"That's a lot of wax on your board, man," Pope nods to JJ as he spreads the wax across both of our boards. Kie picks her ukulele and I watch as Pope does who knows what to the old shack behind the Château. "Put too much wax on there and it's gonna be slippery," He says. "Are you tellin' me how to wax my board, Pope?" JJ asks. "No, I'm just saying that's a lot of wax," Pope argues. "No, no, no, you're telling me how to wax my board. Are you kidding me?" JJ asks. "I'm just saying that's a colossal waste of wax," Pope says.
"Guys, really?" Kie snaps as a car horn honks. Not just any car horn. The Twinkie. "Did you hear that?" JJ asks slowly. The horn continues honking at the Twinkie pulls towards us, windshield shattered from bullet holes from the tarmac, but still, the Twinkie. "No fucking way," I mutter, running towards John B. "Are you serious?" Kie shouts.
"Hold on. Am I dreaming?" JJ screams. "No!" Pope gasps. "Guess who's out of the clink, boys!" John B whoops as he skips towards us. "Oh, my God!" I scream, enveloping him in a hug. "No freaking way, man!" Pope shouts as Kie squeals happily. "Bro!" Pope laughs as we join in a group hug. "My boy's out of the can!" JJ laughs. "Oh come on, man!" Pope laughs. "We missed you," I smile. "I missed you guys too," He sighs as we let go. "How'd you do it? You bust out?" JJ asks. "Uh, they dropped the charges," John B breathes unbelievingly. "They dropped the charges?" I gasp. "Dude, that's crazy," Kie laughs. "That's phenomenal!" Pope laughs.
"So you're telling me we did all that work for nothing?" JJ asks. "Oh, the most elaborate escape plan of all time?" Pope snickers. "Oh, "foolproof," Kiara says, doing air quotes. "Yeah, it was actually," JJ argues. "Wait, where's Sarah?" John B asks. Our smiles drop. "No, no, no, where... where... where's Sarah?" He asks. "She went to go meet Wheezie last night," Kie sighs. "She didn't come back," I sigh.
~~~~~~
"So Sarah just dips and doesn't call?" John B asks as we sit on the boat. "Yeah, man. She just left her bag. Didn't tell anybody," Pope says. "Okay, dude. I... I... I really think Ward got to her," He mutters as he paces. "I mean the dude tried to have me killed in jail!" He says. "What?" Kie mutters as we turn to him. "Yeah. He sent somebody to the prison who yoked me up and almost killed me," John B says, imitating hands around his neck.
"Are you serious?" I ask. "Yes," He nods. "Do we know who this dude was?" JJ asks. "No, I have no idea," He shakes his head. "Dude, I just swear to God, one day I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch," He says. "I'll help you," I nod. "It's okay," Kie grins. "No, Kie, it's not okay, we gotta find Sarah," He shakes his head. "No, literally, it's okay. She's right there," Kie says, pointing over our shoulders. We turn to see Topper pulling up to the dock, Sarah in the boat. "John B?" She gasps as she stands up.
"John B!" She smiles. John B looks away. "What the hell is she doing with Topper?" I mutter. "Oh, my God, he's out," Sarah breaths, jumping onto the dock and running towards us. "There he is," Topper mutters. "Hi," John B smiles, helping her onto our boat. "Hey," She laughs happily, hugging him tightly. "Oh, my God, I'm so glad you're okay. Hi," He smiles, hugging her back. "I didn't know if I'd see you again," She breathes. "What happened?" She asks. "Uh, they dropped all the charges," He smiles. "What?" She grins. "Yeah, no, yeah, I'm a free man, yeah," John B smiles as he lets her go.
Sarah grabs his face before hugging him tightly again. "That's amazing!" She smiles. "I know, I know, it's great, but..., but listen, Sarah, they're coming after Rafe," He says. "Good. He's completely unhinged," She takes a deep breath. "He jumped me last night," She says. "What?" Kie spits. "Yeah, that's why I didn't come back," She says. "Yeah, man, Rafe has lost his mind. Literally only drowned his own sister," Topper nods.
