𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒. ᵒᵘᵗᵉʳ ᵇᵃⁿᵏˢ ¹

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 16.

━ 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲.

"𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐓 𝐋𝐄𝐓 me out of this van in the next three seconds, I will not hesitate to jump out the window," I seethed.

    The front of my feet were tapping the ground in repetition, an impatience habit, and my leg bobbed up and down on the seat. I was biting the inside of my cheek, holding as much anger inside as I could. The sun was hot, shined down hard through the glass of the windows, warming up the smelly van with a heat and causing my palms to sweat. My clothes were filled with dirt.

"We're almost there, and then I'm driving you home," John B said with a calm tone of voice, quickly glancing to me, and removing one hand from the wheel. "I promise."

I didn't know what his value of a promise meant.

"I don't see why I have to come," I shrugged, my voice sounding salty. "I'm not apart of your group anyways, your Pogue thing, or whatever."

"You're a fast thinker, thats why," John B answered assuredly, "We need you on this last thing."

"No we don't." Pope said, with a tone of casualty from behind my seat. "You do."

"I agree with him," I referred to Pope's comment, looking straight to John B.

"She's not a Pogue dude," Pope continued, "She's just not like us."

"He's not wrong." I nodded, figuring if Pope continued to make arguments, John B would let me out of the van eventually.

"She kinda is, though," Jj interjected, as he flicked open a lighter and closed it repeatedly, the click click sound reaching my ears.

"No, I am not," I turned around in the seat and pinned my eyes on Jj. I looked at him with cold eyes, the rooster image flashing in my mind. "I didn't agree to this— to any of this."

"Do you know how to surf?" Jj ignored my glare, and smiled randomly in my direction.

"She's from New York City, dipshit," Kiara mumbled to him, while picking at the shoelaces on her yellow Vans.

"We could work on that," Jj shrugged comfortably, popping out his bottom lip. "Totally workable."

"I can't believe I'm here right now," my eyes were slightly wide with disbelief as I turned back around in my seat, sighing defeatedly. John B barely payed attention, and simply drove through deserted streets.

     "This is abduction, JB," Pope commented. "And it's like, what, the third time you've done it? You have a problem."

     John B glared at him through the mirror.

"I think," Jj ignored the comment and announced to everyone, a new idea to mind, "That we should give you a nickname." He said, pointing his lighter to me.

"Why?" Pope responded questionably, not seeing the point.

    "Yeah, why." I repeated.

"I mean, Kiara's got Kie, and John's got JB," Jj explained, then glancing to Pope, "you and me don't really have anything, but, like, she could. Charlotte's a bit formal, no?"

"I thought you said it was a hot name?" Pope retorted in a high pitched tone, mocking Jj for what he'd said a few days before.

"Well, yeah," he shrugged in response, "But now I'm thinking like somethin' easier."