One Stupid Thing

1:10:38

"Dude, where is he?" Kiara's voice cracks in annoyance.

"Give him a second. He'll be here," Pope assures her.

"He's coming. He'll be fine," JJ adds.

We had arrived to the dock and backed the boat into the water. With the storm coming in, there is no one here. JJ hops in the boat and takes off the rest of the cover. 

"I'm sure he's just trying to stay under the radar. He'll make it," I reply. I sit at the end of the dock, splashing the surface of the water with my feet. Suddenly a loud siren approaches. I turn to see a police vehicle coming down the dirt path with it's lights flashing.

"JJ!" Kiara alerts him.

"Hey, yeah. Get back on the boat. Get back on the boat. Untie it," JJ replies hastily. I stand, grab my shoes, and hurry onto the boat as fast as I can.

"Shit." Kiara runs to untie the boat from the dock, but when the driver gets out of the car, it's not an officer, but John B.

"Wait. No way," JJ looks up and a shocked grin spreads across his face. "You've got to be kidding me."

"No f'ing way," Pope exclaims.

"I'm sorry, uh..." Kiara chuckles in disbelief.

"John B! What the—" I start, quickly hopping back onto the dock to greet him.

"Shoupe let me take it for a spin," John B says as he approaches.

"Okay. That's believable. I'll buy that for now," Kiara replies. She hurries over and hugs him.

"God, no wonder you took so long." I walk over and wrap my arms around him. "You almost had me worried. Almost."

"It wasn't easy, bro, but I got the Phantom for you and she runs like she was made yesterday," JJ announces, tossing the keys to John B. "You ready to go?"

John B looks as if he's going to respond and then he looks around in confusion. "Where's Sarah?" He looks to me for an answer.

"She's not with you?" I ask.

"No, we got separated in the swamp. She said she was going to meet me here," John B rambles frantically.

"No, we haven't seen her," Pope tells him.

"Okay, well, I'm not leaving without her," John B protests.

"John B, look at me," JJ says. He walks over to him and crouches down to make up for the height difference of the boat and the dock. "I know you feel bad for leaving her, but there's no time, man. You've got plenty of gas, plenty of food. Once you get around that point, it's a straight shot across the sound to Dismal Swamp, okay? Once you get there, lay low, all right? Hang out for a couple of weeks and then go overland, cross the border at Brownsville, you got that? Brownsville. You— Hey!" JJ slaps John B light on the jaw to recapture his attention. "You got that?"

"Yeah, yeah. Brownsville," John B repeats.

"All right. Saddle her up, saltwater cowboy. Let's do this." JJ hops off the boat, swapping places with John B. We all brace to push him off, but John B stops us.

"Hey. Hey. I'm sorry for basically... throwing us off a cliff with this whole treasure hunt thing," he chokes out.

"Hey, John B, yo... we were bound to run off a cliff at some point, right?" JJ jokes. We all laugh lightheartedly. "At least we did it together, though. Pogue style." JJ wraps one arm around Pope's shoulders and the other around my waist. I pull Kie in on my other side and we smile up at John B. It's all so bittersweet.

"Pogue style," John B whispers, holding back tears.

"Get out of here! Please," Kiara says.

"Now. We'll see you in two months, down in Mexico," Pope adds.

"And please don't get yourself into any more trouble, okay?" I plead with him.

"Love you," JJ tells him. John B turns away but quickly looks back at us.

"Hey, wait— wait a second." He takes a deep breath to prolong his emotions. "Tell Sarah I said goodbye, okay?" I nod and feel my eyes brim with tears. "And JJ, you be good to Stella, all right?" JJ and I look at each other and laugh nervously. Well, so much for keeping us a secret.

"You know I will. Hey, don't forget. Cross the border at Brownsville, okay?" JJ reminds him. We all detach from each other to push him off.

"Got it," John B salutes us and gets behind the wheel. He turns on the boat and backs it away from the dock. With one final wave, he drives off into the setting sun. We stand there at the end of the dock, watching our best friend disappear into the distance. I sniffle. If it weren't for John B, I wouldn't be friends with these guys. Hell, I probably wouldn't have gotten with JJ. I am so grateful for him and everything he has brought into my life.

JJ is the first to turn and walk back down the dock. His hands are in his pockets. I know that he is too proud to cry. I hurry after him.

"Hey, Jay. You okay?" I ask him. I lay a hand on his shoulder and he turns to face me.

"Yeah. Yeah, I will be." He grabs my hand and smiles weakly. "I guess the cat's out of the bag, huh?"

"Were we that obvious?" I laugh.

"I guess so, but now we're off the hook," he laughs and then looks behind me squinting into the sun. I turn and see Kiara kiss Pope. My jaw drops and I cheer for them on the inside.

"Totally saw that coming," I comment. I lay my head on his shoulder and he squeezes my hand like he always has, but approaching sirens ruin the moment. Shit. Unlike the first time, it really is police officials driving towards us.

JJ clears his throat. "Hey, guys. I'm sorry to ruin the party, but, uh, we gotta go right now. Come on." Pope and Kie turn tail and hurry off the dock, but it's too late. We're cornered. Kiara stops dead in her tracks and puts her hands up above her head. JJ and I follow suit.

"Move. Hands up! Hands up!" an SBI agent shouts, running up to us armed with a gun.

"Pope, hands!" Kiara shouts.

"We're too late. He's gone. God damn it!" Shoupe curses, tailing the agent. "Bratcher, have your guys stand down. Let me talk to these kids. All right, where the hell is he? Where the hell is he?" Shoupe interrogates us. Many other officers and agents appear from the vehicles, armed and ready. "JJ? I see you're livin' up to your name."

"Hey! Don't you dare—" I yell at Shoupe, taking a few steps towards him boldly. A female officer that I recognize from another time points her gun at me and forces me back.

"Stella, it's fine," JJ mutters.

"It's not, Jay," I reply quietly.

"Ooh, Stella Cameron. Well, isn't this interesting. Your father reported you missing yesterday. He'll be glad to know you've been found, not that it was with these hooligans. And Kie. What will your parents think of this behavior. Tsk tsk. Pope, how about you? This isn't a fucking game! You all can do the right thing now! Where'd he go? Huh?" None of us say a thing. I clench my jaw and stare daggers at Shoupe. "I see how it is. Bratcher, bring these kids with us. They'll crack eventually."

A hoard of SBI agents swarm us. They herd us into a vehicle and we go without a fight. It's not worth it at this point. The four of us squeeze into the back of a squad car.

"It didn't have to come to this, guys," Shoupe sighs as he gets in the front seat. Typically, one would be terrified in this situation, but the four of us share smug grins. John B is long gone. There is no way they are going to catch him now.

——
John B's in the trees, he's in the breeze, his footsteps on the ground. You'll see his face in every place, but you can't catch him now.