being forced to quit my job." Thalia quipped. She had to act normal, and her normal was flaming Ward for decisions he had made for her in regards to her knee.

Ward sighed. "Stay out of trouble. We can't have any chaos right now." Ward said, and Thalia nodded.

Thalia was actually in a pretty good mood. Her surgical incision had completely healed, and because she went to physical therapy when she was supposed to, her doctor had allowed her to get off crutches that morning at her appointment. She graduated to a smaller black brace, and she was given clearance to walk. Anything was better than her awful crutches. Thalia made it to the meeting spot, a sewer output, seeing the other three already there. "Awe, you guys waited." Thalia rolled her eyes, knowing from the texts Pope sent her what they were doing that afternoon.

"Yay, you're alive." JJ said sarcastically, and Thalia ignored him, her red hair braided messily down her back.

"You're walking. Should you be walking?" Pope asked, his eyes lighting up instantly when he saw Thalia. JJ did a double take, having not noticed the absence of Thalia's crutches when he first saw her.

She smiled lightly, making her way down to them. "Doctor asshole cleared me to walk, as long as I keep going to PT." Thalia said.

Pope moved towards her, offering him her hand, and she took it, gingerly stepping down the mound, reaching the sewer. He looked into her eyes, able to tell that she was high. He decided not to comment on it. "Everything good at home?" Pope asked.

Thalia nodded. "He's pretending he didn't do anything, I'm pretending I don't know anything. Just the way it should be." she shrugged, her hand lingering on Pope's arm. Kie looked annoyed, and JJ looked uncomfortable.

JJ cleared his throat, and Thalia's hand fell from Pope's arm, his skin yearning for his touch again. "This is the north drain. It should've gotten washed into the gully. So, if it got flushed out from this drain, it would've been pushed out to, like–" JJ explained, standing in front of the drain.

"Somewhere in this trash." Pope finished, Thalia looking distastefully at all the trash.

"Correct." JJ confirmed.

Kiara sighed. "Oh my God. People who use plastic should be shot." she commented, saying something that Thalia agreed with for once.

"Okay, personally, I love plastic. Use it every day. Love the stuff." JJ said to egg Kie on, sorting through a net.

"Well, hopefully, you recycle it and don't let it flush into the ocean like a jackass." Thalia quipped, flicking her brother in the head.

JJ frowned. "Since when do you care about the environment?" he questioned, swatting Thalia's hand away.

She rolled her eyes. "I've always cared about the environment. Pope knows this, don't know how you don't, brother of the year." Thalia retorted, JJ mocking her words.

"I do know that, and I knew you'd say something like that, so, trash bags." Pope said meekly, holding up a roll of trash.

A stunned smile graced Thalia's face, though she tried to hide it. "Are you actively protecting the environment?" she asked him, trying to mask her grin.

Pope smiled shyly. "Maybe." he admitted, and Thalia suddenly wanted to kiss him. Kiara's upset face was the icing on top.

JJ looked between the two. "You want us to leave you two alone, or what's going on?" JJ asked, and Pope looked away from Thalia to throw the roll of trash bags at JJ.

"Just pick up the trash." Pope said, and Thalia's dumb grin remained on her face for longer than she cared to admit.

They picked up all the trash, feelings of disgust washing over Thalia. She had been dirtier though. "Well, that was fun." JJ said, tossing the last bag of garbage with the others.

Pope frowned. "If it's not in the trash, then it's gotta be in the storm drain." Pope realized, Thalia grimacing.

"It's in... it's in the drain." JJ added sadly.

"Damn it." Pope cursed, Thalia standing next to him.

"Of course it is." Kiara sighed.

"You bring a crowbar, moron?" Thalia asked her brother.

JJ held up the crowbar. "Yes, I did, jackass." he retorted.

Kie frowned. "So, are we gonna do, like, rock, paper, scissors?" she voiced.

"No." Thalia vetoed that idea instantly, arms crossed over her chest.

"Or alphabetically?" she continued, Pope and JJ opening the sewer. "Or, like, the oldest goes?"

"In the sewer, there's this worm that you get when you're down there. It gets into your blood, and then it has to come out your pecker. So, uh, that would be a hard pass for me." JJ said, making up excuses to not go in the drain.

