what now? | outerbanks

• ten •

Sarah

    It's been close to two hours since the plane took off, and I've been awake for the whole of it. I watched Kie fall asleep, then JJ, then Cleo, and then John B., but I haven't been able to shut my eyes. Everything feels too new, too temporary. How do I know it won't be taken away at any given moment? So instead, I've been tracing my name into the palm of my boy's hand with my pointer finger and watching Kie's face for any movement, any wince.
    Pope came in a few minutes ago, letting us know that we were about halfway through the route. Two hours left. He looked tired, worn out- more than I've ever seen him. I've always had a certain appreciation for Pope, for his silent observations and unrelenting loyalty. We've all been through a lot, but he has given up everything he's ever wanted, and that's more than a lot of people can say. I'm glad he's found his partner: his Cleo. He deserves it.
    Suddenly, Kie jolts up, sweat building up on her forehead and upper lip. In doing so, she wakes JJ, who now looks just as afraid as she does. It's clear to me that she doesn't remember everything right away, so I try to explain.
    "Hey, hey- calm down. You're good, you're safe." She places her hand on her heart and shuts her eyes, panting. She's remembering what happened.
    "Holy shit, I thought I was dead." She says, almost laughing. One thing I love about Kie: it doesn't take much to make her laugh.
    "Yeah, me too." Says JJ, who isn't laughing. "I swear to God, Kie, you can't do that again. Like ever." He places a kiss on her temple, and I can almost feel a tear forming in the corner of my eye. Seeing my favorite people happy is more than I could ask for. Slowly, Kie moves her hand from her heart to her stomach.
    "Ugh, I feel like shit." She says, her face forming into a grimace.
    "Oh my goodness, yeah, you definitely need to eat something. Let me look around." I start opening cabinets and compartments looking for snacks. Nothing. "What kind of plane doesn't have snacks? Literally not even a single granola bar."
    "Yeah, Sarah. Not every plane is first-class bullshit." As the final snark comes out of JJ's mouth, I find a small bag of dried apples in the back of a cupboard.
    "Aha! Found it, loser." I stick my tongue out at the boy, and he does it back. "Here, Kie, eat this."
    "No, no. I don't think I can."
    "Kie, don't worry about us; we'll find something once we land. You eat these."
    "No, I mean, I really don't think I can." As the girl speaks, the color in her face drains and her eyes start to widen. She jumps out of her seat and runs to the bathroom, from which we hear her throw up.
    If there's one thing I can't take, it's vomit. "Um, do you want to-" I'm hoping JJ goes to help her.
    "Sarah, I really can't do throw up. You know that."
    "And you think I can?! JJ, if you don't go in there right now, I swear you will never hear the end of this- I am not-"
    "Okay, fine. Fine, whatever." He reluctantly gets out of his chair, and I think I see him gag as he walks toward the bathroom. "You're lucky I love her."

John B.

    I wake up to Sarah awake next to me, Cleo asleep, and JJ and Kie missing from their seats.
    "Where are JJ and Kie?" I whisper to Sarah, trying not to wake Cleo up.
    "They're in the bathroom." Sarah says, kissing me lightly when she realizes I'm awake.
    "Ew, what? Are they seriously macking on a private jet?"
    "Babe, what? No. Kie got sick, you perv."
    "Relax, geez, I was joking." Sarah pushes my head to the side as I speak, and she giggles. I call to the bathroom from my seat. "Hey, um, guys? Everything alright in there?"
    JJ calls back. "Maybe.. It's been a minute or two since she last- Never mind." The grimace in his voice is extra clear this time, and Sarah and I look at each other, wondering if we should go in and help.
    "Let me do it." Both of our heads then turn to the voice, Cleo. She's sitting up from her nap and rubbing her eyes, but she's obviously heard enough for context. As she stands and walks to the bathroom, she tells JJ, "Get outta there. I'll take over for now." When the boy walks out of the room, he looks almost as sick as Kie did. I can't help but laugh.
    "You, uh, you look a little green there, J." Sarah mocks the boy.
    "You know what," JJ flips her off with both hands, making a funny face. I secretly love when they bicker; it's almost like they're siblings- and I wouldn't want anyone else as my brother.

Sarah

    JJ sits in the seat next to us, and when he and John B. start to physically fight, I get up to join the other girls in the bathroom.
    "Knock, knock," I say as I walk in. Cleo shoots me a certain look, telling me something's not right. Kiara takes a break from being sick and looks at me in the most helpless way.
    "Aw, baby, I really am so sorry. Do you think you're just tired? Dehydrated?"
    "Don't you think if I knew I would find a solution, Sarah?" She's snarky, but I don't blame her. I would be too.
    "Oh my God- you're not, you're not pregnant, are you?" I ask her. Cleo widens her eyes and slaps me on the arm.
    "Um- excuse me? Sarah, respectfully, what the fuck? Don't you think we've been a little too busy for me to get pregnant?"
    "Look, I was just asking."
    "Yeah, maybe you should just... stop asking?" She looks at me with pursed lips and crooked eyebrows.
    Cleo breaks us up, "You know what? It could totally be from what happened before? In the jungle? Let me go ask Pope, I'm sure he will know something." She walks out of the room, and I pull Kie's hair into a ponytail. Her eyes pierce mine, mine pierce hers, and I wish I could make her feel better.
    "You know I really love you, Kie." She doesn't say anything back, but I know what she would say. I rub the girls back and blow on the back of her neck, something I remember Rose doing when I was younger; she wasn't always evil. There's a knock on the door, and Pope walks through a couple seconds later.
    "Hey, what's going on?"
    "Hey, Pope." Kiara tries to give him a smile, but it's close-mouthed and not very happy looking.
    "It's been a couple minutes, but it doesn't seem like it'll be stopping anytime soon." I tell him. "Cleo said maybe its connected to earlier?"
    "Yeah, yeah. I read about this once. About snake bites and venom. You're lucky this is as bad as it's getting- a lot of people have it totally worse. Like, death kind of worse."
    "Wow, Pope, that really makes me feel a lot better. Thank you." Good old Kie, nothing stops her from a good sarcastic comment.
    "I don't remember everything it said, but you'll probably be sick for a few more hours, but you'll be fine soon." She shoots him a thumbs up, placing her face back into the toilet bowl to vomit again.
    "Oh- Shoot, so sorry. I think I hear my dad calling my name." He says.
    "What? No, I didn't hear anything." I try to plead with the boy, but before he can even register my voice, Pope is out the door, shutting it behind him. "No, Pope! Pope you do not leave me in here by myself!" I'm too late.
    "It's not contagious!" I hear him yell from outside. He has got to be kidding me.
    "Kie, you know you really should eat something. At least drink some water, please? For me?" She looks up at me with a frown.
    "Okay, fine." She opens the bag of apples, holds one up in my face, and then eats it begrudgingly. She eats a few more, and then drinks a sip out of a cup of water I got from the sink faucet. "Are there barf bags out there? I don't think I can sit in here much longer."
    "Yeah, it smells like a bitch in here."
"Okay, I'm actually done with you." To my surprise, Kie stands up on her own and leaves me in the bathroom by myself.
    "Don't forget I love you!" I get up a few moments later, and when I make it into the main cabin, I'm confused by what I see.

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hey hey folks! i know not a lot really happens in this chapter, but i have a lot of fun writing silly dialogue between characters, and after season 4 I think we can all use some good old pogue bickering
already starting on the next episode, so it should be up in no time!
so glad everyone is enjoying this 🥹 keep reading and commenting and voting and everything
i love you guys!!