𝐋𝐔𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘¹ » 𝐣𝐣 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤

𝒗. 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆

chapter five
nothing to lose

     STELLA WOKE UP the next morning to pounding headache. she winced as the bright sunlight seeped through the curtains and into her eyes. remembering the pogues' plans, she quickly took a shower and got ready as fast as possible. looking in the mirror, it was clear topper left a pretty obvious bruise. "oh motherf—"

——

      stella was almost on john b's porch steps, when she saw sheriff peterkin walk out of his front door. "good morning estella, you here for john b?" stella nodded. she knew the sheriff because her mother and her went to school together and were good friends. "well, make sure he stays out of the marsh. you too. tell your mom i said hi." peterkin says before walking over to her car.

      "what was that about?" stella asked as she went up the stairs to greet  john b. after all, the two were pretty close. after jj, they were the ones staying at each other's houses the most.

she walked inside to nearly be hit with a beer can. stella turned to see her friend sitting on his couch running his hand through his hair. she sat down next to him and pulled him into a side hug. "what happened?"

"nothing. she basically said she'll help me with DCS if i stay out of the marsh. they're looking for the grady white." stella thought about what he said and disagreed. "and are you gonna listen to her? because she's a cop, they lie all the time. law enforcement in general, actually." stella thought out loud.

     john b got up and tried tidying up his messy house. "yeah, but i can't hide from DCS forever. i might as well get her on my side now."

——

      the five were currently sitting in john b's backyard all occupied with their own activities. kie was tapping the bongos, pope had his nose stuck in a book, stella was making a friendship bracelet, and jj was throwing rocks into oblivion.

"look, i'm calling it off, alright. peterkin said, if i stay out of the marsh, she'll help me with DCS." jj spoke up. "and you believed her?" "yes i believe her, jj." john b snapped back. the blond rolled his eyes. "an actual cop john b, you believed a cop." he said as he continued to throw the rocks.

"all i gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a couple days and she'll help me out! it doesn't help that your ass was the one shooting a gun." john b explained. "you know what i should've done? i should've just let topper drown your ass." jj said, making john b's eyes roll. "yeah, because topper was gonna drown me." jj stopped throwing his rocks. "sure looked like it. i mean, have you looked in a mirror? have you seen stella's face?" the girl looked up at the mention of her name.

"they always win, don't they man. kooks versus pogues. they always, always win!" jj said angrily as he hit the buoy. stella flinched st the sudden sound, as she was occupied with her bracelet. "look, it's okay!" kie said in an attempt to calm down the blond. "no it's not okay! it's not! they don't want us going down into the marsh. that means there's something valuable down there, and you know it!" john b looked down.