After driving to the ferry, we all sat outside the truck. JJ sat on top of the hood, facing the back, Kie sat on the side of the back, Pope leaned against it standing up, and I sat between Kie and JJ on the corner of the bed and hood.

"My parents are so paranoid of me being a Pogue like it's the worst thing that could ever happen." Kie complained as she told us they were going to send her to boarding school.

"Hey, I hear they got good weed at boarding school, though." JJ tried to cheer Kie up as he was rolling a joint. "I'm not going to boarding school." Kie protested. "They're going to have to kidnap me, tie me up, and throw me in a van." She added.

"Well, I say," J took a hit of his joint and handed it to Kie, "...we just crumble some herb right now." Kie took it and JJ sat down next to me.

"Hey, (Y/N), have you tried to hit John B back on that number yet?" Pope asked me. "Like 20 million times, man." I replied as I took the joint from Kie.

"That's quite a few times," JJ laughed to himself. "Some random lady at a hotel keeps answering." I added as I took another puff and handed it to JJ. "Well, until we hear from them again, we gotta try and clear his name. And right now this letters our best bet." Pope said.

"Right, stay on task. That's why I love ya, Pope." JJ replied.

He held out the weed to Pope. "What Pope are you gonna be today?" Kie asked him. Pope rolled his eyes and said, "I'm good. I'm gonna try to focus."

"Good Pope. Boring Pope." Kie sighed as J took the joint back. That really pisses me off when Kie does that to Pope. It's his choice to not smoke weed and I don't blame him. If I never did I wouldn't be addicted.

Saying that, I did just take the joint back from JJ, sooo.

~~~

After we got off the ferry, we got back in the truck and we had just passed the Charleston state boarder.

"Guys, I've read this thing like a thousand times and it makes no sense. I mean the Limbreys own like half of Charleston. What do the Kook kings of Charleston know about a murder on Kildare Island?" I asked as I looked at the letter again.

"And why you specifically? That's the other creepy thing. You know?" JJ asked Pope. "Please come alone? That's hella sus." I added. One, JB was my brother, two, my dad was the one obsessed with the Royal Merchant. It just didn't make sense.

"I was thinking the same thing. I think it's because-" Pope got cut off by the truck steaming out of the hood and making noises.

"What's that? Pull over. That's a lot of smoke, even for your dads truck." Kie said. JJ started coughing. "Pope I got sensitive lungs, man." He said.

Pope pulled over but aggressively, making something fly off.

"Shit." I said as I sat back up from hitting the side. "No, no, no." Pope repeated, getting out. "It's gonna blow up. It's gonna blow up." Kie said as we followed him.

"It's not gonna blow up." JJ replied. "You probably unhooked the radiator, Pope." I told him. "I haven't seen this before. You knocked the entire hubcap off!" JJ exclaimed. That's what flew off.

He clapped, picking it up. "You might wanna reschedule your meeting tonight, Pope." I said. "Plan B? We could um... public transportation. We could hitchhike. We could rent bikes." Kie said, counting them on her fingers. Clearly the weed hasn't rubbed off on us 3.

"Yeah, it's the radiator." I told Pope as I looked in the car hood. I knew a lot about cars because the van always broke down on us.

"My dads gonna kill me." Pope said, standing behind me shocked. "Yeah, he might. He might." I replied, being honest.

We found the nearest auto shop and took the truck there. While Pope and Kie talked to the man in charge, I sat in the bed of the truck and J was walking around after he got fed up from talking with them.

Finally he walked up to the truck and leaned across from where I was sitting, standing outside the truck. "Dudes in heaven right now," he said, "'Gotta know the calibration point before you do anything with the intake valve, JJ.'" He continued.

I was listening but I wasn't paying attention, you know? JJ realized and hit my leg, saying, "Hey. You okay?"

"I'm sorry. But Kie's parents hate the idea of her being a Pogue so much that they're willing to send her to boarding school." I told JJ. I paused for a second. "Are we that bad?" I questioned.

I don't think JJ knew how to respond to that. "I mean, yeah, we are technically the wrong crowd. None of us have perfect families, we have both gotten in more trouble than everyone on the island added up, and two of us are literally running out of the country." JJ said after a second.

I mean he's not wrong but it still hurt a bit. "But," JJ added after I looked down at my feet, "We're a family. No one in the entire OBX is closer than our group."

I smiled a bit but didn't look up yet. That's also very true. "I mean look at them," J pointed to Kie and Pope, "they'd do anything for us. And we'd do anything for them. We're Pogues. Nothing can change that now." He took a drink of his flask.

I looked at Kie and Pope until they walked inside with the worker, then I looked back at JJ. Neither of us said anything but we didn't really need to. It was a silent understanding that we were okay now.

~~~

We slept in the bed of the truck that night. It was a little tight but we made it work somehow. Pope and Kie laid long-ways and JJ and I stayed closer to the front of the truck side-ways. I was closer to the front than JJ was.

JJ put his feet up on the side of the bed but I just laid there on my back, looking at the sky. I took one more drink of JJs flask before handing it to Kie, who drank some then put it down.

"Goodnight everyone." Pope said quietly. Kie laid down but before she did she kissed Pope on the cheek. I acted like I didn't see it. "Goodnight," she responded to him.

I looked at them from over JJs body but didn't say anything. JJ was looking too but then he pulled his hat down over his eyes. I stared back up at the sky for a while.

I couldn't go to sleep. Something was bugging me. JJ and I were sleeping again this close together but it wasn't like how it was before. His arm wasn't over or under me, I wasn't curled into him, in no way were we attached. It was just odd. It felt wrong like it shouldn't be that way.

I think J realized it too. He had his hat over his eyes still but he wasn't sleeping. Don't ask how I could tell.

Finally, I turned on my side, facing the front of the truck. It was getting cold outside just because it was so dark.

I shivered for a split second, not even enough to be noticeable unless you were already watching, but JJ didn't hesitate. His arm was slung over my hip and he pressed his chest into my back before I could say a word.

It was warm. He was warm. I mean that wasn't the only reason I didn't push him off me but still, I let him stay like that.

Now I could sleep fine.