CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
LINES IN THE SAND
(episode five: midsummers)

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HAVEN HAD ONLY JUST managed to find Arden when everything went to shit. The girl had a pretty red dress on showcasing her growing bump, earning a few stares from judging rich snobs who were sober enough to recognise teen pregnancy when they saw it. Arden was doing a good job at ignoring them, chatting away to someone Haven didn't see until she was right beside them.

"Hey, Ard," she grinned, though the expression wavered as she noticed Sarah standing opposite her. "And Sarah..."

"Hi, Haven," the blonde smiled nervously. "You look pretty."

Haven hesitated before nodding slowly. "Thanks... so do you..."

"So, Have," Arden cleared her throat to catch her attention. "Do you notice anything different about me?"

Haven stepped back, tapping her chin with a contemplative smirk as she looked her up and down. In reality, she had noticed immediately that her brown-haired friend now had blonde hair with two black strands framing her face, but she wasn't about to say so as she watched Arden squawk in outrage.

"Hm, have you put on some weight?" Now, that earned her a smack on the arm.

"Try again," she huffed.

"You put in contacts?"

"Seriously?"

"Oh, relax, would you?" she giggled. "Your hair looks lovely, Arden. I'd date you if—"

"If the Hope ship wasn't sailing." Haven blushed madly, which prompted a confused frown from Arden. Oh. Right. She didn't know yet.

"Anyways. I was just saving Sarah here from Topper," Arden commented to fill the sudden silence. It was clear she wished for them to talk, but Haven didn't see that happening any time soon. "He was being a douche."

"What else is new?"

Silence again. However, before it could overwhelm them, a sudden commotion caught their attention on the decking. One of the security guards was leading somebody outside by the scruff of his shirt, the person not going down without a fight as he snatched drinks out of people's hands and spoke with a raised voice.

"Is that who I think it is?" Haven sighed to Arden.

The newly-blonde girl winced and nodded. "Of course it is."

"Oh, Mr Dunleavy, I see you got your drink," JJ Maybank beamed at an elderly man holding a scotch glass by the steps. "Good, that's really nice of you, I'm actually gonna down that." He snatched the glass and threw the drink back like a shot.

"What the hell's the matter with him?" the man cried, prompting the security guard to frantically apologise. This allowed JJ to stumble down the stairs ahead of them, the man quickly grabbing him before he was able to disappear. JJ rolled his eyes, tugging on his arm and muttering, "I really appreciate the discretion, Darryl, you know?'

"We need to stop him," Haven hissed as she and Arden left Sarah to try and intervene. But alas, it was too late, for JJ had begun shouting at the top of his lungs. "It's okay, everybody. Do not panic. Let's leave it to the men and women in uniform, huh? Let's hear it for 'em." He began to clap dramatically, though he paused to point and wink at a familiar woman standing nearby. "Rose! You look like lady liberty. It's good to see you again."

Arden stopped in her tracks. "How does he know Rose Cameron?"

Haven rolled her eyes. "Now's not the time to be jealous of an old woman, Arden."

"Right, sorry."

Someone stopped the music, all eyes on the commotion JJ had caused. Kie took the silence as an opportunity to step forward, shouting from the decking, "Hey, let go of him. You can't just boot him."

The guard frowned, obviously caught off guard. "Excuse me, ma'am?"

"I invited him here. I'm a member of this club." Despite her parents' protests, she refused to stand down. Haven smiled proudly, having to fight the urge to cheer her on.

And it was at that moment that the chaos ensued. JJ noticed the guard's distracted state and shoved him hard in the chest, sending him flying into a dessert table as everyone screamed in fright. Haven and Arden exchanged a glance before readying themselves to get out of there. If one pogue went down, the others did too.

"Hey, mandatory power hour at the Rixon's, Kie," JJ exclaimed as he pointed at the girl in question. "Pope, you as well, alright?" He then searched the mess for Haven and Arden, quickly giving up as 'Darryl' began to stand. "Arden Kim and Haven Murphy! If you can hear me, report to Rixon's pronto."

"To Rixon's we go," Arden cheered, happy to just be getting away from Midsummers.

