Kind Of Infinite (Outer Banks)

Chapter 11

The next evening, JJ took Ava back to the Château, where Pope told her everything about Limbrey and the cross they looked for. He told her about the key and the diary and here and there, Pope drifted off to the story of their first treasure hunt. Ava had thought, that the search for the gold had been traumatising for all of them, but she couldn't help but notice the sparkle in Popes eyes and the proud smirk of JJ and John B, whenever Pope told another story. Maybe the pogues were actually crazy.

"So, we will find the map inside a room. But what room does he mean?", Ava asked and traced her fingers over the old pages of the diary. While JJ and John B tried to fix something on the Twinkie, Ava and Pope sat on the porch to study the diary again. Pope shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the word room, that was both, circled and crossed with a diagonal line.

"We don't really know, but I remembered, that one of the runes on the key was circled, right? I think it kinda looks like that. And here, you find the circled rune a few times in the diary. You said it meant wisdom, so Kie had the idea, that maybe it meant the room of wisdom. So, we thought, maybe a library? We just don't know which one. Kie and Sarah wanted to check the public library to look for something.", Pope explained and pointed to a few different circles on the pages. Ava looked closer and slowly shook her head.

"That's not a rune. The rune on the key was fully circled, but look, the line here crosses the circle. That's not a rune, it's a Danish word."

"A Danish word? What does it mean?", Pope asked and they both looked up.

"Island."

"So, it's not a room of wisdom but an Island Room? Great, I don't know, if that makes it any easier.", Pope complained and Ava chuckled as she leant back. Pope sighed and closed the diary.

"How do you know all of that? I mean about the runes and stuff. Do you speak Danish in Iceland?", Pope asked and Ava shook her head again. She put her feet onto the couch and pulled her knees to her chest, before she rested her head against the headrest.

"I'm a total nerd when it comes to old Norse mythology. I've always been interested into the history of my country and Norse gods and the Vikings are a huge part of that. And since our country also has a Danish history, I chose to learn Danish in school instead of German." Pope nodded with a smile and looked over his shoulder to see JJ and John B still working on the Twinkie. The sun had set already, but the pink and orange sky was still bright enough to let them check the precious van. Just when Pope was about to ask Ava about her and JJ, the truck of Kiara's dad pulled up. Kiara and Sarah got out of the car and Kiara locked it, before they both walked up to the Château.

"We couldn't find the map. If it was there, Limbrey probably got it already.", Sarah stated loudly, as she walked up the porch. Pope stood up and leant over the fence, watching how JJ and John B stopped working on the van and followed Sarah and Kiara to the Château.

"Or maybe it wasn't there, because we looked for the wrong room. It's not a room of wisdom, it's an Island Room.", Pope said and turned, so his back leant against the fence, when all of his friends reached the porch. Ava looked up to see Sarah greet her with a bright smile, while Kiara stopped in her tracks and narrowed her eyes. John B leant against the fence right next to Pope and JJ let himself fall onto the couch where Ava still sat.

"What do you mean? Why didn't you tell us, before we walked through that stinky library for three hours?", Kiara complained and crossed her arms over her chest.

"We just found out. Actually, Ava did, she...", Pope started to explain, but Kiara interrupted him. Kiara shook her head in disbelief and scoffed.

"That's just... fucking great. And when did we agree to let her be part of this? Because I never agreed, actually, I never even got asked." Ava instantly felt uncomfortable and a lump formed in her throat. She sank further into her seat and tried to stay as quiet and still as possible, thinking, that maybe, she would just turn invisible.

"Yo, Kie, she literally got kidnapped by Limbrey because of the key. It's not like we had much of a choice to not tell her.", John B said and put his hands on the fence to steady himself.

"Telling her doesn't mean that she's suddenly part of it. When did we start to blindly trust everyone?"

"You don't have to trust her, alright? But I do, and since I am part of this shit, that's more than enough. We don't need your permission for everything, Kie. Jeez, get down from your fucking throne.", JJ answered and suddenly stood up, making Ava feel even more uneased.

