The Pogues are broken following the presumed deaths of John B and Sarah. With Pope and his chances of a scholarship ruined, Kiara and any trust her family had left for her gone, and JJ dealing with his dad's rage following him stealing the boat, is there really any hope for them ever getting past this? Or will the trio be forever stuck in the past?

"Why?" Whispers JJ, frightened slightly by the tone of voice he had never heard Pope use before. Pope almost loses it. "Because! You.. you aren't a piece meat to be showed off, JJ. You are a kind hearted human fucking being who deserves better! How can you not see that? How can you not see that the way you are being treated is manipulative and borderline abusive. Fuck, look at your face! You have a black eye. You have hand prints on your throat! This isn't love, JJ!" Pope has been infatuated by JJ from the first day of third grade. He never thought he could feel so deeply about a person before he began to understand his feelings for the other male. The only problem? JJ was popular and Pope was far too much of an anxious wreck to even talk to him. So, he chooses to love JJ from afar. That is until JJ is paired up with Pope for a project in art and they become relatively close. Close enough for JJ to let down his walls and let Pope in. But what happens when JJ shows up at Popes house one night, soaked from the rain and a black eye? Will Pope finally admit his feelings or will JJ choose another horrible guy to date?

"Oh my god, SHUT UP!" He screamed, furiously wiping away tears. "I can handle it, Shoupe! I'm not some bitch in need of rescuing!" "Then lift up your shirt." The blonde boy blinked. "W-What?" "Lift up your shirt. Prove the anonymous tipper wrong. Easy peasy, right? Hurry up, so I can kick you out of my office." He'd left the makeup at home. They were gonna find out. ******* TW- abuse... if you know anything about JJ Maybank and his father, you'll know what I'm talking about

Killian didn't think life would get much worse... That was until he busted a kids nose and was suspended from his PhD program. And maybe it was luck, or God looking out for his tortured soul, because who knew something so good could come from something so terrible. Killian met James. James met Killian. The rest was semantics.