"Workers of the world unite! Throw off your chains!"

They took off running. JJ had already made it to where John B was waiting on the other side of the marquee, Kie not far ahead of Haven and Arden as they did as JJ said and 'threw off the chains' of the Midsummers shitshow. Arden went straight for JJ's arms, shrieking giddily as he spun her around and pressed a smacking kiss to her temple. Pope joined them after struggling to get away from his dad, and away the six went.

The pogues were officially back, baby.

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SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH JJ. He was eerily quiet as they sat around the fire John B had lit in the heart of Rixon's Cove. Haven wanted to know what was on his mind, he was so upbeat as they left Midsummers. But she was distracted by Pope sitting down beside her, the orange flames casting dancing shadows on his face.

"Hey, guys. So, like, my dad's already gonna kill me. What's this mandatory meeting about?"

All eyes were on John B for answers. He hesitated, JJ sighing into the silence, "Might as well say it, man, before we're gaffed."

"Gaffed?" Haven repeated incredulously, though she was ignored by everyone except Arden, who frowned and muttered the word with confusion.

John B took a moment to just look at them, a spark of hope in his eyes that Haven was sure he lost the day they discovered the Royal Merchant's empty carcass on the ocean floor. "You ready for this?"

"What's with the dramatics? Just tell us."

"The gold never went down with the Royal Merchant."

In all honesty, Haven had completely forgotten about the gold. She'd had too much on her mind, and it didn't help that John B was off doing his own thing instead of keeping them in the loop. She was getting kind of tired of the mythical treasure talk, and it was clear she wasn't the only one.

"Oh, my god," Pope sighed in frustration. "Here we go again with this."

"No, alright, wait—" JJ cut him off with a smile. Though compared to earlier, it was rather subdued. Haven frowned at him before her attention was brought back to John B. "Hear him out, alright?"

"It's been here the whole time. It's on the island."

"Are you serious?" Kie grinned, though she was only half-listening as she forced an excited Arden back into her chair. Now wasn't the time for Arden Kim's antics.

Unlike the girls, Pope still wasn't sure. "I'd like to voice my scepticism."

"I'm sure you would, Pope," John B chuckled as he stood before them. His stance reminded Haven of a school student forced to read in front of the class, the picture she'd created causing her to smirk as Arden giggled on her other side. She'd noticed it too. "But can I please present you with my evidence, sir?" And that definitely didn't help.

"Proceed."

"In my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny."

"Who the hell's that?" Kie scoffed.

"Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck." As he spoke, he rifled through his bag, eventually pulling out a crumpled piece of paper with a photo-copied letter on the front. He passed it to Kie first, Arden leaning over her shoulder so she could also see the unfamiliar language scrawled in cursive. "Okay, slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship. But my dad, he found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery." The letter was eventually passed down to Haven, the girl barely sparing it a glance before handing it over to Pope and JJ. She couldn't read it, so instead she listened as John B eagerly relayed what he'd learnt. "So Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom. After that, he bought his farm. Drumroll, please, because that farm is... Tannyhill Plantation."

Kie's smile faded. "Tannyhill?"

"I mean," Haven piped up despite the girl's unimpressed stare. "His name was Denmark Tanny. I don't know what you expected."

"After that," John B continued. "He used his money to free even more slaves, and then he sold a shit-ton of rice, which pissed off all the white planters, so they decided to lynch him." Well, that got dark really quick. "On the day they were coming to get him, he wrote a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of that letter, he left a coded message about where to find the gold."

"Where?"

"Harvest the wheat in parcel nine, near the water."

"Except, there's no wheat," he continued. "You see, wheat is code for gold." He took the letter from Pope, holding it above the fire and pointing to a wheat symbol imprinted on the very bottom. "The gold is in parcel nine, near the water."

"Damn," Haven breathed out as the others gasped in excitement. "This is actually genius of you, John B."

"Thanks, I know," he smirked. "Now, all we need is an original survey map of the property, and we've found the gold."

"Okay, so this might have a small chance of actually being true," Pope admitted reluctantly.

