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𝙄𝙏 𝙒𝘼𝙎 𝙏𝙃𝙀 next night as the six of them sat at The Chateau, gathered around the fire for their We're All Alive and Well party. 

Upon escaping near death or captivity in Charleston, John B and Sarah had showed the group of them to the Cameron's boat that they had taken from Bahamas. That was how they ended up back on the mainland in the first place. 

Said boat was what gotten the six of them back to the Outer Banks. 

The boat ride had consisted of swapping of stories about their time apart. Arguably, John B and Sarah's were the most interesting, but the other four had some good contributions as well. 

When they had arrived back home, it was unanimously decided that they were going to party that night. Kie deducted that she was already late on her return, so what was one more day. Charlotte wasn't sure their parents would see it that way, but she wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to party with the Pogues. 

Most of their night was spent in the hot tub, and now as they dried off around the camp fire, majority of them were less than sober. 

Currently, JJ and Pope were wrestling on the ground as the other four watched on in amusement. 

"Why are boys so weird?" Charlotte wondered, taking a sip of her beer. 

Sarah cocked a brow as she grinned. "What? You mean you don't want to wrestle me next?"

A laugh bubbled from Charlotte's lips as she leaned forward slightly. "You couldn't take me." She whispered, a teasing taunt to her tone. Sarah let out a shocked gasp in return, shaking her head with narrowed eyes. 

"Now, I would pay to see that shit." John B interjected, finishing what was left of his beer. "Charley versus Sarah would be a sight to see."

Charlotte and Sarah shared a brief look before Charlotte snorted. "Keep on dreaming, buddy."

John B raised his hands in surrender as JJ and Pope's match came to an end, JJ being the self-proclaimed champion.

"I'm done!" Pope raised his hands, stalking away from the group. "I'm gonna go take my losses."

Sarah and Charlotte were in fits of uncontrollable laughter as Kiara stood up silently. For the better part of the night, she had been silent, watching Pope with a certain softness. 

As the youngest Carrera followed after Pope, the others caught on pretty quickly as to what was happening. 

"Really?" Sarah balked, an amused smile on her face.

JJ turned, yelling over his shoulder. "Way to be discreet!"

Charlotte, meanwhile, dropped her face into her hands. "Gross." She muttered, scrunching up her face as she sat back up. 

John B shook his head. "I leave, and this is what happens."

"Are you blamin' us?" JJ wondered, looking to Charlotte to back him up.

A shrug came from John B as he grinned, "Just a little bit."

"What the hell did you want us to do about it?" Charlotte wondered, raising her brows at him. "I am not getting in the middle of that shit."

JJ nodded as John B stood to get another beer. "Look, you guys are the ones that died." He argued, attention now on Sarah who was nodding in mock understanding. "Charls and I did what we could, but we were dealing with a lot, alright?"

"You guys had literally one job, JJ." Sarah accused, the smile still on her face. "One job. No Pogue-on-Pogue macking."

"I don't see you two doin' anything about it now." Charlotte argued, downing the rest of her beer. 

Sarah fixed her with an impressed look. "Touche, Char."

"Hold on," JJ interrupted. "I wanna circle back to this one job bullshit, Sarah."

As the two of them broke out into an argument about how JJ certainly had pulled off more than 'one job,'  Charlotte threw another log on the fire. "John B!" She called toward where he was standing by the cooler. "Grab me another one would you?"

He shot her a quick thumbs up, reaching into the cooler to retrieve a second beer. But there was something about the way he hovered, the way he held himself, that told her he was upset. He was positioned in front of the tree where they had carved a memorial for him. 

JJ noticed Charlotte's line of sight, his shoulders falling slightly at the sight of his best friend. "I'll be right back."

Sarah's smile dimmed slightly, the memories of what her and John B went through seeming to break through the wall of happiness she had put up over the past few hours. 

Gently, Charlotte reached out and took a hold of her hand, giving it a squeeze. "We got you guys now." She assured. "We're going to get it all figured out."

The younger girl nodded, leaning over to rest her head on Charlotte's shoulder. "I'm glad we're home."

"Me too."

The sound of a boat engine firing up caused all of them to break from the conversations they were in, turning their attention to the H.M.S. Pogue that was currently taking off. Through the darkness, they could faintly see their two absent friends.

"Yo!" John B announced. "Pope's poking on the Pogue!"

