༄ 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗐𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗒－𝖾𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 ༄

THE POGUES AND their Cameron additions traveled in John B's van through the night to get to the Crain House. After trying to get to the circuit box on the porch of the old woman's house when she was seven with Sarah, Rafe and Rafe's friends, Thalia swore she would never go back. "You got rope?" John B asked the group, driving the Twinkie towards the house.

        Pope nodded. "Got it." he said, unwilling to be unprepared. Thalia thought his anxiety was cute.

        "Grappling hook?" John B questioned.

        "No grappling hook. We're not Batman." Pope said sassily, Thalia smiling to herself as she pleated her hair in two braids over her shoulders.

        It was completely dark out as John B parked the van outside the house. "Pulley?" he went over the list.

        "Check." Kiara affirmed, pulling a black beanie over her head.

        "Dark clothes?"

        "Look at us, dumbass." Thalia said with an eye roll, zipping up her black hoodie.

        "Flashlights?" John B asked one last time.

        JJ nodded. "Check."

        John B turned the van off. "All right, good. We're ready." the brunette said, rather dramatically.

        "Let's go get rich, guys." JJ said as John B walked around to open the back door. 

        Thalia and Kie tried to get out of the van, but John B stopped them. "Wait, wait. I wanna say thank you, guys. Seriously. It means a lot to me that you're here tonight." John B spoke heartfeltly, and if Thalia wasn't stoned, she would've reacted.

        Kie rolled her eyes playfully. "Always." she promised.

        "Of course, man." Pope placed his hand towards John B's, doing some weird handshake.

        Thalia and JJ looked at each other. "All right, we done with the circle jerk? Can we go do this?" JJ spoke, voicing the thoughts of both himself and his sister.

        Pope nodded, climbing out of the van. "Let's get that wheat in the water." he said, shining his light in front of him.

        "Weed? I'm up for weed." Thalia said, taking Pope's extended hand, hauling herself to her feet.

        "Wheat. I said wheat." Pope corrected the redhead, and she nodded, moving past him.

        Kiara and Sarah reached the stone wall first, climbing over it. Thalia, Pope, JJ and John B fought the whole time, but they managed to all make it over, Thalia landing safely on her uninjured knee. The six walked quietly towards the house. Thalia unwillingly let out a scream as a light turned on, Pope's hand flying over her mouth as he urged everyone to duck. "Flashlights!" Sarah said quickly, JJ and Thalia finally getting theirs off.

        Pope ripped his hood off, breathing heavily. "Okay, so she has motion sensor lights." the boy stated the obvious, kneeling in between the sibling pair.

        "We could, uh... move really slowly, maybe?" JJ suggested, breathing heavily.

        "What?" Sarah panted.

        Pope frowned. "That's not how it works." he shot down JJ's idea.

        "Are you sure?" Thalia asked him.

        "Yes, I'm sure." Pope said snarkily, Thalia holding her hands up in mock surrender.

        Then John B spoke. "Oh, shit. Let's throw a rock at it." he said, acting as though he had had some sort of brilliant revelation.

        "What?" Pope gaped, in disbelief over the stupidity of his friends.

        "That's a really good idea. Let the axe murderer know that we're here." Kiara said sarcastically.

        Pope was in disbelief over John B's statement. "Throw a rock at it?" he repeated, dumbfounded.

        "You have a better idea?" John B snapped quickly.

        "Literally anything but that." Kiara spoke.

        Sarah's eyes lit up, and Thalia knew what she was going to say before she even opened her mouth. "What about the breaker? In the circuit box on the porch. We used to play hide-and-seek here as kids," Sarah gestured to herself and her cousin. "And if we were brave enough, we'd go all the way up to the porch. Thalia's seen it."

        Thalia shook her head. "Hell no, I am not going back there. Don't you remember what happened last time?" Thalia questioned, curiosity sparking the other Pogues.

        "Yeah, no. You're not going in the house alone." John B piggybacked off of Thalia's statement, the redhead looking at him from the corner of her eye.

        "Watch me." Sarah responded.

        "Crain chops people into pieces." JJ reminded Sarah.

        "If you believe that, but she's like what, 85?" Sarah noted.

        "Yeah, somethin' like that." JJ said, Thalia's eyes flitting between her brother and her cousin cautiously.

        "She's probably barely still kicking." Sarah said confidently.

        "Dummy, she came at Rafe and I with a hammer not even nine years ago. I doubt she's changed her ways." Thalia reminded her cousin, partly traumatized from her and Rafe's run-in with Mrs. Crain.

        Sarah was going to respond, but Kie cut her off. "Here. I'll go with you." she offered.

        Pope nodded, formulating a plan. "We'll wait for your signal." he spoke.

        The girls nodded, standing up. "Hey! Be safe." John B stopped Sarah tenderly.

        Thalia rolled her eyes at him. "We will." Sarah promised, her and Kie walking away.

        "Steer clear of the windows." Thalia reminded the two as they left.

        Then, Thalia saw JJ reach out to Pope, turning his face towards him. "Be safe." JJ whispered, mocking John B.

        Pope played into the joke. "I'll be so safe. I'll be safe for you." he said, and Thalia smiled. It was enough to keep her mind off of her absence of narcotics.

        "Can you guys stop? Stop!" John B shouted in a whisper. "I'm gonna kill you." he threatened.

        "But how would that keep us safe?" Thalia whispered, adding onto Pope and JJ's scenario.

        The four waited patiently for the lights to go out. "Is your mom still in town?" Pope asked quietly, trying to make conversation with Thalia.

        Thalia shrugged. "Maybe. I'll find out when I get home, I guess. She never stays for long." she said it completely casually, because Thalia didn't want the boys to know how much she wished her mother would stay. Because Whitney Cameron never stayed.

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