( 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙎𝙄𝙓𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙉. )
▬▬▬∘◦ ☆ ◦∘▬▬▬

JAYLENE RUMMAGED THROUGH THE DRAWERS IN HER BEDROOM, frantically searching for the small prescription bottle that had nearly been the death of her six months ago. Since being back, this was the first time she felt like she absolutely needed them to take the edge off of the unbearable anxiety she felt after everything. It hadn't hit her when she was making valid points about everything, but now she felt like she was suffocating and absolutely needed some sort of drug to tear her away from her stability.

Her sobriety streak had only lasted six months, but she broke that when she took a sip of alcohol at the kegger that had been hosted after hurricane Agatha struck. It was strictly prohibited that she ever consumed alcohol after completing the six-month long program, but she figured that she'd be fine if she only took small portions every so often. But she was mistaken.

The weight of the world was back on her shoulders as she struggled to catch her breath, tossing random clothing items to the side with a strong hint of desperation in her actions.

She would've kept searching for those stupid pills, but her phone began ringing, allowing her to be snapped back into reality. And in that moment, she was extremely thankful for Sarah Cameron.

Quickly, she stood up from the wooden floor boards and reached for her phone that she'd tossed on her bed. "H-Hey—hey. Were you able to get it?" Jaylene stumbled on her words, referring to the map of Tannyhill that she'd kindly asked Sarah to get. Since she wasn't able to talk to her at the party, she sent her a text message asking her to get a hold of the map that John B. needed to find the gold.

"Yeah, I got it. Do you want it now? I can sneak out real quick." Sarah whispered from the other line, causing Jaylene to glance on the clock set on top of her nightstand. Only then did she realize that it was twenty minutes past midnight.

"Alright. I'll meet you in your front yard in five minutes." Jaylene nodded, pursing her lips together before hanging up.

A sigh left her mouth as she looked down at the ground, ashamed at herself for nearly making another one of her stupid mistakes. In the six months that she had spent in a rehab center, she'd never considered herself to be an addict. It was a deep state of denial she was still in even after everything that had occurred. She enjoyed the thrill it brought her when uncertainty was the only thing she felt. Just like she'd told JJ and John B., she would simply live off of her family's legacy for the rest of her life. Nothing exciting would ever happen. Her entire life had been set the second she was brought into the crazy world.

It was all entirely depressing if deeply thought about. Leaving the island would be frowned upon by all the residents on figure eight, but after everything that had happened in the past few days, it was the ultimate decision that Jaylene would likely end up taking once she graduated high school. She was lucky enough to have all the money in the world, meaning she'd be able to use it to move far away from Outer Banks in the near future.

But for now, she had to put up with the all the chaos going on in her life. Despite the clear fact that she needed to go straight back into counseling after nearly intoxicating herself with the same drug that had landed her into rehab in the first place, she chose to push that to the side and focus on helping out John B. first. It was the perfect distraction that would allow her to not feel so trapped.

So, she slipped a pair of bedazzled sandals onto her feet before grabbing her car keys from her nightstand. Jaylene tugged a thin sweater onto her shivering body before walking towards the white, wooden door of her bedroom, twisting the lock shut before flipping the light switch off. Even after all the times she'd snuck out of the house, the two story drop still terrified her. The tree branch she always used to climb down from her bedroom had been torn from the white oak tree when hurricane Agatha struck, making it extremely nerve wracking for Jaylene as she climbed down her balcony. Her eyes clenched shut as she took a leap, landing on the hard grass that surrounded the home.

Her body was immediately engulfed into a wave of pain as she loudly groaned, leaving her body sprawled out on the greenery with her hands now placed on her face.

It was only around two minutes later that she finally got up, immediately sneaking towards the front of her house to meet up with Sarah in the Cameron girls front yard like they'd arranged.

Since the Cameron household was only a couple houses down, she made it there in less than five minutes, greeting the blonde girl with a smile.

"I have never been happier to see you, Sarah Cameron." Jaylene shot the girl a thankful look when the old map was placed into her grasp.

Sarah gave the girl a simple nod in response before clearing her throat as she looked towards the brunette with a concerned look set upon her soft features. "Hey, uh—are you okay? Everything you said back there at Midsummers...was it all true?"

"Yes, but can we please not talk about it? The whole rehab thing was an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. And the entire cheating scandal between my parents is still flat out emotional for me." Jaylene's lips formed into a thin line, knowing that she wasn't entirely fine, but didn't wanna talk about how she really felt in that moment. "Thank you, though. For the map—"

"Sarah?" Topper Thornton's voice interrupted Jaylene before she could finish her sentence, causing her to grimace in disgust as the noticeably drunk boy stumbled towards the two girls.

"Fucking kill me." Sarah mumbled under her breath, raking her fingers through her golden locks as she shot Jaylene an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry, but I think I gotta go talk to him."

Jaylene nodded in understanding, although, she wasn't fully comfortable with leaving Sarah alone with the intoxicated blonde that was nearing them with every passing second. "Are you sure? I can stick around if you want." She kindly offered, unaware as to what Topper's intentions were with his girlfriend who clearly wanted nothing to do with him.

"My dad and Wheezie are still awake. He tries anything and I'll scream louder than a banshee." Sarah assured the worried girl, giving her a thankful glance for her kind offer. "Now, go deliver that map to John B. I'm sure he's dying to see you."

A chuckle escaped from her lips as Jaylene leaned towards Sarah's ears, whispering so that Topper wouldn't hear. "Strong piece of advice...dump his ass. You deserve better than someone named Topper."

"Oh, definitely." Sarah nodded, unable to hold back the laugh that left her plump lips as she shot Jaylene one last look before watching the brunette walk back towards her own home.

