Ocean Eyes

Chapter 4

John B said" It's not there. Look, just-just pull the drone up. Shit."
Pope said" Look, we can do another pass. Recharge the battery. We can- We can go back down."
JJ said" We've been through it three times. There's nothing there."
Kie said" Shut up!"
" What? It's true!"
" The gold could be buried. We don't know."
John B said" If it was there, it would've been found on the metal detector, okay? Somebody beat us to it."

Nick said" Where you been?"
I said" Nowhere, just hanging out with my friends. Stayed at JB's."
" So... uh, who did that? John B? JJ? Pope?" He laughed, he grabbed my face and looked at the bruising,
" I- Uh, I think you already know." He smirked," Topper spill?"
" Yup."
" Gonna kick my ass?"
" Nope. You were defending your friend, can't blame you for that, but uh, might wanna come up with something to tell mom and dad."
" I'll just say I knocked into my board surfing."
" You do that often, clumsy?"
" Actually, more than you think. I almost lost a tooth last month 'cause a current ripped me off my board, John B and JJ literally dragged me to shore."
" Damn. I miss a lot."
" Yeah, you do."
" Hey."
" What? You mentioned it."
" So, what're you idiots doing to occupy your summer brains?"
" Just the usual, surfing, working and drinking." He chuckled,
" Yeah, of course. What did I think?"
" Don't know, bro."
" I hate you sometimes, man."
" Yeah, I know."

Kie said" I'm so glad that they're still doing this. Keep calm. Carry on. Back to OBX life. You know? Aren't you guys glad that I made you come?"
Pope said" Ecstatic."
JJ said" My couch was pretty comfy, I'll be honest." Kie and I put down the stuff in our hands and walked to the concession stand.

Kie said" Hey, uh... can I get three pepsis, please?"
The guy said" Sure." I saw Rafe walking up to us,
Rafe said" Hey, Kie. Hey, what's up? How are you?" I wrapped my arm around Kie's shoulder,
Kie said" I'm fine."
" Good, good. Um... tell your boy that we know what he did." Kie grabbed the drinks, handing me one,
" Sorry, what boy are you talking about?"
" Uh, he'll know." I glared at him, Kie walked away, I stared at Rafe," Bye."
" Kai, come on." I followed her, what the hell did those two do?," Douche."

Kie said" Just saw Rafe, and he said, and I quote, tell your boy that we know what he did. What is that?" She handed them to other two drinks,
JJ said" Um... Where is he?"
" Right there." We all turned to look at Rafe, Topper and Kelce,
Pope said" Great, the whole death squad." JJ grabbed his head and pulled it back to facing front,
JJ said" Don't stare, bro."
" Ah!"
" Just warning you, bro. If they corner me, I'm coming out swinging, okay? Slice and dicin'. I'm on edge right now."
" Yeah, yeah."
" If that doesn't work, I got this right here." He didn't... please for the love of pogue god, he didn't...
" Yeah, yeah. So, we just gotta stay in the group. They can't get us if we're in the group."
" Like a school of fish."
" Stay in the school. Can't leave the school."
Kie said" I'm sorry, JJ... Please tell me that you did not bring a gun here. JJ, there are kids."
JJ said" No. Kie, I didn't bring the gun. Everything's fine, okay?"
" Oh, wow, thank you. That's really convincing. I love that, JJ. Founding principle, you guys. No secrets amongst pogues. What is Rafe talking about?"
Pope said" Kie, it might go down tonight."
" What does that mean? Might go down tonight. What did ya'll do?"
I said" What did ya'll do?" I looked at them, I saw JJ mumbling something to Pope... probably Deny, deny, deny. I looked at them, I-I- Do I even wanna know?

I had my head resting on JJ's leg, I was half asleep, the movie wasn't keeping my brain occupied enough. Then I was moved, I groaned,
Kie whispered" Hey, where ya'll going?"
JJ said" We gotta wring it out."
" You gonna hold it for each other?" They walked away, half slouched over, definitely trying to hide from the kook trio behind us. I rubbed my eyes," Hey, sleepyhead, you know what's up between them?"
I said" Don't call me sleepyhead, and no, I don't... and I'm getting concerned by the second."
" Same." I saw the kook trio moving,
" Shit."
" What?" I nodded to them," Shit."
" Where are they? Where are they?" I looked out, blinking rapidly,
" I don't know. Come on." She stood up, I got up,
" Great... I'm itching to beat the shit out of 'em anyways."

