SUNBURN | JOHN B ROUTLEDGE

011

Gabriella woke up with a pounding headache, her mouth dry and her stomach churning. She groaned, feeling the remnants of last night's with JJ's Milwaukee beverage wreaking havoc on her body. She quickly scrambled out of bed and ran to the toilet, barely making it in time before she threw up, her body rejecting the alcohol she had now sworn to never touch again.

After a few minutes, she steadied herself and splashed cold water on her face, hoping to feel somewhat human again. The icy shock helped clear the fog in her mind, but her head still throbbed. Changing into her bikini and throwing a shirt on, she took a deep breath and made her way outside to the porch, following the familiar sounds of the Pogues' voices.

As she stepped outside, the bright sunlight made her squint, but the sight of the Pogues brought a small smile to her face. "Good morning, sunshine." John B smiled. Gabriella looked at him and her heart clenched. She couldn't take her eyes off John B's black eye. The dark bruise marred his handsome face, a stark reminder of the previous night's chaos. The purplish-blue swelling around his eye only growing more pronounced in the morning light.

"John B, that looks really bad," she said softly, her voice filled with concern. She moved closer, her fingers hovering near his face as if she wanted to touch it but held back, afraid of causing him more pain.

John B gave her a reassuring smile, but it did little to ease her anxiety. "It's not as bad as it looks," he said, trying to downplay the injury.

Gabriella nodded reluctantly, not entirely convinced but knowing there was no point in arguing further. "Just... be careful, okay? I don't want anything worse to happen to you."

Kiara, JJ and Pope were silent, feeling the stirring tension between the two. JJ, who was standing behind Gabriella taunted John B by turning his back and rubbing his hands up and down his own body, trying to imitate the two making out with each other.

Gabriella turned around, noticing JJ after a few snickers from Pope and Kiara were let out. "You good, JJ? It's like you got ants in your pants."

JJ cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed of being caught off guard, "Yeah, yeah. No, not ants. You know, I actually found a turtle down my pants one time."

"Shut up, JJ." Kiara threw a brown paper bag Gabriella's way. "Got you some breakfast," Kie said with a warm smile. "You feeling okay?"

Gabriella nodded slowly, taking another bite of her croissant. "Yeah, I'll survive. Just remind me to never drink that Milwaukee stuff again," she said, half-joking but mostly serious.

JJ chuckled from his spot on the railing. "Sorry about that. Should've warned you," he said, a hint of guilt in his voice.

"It's fine," Gabriella replied, waving it off. "Lesson learned."

Gabriella caught the bag and peeked inside, finding a croissant. "Thanks, Kie," she said gratefully, her stomach grumbling at the sight of food. She took a small bite, the buttery pastry helping to settle her stomach a bit. "What's going on?"

"The cops don't want John B and us exploring the marsh, FOR GOOD REASON." Pope explained, clearly highlighting his opinion within.

"Look, I'm callin' it off. All right?" John B fiddled with his bandana around his neck, "Peterkin said, if I stay out of the marsh, she'll help me with DCS."

"DCS?" Gabriella asked.

"They want to take John B for fostering on the mainland 'cause he's a minor living alone, fucking idiots." JJ was getting more and more heated, "Kooks versus Pogues. They always, always win!"

Kie trying to defuse the heated conversation exclaimed, "Look, it's okay!"

JJ threw his hands up, "No, it's not okay! It is not! They don't want us to go down into the marsh. That means there's something valuable down there, and you know it." He motioned towards Pope, "I know you do. And I understand why you don't wanna go. You're the golden boy. You got way too much to risk. And you-" Pointing towards Kiara, "I mean, you're already rich as fuck anyway. Why would you bother?" JJ took a step closer to Gabriella, "But Gabriella and you and me, man, we got nothin' to lose!"

Gabriella's head tilted slightly to the right, placing her hand on her hip, agreeing with JJ, "We really don't, do we?"

John B stood up in process, his mind was torn between two decisions that could both severely impact the outcome of his life.

"John B, listen to me. I have a plan. You got the key to Cameron's big boat, right? There's scuba gear. We borrow that, and then we go down to the wreck this afternoon, and that is what's gonna save you, man. You don't see rich kids going into foster care, do you?" JJ whispered in his ear.

What was John B going to do? Put all of his faith and trust into the police that is funded by Kooks to do right by him, or listen to JJ and make his own destiny?

"Well," John B turned around, facing Gabriella, "You're gonna help me grab some gear."

"No offence but can you even afford gear?"

John B just smiled at the girl before walking towards the HMS Pogue as she trailed behind.

---

"You know, I should have learned a long time ago to never listen to JJ. He's full of bad ideas, like stealing from my rich boss. But this time, he was right. I had nothing to lose."

"No, you don't," Gabriella grinned at him as he steered his boat right next to the massive yacht that people could only dream about owing in life. On the side of the yacht was printed, 'My Druthers.' A huge comparison to the tiny boat John B had that he probably painted 'HMS POGUE' himself.

"That's weird, my middle name is Druther." Gabriella said. 

"Damn. Gabriella Druther Fairey, someone up there must hate you." John B laughed. 

"Okay, Booker."

The pair sneaked onto the yacht, looking out for anyone who could catch them. In the not so far distance, you could see Sarah Cameron with her family having brunch in their garden. John B and Gabriella moved with silent precision as they grabbed the scuba gear from the storage room on the Druthers. "Got everything?" John B whispered, his eyes darting around to ensure they weren't being watched.

Gabriella nodded, her heart pounding in her chest. She adjusted the straps of the gear, feeling the weight settle on her shoulders. "Yeah, let's get out of here," she replied softly, her voice barely audible.

They turned to make their escape when a sudden, dry cough froze them in their tracks. "Are you stalking us? Plotting your revenge?" Sarah asked. "Oh, hey, Gabriella."

John B's brows furrowed in confusion as to how Gabriella, fresh bait from New York, knows Sarah Cameron, Kook princess.

"Heyyy girl." Gabriella said awkwardly considering she just got caught red handed stealing off of her boat.

"Everything's good to go. Just toppin' off these tanks." John B sighed while picking up his tank of air.

"That eye of yours looks really gnarly." Sarah snickered, almost viciously.

Gabriella felt as though it was only right to defend her friend, "You can tell Topper he won the first round. I'll get him next time." Feeling confident in herself, John B turned to her, his expression was a mixture of shock and awe at what she'd just said.

"So there's just gonna be a reign of terror on this island now? Can we drop the whole Pogues versus Kooks thing?" Sarah asked.

"Wars have been started for less, Sarah Cameron. You know, it's easy to say when you're a Kook." John B told her as he walked off the yacht and onto his smaller boat with the scuba gear. Gabriella followed behind, flashing Sarah a small grin and mouthing, 'sorry,' to her.

She knew where her priorities lied, and that was with the Pogues. But Gabriella also knew that after last night, she didn't want to make any enemies.

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authors note!

i hope you enjoyed this chapter, bubs!

what do you think about Gabriella so far? please give me your honest opinion.

i just wanted to ask all of my darling readers, how are you? how is life currently?

if you ever need anyone to speak to, don't be afraid to talk to me. <3

- xoxo, LEE.