We all turn to him. "Thankfully I got there... got there just in time," He nods. "Yeah, he did," Sarah nods as John B sighs. "Uh, well, I guess I owe you one, Topper, don't I?" John B says hesitantly. He laughs. "It's all good. I mean, somebody had to rescue your girlfriend, right?" He asks. JJ purses his lips, catching my eye. "Uh, that's funny, because she's not actually my girlfriend, right?" He nods at Sarah. "Uh... well, what is she then?" Topper chuckles.
"Tell him," John B shrugs happily. Sarah glances between them, hesitant. "I'm... I'm with him," She says. Topper laughs. "Gotcha. You're with him. Okay, yeah," Topper says. Kie's eyes widen in my direction and she widens her lips in a grimace before looking at the ground. "Yikes," I whisper to JJ. "I just, like, needed a little clarity there," Topper laughs. "You guys clear on that?" He asks. "I think it's clear you gotta go now," JJ scratches his eyebrow.
"Yeah, I think I'll head out, it's about that time," He nods. "Topper, thank you," Sarah says, hugging him. "Of course, I'm just glad you're okay," Topper says as he rubs her back, watching John B carefully as he holds her. I roll my eyes.
~~~~~~
"John B," JJ calls as he walks outside. "You wanna shot gun one in the name of freedom?" He grins as John B storms straight past him inside. JJ watches him leave then turns to Sarah, who's leaving in the opposite direction. "Sarah, you wanna-?" He asks. "No!" She shouts before he can finish. He raises his eyebrows. They're obviously fighting, probably about Sarah not telling Topper they were married. JJ opens the beer and it sprays all over him.
"I will," I grin from the porch. Joining him as I pop open my own beer. He grins, laying down in the hammock and leaving me room to lay across from him. "Cheers," He grins, raising his beer. "To freedom," I smile, knocking my beer against his before taking a sip. He smiles at the sky for a minute or two, deep in thought, before setting his beer down on the ground. "Hey," He smiles, nodding his head towards me.
I raise my eyebrows in question, also setting my beer down. "I think-," He smiles, crawling forward so he's laying on top of me. "We should get married," He says. "No," I giggle at him, brushing the hair from his forehead. "What, why?" He asks. "We're too young, JJ," I chuckle, shaking my head. "We're 17," I say. "John B and Sarah got married," He shrugs. "We're not John B and Sarah," I argue. He presses his lips to mine for a second before continuing.
"But I love you," He pleads. "And I love you too, but-," I say, but he cuts be off, pressing his lips against mine again. "I know we're young, but I don't have anything else to live for, y/n," He whispers. "Nothing to lose, remember?" He says. "You're all I have left," He whispers. "And I want you to be mine," He grins, kissing me again. "J... I'm not marrying you," I tell him.
"Think about it," He says, taking my hand and lacing his fingers with mine. "Why not?" He asks. "You love me, right?" He asks. "Always," I nod. "You don't have parents," He says. "For now," I nod. "And neither do I," He says. I bite my lip. "We lost the gold. The G game is over," He says. "Yes...," I say. "And we have nothing to lose," He says. I nod, "Right," I say. "You're the only thing that matters to me anymore, y/n," He says. "So marry me," He smiles.
"JJ...," I giggle. "I do want to marry you, just not now okay? And plus, I'm not going to agree to some pity proposal. When we do get married, I want the whole thing okay? The ring, the surprise, the flowers, the romance, the special engagement speech, everything. I think after all this, I earned it," I smile, kissing him one more time. "But-," He says. "Hey," I hiss, kissing him again. "No buts," I smile. His phone buzzes suddenly, multiple times. He picks it up, his smile dropping. "What is it?" I ask nervously. "It's Heyward," He says with a frown.
