𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚀𝚞𝚎𝚎𝚗 ⚓ 𝙹𝙹 𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚔

02

“I’m so glad that they’re still doing this,” Kiara smiled as she looked around for a good spot to set down their things, “Keep calm. Carry on. Back to OBX life, you know?” She nudged the girl beside her, who held onto a picnic basket, “Aren’t you guys glad that I made you come?”

“Ecstatic,” Pope mumbled sarcastically, earning a small slap to the back of his head.

Malia glared at the boy, “Yes, we're thrilled. Come on guys loosen up, we're here to have a good time,” her glare was replaced with a bright smile, hoping to stimulate some sort of excitement from the boys.

“Li's couch was pretty comfy, I’ll be honest,” JJ hummed as he set down the cooler, taking the picnic basket from Malia’s hands.

Once Kiara busied herself with setting up some chairs and a blanket, Pope leaned in next to the two teens who were putting the sandwiches Malia had made into the cooler, “Were out of the green zone, guys,”

“Dude, tranquilo, okay?” JJ shushed him, trying to stay distracted.

“We’re in the middle of Kooklandia,”

“Can we not call my home ‘Kooklandia’?” Malia looked up from her basket, “We’re fine, we're at an outing. No one would dare to make a scene in front of like fifty other people. Topper and Rafe may seem big and bad, but they got social anxiety like the rest of us,”

“But, Mal-”

“No but’s,” the girl demanded, “Eat your fruit snacks that you begged me to pack,” she handed him a small packet of Welch's Fruit Snacks.

JJ took a seat beside the two, snatching a few fruit chews away from Pope, “Did you-”

“Yes I made you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because you don't like turkey and swiss,”

“What about-”

“Yes, I cut off the crusts,”

JJ smiled as he glanced over at Pope, giving him a wink.

Pope rolled his eyes, “Did you also pack him his CapriSun, remember, it has to be Strawberry Kiwi ‘cause he doesn't like Tropical Punch,”

JJ’s grin soon turned into an upset glare as Malia giggled at Pope’s little joke, “Fuck off, man”

Kiara returned to the group after leaving to purchase some sodas at the vendor, “Just saw Rafe, and he said, and I quote, “Tell your boy that we know what he did.” What is that?” she asked, handing the boys their drinks.

The three had exchanged small glances before JJ decided to change the topic, “Where is he?”

“Right there,” Kiara nodded towards the back. Surely enough, Rafe was there, with both Topper and Kelce.

“Great, the whole death squad,”

“Don’t stare, bro” JJ scolded as he turned Popes head back around. Malia began to feel a bit uneasy with the way Rafe was looking at them. His eyes caught Malia’s and he sent her a little wink, causing her to roll her eyes and turn around.

“Just stay away from them, you’ll be fine,” was all she said before taking a sip of JJ’s Pepsi.

“I'm just sayin’, if they corner me, I’m coming out swinging- slice and dicin’. I’m on edge right now,” JJ warned as he took his drink back.

Pope nodded his head in agreement, “Yeah, yeah,”

Malia looked at Kiara, “It amazes me that they do the exact opposite of what I tell them to do,”