Carefree || JJ Maybank

Chapter Ninety-Seven

Once John B had gotten all of the information he needed from Neville, they got dropped off close enough home.

"Look, guys... I'd love to play treasure hunt for a little longer, maybe get shot at a bit more. But I've really got to... like literally run home so I can make this party." She tells them. "Which I'm probably already late for anyways but what does it really matter?"

JJ looks at Everleigh who's eyes betrayed her lack of sleep and energy. While they were all beaten, she'd taken a lot more. She looked so tired, oh, so tired. But she knew their adventure was far from over and that she'd suffer so much more to achieve anything for her brother or dad. "The Twinkie is back there, let us drive you."

She shakes her head and forces a smile, "I'd love that, JJ, but the chateau is close enough and I've gotta be quick." She explains. "I'll meet you back there. I love you."

JJ sighs, not really wanting her to go off on her own, but she knew her stubbornness was winning this argument one way or another. "Alright, princess. Be careful." He tells her, "I love you too, now go get a move on."

She stands on her tippy toes and places a kiss on his cheek. She salutes John B who nods at her and she turns to begin running. She ran through the couple yards of trees in front of her, some of the branches leaving scratches on her arms. When she made it to the street she ran quicker, the wind flowing through her hair and into her face until she made it to the chateau.

She ran through the house and into her room, looking for any set of nice clothes she may have stolen from Kie in the past. Then she found it, the outfit she was looking for. A white corset style top and white denim shorts that were probably too short for the style party she was going to, but she didn't care.

Her tan looked darker next to the white as she looked at herself in the mirror, washing her face and cleaning her arms.

She brushed her hair out and it fell naturally straight, she cringed in the mirror and ran her fingers through it, messing it up and giving it volume.

She brushed her teeth and then put on deodorant and her signature perfume before running out of the house again. She cursed under her breath as she rushed to The Wreck knowing that she was already so late.

And when she got there, a crowd of Kooks were already on the property enjoying themselves. She dusted off her clothes and looked around for anyone she knew, and when she failed she snuck over the bar, spotting a bartender she knew from around town.

"Hey." She smiled and the girl smiled back. "Can I get a watermelon White Claw." The bartender nods with a wink and Everleigh lets out a sigh of relief. She waited impatiently, tapping her foot. When she reappears with the drink in her hand, Everleigh pretends to bow before taking a drink of the refreshing drink she'd been longing for.

She looked around and saw Mike and Anna greeting their guests. She puffs up her cheeks with air and lets out a dramatic sigh until she spots Kiara and Sarah. She started to make her way over to them until she could finally hear what Kiara was saying.

"Ward's on this island? Like, the same island we are on, Sarah?" Kiara asks.

Everleigh's face furrows in confusion when she sees Sarah nod. "Well then the second I see him, I'm turning him in, I swear." Everleigh speaks as she walks up between the two girls. "I don't know how you do it. I mean, everytime I wanna complain about my dad I just think about your dad."

"Oh, glad to be of service." Sarah smiles sarcastically.

Everleigh nods, "It works everytime."

Then, Kiara finally speaks up. "Hey, where the hell were you? You're late."

Everleigh draws her lips into a line and takes a sip of her White Claw. "Yeah, uhm. Sorry about that." She smiles, "I don't really know if I'm supposed to tell you... so I'll leave that up to the boys."

"The boys." Kiara mumbles. "They're not showing up right? It was hard enough to get you invited, if they come it won't be pretty."

Everleigh shakes her head and goes to respond, but her attention is drawn to Sarah who is looking off into the distance. "You didn't tell me Topper was gonna be here." Sarah turns to tell Kiara.

"Sorry, my mom invited like the whole island." Kiara apologizes.

Everleigh looks at the two of them in confusion, "Okay what did I miss?"

"We'll keep him away." Kiara promises. But when Topper starts walking their way, Everleigh just turns and leaves while Kiara announces her exit.

Everleigh quickly emptied her can and went back to the bar to get another, making sure no adults were paying attention. She took another White Claw and went back to the party, spotting the H.M.S. Pogue and then John B, who was poorly ducked behind a fence. She snuck over to him while the attention was on Kiara's parents who were making a speech.

She crouches next to him, "Hey, what the hell are you doing here? I didn't know if you've happened to notice, but Kooks don't like us, well, more you very much."

"Hey, yeah, thanks for the reminder." John B smiles sarcastically. "Why don't you go get your boyfriend out of my boat. He's hiding from Kie's dad because they'd gotten in some fight or something."

"What?" Everleigh is quick to ask, JJ never mentioning that he'd even been to Kie's house. "What do you mean a fight?"

"Can't talk." John B stops her. He knew that if she kept talking, there would be countless amounts of questions to follow. "Look, I've gotta talk to Sarah."

He stood up and left his sister to crouch behind the fence alone. She stood up slowly and looked into the boat, but it was empty. So, she spun around and saw JJ talking to Kiara. She couldn't help the jealousy that immediately attacked her heart, but she eventually pushed it away, doing her best to trust them with one another.

When JJ seemingly walked away from Kiara in frustration, Everleigh quickly made her way to JJ and the sun began to set. They sat with their backs up against the fence and watched the sun set over the water, waiting for John B to come back to them.