｡･:*:ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹

WHEN JAYLENE ARRIVED TO HER DESTINED LOCATION, it was nearly one in the morning, but the shack where John B. resided was full of life, still brightly lit up despite the fact that it was early in the morning. It was stupid of the Routledge boy to go back home when he knew for a fact that DCS was on his ass, but that was a problem he'd worry about whenever they came pounding at his door again. But in that moment, he and his three best friends were celebrating the fact that they were closer than ever to finding the gold.

Although, Kiara Carerra wasn't entirely thrilled when she learned that two kooks were now in on their secret. She didn't dislike Jaylene, but she wished that John B. wouldn't have involved her. Sarah, however, now that was an entirely different story. Even Jaylene didn't know what had torn the two girls apart. They were once the closest duo at kook academy, and one day they just stopped speaking to each other. She did notice the dirty glances they shared, but she never cared enough to look too deep into it. High school drama wasn't her cup of tea.

It wasn't like Jaylene planned on taking any of the gold that they'd end up finding. Like she'd stated before, all the money in the world was simply handed to her. The chances of her going broke were extremely unlikely.

"Jaylene Rosewood!" JJ was the first to greet the girl as she approached the group of best friends. "Well, did you get it?" He curiously questioned, handing the blunt that had previously been placed in his grasp over to Kiara.

"Well, hello to all of you too." She scoffed, placing the folded paper in his grasp which quickly caused Pope and Kiara to gather around the blonde, leaving John B. and Jaylene alone to share awkward glances with one another.

Jaylene was the first to speak, giving him a small smile before parting her lips. "Can we talk?" She questioned, knowing damn well that the other three were far too busy examining the map to even bother paying attention to the two.

"Yeah, of course." He nodded before leading her towards the direction where she'd previously came from, causing her to knit her eyebrows together in confusion, but she followed him nonetheless.

The grown out weeds felt uncomfortable as they brushed past her legs, but she managed to hold back the disgusted look that threatened to plant itself on her face until they reached the wooden dock. The only sounds she could hear were the loud crickets as they annoyingly chirped through the night, but it was relaxing in a way, a very strange way.

"Did you lure me out here to kill me? Cause I'd like to live a little longer at the least." She deadpanned, taking a seat next to him on the dock before removing her sandals from her feet so that her legs were now dangling just above the warm water.

"You're hilarious." He shot her a deadpan look as well, unable to hold back the smile that planted itself on his lips as he stared at the girl seated next to him.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about tonight," She began, anxiously fiddling with her bracelet as her light brown eyes met his. "I think it was made extremely clear when I kissed back, but there's like a huge possibility that I have feelings for your dumbass."

"Who wouldn't? I mean, have you seen me?" He joked, causing her to let out a mocking laugh as she playfully shoved him.

"Careful there, John with the unnecessary B. Don't let your ego grow bigger than your hair." She pointed a very stern finger at him, gripping onto the wooden dock that was holding the two up.

He grabbed onto her arm, pulling her back towards him. "Well, I think that there's a huge possibility that I have feelings for you too, Jaylene Rosewood."

The two foolishly smiled at each other for a few more seconds until Jaylene decided to make the first move this time. So, she pressed her plump lips against his soft ones, allowing the euphoric feeling to resurface as the two shared their second kiss together.

It was even better than the kiss they'd shared at Midsummers. This time, Jaylene didn't have to worry about John B. getting caught by a security guard for being somewhere he wasn't invited.

So, she enjoyed every single second. Their lips moved in perfect sync as Jaylene brought her hand up to his cheek, feeling the stubble graze her fingers as she deepened the already intimate kiss.

Butterflies swarmed in her stomach as she felt his arm wrap itself around her waist. One second she was sat next to him, and the next, she was moving her right leg towards the wooden dock, allowing her body to straddle him as he used a single hand to prop their bodies up. How she didn't fall into the water while changing into that position amazed her, but it was the last thing on her mind.

If you would've told Jaylene Rosewood that one day she'd catch feelings for John Booker Routledge, she would've called you insane, and yet there she was, sharing a very intimate kiss with the boy himself. A big smile capturing her lips that were currently pressed against his with her hands gently cupping his face as his free hand grazed against the soft skin on her back from where the cropped sweater had lifted.

After a few more seconds, they finally pulled away, completely breathless as they gasped for air.

It was quiet between the at first, but John B. spoke up less than a minute later, a smirk tugging at his lips as he kept a tight hold around Jaylene's waist. "Hey, do you like night swimming?" He questioned, watching her give him a confused glance in return before he quickly swooped her off her feet, allowing both their bodies to plummet into the ocean as the Rosewood girl gasped in surprise.

When the two rose back up to the surface, Jaylene splashed him with water, shocked with the turn of events, but that stupid smile remained on her face as the two continued splashing each other with the warm water that surrounded them.

And in that moment, the two felt the most carefree they'd felt in a while. Completely unaware what life had in stock for them in the very near future. But for now, they were two lovesick puppies who enjoyed each others presence.

authors note. Can I just say that I'm literally so overwhelmed with all the positive feedback that this book has received so far. I am so freaking grateful for 39k reads & nearly 2k votes on this crappy book that I randomly decided to publish one day. I seriously love reading all the comments everyone leaves on the chapters & I honestly wouldn't mind if you guys spammed the comment section with every little thought that crosses your mind. Btw, I'm gonna start replying to comments more often !

I've also read all the theories everyone has about Marleen, but none of them are spot on just yet. I can't wait for you all to learn the truth!! Literally so excited to see everyone's reaction when everything is revealed. Anyone wanna take another guess?