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t w e l v e

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𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫

"Look, I'm calling it off, alright?" John B starts after pacing around the backyard of the Chateau for five minutes. "Peterkin said that if I stay out of the marsh, she will help me with the DCS."

The boy was unbelievably stressed about the fact that Sheriff Peterkin payed him a visit this morning. She asked him about his uncle that was supposed to be looking after the boy, but has instead been absent this whole time. John B shrugged that off pretty easily until she brought up the mess from the Boneyard last night, questioning him about the gun and the fight. He couldn't deny the fight, I mean, he had a nasty black eye to prove it, but he did his absolute best at covering up the gun.

"And you believed her?" JJ asks, throwing stones across the grass. The angry boy huffs as he juggles a palmful of stones in his left hand, looking quite opposite to the boy I knew last night. He leans on an outdoor table, scoffing when John B sends him a confused look.

"Yes, I believed her, JJ." John B spits, letting out an annoyed sigh.

"An actual cop, John B? You believed a cop." he bitterly laughs, throwing another stone.

"All I gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a couple of days and she'll help me out!" he defends himself, throwing his arms about. "And it doesn't help that your ass was the one shooting a gun."

"You know what I should've done? Just let Topper drown your ass." JJ spits, making the group of us scrunch our faces up.

"Bro, what?" I mutter from my seat next to Kie, turning around to the boy. He quickly glances at me and looks away, flaring his nostrils.

"Topper was gonna drown me?" John B laughs.

JJ shrugs, throwing another stone. "Sure looked like it. I mean, have you looked in a mirror?" he asks, leaving the table and walking towards the group of us.

"C'mon," John B taunts, walking closer to the boy. "Tell me some more."

"They always win, don't they, man," JJ explains angrily, leaning against the wooden pole. "Kooks versus Pogues, they always, always win!" he grunts, punching a buoy out of frustration.

"It's okay!" Kie yells, trying to calm the two down.

"No, it's not okay!" JJ yells back, pointing a finger at her. "It's not! They don't want us to go down into the marsh — that means there's something valuable down there, and you know it, man." he clenches his jaw, now pointing to John B. "I know you do."

I sink further into the couch as Kie sends me a bothered look, annoyed at the tension floating around the group of us. I spin my ring around my thumb, trying to block out the thoughts of everything that's happened in the last 24 hours.

"And I understand why you don't wanna go," JJ starts, throwing a hand towards Pope who stares at him with furrowed eyebrows. "You're the golden boy, you got way too much to risk. And you," he points to Kie, "I mean, you're already rich as fuck anyway. Why would you bother?"

Kie shakes her head and looks down. "That doesn't matter." she mutters, rolling her eyes.

"And you," JJ stops at me, biting the inside of his cheek. I stare back at the boy and wait for his words. "Your dad's business is taking off, and he loves you. Again, way too much to lose."