༄ 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗋𝗍𝗒－𝗍𝗁𝗋𝖾𝖾 ༄

THE POGUES PILED into John B's van and drove from the pawnshop out to where the pawnbroker told them the warehouse was located. John B drove with Sarah up front. JJ and Thalia each had their backs against the front two seats, Thalia on the ground. Pope and Kiara sat across from them. "So they keep money out here?" Pope questioned skeptically.

        "That's what she said." JJ shrugged, not realizing the unintentional joke he had made.

        Thalia chuckled lightly. "That's what she said." she repeated, messing around with her lighter to keep her mind off the drugs hidden in her shoe.

        Pope was not amused. "Stop." he said sharply, Thalia widening her eyes dramatically, looking shyly away from the boy.

        "I've never even heard of Resurrection Drive." Sarah voiced from the front seat.

        "It's 'cause you're rich." JJ said, Thalia rolling her eyes at him.

        "You've never heard of it either." Kiara snapped back.

        "Thank you." Sarah said, sneering at JJ.

        Kiara was uncomfortable with the situation. "There's nothing but weeds back here." she observed.

        Thalia rolled her eyes again. "Thank you, captain obvious." she muttered, unable to fully control her emotions as much as she would have liked. Kie narrowed her eyes at Thalia.

        "All right, just 'cause it's just weeds, doesn't mean it's, like..." JJ trailed off at the sound of a police siren.

        "Cops? Out here?" Kie snapped her head around to see a car with sirens and lights slowing down behind the van.

        JJ just about lost his mind. "God! Are you kidding me?" he shouted, extremely frustrated.     

        Sarah looked out the back window. "What did we do?" she asked even though nobody knew the answer.

        "Why are we getting pulled over?" Pope wondered as John B pulled over to the side of the road.

        "Stash that." John B turned to JJ, pointing to the gold the blonde boy held.

        "Chill, guys." Kie said, able to tell that something wasn't right with Thalia. Her hands were shaking and her face was pale.

        JJ shoved the gold into his backpack. "I hate cops." he muttered under his breath.

        John B's eyes widened. "Did you bring the gun?" he asked quickly, alarmed.

        "No. Okay? Everybody told me to leave it back at the place." JJ said, and it was a weight lifted off everyone's shoulders.

        Thalia began pulling things out of her pockets, which Pope noticed. "Thank God. Okay... Please, everything else in your bag." Kie pushed JJ, rushing him into stashing everything.

        "I am! I am, all right?" JJ snapped.

        "Put this in there." Thalia rose to her knees and handed JJ her vape, pain pills and a few loose joules she had in her pockets.

        Pope started helping them get everything together. "How much weed do you guys have on you?" Kie asked, and Sarah turned around.

        "A lot." Thalia muttered.

        "Thalia, are you serious?" Sarah said in disappointment, seeing the white pills in the bag Thalia was stuffing away.

        "Shut up, Sarah." Thalia said thickly, about to reach into her shoe for the cocaine before she remembered that couldn't happen. No one could know.

        "He's walking up." Pope said, JJ standing and shoving his backpack under his seat, sitting back down on it quickly.

        The officer walked up to the van, and when he cocked a shotgun in John B's face, everyone knew he wasn't an officer. "Why don't I go ahead and see them hands in the air?" Barry said, and Thalia's face fell. There was no way they were being attacked by her drug dealer. "All y'all's hands up in the air now!" Barry shouted. Thalia pushed her back against Sarah's seat, trying to hide her face from view. "You, out of the car! Let's go! Out of the car! Let's go! Hurry!" Barry rushed John B, the brunette slowly getting out of the driver's seat with his hands in the air.

        "Fuck." Thalia whispered, unsure of what she could do to save herself now.

        "Let them out!" Barry pointed at the side door of the van when John B shut the front door. "What are you waitin' on? What are you waitin' on? Let them out!" Sarah whimpered as John B opened her door. "All y'all! Go on! Go on! Let's get out the car! Let's go!" John B slid the side door of the van open, and Thalia was the first victim. Her feet hit the ground, her head low, but Barry knew exactly who she was. "Thalia Cameron, Well, hey there, Little Red." he laughed, confusion sparking the Pogues.

        Barry gripped Thalia's arm, pulling her away from the van. Pope instantly tensed up, Kie pushing him back into his seat. "Don't touch me." Thalia said firmly, shoving Barry's hand off. She ended up with the shotgun to her nose, so she raised her hands in surrender.

        The drug dealer turned back to the Pogues. "Here we go! Get out the car, let's go! Hurry up! There you go!" Sarah stepped out of the van and stood next to John, followed by Kiara, Pope, and then JJ.

        "We're broke–" JJ tried, hands raised.

        "Shut the hell up!" Barry roared, Thalia wincing everytime he raised his voice.

        "All right! Just relax!" JJ shouted back as the shotgun was pressed into his chest.

        "Shut the hell up! Shut up!" Barry pushed them all back towards Thalia. "Blow your damn head off!" Barry threatened.

        Thalia figured she had to do something. "What did we do? No one here owes you anything." Thalia said calmly. Too calmly, her friends and family noticed.

        Barry pushed the gun closer to her. "Lay down in the ditch! Lay down in the ditch! On your goddamn hands and knees! Down!" Thalia gave up and followed Barry's instructions, nestled between Pope and JJ, more stressed than she had been in her entire life. "Put your face on the ground! Stay here just like that! Put your head down! Don't let me see you look up! All right? That's all y'all gotta do." Barry left them like that and entered the Twinkie, searching for something.

