Prologue

prologue , The Crew

a/n : the prologue is kind of boring tbh. Beware

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

The girl's eyes were shut and her head was tilted up to the sky, enjoying the sun against her skin. A small smile was spread across her lips and she listens to the sound of the cicadas practically singing in the trees.

Summer had always been her favorite season. Being able to have as much free time as she could to make awesome memories with her friends.

It was all Leah Peterkin could ask for.

"Your beers gonna get warm."

Leah opens her eyes and squints from the sun. She looks down at her beer and takes a sip. As soon as the room temperature alcohol hit her tongue, she grimaced.

"God, this is disgusting..."

The girl looks down at her beer can and swings her legs off the edge of the building. "I hate beer."

"And yet, you drink it, every time." The blonde boy sits next to the girl.

A smile forms on her lips, hearing the boy's voice. She turns her head with her long wavy black hair hanging over her shoulders. Leah meets the boy's eyes and she raises her brows. "I mean, you're not wrong..." she then takes a sip from the can and grimaces. "...still gross."

"Well, if you don't want it then..." JJ reaches for Leah's beer and her mouth opens.

"Now--hold on!" Leah softly laughs. She pulls the beer away from him and presses her pointer against his chest, stopping him from moving any closer to her. JJ raises a brow and tilts his head at the girl.

"As much as I hate beer, it still gets the job done."

JJ frowns, "Eh, I don't know. I mean, there are other things that can get the job done, you know?"

Leah raises her brows and sips her beer. She swallows and keeps her eyes on the boy. "Does that line usually get all the girls in bed with you?"

JJ moves his head from side to side. "I mean, yeah, usually."

Leah snorts and shakes her head.

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

Leah looks over at John B standing on top of the roof of the building that was under construction. "Should I do it?" John B looks at each of his friends, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, you should jump." Pope points the nail gun at John B. "I'll shoot you on the way down."

"I'm with Pope on this one," Leah calls out. "Jump. It would make a great story."

"If he survives," Pope adds.

Leah nods and points at Pope. "If he survives."

"They're gonna have Japanese toilets with towel warmers." Kiara walks out of the building with her face filled with detest.

"Sounds awesome." Leah voices.

Kiara shifted her gaze and looks at the girl sitting on the wooden platform next to JJ. "This used to be a turtle habitat, Lee."

Leah's smile drops and she shifts. JJ looks at the girl with a smug smirk, waiting for her to say something.

"Oh..." Leah scratches her neck. "Then, I take back my previous statement. This is a travesty."

Jj snorts, "Pfft—travesty isn't even a word...is it?"

Leah purses her lips, "Pope uses it all the time, so it's gotta be, right?" She then shifts her eyes to Kiara. "Besides, I kinda panicked with that answer, so ignore it."

"Can you please not kill yourself?" Kie looks at John B.

Leah looks back at John B, he now had one foot out in front of him.

"Don't spill that beer," JJ calls out. "I'm not giving you another one."

Not even a second later, John B drops it. Leah hangs her head low and laughs. "Should've seen that one coming."

"Of course you did." JJ huffs. "Like, right when I told you not to."

"Smooth..." Kie rolls her eyes.

"A plus." Pope claps his hands.

John B lets out groans of agony for his lost beer. Leah lifts her head up, "Hey, I have hope for you next time, man." she points at him.

John B looks at Leah and points at her. "Thanks, Lee."

Pope looks over the railing and raises his brows. "Hey, uh, security's here. Let's wrap it up."

Leah raises her brows and sputters. "Wow, already?"

"Boy's are early today." John B speaks.

"Okay, Humpty Dumpty, let's roll." JJ quips.

Leah laughs, "He's talking to you, dude." she points at John B.

John B presses his lips into a tight smile. He makes his way off the roof and ends up on the wooden platform with Leah and JJ. The boy lets out a huff, "I kind of got that, thanks." he holds a hand out to her.

Leah sends John B a cheeky smile. She grabs his hand and he pulls her onto her feet. John B walks away and Leah turns, only to meet JJ's blue eyes. Leah pulls her face back, "What?"

