SINK OR SWIM, jj maybank

c h a p t e r f i v e

"What time is it?" Kie groaned from her spot on the bed. Teddie had been awake for about an hour; having showered, done her hair - and make up surprisingly- and gotten dressed.

"A little past eleven." Teddie scoffed, laughing at her sleepy friend. "You were out."

"Shit." Kie groaned, looking at her phone before setting it back down on her nightstand and pushing herself up onto her elbows. "You look cute." Kie complimented. Teddie had been happy to see that she left one of her favorite swimsuits at Kie's house from last time she stayed over, so she put on the ribbed light blue bikini top and cheeky bottoms before throwing a pair of dark wash ripped shorts on along with a cropped white button down shirt, leaving some of the buttons undone. She had her dark hair in a messy fishtail braid going down her back, a few strands of hair left out and framing her face.

"Thanks." Teddie grinned, throwing her hand under her chin as she offered her friend a wink. "I had to borrow some shorts, if that's okay?"

"Yeah yeah, whatever bitch." Kie joked, laughing when Teddie stuck her tongue out at her. Kie and Teddie have always been just about the same size, minus a small height difference, so sharing clothes was nothing new for the girls. "I'm gonna take a shower real quick then we can head to the Chateau."

"Sounds good, babe." Teddie nodded, plopping down on her stomach on Kie's bed as she dragged her feet into the bathroom.

As promised, Kie wasn't in the shower more than fifteen minutes. She was just as quick to do her hair and throw on her clothes, bikini underneath, before the girls were grabbing a granola bar and apple and heading to John B's. Kiara didn't once bring up last night, to which Teddie was eternally grateful.

The three boys were already hanging out outside when Kie and Teddie pulled up, hoping out of Kie's SUV. "Good Afternoon, gentlemen." Teddie greeted with a smirk. "Nice shiner, JB."

"Ha-ha, you're so funny." He mocked, flipping her off jokingly as the two girls made themselves comfy.

"So." JJ clapped his hands together. "What's on our agenda for today? I say we go back to the boat and see if we can find anything else."

"Look," John B sighed, "We're calling it off, okay?"

"What?!" JJ exclaimed, throwing his hands up. At this point Kie, Pope, and Teddie knew better than stick themselves in-between the two boys.

"Peterkin said if I stay out of the Marsh for a few days then she'll help me with DCS." John B explained.

"And you believed her?!" JJ practically shouted. "A cop, bro. You believe a cop?!"

"Yes, I believe her, JJ!" John B exclaimed, standing up and stepping closer to JJ.

"Did anyone bring some popcorn?" Pope asked Kie and Teddie quietly as the trio let their eyes bounce back and forth between the two boys who were throwing temper tantrums.

"All I gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a couple of days and then she'll help me." John B repeated, slightly calmer now. "And you know, it doesn't help that your dumbass was the one shooting the gun."

"Shit." Kie whispered as JJ immediately became defensive and got worked up.

"You know what I should've done, JB?" JJ asked. "Just let Topper drown your ass." He huffed, throwing a rock across the yard.

John B scoffed, "Oh, Topper was going to drown me?" Teddie could admit that her brother was a douche, but he wasn't a psycho. There was no way he was actually going to drown John B. But she still understood where JJ was coming from.