Thalia rolled her eyes at his dramatics. "That's gonna be a no for me." Pope added.

The redhead turned to JJ and Pope. "Really? You guys are so scared you're gonna let the cripple go? That's pretty damn pathetic." Thalia said, Pope instantly wanting to redact his statement.

"I'm not scared." JJ said instantly, trying to defend himself.

"It's kind of cute." Kiara added.

"It's the pecker thing. I'm not scared." Pope said quickly, hoping that Thalia didn't stop liking him because of this.

Thalia moved towards the drain. "It's adorable. You should've just led with that." Thalia teased, pressing a light kiss to Pope's cheek, stunning him into silence.

"You don't have to be scared. We'll do it." Kie said. She didn't want to go anywhere with Thalia, but she figured having two people looking for the gun wasn't a bad idea.

"Okay, just, you know, be careful." Pope said, Thalia taking a heavy drink from her flask, tucking the bottle in her back pocket.

"We'll be so careful." Thalia remarked, stepping past Pope.

Thalia entered the sewer first, trying not to put too much pressure on her knee, the disgusting water splashing up at her. "Just, uh, holler if you need anything, okay? We'll, uh, we'll holler back." JJ offered, very unhelpful.

"Fuck off." Thalia said under her breath, rolling her eyes as she traveled deeper into the sewer.

"Very helpful. Thank you," Kie said, her voice echoing. "Did you find anything yet?" Kiara questioned, crawling behind Thalia.

The redhead sighed, her single braid falling over her shoulder. "If I found anything, do you think we'd still be in here?" she quipped, pain shooting through her body from the uncomfortable position of her knee.

Kie scoffed. "You're such a fucking bitch." she said, JJ and Pope's eyes widening from where they stood outside the sewer, able to hear everything.

"Oh, I'm the bitch?" Thalia questioned as she continued to crawl deeper into the sewer. "You're the one who won't keep your hands off of Pope."

"He told you that?" Kie asked with an eye roll, bitter.

"Of course he told me that. Take the hint, Kie, and just back off." Thalia said, wanting to claim her territory with Pope. She didn't know why.

Kiara rolled her eyes. "Maybe you should actually take him if you want him. But you're probably too busy being a psychotic drug addict to know what you want." the brunette retorted.

Thalia ducked to avoid a spider web. "Do you have any original insults? Jesus Christ, get some new material." Thalia remarked.

Pope and JJ took advantage of the tense silence between the girls. "You guys find anything yet?" Pope asked tentatively, hoping they would both make it out of the sewer alive.

"Yeah, Kie, Thalls, do you see the gun?" JJ wondered.

"Nothing." Kie said with a sigh.

"It's probably at the bottom of the catch basin." Pope suggested.

The girls continued crawling, Thalia stopping when she came upon the catch basin, the sight of the water making her want to throw up. "Doing it for Sarah. Doing it for Sarah." Thalia whispered twice with a grimace before she slid ungracefully into the basin, Kiara following her.

They looked up, seeing a manhole above them. Deciding to work in silence, Kie and Thalia started rifling through the floating trash in the sewer. "People are so shitty." Kie sighed, disgusted by all the trash.

Thalia jerked her body, feeling things crawling all over her. Something floated near her. "Guys, I think I found something." Thalia said, chasing the object.

"Wait, you got it?" JJ asked hopefully, Kie moving towards Thalia to see what she had found.

"Is it the gun?" Pope questioned quickly.

Thalia turned the object over, feeling flesh instead of metal. "Oh, hell no." Thalia said in alarm, accidentally pushing the object towards Kie.

Kie started screaming. "Pope! Pope! Oh my God! You guys, there's something dead in here!" Kiara wailed, Thalia's eyes widened at her shrieking.

Tentatively, Thalia lifted the object, Kie screaming louder. "It's just a rat, chill the fuck out!" Thalia yelled over Kie's terrified screams.

The boys tried to ask questions, but they didn't get any answers. "Oh my God! There's something dead. I repeat, there is something dead in here!" Kie shouted.

Rolling her eyes, Thalia pushed the rodent away. "You're not gonna die, relax!" she yelled, surprisingly calm.

"Dumbass, don't touch it. That's how you get worms!" JJ shouted to his sister.