        Thalia breathed slowly, trying to stay calm. "It's a setup, guys." Kie said, and Thalia started losing her mind.

        "That old bat shanked us. Fuck! Goddamn it!" JJ punched at the leaves in anger.

        "J, relax." Thalia warned sharply. She had to be inconspicuous, even though she was royally fucked.

        "How the fuck does this guy know you?" JJ asked his sister aggressively while Barry searched through the van.

        "It doesn't matter." Thalia said, breathing slowly, ringed fingers rolling over the exposed skin of her neck, her red braid fallen over her shoulder.

        Sarah looked over at her, on the verge of tears. "It does matter, Thalia." the blonde girl whispered, afraid of being caught.

        Pope reached out and gently grabbed Thalia's shaking wrist. "Talk to us. Talk to me." Pope whispered the last part of his phrase, and she looked over at him. She wanted to tell him everything, tell everyone everything, but she couldn't.

        Fortunately, John B stole the spotlight, pushing himself to his feet. "Wait. No, no, no, no. John B... No..." Sarah trailed off with a whimper.

        Thalia and Pope looked over to John B, and Thalia freed her wrist from Pope's grasp. "John B. Don't be a hero, man." the boy said in a quick whisper.

        John B simply shushed them and trekked towards Barry's car. Thalia knew why she didn't recognize it; he had stolen it. A tense moment later, Barry exited the van with the chunk of gold in his grip. "All right, y'all stay like that. Unless you want your brains blown out all over this road, don't move your goddamn heads, okay?" Barry threatened with a shout. "See you next week, pretty girl." Barry winked at Thalia.

        "Man, shut the fuck up." Thalia responded with gritted teeth, outwardly angry now.

        Barry didn't respond, and instead rushed to his car, only to engage in a fight with John B on the inside. Everyone began to rise to their feet, eyes wide. John B kicked opened the back door. "Guys, I got the gun!" John B shouted. JJ ran over to him instrantly.

        Now out of the car, Barry fought off JJ and pushed Kie away, only for John B to hit him in the back with the end of the gun and Thalia to punch him square in the nose. "I got the gold!" Pope yelled, Sarah shrieking as Barry fell towards her.

        Sarah slammed the car door at Barry twice, Kie kicked him, and Pope pushed him against the car. "You son of a bitch!" Sarah panted.

        John B ripped off the mask Barry was wearing over his nose and mouth, and Thalia wished he hadn't. "I know this piece of shit! He's a basehead!" JJ said, and then he started to put the pieces together.

        "Probably knows my brother." Sarah said, looking at grim-faced Thalia. It was beginning to make sense for her, too.

        "He sells coke to our dad." JJ glared at his sister, waiting for her to say something. She never did.

        "Listen, I couldn't hurt any single one of y'all–" Barry was interupted by JJ hitting him with the gun.

        "JJ!" Kiara scolded as the boys pushed him back.

        "Dude, chill, man!" Pope tried to calm JJ down.

        JJ breathed heavily as Barry wheezed. "You... you should probably tell them, Red. Be better for you in the end." Barry choked out. Thalia kicked his ribs.

        "Tell us what?" Kie asked right away.

        JJ locked eyes with his older sister. "Tell me it's not true. Tell me you don't buy cocaine from this guy." JJ said, daring her to answer.

        Thalia wouldn't answer. Sarah felt her heart drop. "Where is it?" Sarah stepped towards her cousin, patting her down like she saw Rose do back in the early days of Thalia's accident. "Where is it, Thalia?" Sarah asked louder this time, much more serious.

        Thalia shoved off Sarah's hands and bent down, pulling the bag of white powder out of her blue converse. "This was the last time." she shoved the bag into JJ's chest.

        Pope was in disbelief. "You said you only smoked weed?" he asked, voice so sweet and innocent, as if he couldn't believe there wasn't pure good in the world.

        "Yeah, well, I lied, Pope. I'm a liar. I smoke weed, and I do coke, and a whole bunch of other shit. I abuse pain pills and I steal, and I scam and I disappoint people. It's what I do. It's what my mom does, it's what Luke does. I'm not a good person." Thalia said, looking from Pope, to JJ, to Sarah, and back at Pope.

        "You are a good person. You don't have to do all that." Pope said, forgetting all about Barry.

        "Guys, we should get out of here." John B voiced, Sarah scolding him with her eyes.

        Thalia felt tears glisten her eyes, but they never fell. "You shouldn't believe that. No one does." she bit her tongue as JJ gave Sarah Thalia's cocaine, the blonde girl throwing it deep into the woods.

        JJ reached down to Barry and shoved him once more for good measure before standing and brushing John B away from him. "We got one last stop." JJ glared at his sister as he walked past her.

        "Hey!" John B shouted after his best friend.

        "Thalia's gonna take us to see where this son of a bitch lives." JJ said, breaking through his friends. Thalia followed him shamefully.

        As she got in the driver's seat and turned the engine on, Barry shouted after her, and then at all of the Pogues. John B chucked his car keys deep into the woods, following the Pogues into the tense and uncomfortable van. Thalia swallowed thickly, fighting to stay calm and composed. She couldn't crash now, even though that's all she wanted to do.

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