"Wow, Pope, was that a compliment?" Haven teased, her arm brushing his as JJ circled around them to hug John B. Pope rolled his eyes at her, though his face was a light shade of pink. "I can admit when I'm wrong, okay?"

Haven just hummed, turning back to JJ and John B patting each other on the back. "Right, as sweet as this is, we have other stuff to talk about. What's the plan?"

"Good question," John B said. "So, Sarah Cameron's coming tonight. She's going to bring an original survey map—"

"Whoa, wait," Kie quickly cut him off. "Sarah? W-Why Sarah?"

"This is gonna be good," JJ muttered as she and Haven shared an uneasy glance. John B was shuffling before them now, his face tinted pink and it wasn't from the fire. This was something else, and Haven didn't like it one bit. "So Sarah, um — she — she got me into the archives at Chapel Hill yesterday and that's how I got the letter."

"That's nice of her, but that doesn't explain why she needs to be involved now," Haven drawled as Kie hissed, "You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah Cameron?"

"He was mackin' on her," JJ smirked.

John B pinched the bridge of his nose, grumbling, "I wasn't macking."

"You were totally macking Sarah Cameron."

"I wasn't macking on her, okay? I was using her for access."

"You sound awfully defensive, John B," Haven frowned. Sarah and John B... She hated to say it, but she kind of saw it coming. Sarah was always fascinated with the boy in some way.

"Did you tell her about the treasure?" Kie asked when he just stayed quiet.

"I was just trying to get into the archives."

"Is that a yes?"

"I left out the key details," he implored, like that made it any better.

"You let a kook in on our secret," Kie cried in disbelief. "What about pogue lyfe? What about the t-shirt company, bro?"

Haven's brows furrowed in confusion, momentarily distracted from the Sarah Cameron sized issue at hand. "You guys have a t-shirt company?"

"Look, I was just using her for information," John B mumbled half-heartedly, though it sounded like it hurt him to say it.

Kie noticed it, too. "Why don't I believe you?"

"I'm trying to make us filthy rich here. So that we can pay off a boat, or send Pope to an autopsy school to study dead bodies, or take Haven to Brazil..." He trailed off with a sigh as she refused to look at him. "Look, you guys know me. Do I look like the type of person to fall for Sarah Cameron?"

Haven might've been newer to the pogues but she could already tell when each of them were lying. John B always got defensive, just like he was now. He mightn't have planned to fall for Sarah but it happened and now he was off in the deep end.

Across the fireplace, Arden had finally wriggled out of Kie's hold and stood up, circling John B with a mocking look of speculation on her face. Pope and Haven shared a simultaneous sigh as she grinned in triumph, blurting out, "Yes. Yes, you do. You scream Sarah Cameron's ide— "

Suddenly, JJ was bearing down on her with fire in his eyes, shouting, "Shut up. Shut up. Shut the fuck up." Haven was on her feet in an instant, the others not far behind her as Arden warily retreated into John B's chest. JJ had never been so pointedly harsh with her before. He had his petty moments, yes, but this was no petty moment.

"What is up with you?" Kie frowned. JJ ignored her, closing the gap between him and Arden to snatch up her purse. He pulled out a photograph; the newest sonogram of her baby. Haven froze, meeting Arden's terrified gaze as JJ stared at the picture with tears threatening to spill.

"What is up with me?" he repeated with an agonising laugh. "She's been lying to us! She's been lying to me."

Arden was visibly shaking as he held up the sonogram. Somehow, he had found out the truth. It wasn't her secret anymore. She waited for someone to step between them, anyone, and for a moment, she found her saving grace in Haven. "JJ, you need to calm down," she spoke up. She sounded a lot more calm and firm than she felt, but any confidence she had mustered fizzled away as JJ shot her a dark look of warning. Haven couldn't solve the problem this time.

"That kid," he murmured, hands rooting themselves into his hair like he wanted to rip it out. His voice rose into a shout, "That kid is mine!"

