𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄 ━ ᴶᴶ ᴹᵃʸᵇᵃⁿᵏ

𝟭𝟴. 𝙝𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙪𝙗

Sierra focused her mind on anything but JJ, the faint crashing off the waves, the calls of the seagulls as they flew over the restaurant, or how they sky blended together smoothly. A mix of pink, yellow, and orange fading into the horizon where the sun slowly began to set. She smells the ocean as the breeze carried its scent and brought it to her nose, a familiar one, one that always lingered on JJ's body due to his love for the ocean. Fuck, why did everything have to remind her of him? Sierra thought she could be at peace with her own thoughts but every nerve in her brain only thought about JJ, the bright star that seemed to shine above the rest of the boys. But even her bright start had to burn out eventually, he was bound to implode. It was only a matter of time.

JJ Maybank an uncontrollable flame, no nobody could make the unruly boy do anything, he chose his own destiny and pushed those who got in his way. It's what gave everyone the perception that he was wild, a thief, violent—you could argue that he was a mild kleptomaniac and never held back his punches on some minor inconveniences, but most chose to overlook the good side of him. He sought out the joy in people who were upset, always had a solution in mind to help, even if it was a stupid one. Sierra wished he had seen himself the way she saw him, he was far more than what people painted him out to be.

The only issue was, JJ Maybank couldn't recognize love, it was foreign in his mind which is why he couldn't process how his action greatly affected Sierra. He had won her heart yet had torn it out the moment he walked away from her. An aching emptiness now filled her chest instead of the fuzzy, warm feeling she got whenever he'd touch her, kiss her, called her name, make a joke and specifically looked at her to make sure she laughed.

"Look," John B was the first to speak, breaking the eerie silence amongst the Pogue's, "he'll come around, all right? It's...he's doing a JJ thing."

"You think he'll go home." Kiara rasped out, her eyes glued down to stare at the table in front of her, Sierra tore her gaze away from the window and worryingly looked at her friends. She didn't even want think about him stepping foot near his dad.

"There's about a zero percent chance JJ goes home." Pope stared out the window, one arm resting above him on the old wood. Pulling away, he turned to the group and blew out a loud sigh. "Okay, it's too dangerous to pawn this thing off piecemeal, so our best bet is to go down there and get the rest of it. Bring it all up at once, put it in..in a safe or a vault or something. I..I don't know, just until we can find someone who won't rip us off."

"Keep it in my dads office thing, he has a safe where he kept his things for work." Sierra offered.

He nodded in response, "We can figure it out tonight. Get it done, and we can be out there tomorrow morning."

"All right, let's do it." John B agreed.

"What about that thing with my dad?" Sarah added, glancing at John B.

"Shit." He cursed silently, his hand running through his face and into his hair in frustration."I have to go fishing, with Ward."

"You can't get four-hundred mill 'cause you're gonna go kill fish?" Kiara questioned with a raised brow, glaring over at the boy.

"Look, I have to go."

"Blow it off!" Pope insisted, hands slamming onto the table in front of him. "It's four-hundred million in gold!"

"Why not make something up, stall until we've got the gold and then go." Sierra added on.

"Look, I-I have to, okay? He..he saved me, all right, and if it weren't for Ward I'd be in foster care, so...I have to go. Plus, it'll be better to do it at night, right?" He looked at the teens, Sarah gave him a encouraging smile.