𝐍𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐔 ━ jj maybank (in edit);

𝟎𝟔. / 𝐬𝐩𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤

          IN THE BRIGHT EARLY MORNING Stella woke up to an empty silent house, which she didn't quite expect due to the recent arrival of a new lodger who happened to be quite loud by himself. Taking a sip of water and cutting up half a papaya, she walked out backwards through where she guessed her new housemates were to be — the beach.

Sarah was the first one she noticed sitting down in the white sand, hugging her knees to her chest and overlooking the sea, where the other two boys hung out with fishing rods in hand and staring out at the horizon with their backs turned to them.

"Good morning."

"Hi, Stella!" The dirty-blonde greeted, looking up at her as she sat down.

"Slept well last night?"

"I wish. These two were up all night chatting and acting like kids all over again." she nodded towards the water, where both girls' attention focused.

"Why am I not surprised..."

Sarah laughed, turning her head towards the brunette "JJ left quite the impression yesterday, huh?"

"To say the least."

"Don't take it to heart, the teasing is part of his dna!"

"That's perfect." Stella rolled her eyes, noticing the blonde had turned his back to face the two girls, waving his hand in her direction.

"It'll grow into you. Deep down, he's a good guy."

"But John B described him so differently. And he himself seems like the total opposite."

"He may not seem as snappy and energetic, but when they're together, you know how it goes. Boys being boys, I guess." Sarah paused, resting her chin on top of her knees and watching the two friends "but the things John told you about the Royal Merchant are true. If it wasn't for JJ, I'm not even sure we'd be here right now. He was the only one who believed in him back then. He has a heart of gold."

Stella took in her words as both girls stared in the same direction and for a split second, they seemed to grow into her mind.

The boys docked the rowboat not long after, walking towards them and showing the awfully small fish they were able to catch.

"This long and all you got was that?"

"I wish I could see you out there. We'd starve."

"Gladly, there's actual food at the house."

"Guys, I think there are other things we should probably be dedicating more time to." Sarah stopped them "it's probably a good idea to go back to the airport."

"It's too risky to go in the daylight. You saw the amount of guards around the fence."

"Then it's set. Let's go tonight."

- ⋆ -

The darkness of the night served as a good cover-up for the four teenagers who wandered around the forestation, combining with the moonlight that led them through the right path towards the airport. The girls lead the pack, chatting endlessly about smaller things whilst the boys followed suit, joking around.

"You can see the headlights from here, maybe we should go around to face the back of the warehouse."

"This is exciting, first time I've step foot in an airport." JJ announced, surpassing Sarah so he could walk next to Stella.

"Just try and keep it down." She warned.

"Scout's honor."

The teen frowned before walking around covered by the trees that embraced the fence area until they reached the back of the large white warehouse.

"This is where we believe the plane is being kept." John B explained to his friend.

"There also seems to be less security around this time."

"It's probably because it's already close to 10. I remember the night shift being reduced to two guards when I snuck out here before."

"Well they might as well be gone because I see no one." JJ commented.

He took a step further out onto the area the fence lighting highlighted, passing by Stella who immediately noticed he intended on walking closer to the actual fence, grabbing onto his arm in the process. "Calm down, buttercup." The blonde smiled down at her hand gasping his and then back up at her.

"There are cameras all over." She hissed, pushing him back as he stumbled.

They all kneeled down as per Stella's suggestion, so they could watch out for blind spots without actually being spotted themselves and for a future visit.

"Guys."

"What?"

"I'm guessing that's one of the guards?" John B questioned, pointing to their right, where a man walked towards the back of the white building secretively, with a phone in hand.

The group of teens stood silently watching as the stronger man kept walking forward just a couple of meters away from them, having a conversation with someone on the other line on speaker.

"Don't worry, this is completely empty at the moment. We have it under control, no one is to come here at night."

I hope you do. Just assure no stranger is seen in the perimeter or that the warehouse is left unattended. We were trusted with its safety and there's a lot relying on our backs.

Sarah and Stella who stood closer to each other, exchanged a wary look.

"Everyone has been warned about it."

Good. I've warned Stella to stay home, she doesn't know anything so she won't be a nuisance.

"We have Frank to take care of that part."

Please, do keep him busy. And whatever you do — do not let either into the warehouse under any circumstances.

The three teens looked at the brunette whose eyes widened as she looked emptily into the distance still assimilating what had been said, before looking back into them.

"That was my mother."

- ⋆ -

I mean.... thoughts?