✧*̥˚RISK TAKERS *̥˚✧ J.M 3

010

┊͙✧˖*°࿐
And heaven knows I'm miserable now
The Smiths

Arias whole life was surrounded by the ocean. With her house being a waterfront, owning a boat and everyone she knew owned one, surely that's where she spent all of her days. Even in the winter. She never thought she'd get seasick. But now, she was.

With her head in her hands, her nose stinging from the sunburn that's gone weeks without treatment, she held back tears. She wanted to be home, in her bed, under her sheets.

"So this is what we're doing, huh? We're just sailing out. We're just gonna forget about John B?" JJ's voice took her out of her thoughts, her feet
clacking against the boat as she peered over the balcony, watching JJ ramble, "We're going back for him."

"No! We're all gonna get caught. What type of plan is that?" Cleo argued, her thick island accent strong.

JJ crossed his arms, the cold air swishing his blonde locks, "It's a plan to stick together, Cleo."

"Then we are dead together." Aria inputted, everyone's heads snapping towards the top of the boat, almost as if they forgot she was there.

"She's right. We had to leave, or we'd all be zip-tied in the back of a pickup." Kie nodded, avoiding eye contact with JJ, "We did the right thing."

The phone began to ring, the same one JJ had stolen, the Pogues froze as Sarah hesitantly picked it up, thinking it had to Singh.

"It's Portis." Sarah swallowed, the phone shaking in her hand.

"Portis? That's John B. That's definitely John B. Hold on." Aria breathed, her fingers gliding over the railing as she joined the Pogues, watching JJ snatch the phone from Sarah.

He brought it to his ear, "Yo! Dude! Is this you?"

"Speaker. Speaker." Aria nudged JJ's shoulder, her curiosity making her feelings heightened as he clicked the button.

"What... Do you need us to turn around?" JJ asked, John B's voice on the other line was inaudible, the signal being complete shit.

John B continued to speak, but the more he spoke the more distorted he sounded, JJ grew frustrated, running a hand through his hair, pulling at the root, "We do not copy. Can you..."

Sarah grabbed the phone from him, taking it off speaker and pressing to her ear hard, surely leaving a mark.

"I... I can't hear you. Hello?" She said after a few seconds, her voice shaky, "Kildare, when? Hello?"

The line cut suddenly, her hand pulling the phone back, as she glanced at the friends, JJ stomping his feet, "Goddamn it."

"You guys think he found his father?" Aria asked, seeing the unsure expression on all of their faces, "He's been missing for almost a year. Sarah, what do you think? Should we go back?"

"Sarah....we're sitting ducks." JJ added, noticing her silence, "We need to make a decision. Are we turning back around, or are we gonna keep going? Sarah, come on!"

Sarah snapped her head towards him at the sound of his raised voice, the tears in her eyes nearly flowing, "He said go."

Aria just shook her head, going back up to the top of the deck with her hands resting on the temple, feeling her pulse beating quicker, she groaned softly.

"So you sure you didn't tell him where the diary is?" JJ questioned as he joined her on the deck, watching her eyes flick towards him.

"I told him I'd seen it, but I didn't tell him where." Aria replied, feeling him move closer.

JJ rolled his bottom lip into his mouth, looking out at the abyss, "Why does Singh want it so much?"

"Singh said that he thinks the diary has a clue to the location of some city of gold. Like the gold on the Merchant was just a small part of it." Aria explained, her memory hazy. God, that man could talk a lot.

"Okay, so the diary we have leads to a 500-year-old treasure that no one's ever found?" JJ asked with furrowed brows, watching her nod with a small hum, "I'm in. It's kind of like my best option at this point, so... Definitely beats geometry class."

"Yeah, beats boarding school. I mean, I don't even know what'll happen when we get back to the OBX. Nothing good. I can tell you that." Aria shook her head at the thought, the reunion with her parents was going to be her funeral.

JJ placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's going to suck."

She laughed gently at his honesty, shrugging, "At least you don't got a restitution, though. No job."

"No parents. Yeah, arrows are going to be coming in hot. But you know what we do when arrows come flying?" JJ cocked a brow, eyeing the amused expression on the Kooks face.

He swung on the metal bars, lining the roof of the expensive boat, his fists flying up, the pure sound of her laughter made him smile, "Bing. Ding, ding, ding! Ding! Uh, quick! And you shoot right back at them. And that spear comes at you, you plant, grab, disarm, straight into the jugular, finish them off like..."

The swish of the boat rocking made them slam into each other, Arias back against the side of the wheel, her hands holding his hips while his hands rested on her lower back.

"Just one by one. We'll defeat them all." JJ smiled gently, her eyes falling to her lips.

"You know, whatever happens, we're gonna handle it together. Like we always do." Aria hummed, feeling her eyes falter, the distance small.

As they leaned in, a voice calling out made them pause, snapping their head towards the stairs. Kie stood, blinking with a sorrowful expression, she stood there awkwardly, JJ's hand shooting back to his side.

Aria shot daggers at his sudden change, her eyes falling back to Kie.

"Just wanted to let you guys know that we should probably stop for gas." Kie nodded, her lips rolling into her mouth as she stepped down, leaving the two alone.

"What the hell was that?" Aria furrowed her brows with her arms across her chest.

He glanced at her dumbfounded, "What do you mean?"

"Nevermind." Aria rubbed her eyes, turning her back towards him, feeling his presence disappear. Her brows stayed furrowed as she stared at the white of the ocean.

authors note!
hi lovers!! first, i would like to apologize for
my absence. i recently had some personal
issues going on, but with that said, i'm back!
thank you.