⤜---⤛ 𝔽𝕀𝕊𝕊𝕌ℝ𝔼 ⤜---⤛ ▬▬ 𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕜𝕤 ∗ 𝕛𝕛 ▬▬

⤛ 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕚 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 ⤜

The pounding of the bass drumming against the ground sent sand flying as the music grew louder. A crowd of people, each armed with at least one red solo cup, were chatting and dancing around the bonfire. A little ways down the beach was where the group was sat, anxiously waiting for the arrival of Noa. Kiara took a sip from her cup before breaking their silence.

"When did he say he was getting here?" she asked.

Talia checked her watch, which read 8:12, and shrugged. "He said he got off at 7."

JJ groaned and stretched out his arms and legs before rolling to his feet. He looked longingly at their drinks and pouted, "Well, this sucks. I'll be over by the cooler - for no reason in particular - if you need me."

"Yeah, not gonna happen." Kiara got to her feet and followed him.

Talia leaned back on her arms, trying to catch a glimpse of the beach entrance. A couple of guys stumbled along the sand, but still no sign of Noa. Then, she frowned as she saw a blonde figure approaching.

"Is that...?" she trailed off.

John B scrambled to his feet, ignoring the beer that spilled from his cup, and leaned against a tree branch, trying to act cool. "Sarah!" he called out, beckoning her over.

Talia smiled to herself, knowing how excited John B was to see her again despite his nonchalant demeanour. Sarah hurriedly tiptoed towards them, her skin slightly darker from spending multiple days tanning on a boat trip with her father.

"Hey guys!" she exclaimed, arriving at the group with a wide grin on her face.

Talia averted her gaze as Sarah embraced her brother, scrunching her nose in disgust. As she did so, she caught Pope's eye, who was doing the exact same thing. They shared a stifled laugh.

After what felt like an eternity, John B and Sarah finally stopped kissing and he took her wrist, turning to Talia and Pope. "We're gonna go get a drink. Won't be long."

Talia rolled her eyes and glanced down at her nearly empty solo cup. "Get me one too, please," she called out to her brother, but he and Sarah were already halfway to the main area of the party. "Do you think he heard that?" she asked.

"Doubt it," Pope sighed, offering his almost full cup to her. "You want the rest of mine?"

"If you're sure." Talia smiled and thanked him as she took the cup, still eyeing the entranceway.

They had until tomorrow before Noa's dad arrived back home and gained access to their security cameras. If he didn't show up tonight, as John B had said, they would all be royally screwed. Her friends would get caught red-handed, and she would have to come up with a somewhat plausible explanation as to why she asked Noa out on a date the same night her friends broke into his house. She highly doubted that JJ's infamous 'deny, deny, deny' philosophy would hold up in this situation.

She checked her watch again, as if time would move faster if she stared at it. To make matters more complicated, if Noa did decide to show up, Talia had no idea how they would bring up the treasure-hunting subject with him. She supposed that if he had nothing to do with it, it didn't matter either way.

As if reading her thoughts, Pope asked, "So, say Noa does come tonight? What do we even say like...how do we start?"

She sighed, gazing out at the horizon. "Hey, Noa. So, I snooped around your house the other day and guess what? We reckon you might be related to a hella rich dude who hid a bunch of treasure somewhere on Kildare. Would you happen to know where that treasure is buried? Asking for a friend." She gave him a sarcastic smile.