CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
UP IN FLAMES
(episode four: spy games | trigger warning: mentions of violence)

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HAVEN DID NOT FEEL like watching a movie with a bunch of other teenagers for three hours but Kie had other plans as she dragged an unenthusiastic Haven, Arden, Pope and JJ to her favourite outdoor cinema. Kie was a lover of drive-ins, and since there wasn't one on The Cut that the boys could also enjoy, this was the next best thing. It was on the edge of Figure Eight meaning there were more kooks than pogues, but it was something Kie believed they could all enjoy, a nice break from the intensity of John B's treasure hunt.

"I'm so glad they're still doing this," she exclaimed as she happily lead them over to an empty patch of grass in the centre of the crowd. "Keep calm, carry on, back to OBX life, you know?" Haven shook her head in a 'no, I do not know, can we please just leave?' gesture but Kie ignored her as she sat her chair down with a grin. "Aren't you guys glad that I made you come?"

"Oh yeah," Haven scoffed, tugging at the sleeve of her sweatshirt as she anxiously looked around.

"Ecstatic," Pope let out a sigh from where he stood beside her.

"My couch was pretty comfy, I'll be honest," JJ grumbled, brutal to the point of awkwardness.

"God, at least try and seem happy, you guys," Arden rolled her eyes at them. When Haven and Pope just shot her the same blank stare, she drew her lips into a mocking pout. "Aw, what has gotten the Hope ship in a bad mood? Tell Mama Arden, I've been told that I give great relationship advice."

"You know what has me in a bad mood? You," Pope deadpanned, to which Arden just laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Oh, Pope, I'm a delight to spend time with."

"Ah, that's debatable," Haven muttered but plastered on a too-wide smile when Arden turned to look at her cluelessly.

Once they'd set their chairs up in a row, Kie decided to head over to the make-shift bar selling sodas at the back of the cinema. Haven had requested a lemonade but she didn't feel like she could stomach anything, especially not when Arden had asked for a rum and coke and got a lecture and a half from Kie about drinking while she was pregnant.

"It was just a joke," she pouted to JJ as he patted her on the head sympathetically.

A few minutes went by before Kie returned with an armful of soda cans. She handed Haven her lemonade and Arden a coke without the rum before turning to look at Pope and JJ suspiciously.

"So I just saw Rafe," she commented, causing both the boys and Haven to freeze. "He said, and I quote 'tell your boy that we know what he did.' What does that mean?"

"Oh no," Arden groaned as she watched Pope begin to freak out. "I was only gone for a few hours, what did you idiots do?"

"Pfft, nothing," JJ chuckled before questioning Kie nervously, "Where is he?"

Kie looked behind them dubiously. "Right there."

In an instant, all four of them were looking over their shoulders. Haven quickly turned back as she spotted Kelce grinning at her from beside Topper, her hand reaching for Pope's while he and JJ glared daggers at the boy. JJ instinctively reached for his bag where Haven had seen him stash the gun, but he was quickly stopped by her narrowing her eyes in his direction. She might not have wanted him to deal with Kelce, but it was a whole other story if he was choosing to start something in front of so many people.

"Oh great," Pope cried in horror. "It's the whole death squad."

"Would you stop staring?" Haven huffed, turning his head back to the screen ahead of them.

"Okay, I'm just gonna warn you guys now," JJ declared, all the while ignoring Kie as she leaned forward to frown at the three of them. "If they corner me, I'm coming out swinging, okay?"

"I'll join you," Haven grumbled. "The Maybank-Murphy cousins going down together."

"And if that doesn't work, I've got this right here," he said and held up his bag like it was a shield.

"Yeah, yeah," Pope sighed. For once, he was relieved for one of JJ's stupid ideas. "We've just gotta stay in the group, right? They can't get us in the group. We're like a school of fish. Stay in the school. We can't leave the school."

"I hate to be a Negative Nancy here," Arden piped up. "But if we're talking about what I think you're talking about, the entire group is who they're after. The fucking school won't protect us."

"Wait, I'm sorry," Kie cut her off, jaw clenched in a combination of fury and hurt. Anger at the thought of JJ having the gun, again, and hurt that they were keeping something from her. "JJ, please tell me that you did not bring a gun here. There are kids-"

"Kie, I didn't bring the gun, alright?" he chuckled though there was an obvious edge of tension to his voice that she picked up on. "Everything's fine, okay?"