"Right, sure. That's exactly what John B told me about Sarah a few months ago. And that didn't age well, right? Thinking that he was nearly killed by her ex-boyfriend once, then her father tried to kill him after confessing, that he killed his dad. Not to mention her brother who tried to shoot him, but I mean, sure, let's trust a girl who we know nothing about."

"What the fuck, Kie? Do you even realize what you're saying?", Sarah asked shocked and didn't know, if she was hurt or angry.

"I'm sorry, alright? But come on, he knows her for what? 3 weeks? That's fucking bullshit, guys. It's really nothing personal, Ava, but you don't know anything about us and what we went through." JJ was about to argue, when Ava softly grabbed for his wrist and pulled on it. She stood up and stepped in front of him to face Kiara.

"I know this is nothing personal, because you create problems out of your insecurity. I am not the problem here, Kiara. You are. I am sorry, that you feel that way about me, but this is not my fault, nor JJs. You've got a problem. You're right, I don't know you. I don't know what you went through, I don't know why you're so afraid of letting someone in your life or into this friendship. I am sure, that there's a reason, but you won't find that in me. And you definitely won't fix it by hurting me or anyone else. So, I suggest that maybe you talk this out and figure out what you're afraid of and how you guys can fix this.", Ava calmly said, while she forced herself to look into Kiaras eyes. Out of the corner of her eyes, Ava saw how Sarah pressed her lips together and looked away. Kiara broke their eye contact for a second to look at her friends, but looked back at Ava when she noticed, that nobody would say anything.

"I don't need to fix anything, I need you to leave us alone.", Kiara answered and tilted her head at Ava. Ava scoffed and nodded her head, knowing that Kiara tried to provoke her.

"I will gladly do that for now. I will give you the time to talk to your friends, to tell them what your problem is and I dearly hope, that you will find a solution. Because I will come back here tomorrow to see my boyfriend and I won't give a fuck if that's a problem for you or not." Ava didn't want to argue, but she also knew, that she wouldn't leave this place without knowing, that she had won this fight. She had tried to stay calm and not say anything wrong, but she suddenly noticed how the atmosphere changed. JJ stayed silent and it kind of unsettled Ava to not know, what he was thinking right now. John B on the other hand could see JJs proud smirk and had to bite his lips to suppress a laugh. Kiara's eyes grew more furious and Pope and Sarah suddenly both held their breaths.

"Boyfriend? Wow, I mean... I hope you asked him about that, or are you the kind of insecure, clingy girl that calls everyone their boyfriend, just because they fucked once?" Kiara said in an arrogant voice and gave Ava a dirty smile. Ava chuckled and stepped forward a little.

"You know, I can't wait to fuck him and the best part will be, that I will be so confident in myself and our relationship, that I won't even feel scared of him leaving me after it. It's called trust, you know. You should try it.", Ava said quietly and gave Kiara the same dirty smile afterwards.

"Oh shit.", Sarah laughed out loud and instantly left the porch, when John B gave her a warning look.

"See you tomorrow.", Ava said as she turned around to JJ. She blew him a kiss and winked at him, before she turned around to leave the porch. JJ put his hands into his pockets and shook his head with a smile as he watched her walk away.

"I say we keep her.", Pope suddenly said and Kiara rolled her eyes.

"Sarah, can you take her home for me? She'll get lost!", JJ called after the both girls and laughed, when he saw Ava raising her arm and giving him the middle finger.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of your girl!", Sarah shouted back and ran up to Ava. JJ watched how Sarah nudged the smaller girl with her shoulder, before they seemed to start talking in excitement. Once they disappeared into the dark, JJ sat back down onto the couch and looked at Kiara with raised eyebrows. Kiara sighed and rolled her eyes, before she walked up to him. She let herself fall next to him and asked for a joint, before she lightened it.

"Fine, let's talk."