"NO EFFING WAY."

Karolina cringed, pursing her lips in John B's direction. The Pogues had met up on the deck of the Chateau the next day to discuss the plan, joined by Sarah Cameron, who was, apparently, their newest member. "You brought her here?" exclaimed Kiara, "So what, she's in on this now?"

John B didn't answer, only glanced to where JJ, Pope, and Karolina shared one chair on the far end of the deck, afraid to be in the middle of it all. "I dunno..." shrugged Pope. "Look, all I care about is her cut comes out of your share," JJ clarified, gesturing to John B.

Karolina froze when their gazes swept to her. "Uh, Sarah, you seem great but... I'm going with whatever Kie says," she nodded at her curly-haired friend. She had few reasons to outwardly dislike Sarah, besides whatever she had done to Kiara last year and Rafe, but John B had promised Kiara nothing was happening between them and that she wouldn't be involved in anything else to do with the Royal Merchant hunt. So if she was now going to take part in the heist, John B would've been lying. Karolina knew friends don't lie, per what Millie Bobby Brown had taught her.

"You know, and I don't remember taking a vote," spat Kiara, hands poised on her hips, "This is our thing. A Pogue thing."

"I gotta say, I'm just a tad uncomfortable with all of this," Pope announced.

"Thank you!"

"When are you not uncomfortable?" countered John B, rolling his eyes. Karolina scoffed; though it was true, it was a low blow. "I don't know, I rode here on the back of JJ's bike pretty comfortably," Pope replied, matter-of-factly.

"It's true. Most relaxed I've ever seen him."

John B simmered, staring out at the water. "That's cute guys."

"You know, we were all extremely comfortable, until you brought her-"

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" shouted Sarah suddenly, making Karolina raise her eyebrows.

Kiara gave a sickeningly sweet smile. "Then leave." Sarah scoffed, shaking her head as she turned to look at John B. "I told you."

"Told him what, exactly?" Kie asked, "That you're a liar?"

"No, that you're a trash-talking bitc-"

Pope and JJ leaned in, whispering and passing money between them. "My money's on Kie..." JJ hissed, and Karolina scowled at them, shaking her head disappointingly. "You really think either one of us would bet against Kie?" she laughed quietly, leaning back from her perch on the arm of the chair. "She could smash Sarah into Kook-y crumbs any day, any time-"

"Everybody shut up!"John B hollered over the chaotic argument Sarah and Kie had gotten in to, coincidentally making the gambling between JJ, Pope, and Karolina fall into hush as well. He looked to Kiara. "Kie, you are my best friend, right?" She nodded, though it was reluctant.

"And Sarah, you're... You're my..." He was at a loss for words, staring at the blonde expectantly. A gentle smile slid onto Sarah's lips. "Say it."

"You're my girlfriend."

Kie scoffed loudly, rolling her eyes. "She's your girlfriend now?" An unbelieving smirk settled on her lips. "What was all that talk about you were just using her for information...? Get a map, cut her loose..."

Sarah's gentle smile fell. "You... You said you were using me?" She sounded so heartbroken that Karolina almost felt bad. "No," John B lied.

"Yeah, you did-"

"You said those things..."

"Look, love just walked in okay?" John B called out, cutting off his friends' responses. Karolina shook her head, glancing out at the water in the distance. "Oh, barf..."

"It just- it just happened," he explained hurriedly, his tone sharp until he addressed Sarah directly, "And I'm not gonna deny it."

Pope snickered quietly, "Oh... that's corny..." JJ fake retched.

"Look, cut the crap, John B," Kiara said, deadly calm. There were tear tracks on her cheeks. "If she's in, I'm out."

Karolina frowned. Kiara was either really confident in John B choosing her, or she was willing to risk one hundred million dollars in her pocket, all over something that Sarah did, something so horrible she wouldn't tell them what it was.

"I'm not doing this, I can't decide-"

"You are gonna decide." Kiara clenched her jaw. "I'm very interested, actually, me or her?"

"Both," shrugged John, without a moment's hesitation. Pope whistled; JJ whispered, "Went for the Hail Mary..."

Kiara stared for a second in silence, before she wiped her cheeks and stormed off of the porch, slamming the door behind her. Sarah stood a few moments later. "I'm gonna leave..." She grabbed her purse; Karolina saw the glint of tears on her face as well. "Gonna let y'all chat... Let me know." And like that, she was gone too.

John B let his head smack back onto the couch. JJ clambered from the recliner.

"I just gotta say, you handled that beautifully."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

"They're planning something, you know."

Karolina shrugged on the other side of her backpack, nodding at Kiara as they walked down the dock together. It was the day after the whole falling out with John B, and the boys had been strangely silent for the whole day, uncharacteristic for how much they liked to meddle. Karolina had been with Kie all day, but they had just gotten an SOS from Pope to meet him at the dock. "Oh, I know," Kie grumbled in response, seeing Pope in the distance, "I just hope it doesn't involve the Kook queen."