"Oh, wow. Thank you, that was really convincing. I love that, JJ." She turned to look at Haven and Arden then, sighing sadly when they quickly glanced away. "Founding principal, guys: no secrets amongst pogues. What is Rafe talking about?"

"It's nothing, Kie," Haven murmured though she was cut off by her glare. If looks were able to kill, Haven Murphy would be six feet under. "Okay, so maybe it's not nothing. But you don't have to worry, alright? We've got it."

"I don't believe you."

"Look, Kie," Pope said, leaning in to whisper the words in her ear. "It might go down tonight."

She just blinked at him in disbelief. "And what does that mean? 'It might go down tonight.' What did y'all do?"

Fortunately for them, they didn't have to explain as the movie began. Kie sat back with pursed lips, refusing to share Arden's popcorn with her despite the girl's sad pout. Eventually, Arden gravitated over to sit between JJ and Haven, muttering to herself about having mean friends as the blonde boy heaped a handful of popcorn into his mouth. Haven hated the distance between her and Kie. It wasn't like she didn't want to tell her, but it was no good bringing her into their drama when she didn't do anything in the first place.

There were no secrets amongst pogues, but sometimes they were necessary.

An hour or so into the movie when the sun was down and Kie had seemingly forgotten about her anger towards them, Pope released Haven's hair from where he'd been subconsciously braiding it to lean over and whisper to JJ.

"Hey, JJ?" she heard him hiss as she looked up from where her head was resting on his knee.

"What?" JJ hissed back as he tore his eyes away from the movie screen.

"I gotta take a piss."

"Well, hold it."

"I can't hold it. I drank too much soda."

"Me too, dude," Arden groaned. "Jellybean's sitting on my bladder. It's the worst."

"Look, it's too exposed," JJ sighed as Haven sat up, crossing her legs beneath her so that she was more comfortable. "They'll totally see us."

"I gotta go," Pope whined.

"Fine." They turned to look behind them, Pope's face falling when he spotted Rafe, Topper and Kelce sitting in a line outside the bathroom doors. None of them were looking in their direction, too focused on the movie, but the intent of their location was pretty clear.

"Well," Arden tutted and shook her head. "Looks like Rafe is smarter than I thought he was."

"They're blocking the bathrooms," he groaned, shifting around in his chair uncomfortably.

"And you really need to go?" JJ asked, to which he just nodded. "Alright, come with me. I know where."

Arden and Haven shuffled aside so the boys could leave without blocking the screen, but Kie was quick to notice their retreating figures and confusedly called them back. "Hey, where are you going?"

"We gotta wring it out."

She scrunched her nose up in disgust. "What, are you gonna hold it for each other?"

Arden snorted as the boys just shrugged and left. "What else did you expect from those boys, Kie?"

Several minutes passed in which neither Pope or JJ returned. Haven began to get antsy, enough for Kie to notice and reach out to grab her hand.

"Have, what's happening?" she pleaded to know.

"I have a bad feeling," she began but was cut off by Arden giggling nervously.

"Uh, guys. Not to alarm you but Rafe, Topper and Kelce are gone."

"Come on," Kie exclaimed. She grabbed both girls' arms and dragged them over to where the boys had gone, hearing the sounds of shouting the closer they got. They rounded the corner of the screen just in time to see Topper punching Pope in the jaw while Kelce held down JJ for Rafe to attack.

Haven didn't think twice before rushing over to JJ. Arden was just ahead of her, shoving hard into Rafe's side in an attempt to knock him away.

"Well, look who it is," Kelce crowed at the sight of her. With Rafe distracted by Arden, it was his turn to mess up JJ, the blonde boy thrashing in his arms as Kelce tightened his grip on his throat. "You come to save your cousin, Murphy?"

"Let him go, Kelce," she spat as her eyes met JJ's dazed and bruised ones.

"Make me," he taunted, fully expecting to back Haven into a corner again.

But she wasn't having it this time. With a screech worthy of Arden Kim, Haven clenched her fist and slammed it hard into Kelce's jaw. The boy cried out in shock and instinctively let go of JJ to cup his face, his eyes narrowing in on Haven. JJ struggled to catch his breath as he pushed himself back onto his feet, leaving his cousin vulnerable to Kelce's advances.

"I have to say, I'm impressed," he said, wiping away the drops of blood that clung to his lips. "But you're going to regret that, Haven."