We ran up to them,
Kie said" Let go of him, Topper! Fascist asshole!" My vision went red as I saw JJ being held back by Kelce and Rafe using him as a punching bag. I ran to Rafe and punched his face, I smirked as I drew his attention to me,
I said" Round two, bitch. Don't got your club to beat me this time!" We started fighting, he punched me hard enough to knock me down and went back to punching JJ. I saw Pope getting choked out, I jumped up and rammed my body into Rafe's, he grabbed me in a chokehold as Kelce did the same to JJ. I struggled, kicking back and punching his arms as hard as I could, he was choking me to fucking kill me! Then I saw the screen light up with flames, thank god, Kie!
Rafe said" Guys, guys, fire." My eyes rolled back, he dropped me to grab his friends, I gasped for air, coughing.
Kie said" Kelce, let go of JJ!"
" Let's get out of here! Let's go!" I heard Rafe laughing, JJ grabbed my arm and yanked me up. The kooks ran off,
" You good? We're okay."
Pope said" You're a freakin' idiot."
" I saved your ass. Come on." We walked away,
JJ said" You okay, drooly?"
I said" I'm fine. What about you, shit in a fight?"
" Ha ha. I'm good."
" Kie used your lighter."
" Yeah, she did."
" Badass pogue hippie."
Kie said" Thank you."
" Welcome." I smiled, laughing, damn do we know how to get ourselves into trouble.
———
JJ said" Don't let it get in your head, bro. Three of them and two of us. That's some typical kook shit right there."
I said" Am I fish guts to you?"
Kie said" Hell, yeah."
JJ said" What was your thought process, using your head?"
Pope said" I don't know, man. I just kind of acted off instinct. Alright, I was a cornered animal."
Heyward said" Hey, Pope, someone here to see you." Then Shoupe came in,
" Evening, officer."
Shoupe said" I have an arrest warrant for felony destruction of property." Pope looked back at JJ," Keep your hands on the counter, where I can see 'em. Young lady, out of my way."
Heyward said" Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait- Shoupe, what'd he do?"
" Take a look at the warrant."
Kie said" I'm sorry, you're arresting him?"
Heyward said" You're just arresting my boy?"
JJ said" What's the proof?"
Kie and I said" Be careful!"
I said" He's 16, Shoupe."
Heyward said" Shoupe, are you listening?"
Shoupe said" What you say can and will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney.."
JJ said" How much did they pay you, man? How much did they pay?"
I said" What'd he do, Shoupe? Pope, it's alright!" Shoupe took him out, Pope was not here currently.

Heyward and I stopped JJ from getting arrested as he pushed on Shoupe, Shoupe got to his truck, opening the door.
JJ said" It wasn't him! It was me. He tried to talk me out of it, but I was mad because he'd just been beaten up. I was so sick of those assholes from Figure Eight that I lost my shit." He walked to Shoupe," I can't let you take the blame for somethin' I did. You've got too much to lose."
Pope said" JJ, what are you doing?"
" I'm tellin' the truth. For once in my goddamn life, I'm gonna tell the truth. I took his old man's boat, too."
Heyward said" What the hell?"
Pope said" JJ, come on."
JJ said" Just shut up, Pope! Just shut up. He's a good kid. You know where I'm from."
Shoupe said" Yeah."
" This was all me."
" That's the whole truth?"
" Whole truth, swear to god."
" I know what you think, damn it, I'm asking Pope."
Pope said" Yeah, that about covers it." Shoupe took the handcuffs off Pope,
I said" JJ-" Kie grabbed me from going forward, Shoupe put JJ in the back and drove off. Pope threw his hat down,
Heyward said" Pope..."
He said" Shit!"
" Pope?" Pope walked away," Pope!"
I said" I-I gotta get home, pull some strings or something!" I took off for my four-wheeler, getting onto it and taking off.