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I sat comfortably next to JJ and Pope in the back of the van. The tone of the group was evident, even though we weren't all completely convinced, finding the gold seemed a hell of a lot closer now.
JJ pulled a joint from his pocket, looking at me and I just laughed, grabbing a lighter from the floor of the van and handing it to the boy. JJ seemed to be the one that my being friends with made the most sense, sure he was pretty annoying sometimes but he had really grown on me.
My eyes glanced at the van, looking at the other three, stopping slowly when I got to John B. I had met them not even five days prior. We had known each other less than a week yet we all just seemed to merge. We seemed to blend together so well I wondered if outsiders could tell I hadn't been their friend for longer.
Pope seemed to be the one that I had the least in common with but I still appreciated the boy and our friendship. He was the one constantly trying to keep them in line and make sure we weren't getting too crazy out of hand. I liked that about him. He was stable, had the most stable family, stable life, stable. He didn't seem like one to veer far from the rules.
Kiara and I had bonded over the last few days, more than with the boys. We just seemed to click when we were around each other. I felt like I could tell Kiara anything and everything. We just got each other. I had really gotten close to her and I hadn't let myself do that in a really long time.
Then there was John B. I truly didn't know how to explain my friendship with him. We hadn't gotten to bond per se. We had moments, most of them in silence. He gave me butterflies and that scared me. I wasn't one to get attached to things, and definitely not this fast.
The pogues scared me, they were so close to breaking through my wall and it had only been a few days. I was a pretty trustless person. I refused to get attached to anything. Refused to let my walls down and get too comfortable. Too worried everything would come crashing down and I'd get hurt.
Pope was talking about not being able to tell fantasy from reality. I wasn't paying too much attention, my mind occupied at the moment. "So which is it, fantasy or reality?" He said, using his hands to demonstrate the choice.
"It's fantasy, but possible reality" Kiara answered, her body turned to face the back. John B looked to the side, a small smile playing on his lips as he said reality.
"virtual reality," JJ said, his words mumbled slightly as the joint hung between his lips. He was about to light the joint in his hand when Pope grabbed it and tossed it, rolling his eyes at JJ. "Keep the signal clear," He told JJ, the boy huffing in response.
Last night seemed to have changed things for us, for one I was now considered a pogue. I finally felt like I belonged somewhere but I was still too uncertain to let go of my wall. Too uncertain to allow me to be fully open and unreserved.
Kiara and I went over the plan with the boys as we arrived at the junkyard. As we got out JJ jokingly blew a kiss to me, I laughed as I 'caught' it.
"ay, good luck" He yelled to us as I shut the van door, Kiara soon by my side as we walked around the van. "Hey, don't worry. You guys got this" John B reassured us, leaning out of the window slightly.
"Yeah it's not us I'm worried about," Kiara said as we backed away from the van. I made eye contact with John B and smiled, saluting to him as I turned and walked towards the security building.
"Are you ready?" Kiara asked, the two of us looking at each other as we walked. "Oh for sure, you?" I said, looking back ahead of us. "Yep," She answered.
"Hello?" Kiara called out, waving her hand up as we got closer. "Excuse me?" I shouted, the two of us getting the security guard's attention. I watched as he got up from his seat and smirked, getting ready to put on a show.
"Can I help you?" He asked and I pushed my hair from my face, smiling at the man. "Hi, we actually have a flat tire," Kiara said, her voice a pitch higher. "We were wondering if you could help us out" I added, quickly licking my lips before I smiled again.
The man looked almost flustered, "yeah" He got out, turning and walking away. I dropped the fake smile and turned to Kiara. "it's too easy," Kiara let out, scoffing.
"way too easy," I remarked, the two of us stifled our laughter before doing a quick handshake. And we were right, it was too easy.
The security guard came back, the gate opening as he did. I turned around, looking over to the boys and winking.
"It's just this back one right here. I mean, it must've been a slow leak or something" Kiara told the man, leaning against the boat. I turned back, making sure the boys knew it was clear.
"so, you can fix it?" I asked, twirling my hair slightly. "oh, yeah. I got this. Easy fix" The man reassured us, and when he squatted down to fix it I fixed my shirt, hoping that at least if the boys failed, we had a solid distraction.
I looked around, making sure I couldn't see the boys from where we were. As I did, I began to hear a dog loudly barking. "Do you hear that?" The security guard asked, looking up at us.
"Hear what?" I questioned, shrugging my shoulders. I got nervous as he stood, surely if the boys were in view he'd see them. "I think Tebow's got something," He said, looking around the lot.
"It's probably just a raccoon, maybe, ya know. Nothing to worry about" Kiara nervously spit out. I cursed to myself slightly. I walked to the other side of the boat, Kiara following.
"shit" Kiara let out, watching as I stood still, trying to think of something. "Let the air out of this tire too" I whispered to the girl, pointing down to the other back tire.
I stood, trying to make sure the man wouldn't move before Kiara was done but the tire hissing gave it away. The man got up and walked over and even though I tried to stop him, he looked over me to see Kiara letting the air out.
"what are you doing?" He asked, and Kiara got flustered. "this one looks a little low too." She muttered, but the dog was still barking loudly and the security guard started running towards the gate.
"Wait, wait!" We called out, not to any luck however as the man continued running.
"shit!" I let out. The two of us ran towards the car and got in. We had brought Kiara's car and the boat around to the front, stalling to wait for the boys. "I just hope they get it" I let out, leaning my head back against the seat with a sigh.
"me too," Kiara said, looking over at me. The two of us waited for a while and watched as John B ran out, giving us a thumbs up. I laughed to myself as Kiara peeled out of the parking lot.
I looked out of the side mirror as we drove off, the van soon following behind. We were laughing, listening to light music as we talked. "Did you see the way he looked at you, oh my god" Kiara screamed out through laughter.
Maybe it wasn't so bad to be a part of this.
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