Kelce was too much like Rafe Cameron for his own good. He didn't hesitate to backhand her across the face, laughing as she stumbled back and tripped over her feet. He practically towered over her in a show of dominance, giving her a sharp kick in the ribs for good measure before JJ tackled him away from her furiously. Haven's head spun as she slowly sat up. She'd smacked it on a rock on the way down, causing hexagonal shapes to zig-zag across her vision as she clutched at her ribs.

For a moment, Haven Murphy had felt like she was in control, but someone always had to ruin it.

Everyone was shouting at each other. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an unconscious Kelce at JJ's feet as the boy stormed over to Rafe squeezing Arden's throat. Behind them was Topper with his arms around Pope's head, Kie jumping onto his back in an attempt to get him to loosen his grip. They were on the losing side, but no one had noticed Haven slowly crawling over to the bag that JJ had brought the gun in. If she could find it... it was truly crazy to think that just a week ago, she was judging JJ massively for wanting to use it, and now she wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger.

"Come on," she whimpered as her head throbbed. "Just a little further, Haven. You've got this."

And she did. She grabbed the bag and dragged it towards her, fumbling around inside only to find JJ's lighter at the very bottom. Not what she was originally looking for, but she'd take it. Forcing herself to stand for just a second, she stumbled her way over to the screen, her trembling hands setting the lighter alight and dropping it in the grass below. In an instant, the whole white sheet went up in flames, just inches away from her face. The heat was unbearable yet tantalising, fogging up the reflection of her glasses as her head continued to spin.

"What the fuck?" Rafe shouted, as she hoped one of them would. "Murphy, you crazy bitch."

With blood sticking to the side of her face, she launched at him, feeling the crunch of his nose beneath her fist as she screamed her lungs out. Everything else seemed to freeze as she hit him once, twice, then a third time.

"Get out of here," she roared as he backed away with blood pouring down his chin. "Before I take that gun of JJ's you keep mocking and shoot you instead."

For once, Rafe Cameron seemed truly freaked out. He gestured for Topper to let Pope go, refusing to look away from Haven's teary eyes as the boy spluttered for air. She meant it, he could see it on her face. No matter how out of it she was, they had pushed and pushed her. She wouldn't hesitate anymore.

"Make sure you tell Kelce I said hi," she screamed at his back as he and Topper lugged the unconscious boy in between them. "And that if he ever touches me again, I'll cut off his hands so he can never use them again."

As they left her alone in the darkness, Haven finally allowed her eyes to close as the sky swallowed her whole.

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DARREN MURPHY WAS A sight for sore eyes. Haven couldn't believe it when she saw him sitting beside her, and yet there he was, as clear as day.

"Dad?" she breathed out with a smile, lurching forward to throw her arms around his neck.

"Hey, pumpkin," he chuckled into her hair as he held her tight. Haven was so happy, she could've cried. "You're looking a bit worse for wear."

At that, she pulled back, gingerly touching her head and then her ribs. Both actions hurt like hell, causing her to wince and double over like the breath had been knocked out of her. So it really happened. It wasn't some sort of awful dream. If it was even possible, Haven's face crumbled even more. If the fight with Rafe, Topper and Kelce had been real, then this definitely wasn't.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Darren's face fell as tears began to stream down his daughter's face. "Shh, don't cry, Have."

"I miss you so much, dad," she whimpered, slowly reaching out for him. But unlike the last touch, this one went right through him. She sobbed even harder, tears blurring her last look at her dad's face. It was a nice kind of pain to hear his voice again, so realistic like he was really there with her, but she was going to lose it far sooner than she wanted. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Haven, you are not to blame for this," he insisted, hands hovering just an inch away from her face. He smiled sadly, a shiver running across her skin at his ghostly touch. "I'm so proud of you, you know that? You're doing so good."

"I don't feel like I am," she cried, near shouting the words back at him. Maybe if she thought hard enough, he would stay. "Dad, I need you. This is too hard. I can't do this on my own."

"I believe in you, Haven," he murmured. His words were slowly beginning to fade as he leaned forward, lips meeting her forehead for just a second before the touch flickered and disappeared completely. "And I'm always going to be with you, alright? Always. No matter what."

She could feel time slipping away. She tried in vain to hold on for just a second more. "Dad, wait. Please don't go-"

"I have to." He stepped back as sounds began to slip through the cracks. She heard JJ shouting her name, Pope trying to calm him down, Kie and Arden crying hard. She was about to lose her dad again, and this time he was leaving on his own terms. "Haven, baby. You need to wake up. For me."

Against her will, she let him go.