001.

𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬, and our mission this summer is to have a good time, all the time.

"That's what, a three-story fall to the deck? I give you about a one-in-three chance of survival." Pope said.

"Hmm?" John B said while licking his pointer finger and holding it in the air. "Should I do it?"

"Yeah, you should jump. I'll shoot you on the way down." Pope said while pointing the drill at John B, pretending he was shooting him.

"You're gonna shoot me. Pew!" John B said while pointing finger guns at Pope.

"Idiots." Emerson muttered under her breath as she sat next to JJ on the scaffolding. He hands her a beer and wraps his arm around her shoulder. "I swear one day they'll find the weirdest way to die."

"They're gonna have Japanese toilets with towel warmers." Kiara complains as she comes outside after adventuring the unfinished house. "Of course. Why wouldn't they?" JJ asks.

"This used to be turtle habitat but who cares about the turtles, I guess." Kie responded, which made Emerson frown. Emerson wasn't as passionate about the environment as Kiara was, but she still cared about animals. "I can't have cold towels." JJ said from next to Emerson, which made her roll her eyes.

"Can you please not kill yourself?" Kiara said to John B, who was cuurently trying to balance on one foot. "No point in asking Kie, he's an idiot." Emerson giggled which made John B glare at her.

"Thanks Em, really appreciate that." John B sarcastically says. Emerson just looked at him and gave him the 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 smile. "Don't spill that beer, I'm not giving you another one." JJ said to John B.

Right as JJ said that, John B lost his balance and dropped his beer. 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳. Everyone made fun of him for doing that until they heard a "hey!" in the distance.

"Hey, uh, security's here. Let's wrap it up." Pope said, as everyone started heading towards the door to escape.

"Let's go boys, and girl." Kie said, smiling at Emerson who was smiling back. "Gary, is that you?"

As they head inside the house, they all race down the stairs. Emerson, Kie, and John B took a shortcut way to get to the van, while Pope and JJ took a different way.

"Come here you little pricks!" Gary yelled from the fence, as both girls and John B were driving by.

"Bus is leaving!" John B says as he honks the horn. "Come on, boys!" Emerson and Kie laughed.

"Check out Gary gunning for a raise!" Pope said from the back seat. "Wait. Slow down. Slow down. Slow down. Slow down." JJ said to John B, as he continued to taunt Gary.

"Guys, you're gonna give him a heart attack." Kie said. Emerson couldn't help but worry for Gary's health. Yes this whole thing was fun and an adrenaline rush, but that didn't stop Emerson from worrying. Ever since her parent's disappearance, she's been more worried about people's health than usual.

"JJ cut it out!" Emerson smacked JJ on the back of the head from the passenger seat. "Oh come on Em, that sort of initiative is just begging to be punished." JJ laughs.

"He'll be fine, don't worry." John B said and gave her a small smile. She nodded and smiled back.

···

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴, 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘴, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥.

𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘍𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘌𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴. 𝘚𝘰, 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘵. 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦... 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘶𝘴. 𝘗𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴, 𝘗𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩. 𝘓𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦? 𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵.

···

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘑𝘑. 𝘔𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘓𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘮𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢-𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘵-𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘹 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘒𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘢, 𝘰𝘳 𝘒𝘪𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘴. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘚𝘰, 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘴. 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘗𝘰𝘱𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴 𝘛. 𝘝𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘰. 𝘈𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘏𝘦𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘏𝘦𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘗𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘺, 𝘌𝘮, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩. 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱, 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘧𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 5 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘴𝘺. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.

𝘚𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘸.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘦, 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘈𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘶, 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘥. 𝘏𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘮'𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘸𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬. 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴? 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦. 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘰. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘰? 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘩, 𝘌𝘮'𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘥, 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭, 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘜𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘛. 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘥'𝘴 𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯. 𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴.

𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯'𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘞𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱.

···

"Good morning Bubs." Emerson said as she walks up to John B who is currently laying down in the hammock. "Good morning Bubba."

"What are you up to?" she asks as she lays down in the hammock next to him. He wraps his arm around her shoulder.