"You could've asked me to help you up, y'know?" JJ tilts his head.

Leah snorts softly. She would've laughed harder, but the girl didn't want to show JJ just how flustered she was. So, Leah tilts her head to the side and scrunches her nose. "Careful, J. People might think you're jealous." she lightly pats his chest and brushes past him. The girl climbs off the platform and her blue hightop Nike's come into contact with the patio. JJ throws a few taunts at the security guards, while everyone tells him to hurry.

"Let's go, boys." Kie then looks at the girl next to her and smiles. "And Lee."

Leah awkwardly presses her lips into a smile. Kie's smile lessens from the dismissiveness, but she inhales a breath; hoping this attempt would work.

Kiara loops her arm with Leah's. "Lee and Kie. Back in action." She light;y nudges Leah.

Leah lets out a small snort and Kiara smiles. Did she actually get Leah to laugh with her?

"Oh, God. That was such a lame thing for us to say." Leah shakes her head. "Kind of corny."

Kiara's smile drops and her chest tightens. But she forces out a chuckle. "Yeah, right. So lame..." she unhooks her arm from Leah's.

Almost like a blank in a gun goes off, all the friends jump through the house window and break into sprints. They all split off in different directions, but end up meeting back at the van. Leah dives into the back of the van with JJ, Pope, and Kie. The girl keeps her back on the floor of the van and laughs. "This never gets old."

"Check out Gary, gunnin' for a raise."

Leah lifts her head up and watches Gary the security guard run after the van. A smile forms on her lips, "You know, I'm kind of rooting for him this time."

Pope shakes his head, "Of course, you are." he gives her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"Wait, slow down!" JJ calls out.

Leah slightly opens her mouth, "JJ, no."

JJ leans out of the van. He begins to entice the guard to run faster.

"Stop guys, you're gonna give him a heart attack," Kie says.

"Come here, boy! You're so close!" JJ holds a beer can out to the guard that was still running. "You can do it. There you go."

Leah rolls her eyes, already over this. She leans forward and latches her hand around JJ's collar. She lightly tugs him to sit down and leans back out of the van. "I'm sorry, Gary! They really don't pay you enough for this!"

Gary slows his running and presses his hands against his knees. Leah sits down and looks at JJ with a stern expression. "Not cool, dude."

"Oh, come on. That sort of initiative is just begging to be punished." JJ says, laughing.

Leah shakes her head, "Hey, we could learn a lot from Gary!" she holds her pointer finger. "He's a hard worker."

"You mean, you could learn a lot from Gary," Kie says.

Leah pulls her brows together, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're a slacker." Pope voices.

Leah's mouth hangs open. She snaps her eyes over to Pope then she looks at everyone else in the vehicle. "Wh-What?!--What?! No!"

The van falls silent.

Leah purses her lips and slowly nods her head. "Yeah...Yeah, I am."

Pope gives Leah a pat on the shoulder and shakes Leah a bit which causes a smile to form on her lips. The van speeds down the road past The big luxurious houses and back to the smaller shacks The Pogues considered home.

...

"The downside of Pogue life is that 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 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 kid, actually. Foot in both worlds. Total cash cow with the tourists. You know, I'm not really sure how her parents feel about us."

"That's Pope, the brains of the operation... finalist for the Lucas T. Vanderhorst Merit Scholarship. Little bit of a weirdo. His father's this legendary character, Heyward. Anything you wanted on the island, Heyward could get 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 that's Leah. She's Peterkin's kid. Also known as the Sheriff. As much as we don't like the police Leah's cool. She's usually able to convince her mom to get us out of trouble. Leah's cool like that, always there for us when we need it. And Just like JJ, she's one of our wildcards. No matter how chaotic this girl is, she's also the heart of the group. Leah's the one who keeps us sane."

"Wherever Leah was, JJ was right there with her. What was that saying? They share a brain cell? Yeah, I think that's it."

So, that's my crew.

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authors note.

Imma post chapter one in about an hour lmao. I can't wait—I'M SO EXCITED!!!

words : 1800