𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 - jj maybank

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 - 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠

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After the whole rooster situation, Bella had calmed Kiara down and the group piled into the van and John B spoke up from the drivers seat "I mean, it's obvious, right? A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message? He had to know it would get back to one of us, right?"

"Well it can't just be a coincidence" Bella agreed with her brother.

"Yeah it's possible" Kiara said looking between them both.

Pope then perked up "It could also be possible that you're concocting wild theories to help, you know? Deal with your sad feels"

Bella was sitting next to Pope in the back so she didn't need to turn to ask the boy "So you basically think we're just wasting time?"

JJ then interrupted before Pope could speak up "You know how I process my sad feels? Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies, that's how I do it"

John B rolled his eyes "We're not concocting, okay? Our dad's trying to give us a message"

Kiara spoke sweetly "If it helps you believe, John B"

"Look, I- I don't need a therapy session, okay? I'm not trippin' out" John B defended himself, as they all seemed to be aiming their worry at him.

" It's okay to trip bro, I mean, Elle's not tripping, but-" JJ started, looking at the girl warily.

"Look. Our Dad is missing, okay?" John B cut him off.

"Missing" his sister repeated, staring down at her hands.

John B's voice sounded slightly pained "You don't know what it's like to have one of the people closest to you vanish, and then have no idea what happened. Just wake up every morning wondering"

Kiara looked at Bella and then to John B "It's been almost a year"

Before one of the siblings could argue JJ gave an unlikely theory "Hey, he could've been kidnapped. That's definitely a possibility"

Pope then joined in "Yeah, could be in a Soviet sub getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere"

JJ carried on "Absolutely. Uh... or Atlantis"

Bella smiled softly at both boys but Kiara looked at them as if to tell them to stop being stupid, then she looked between the siblings again "Look, what do you think the message is?"

Bella shifted slightly so she could see the girl in the passenger seat "Redfield Lighthouse, dad's favourite place"

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Shortly after, the pogues pulled up outside the lighthouse, John B and Kiara got out of the front seats, JJ jumped out of the back first , then Pope and finally Bella. They walked a little closer to the Lighthouse and John B tuned to talk to JJ "Right. You're gonna post up and look for bogeys, okay?"

JJ looked at him in confusion "Wait... why me?"

Pope turned to the blonde "Because you're not coming"

"Why?" He questioned.

"Look JJ, there are independent and there are dependent variables. You are independent. We don't know what you'll do-" Pope started and as he was speaking JJ started telling him to shut up.

John B then got involved again "Listen to me for a second! Just listen!" catching both boys attention "Pope, you stand look out with JJ. Okay?"

Bella then thought that this was the perfect chance to give Kiara and John B some alone time, also not wanting to witness anymore awkward interactions between the two, the girl tapped her brothers shoulder "I'll stay with them, make sure they don't argue or anything"

John B looked at her in question "Are you sure? This is just as much for me as it is for you"

"Yeah, it's cool. Someone's gotta babysit" she joked.

John B knew better than to try and persuade his sister so he huffed and spoke to the group as a whole "Alright. If we get split up, we meet back up at JJ's house"

"Great" Kiara looked over at the three before her and John B walked off to the Lighthouse.

Pope looked between JJ and Bella "I'm gonna work on my merit scholarship essay, and i'm tryna keep felonies down to a minimum"

Bella playfully rolled her eyes at the boy as JJ started kicking a small toy ball and said "Alright, would you just shut up already?"

"Don't be rude J. He's going over to the van so you guys can stop talking to each other now" Bella said to the boy, taking the ball from the floor when he dropped it, throwing it back at him.

After a minute or so, Pope came back over to the two, claiming that we were being too loud and that he couldn't focus on his essay, then deciding to join his friends, throwing the ball to one another whilst they waited for Kiara and John B.

What felt like possibly 10 minutes of just joking around, there was a siren and through the trees there was a flashing blue light, indicating an oncoming cop car.

"Oh shit" Pope whisper-shouted, as the three of them darted back to the van.

JJ jumped in the drivers seat, Bella in the passenger and Pope in the back. Without even thinking of waiting for John B and Kiara, they sped off down the road, not wanting to risk the van being seen by the cops.

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Later on in the day, after spending the rest of it with JJ and Pope, Bella headed back to the chateau to find John B sitting in the porch, looking like he was contemplating everything that was happening at the moment. The siblings sat there for a good hour talking about what had happened in the Lighthouse and how the two burly men had chased the boy through the cut and John B finally giving the compass to Sheriff Peterkin.

Bella couldn't deny that she was slightly annoyed and confused as to why he gave it to her, but if she said it would improve their chances of being able to stay in the chateau, with their friends... their family, the girl knew she would give anything.

The two had finally decided to go inside and remembered that they hadn't been home since they'd escaped through their father's office earlier that day. Looking at the state of their home was horrible, but thy had needed to tidy up anyway, it just gave them the motivation to do so.

They created a pile outside of the chateau made up of rubbish to just clear up in a fire, it's easier than having a tonne of garbage bags to keep throwing out. As Bella was inside, clearing out a few more things, John B had gotten started on the fire. The girl had no idea that he had thrown out the board with their family tree on it until she walked outside and saw the fire travelling through it. She looked at John B as if he was crazy as she picked up a large stick to pull it out of the brewing fire and started stamping on the board to get rid of the flames.

Bella looked down at the board to see how damaged it had gotten, when a name had caught her eye, Olivia R. Routledge... "JB?" she continued once she gained the boys attention "What was Olivia's maiden name?"

He looked at his sister as if his whole world had just been put back together again, suddenly standing up from his spot on the floor, taking the girl into a warm embrace "Let's go get the others?" and she nodded her head, smiling in response.