"I have a stupid DCS meeting with the Bride of Frankenstein." he says as Emerson laughs at the nickname. Ever since DCS has been trying to take away John B, she couldn't help but have a strong hatred towards Cheryl, with her pencil thin eyebrows.

"Have fun, I'll be here like always." Emerson smiles at John B, as they swing around in the hammock.

···

"Stay safe during the storm Mr. Carrera!" Emerson shouts after her long shift at The Wreck. "You too sweetie, I'll see you after the storm." Mr. Carrera says, while hugging the girl goodbye. Ever since Kiara and Emerson became friends, the Carrera parents have always loved her for her maturity and her personality. After they heard about her parents' disappearence, they started treating her as if she were their own daughter.

As she skated home on her old skateboard, she realized no one was home. Not even JJ. Which was really unusual, especially since there's a hurricane outside. Ever since Emerson was young, she's had this slight fear of thunder. She loved the rain and all, but when it thundered she was always terrified. Normally John B would come comfort her, but he was no where to be found in the Chateau. So she did what she always used to do as a kid. Make a fort in the bathtub.

She layed the blankets and pillows down as she stepped into the bathtub. She snuggled herself with all the blankets and pillows she had, and tried to drown out the sound of thunder. Unfortunately, she could still hear it.

"Hello? Anyone home?" a voice came from the front door. You could tell who's voice that was from miles away. JJ.

"I'm here!" Emerson yelled from the bathtub. A couple seconds later, the blonde boy opened the bathroom door to find a very scared Emerson. He knew she had this fear of thunder, but normally John B would take care of it.

"You okay?" he asked as he walked up to the bathtub. He didn't really know what to do, so he just sat on the toilet lid.

"Yeah. Do you know where John B is?" she asked. "Nope."

All of a sudden, they hear someone walk through the front door.

"What's happening here?" John B asks as he walks in to see Emerson inside the bathtub with a bunch of pillows and blankets, and JJ sitting on the toilet lid.

"Where were you? And why are you wearing swimming trunks?" Emerson asked, a bit annoyed that he wasn't home to comfort her.

"I, uh, helped Pope and Heyward with a few things. I knew if I wore pants then it would get soaked, so I, uh, just decided to wear swimming trunks." John B made up a quick lie. In reality, he was surfing the surge.

"Whatever." Emerson rolled her eyes as she picked up all the blankets and pillows, and walked out of the bathroom. She put all the pillows and blankets where she found them, and walked out to the kitchen to see John B and JJ talking.

"How was the meeting with the Bride of Frankenstein?" Emerson asked as she walked in. "She said that they would come out here tomorrow and if Uncle T wasn't here, they would continue with foster care. Thankfully, the storm decided to give us some more time." John B wiggled his eyebrows as he said the last sentence.

"Good, I can't lose you just yet to that woman with weird pencil eyebrows." Emerson stated as she grabbed a bottle of water.

"Well I'm going to bed, good night!" John B said as he walked into his room and closed the door behind him.

"When will y'all get together?" JJ asks out of the blue from the pull-out couch. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, you guys are just too stubborn and scared to admit your feelings for one another. Hearing y'all flirt is getting annoying now, knowing you guys just won't admit your feelings."

"Says you, you're just as bad as admitting your feelings to anyone. You're so closed off most of the time." Emerson snaps at him. She knows the real reason why he's bad at it though, and it's because of none other than Luke Maybank. For some reason, Luke Maybank seems to really like Emerson. I mean most of the people on the island do, but the last person you would expect would be Luke Maybank.

"Shut up, I'm going to bed." JJ groans as he lays face down on the pull-out couch. "Alrighty, good night Maybank." Emerson says as she walks into John B's room.

"Good night Bird." she says softly as she hops into his bed. "Goodnight Bubba."

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authors note: (word count: 1991)

i hope you enjoyed the first chapter! sorry if there's any mistakes.