"Code red!" Pope shouted, before Karolina could respond. "What's going on?" Kie hollered at him, scowling heavily. She let Karolina climb down the ladder before her, as Pope explained where they were going.

"John B and JJ conked out in the marsh, they need a tow," he said, watching them from the Pogue. Karolina narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "And what does that have to do with us?"

"Mechanical."

Kiara nodded along, not convinced. "Mechanical," she repeated.

Soon enough, they finally came upon the Heyward's boat, not a single person in sight. "Can't you guys do anything without us?" muttered Kiara teasingly, as they neared the vessel. Together, the two girls jumped on board, making their way to the front of the boat where JJ and John B kneeled over a square in the floor, peering in at the mechanics. They glanced up when Kiara demanded, "What happened?"

"Uh, the alternator's, uh, not alternating anymore..." JJ informed them. Something was definitely up. "It's not charged," John B continued. Kiara placed her bag to the side. "Did you check the plugs?"

The boys shared a glance. "No, no, you guys should check 'em..."

"You guys are useless," Kiara groaned, yanking the wrench from John B's grasp. Normally, Karolina would've raised the suspicion as to why the two smartest boat-people she knew couldn't check the plugs themselves, or ask why exactly they needed her to help Kie with mechanical (she knew nothing about mechanics), but her mind had turned sluggish the second she laid eyes on JJ's damp hair and lack of shirt. Her heart was beating like crazy, her face was beet red, and she was sure her eyes were as wide as dinner plates. JJ sent her one of those looks, those darn looks, and she felt heat creep up her neck and butterflies tickle up her sides as he brushed past her. Karolina finally snapped from her trance, shaking her head to clear it of the thoughts which bombarded her brain and of those darn perfect abs. Why was she acting like this? She had seen him so many times like this- they practically lived in the water- so why was this time different? Why was she everything but on her knees and drooling at his feet?

She finally snapped from her trance when she heard two loud splashes and John B's obnoxious, "Sayonara!" Karolina met Kiara's gaze. "There are no plugs... no."

They darted out onto the deck, when loud knocking sounded under their feet. "John B, let me out!" A muffled voice called, and Karolina helped Kie move the door, revealing an angry Sarah Cameron below the deck. "Wait, what?" Sarah scowled.

Realization hit them then. Karolina stood hurriedly, running to the edge of the boat to see the HMS Pogue now a good fifty yards away, yet not far enough out of earshot to tune out JJ's laughter. "Are you serious?" Kiara after them angrily, clenching her fists at her sides. "Get back here!"

"We can't! Not til you two figure it out!" John B called in response. Karolina squinted into the sun. "What about me?!" she exclaimed, raising her arms in protest.

"Lina's the mediator. You gotta speed up the process!" Karolina scoffed at John B's pronouncement, annoyance twinging through her body.

"I will kill every single one of you!" promised Kiara.

"You can't just leave!" hollered Sarah.

"I don't belong here!" pleaded Karolina.

Pope stood up on his seat. "Theres food in the cabin and JJ rolled a blunt," he replied, giving them a thumbs up. Karolina clenched her teeth. "Great, the necessities. Food and weed. What about water, you idiots?!"

JJ spread his arms out, as if it was obvious. "You're surrounded by it, ladies!"

Dragging a hand down her face, Karolina took a step back from the side."It's brackish, you absolute..." Next to her, Sarah was stripping off her denim shorts, grumbling, "This is ridiculous..."

Kiara joined her, peeling off her button up. "I would rather drown than stay here with you, so..."

"Fine, be my guest. Maybe you'll finally shut up-"

"You don't even know where you're going!"

"I don't care," Sarah spat, before she dove off the side, calling out for the Pogue to wait as it started to speed away. Kiara stayed put, watching with Karolina as the blonde Kook swam surprisingly fast after the little boat. Karolina peered at the water, seeing a something small and almost clear surface next to Sarah. She gasped, calling out, "Wait, Sarah, there's a-" Sarah cried out, and Karolina sighed. "A jellyfish."

"I got stung by a jellyfish!" Sarah swam over to the ladder, breathing heavily in pain and cursing. Kiara rolled her eyes. "Dramatic..."

Sarah appeared at the top and swung herself over the ladder, nursing her right side, where a large bright red sting sat. She gave a loud wheeze. "Well, you swam right into a man-o-war, I don't know what you thought would happen..." Kiara deadpanned.

"Ow..." Sarah limped over to where she had dropped her shorts, settling on the floor beside them. Karolina grimaced. "Does it hurt?" Kiara asked, a sort of pleased smile on her lips. Karolina gave her a look.

"You know what they say about jellyfish stings?" Sarah asked, her eyes wide. Karolina bit her lips, fending off a laugh at Kiara's unwavering refusal to what Sarah was about to ask her to do.