"Did you find the gun? Is it Gavin? What is it? Is it Gavin?" Pope asked over and over again, stressing Thalia out immensely. Between the boys' questioning and Kiara's screaming, Thalia was losing her patience and her mind.

"Guys, is it a gun? Do you see the gun?" JJ questioned, Thalia trying to get Kie to stop screaming.

Kie finally took a breath. "You guys owe us for life!" she yelled to Pope and JJ, Thalia shivering from touching the rodent, whatever it was. And then they found the gun. Kie was overjoyed, but Thalia didn't know how to feel. This gun would send Rafe and Ward to jail, ruin her life even more than it already was.

Suddenly, Thalia heard running water. "Oh, fuck." she gasped, realizing what was happening as the water started to bubble at the foot of the basin.

"Oh, shit. Guys? Guys, the water!" Kiara shouted to alert Pope and JJ, the water rushing towards her and Thalia.

"Thalia, Kiara, get out of there now!" Pope yelled in alarm, the water coming even quicker.

"Get up the ladder," Thalia instructed Kiara, who was helpless under pressure. "Guys, we don't have time!" she shouted, terror in her voice. Thalia turned to see Kie, still standing beside her. "Kiara, climb up the fucking ladder and try to open the grate." she enunciated, quickly losing her patience.

Kie snapped into focus, starting to climb up as the guys shouted her and Thalia's names over and over again. The water was violent, tossing them around like crazy, and Thalia barely clung to the ladder. "Please! JJ! Guys!" Kie yelled, finding the manhole sealed shut.

Thalia pushed herself up behind Kie, using the little strength she had left. She was so tired. "Pope, help! Please!" Thalia shouted, actually scared for her life. She had never thought about death before, but she was so close to it now.

"Help! We're over here!" Kie wailed, sticking her fingers out of the grate in hopes that the boys would find them.

"Thalia! Kiara!" Pope yelled while he and JJ ran to the girls.

"Guys, we're coming!" JJ said, running as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Hey, guys! We're over here! The water is coming up!" Kie shouted. The water washed over Thalia's head and she gasped, choking. Kie made space for her on the ladder, but they were running out of oxygen and time.

Thalia coughed. "Pope, please!" she begged, looking up to see the shadows of Pope and JJ.

After struggling for a while, JJ's knife breaking, Pope and JJ finally managed to pull the grate off the drain as the water overtook Thalia and Kie. When they were free, Kie made it out first, Thalia following quickly, water in her chest and lungs. "Thalls," Pope exhaled when he saw Thalia's bright red hair, her chest pressed to the pavement as she tried to breath. "Are you okay? Are you okay?"

Thalia looked up at him, rising to her knees. She instantly reached for him, her arms around his neck. "Kie, you good?" JJ asked Kie, watching as Pope held Thalia tightly.

Thalia breathed deeply, coughing up the rest of the water in her lungs. "Never better." Kie said from her knees.

"You're okay. It's okay, I got you." Pope said gently, Thalia still gripping him tightly, not ashamed to show public affection towards him.

Coughing, Thalia broke away from Pope, her heart racing. Kie reached into her back pocket. "This wasn't what we were looking for, right?" Kie said, pulling out the gun.

Everyone started laughing, overjoyed. Except Thalia, though she pretended she was happy. "Oh my God. Holy shit." JJ laughed, taking the gun from Kie to wipe it off with his bandana.

Pope stood up, taking Thalia's hands and pulling her to her feet, her balance wobbly. "You did it." Pope smiled, hugging Thalia once.

"Don't ever make me do that again." Thalia said with a light smile, her cheek on Pope's shoulder.

"Oh my God. We're gonna get this son of a bitch, man," JJ said gleefully, helping Kiara to her feet. "You did it, guys. You did it. Come on." JJ forced everyone into a hug, and Thalia obliged, trying to keep up her facade.

"Let's get this to Shoupe." Pope said, breaking up the hug, his hand holding Thalia's tightly.

Thalia looked down at the state she was in. "Fuck, I actually liked this shirt." she groaned, keeping her hand in Pope's grip. JJ watched them with a grin, and Kiara watched them with an annoyed look on her face. Pope just looked at Thalia, because she was his best view.

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