Diver Down *Outer Banks*

Chapter Twelve / The Lighthouse

     Kiara Carrera hated to talk about it, but the year Big John went missing was the year the rest of her friends had appropriately named as her 'Kook year'. Despite the Routledge siblings being in need, she had stayed away, trying to blend in at the 'Kook Academy' and parties. She hadn't been there to comfort John B, nor help out when Liv had gone into her all-time low, missing school, hiding out in bed, completely shut down due to grief. 

Eventually, her 'Kook year' had come to an end, and she had made her way back to the Pogues, who graciously–but reluctantly–welcomed her back. John B and Liv had been the first to accept her into the group once again, and so she figured she at least owed them something. Which was why she was allowing them to indulge–well, it was mainly John B–in the idea that their father was still alive out there.

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"JJ." Kie said, cutting off the boy who was spewing stupid ideas about where Big John was from the  backseat. "Look, what do you think the message is?"

Next to her in the drivers seat, a small smile covered John B's face. "Redfield. Redfield Lighthouse. That's my dad's favourite place." The friends clambered out of the van as it came to a halt, the five of them pausing to stare up at the tall, cylindrical building. 

"Honestly," Liv mumbled, squinting up towards the sky, "this place kind of gives me the creeps." Next to her, a confused look came over John B's face. "Right," he said, pointing to JJ. "You're gonna post up and look out for bogeys, okay?" 

"Wait," said the boy, "why me?" 

"Because you're not coming." Said John B, giving his friend a typical parent-like excuse. "Why?" JJ persisted, sounding like a child in response to his friends previous words. 

"There are independent and dependent variables." Pope spoke up from behind them, speaking quickly and with a not-often-seen sass. "You're independent. We don't know what you'll do." 

JJ scoffed, everyone still on edge from their near death experience earlier that day. "Shut up. Shut up, just shut up, Pope!" Liv shrunk away from the loud voices as her brother cut them off. She'd had enough yelling for one day. 

"Pope, you stand look out with JJ. Okay?" Though it sounded like it, John B wasn't asking a question, just telling them what the plan was. "If we get split up, we meet back at JJ's house. Kie and Liv and I..." At the harsh shaking of the brunettes head, he backtracked on his words. "Never mind, Kie and I will go in, and Liv can stay here to make sure you guys don't act like idiots, 'cause she has some weird fear of lighthouses anyways."

"Great." said the girl in response, watching as her brother and Kie walked towards the tall building. "I'm gonna work on my merit scholarship essay, and I'm trying to keep felonies to a minimum." Pope shuffled past the girl and JJ, huffy about their earlier argument. "All right," said the blond. "Would you just shut up already?"

Beside him, Liv rolled her eyes. Maybe the scary lighthouse would have been the better choice. 

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"Okay, have you ever thought about a Pogue while getting yourself off?" 

Liv choked on her spit at his words. "Jesus, JJ, it's like you're always horny." The boy shrugged, tossing her the hacky sack once again. "Yes or no answers, that's how the game works." Her face flushed and she shook her head. "There's no way I'm answering that JJ... that is so not something I want to share with you." He chuckled as he caught the ball she threw his way. "Worth a try." He put a finger to his chin as though he was deep in thought. "Okay, well, have you ever had a crush on a Pogue?" 

The girls face turned even more red and she scratched the back of her head, a trait acquired from her brother. "Do I really have to answer that?" He nodded. "Twenty questions, baby. You can only decline to answer once, and you already did." Liv was pretty sure he had made that rule up on the spot, but she decided to indulge him anyway. "Well, yeah, I guess I have." A smile spread over the boys face as quick as lightning, even Pope's interest being peaked by the girls answer. He looked over from his spot under a tree, his frustrations gone as his two friends bantered back and forth. 

"So who was it?" Asked JJ, feeling a slight pitter-patter in his chest at the girls answer. "Nuh-uh." She responded, a cheeky grin on her face, "Yes or no answers only, and that was your last question." 

The boy opened his mouth to utter a response, but the sound of sirens cut him off. "Oh, shit." Muttered Pope, and it was only a matter of seconds before the three of them were back in the van and driving away.

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The friends had made their way back to JJ's but after no sign of John B or Kie for quite a while, they had decided to head over to the Château. Upon their arrival, they had been greeted by something none of them were too fond of. A cop car. Dread had taken over the girl immediately–the last time she had come home to a cop car they had told her that her father was missing. It was almost a relief to find out that they were just there to escort her to the station, because John B had been brought in for an incident at the lighthouse. 

"Have you been with your brother today?" Asked the officer, a skinny man with thick brows and a moustache that curled at the ends. "No sir." she replied, lying through her teeth. "I've been with JJ and Pope all day; I have no idea what my brother was up to." The man glanced at her suspiciously. "And what were you three up to?" "Well," exclaimed the girl in a dramatic tone, "We played some hacky sack, and Pope worked on his essay, and then JJ and I had this really long game of twenty questions, but obviously his questions were just stupid, because you know how teenage boys are, always horny and thinking about stupid things like-" 

"Alright, that's enough." Judging by the look on the mans face, he'd heard enough. Liv hid her smile, satisfied that her intentional over-sharing had made the man stop his questioning. "You can wait over there." Motioning to the chairs in the waiting area of the station, he watched the girl stand and shoot him a charming smile before she took a seat by the window. 

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"If you skip out on your bail and I lose my money, I'm gonna hunt you down and skin you." Liv followed mutely as Kiara's father led her and John B out of the station. "Dad!" Said the girl, clearly annoyed by her fathers words. A harsh "Cut it" was thrown back at her as the man climbed into the black SUV parked outside. 

"Thank you, Mr. C." John B mumbled in all sincerity. "Don't thank me." Said the man, before turning to look at Liv. "Don't you end up like your brother." The girl nodded. She wasn't really thrilled with her brother at the moment either. Standing back a few meters, she watched as Kie and John B spoke. A faint reflection bounced off of something in Kie's hand, and Liv realized the compass was being passed back to her brother. After a moment, Kiara turned away and climbed into the car next to her dad. 

"I told you." Liv heard him say to his daughter. "You hang out with trash, you get dirty."

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The siblings walked in silence along the docks, the girl mulling over what had happened. "I told them I wasn't with you at all today." She muttered, and her brother nodded. "Good. That's what I said." He paused for a moment. "So, look. Peterkin's on my ass. I don't want her to be on yours too. So if something happens to me, for some reason-" "Deny, deny, deny." She responded quietly. "But you better not let anything happen to you. No leaving me behind."

"Hey, employee of the month, where the hell you been? You takin' some me time? Ward C's lookin' all over for you. You know he don't like to wait." A booming voice followed the siblings as they walked across a dock, John B turning his head to see where it came from. "Shit. Gimme a minute okay? I'll be back." With a nod from his sister, he walked back in the direction they had come from, towards the Cameron's dock.