"You have to pee on me." Sarah sounded like she was on the verge of tears at the notion. Kiara sighed, glancing to the cabin. "I have a better idea."

A few minutes later, the three girls sat in uncomfortable silence as the sun set and Kiara handed Sarah the single blunt JJ had left for them. The sun was beginning to set, and it was growing ever more clear that the boys wouldn't be back to pick them up until morning.

"Go easy," Kiara warned, "It's JJ's cousin's Cripple."

Sarah coughed loudly, holding the blunt out for Karolina to take. She shrugged, thinking, Why not?

Later on into the night, Sarah was off her rocker laughing. Kiara was fine and Karolina was inches away from falling into a deep sleep, and she would have, if not for the incessant giggling of John B's girlfriend.

"Hey, guess what?" Sarah asked, leaning onto Karolina's lap. The latter shared an exasperated look with Kie. "Would you rather-" Sarah stopped to brush hair from her face, then tried again. "Would you rather have-" She started laughing, sitting up just enough to point at Kiara. "I was just imagining you like this just now, it was pretty funny... Would you rather have nipples for eyes or eyes for nipples?"

"Eyes for nipples," Karolina answered after a second of thought, trying to amuse her, "You could just, like... Cover 'em up, like with an eyepatch or something. Then boom, you're normal." Sarah grinned goofily. "But imagine if you get really old and your boobs get saggy a-and your nipples, if they were your eyes, you could see if your shoes were untied."

Kiara stared at them, not finding the question funny in the slightest. "Is this like your first time smoking or something?"

Sarah sat up and looked away, embarrassed, her lips perking into a small pout. "No..."

Karolina found herself giving the Kook a sympathetic smile, but she quickly wiped it away when she realized she was starting to actually like Sarah. She was here for Kie, she was on Kie's side and always would be, just as she would be for her. Her friend's enemies were her enemies.

Sarah sighed. "Hey, Kiara..."

"Oh my God, enough of this 'hey Kiara' bull," demanded Kie, looking Sarah head on for the first time that night. "Why'd you do it?"

Karolina suddenly felt very out of place sitting between them. She didn't even know what they were talking about, much less how to mediate the situation. Sarah pretended to not know what Kiara was referring to, shaking her head with a shrug. "Why did I do what?"

"We were best friends. W-we stole beers from your dad's fridge, we watched movies together and cried about boys, and the next thing I know, I'm watching your birthday party happen from Instagram." Kiara curled her legs to her chest, a saddened frown settled on her lips.

"It was one party."

"You invited everybody except me," said Kie, incredulous, "And then you told everybody I was the reason that the party got busted-"

"Well who else would've called the cops?"

"You never asked." Kiara looked away, "You just let the rumor go, that I was a rat." Karolina watched them carefully, her mouth acting before her brain could catch up.

"Wait, that's what this is about? That's what you guys are risking five hundred million dollars for? A stupid party that happened freshman year?" Karolina scoffed. "C'mon guys. Five hundred mil."

"This is about my best friend ghosting me, and I don't even know why." Kiara stared at Sarah expectantly, awaiting an answer. "I mean, really, what did I do?"

"You liked me," Sarah said finally, with a heavy sigh. "When... people get close to me... I feel trapped. And then, I bail... And I blame them for it," she admitted. "I'm really sorry." Her voice was the sincerest Karolina had ever heard it. She stared at her hands, and the blanket balled between them. Kiara didn't answer.

"And I miss you."

The curly haired girl was perfectly still, except for the night wind that brushed her hair over her shoulder. "Do you think there's a chance that we could be okay again?" Sarah asked.

"Honestly..." Kiara finally said, "I don't know."

Sarah nodded and took a breath, like she wanted to say something else, but then just pressed her lips together in silence.

"Welp..." Karolina stood, stretching out her legs. "I think we should call it a night..." Sarah and Kie were silent before they eventually stood and numbly followed Karolina into the cabin, where they had laid out a makeshift bed on the floor. Sarah took one side and Kiara the other, leaving Karolina to sandwich between them again, much to her dismay. She was just getting to sleep when Kiara decided to speak up.

"Promise me that you won't bail on John B."

It was a horribly loaded promise for that late into the night. "He's not just... some other guy," Kie continued, staring up at the ceiling, "And he really, really likes you." Karolina could feel Sarah's smile in the dark, without having to see it. "I won't," she instantly replied.

"Promise me."

"I promise."

The silence returned, but this time is was more relaxed, more comfortable. Whatever tensions left between them were to be ironed out later.

"Also I'm sorry I called the cops."

Sarah sat up at Kiara's statement, but she was grinning, starting to laugh. "I knew it!" Kie giggled and Karolina joined in, glad they were able to finally laugh at the situation. "You should've invited me!"

"So you called the cops?!" Sarah laughed and Karolina rolled onto her back so she could see them both as they cackled into the night. A friendship was repaired, and Karolina hoped she could say one was formed too.