Haven sighed, dropping her head into her hands as silence ensued. The closer she got to JJ, the harder it was to keep Arden's secret. It was alright when they were strangers, but how could she let this boy sleep on her couch, put a roof over his head, and not tell him he'd created a life with the girl he loved? She hoped Arden would've told him but she never did. And now... now, it was blowing up in their faces, and Haven couldn't help thinking they deserved it.

"She told me that Rafe Cameron was the fucking father. She lied to me." As he advanced towards Arden in a fit of rage, Pope and John B intervened. The former wrapped an arm around Arden, receiving a scoff from JJ as he paused. "Are you actually being serious, dude?"

Pope nodded. "Yes. Yes, I am."

Before the blonde could retort, Arden was patting Pope's arm gratefully before stepping away. Everyone watched with bated breath as she reached up to unclip the golden locket she was wearing around her neck. She moved towards JJ then, refusing to be shot down by the harsh glare he wore just for her.

"For once in my life," she said as she forced the locket into his hands. Haven craned her neck for a better look inside, only just catching a glimpse of jellybean's first sonogram before JJ snapped it shut. "I decided to trust my mother."

He let out a shout of frustration. "Don't you even try to use—"

"Don't you dare interrupt me," Arden roared as Haven watched on feeling completely useless. "You want answers? Well, here they are. I did what I had to do to protect our daughter."

Haven and Kie gasped, sharing an excited look as Arden finally revealed the gender of the baby pogue. Their happiness was quick to fade as they remembered the mess they'd found themselves in, eyes falling on JJ as a stray tear slipped down his face.

"You think she needs to be protected from me?"

Arden snatched the locket and sonogram he was still holding back into her hands, shouting, "If you think that's what I meant, then clearly you don't know me as well as you thought."

And before anyone was able to stop her, she stormed away from the fire and disappeared into the forest.

"Arden, wait," Haven cried after her but it was no use. "Well, that went great."

JJ just scowled and sprinted after her. He wasn't going to let her leave so easily, not this time. And despite the others protesting, he didn't listen either. Both were long gone in the blink of an eye.

"Holy shit," Pope breathed out. "What on earth just happened?"

"Did you guys know?" John B asked the girls as they remained silent, conversing with each other through just one look. "You did, didn't you?"

Kie sighed in defeat. "I guessed, and Arden didn't correct me."

"Haven?" Pope spoke up with a frown. "You too?"

She averted her gaze to the ground, face flushed. "I found out when Arden did."

"And you didn't tell JJ?"

"Tell me what?"

The four of them spun around in fright. JJ had come back without them realising. He was standing at the edge of the clearing with red-rimmed eyes, and it wasn't hard to notice he was still buzzing with anger as he clenched and unclenched his fists.

"Guys, tell me what?" he repeated when no one spoke. Again, there was silence before Pope and John B subconsciously glanced at Haven. JJ's face crumbled as she sighed, slowly taking a step forward that prompted him to take three back. "You knew."

Unlike with John B, there was no doubt in his voice. He could see the regret as clear as day.

"I'm sorry."

He laughed, though the sound was hollow, empty. It chilled Haven to the core. "And to think I actually trusted you."

"JJ, you can trust me," she insisted, fighting off tears as he laughed again and began to walk away. "JJ, come on, it wasn't my place."

"Bullshit," he screamed, wheeling back around until their faces were inches apart.

"Arden's my friend," she said weakly as the first tear fell. She reached for his arm but he roughly shook her off.

"And I was supposed to be your family."

With that, he stormed away again. Haven watched him leave as the world seemed to fade out around her, her breathing erratic and unsteady, heart hammering hard. She was panicking, she couldn't lose JJ.

"Hey," John B murmured as he stepped up beside her, an arm looping around her shoulders. "It's okay, he'll come around."

For a second, Haven thought back to that night in the Chateau, how she held him together after he realised his father was gone. Somehow, they'd formed an unspoken agreement since then; when one was pushed over the edge, the other would always be there to help them back up. Haven appreciated it in that moment, clinging to his shirt as she struggled to steady her breathing. Kie and Pope joined them after a while, the four standing in silence as reality finally settled in.

So much had changed in the hour since Midsummers. The pogues were divided, with no resolve in sight.