Sarah let out a catcall as Charlotte groaned, standing up to yell toward where her sister was. "Use protection!" 

John B let out a laugh as he jogged toward the house, "We need more ice!"

He disappeared for a moment, the remaining three of them still laughing over the Pope and Kie debacle. 

Charlotte had known Pope was crushing on her sister for a while, but she never would have expected Kie to open her eyes enough to realize. As much as she belly-groaned over it, Charlotte was happy for them. Pope was a good guy, and that's what Kie needed whether she wanted to admit it or not. 

When John B returned, he was carrying a bag of ice and a slightly confused look on his face, "Charley, your phone is like blowing up in there. Someone really wants to talk to you."

Her heart dropped to her stomach, automatically assuming it was her parents. They wouldn't have even bothered calling Kiara, knowing she would never answer. "Shit." She muttered, pushing herself up out of the chair. "I'll be right back."

The other three had broken back into playful banter as she hurried toward the house. Stepping inside, she could hear that her phone had just finished ringing in the kitchen where she had left it charging. 

Picking it up, her eyes scanned the home screen, noting ten missed calls and almost double as many texts from Rafe. It had been over a day since he had left her a message, the longest stretch he had gone since they last spoke before everything went down. 

Clicking on the newest voicemail, Charlotte listened with her heartbeat in her ears. 

"You have one new message."

Message received today at 10:03pm

Lottie, where are you? Please tell me you're at home. I need to talk to you right now. Just let me know where you are, okay?

She paused, an anxious feeling clawing at her chest. Why did he need to know where she was so badly? This wasn't like the others. This one was way more intense, more urgent. 

Scanning the texts, she saw that they contained basically the same plea to tell Rafe where she was. 

Something was wrong. 

RAFE

The property was brightly illuminated, but there was not a person in sight. But he knew they had been here. He knew that Kelce was telling the truth. 

The gun felt heavy in his hand as he scanned the area, hoping to see some sort of sign that would lead him to the Pogues. He could end this once and for all. 

"I don't see shit. How 'bout you?" Barry wondered, his eyes scanning the same pattern as Rafe's.

"No." He whispered, shaking his head. "They can't be far though."

Something must have tipped them off...he hoped it wasn't her. 

He had tried to make sure she wasn't here. Had called her a million times. But just like she had the past few weeks, Charlotte had ignored Rafe. 

"Right, here's what we're gonna do." Barry proposed, eyes still locked forward. "I'm gonna go inside. I'm gonna flush 'em out if they in there. I want you to flank left, meet me over there by the porch." As the final words left his mouth, he stood, ready to advance on the house. 

"Wait." Rafe interjected, reaching out to pull him back for a moment. 

Barry looked at him with a perturbed expression. "What? Were my instructions too hard for you to understand or somethin', Country Club?"

Rafe clenched his jaws, shaking his head with dark eyes. "If she's there...don't touch her. You hear me?"

The two had been working in understanding for most of the night, but now something shifted. "Nah, man. We ain't playing that game. If little Miss Country Club is in there she's getting the same damn treatment as everyone else. You hear me?"

Anger flashed through Rafe as he soon found his gun pressed to Barry's head. "You touch her and I'll fucking kill you man. I'm not kidding. Everyone else is fair game. Got it?"

He didn't seem too happy about it, but Barry nodded nonetheless. "Got it. Now stop your fucking whining and let's go."

CHARLOTTE

The back door opened, causing Charlotte to flinch as she shoved her phone into her pocket. 
"I'm coming!" She called, trying to shake the worry from her tone as she emerged from the kitchen. "It was just my parents wondering where I─"

The words fell dead in her throat, her eyes landing on the person who had come in after her. It wasn't John B, or JJ, or Sarah. She really wished it was. 

"What'd your parents want?"

Barry's voice was taunting as he stood in front of her, smirk on his face, gun in his hands. 

Taking a step back, Charlotte raised her hands in surrender. This was the something that was wrong. This is why Rafe had called her a million times...he was here. 

"Barry," She rasped out, throat tightening in fear. "You don't have to do this."

"Do what?" He wondered, cocking his head slightly. "You think I don't remember all the shit you and your little friends pulled?"

With everything in her, Charlotte prayed that the others had had some warning of what was to come and had found a safe place to hide. 

"They're not here." She lied, hands shaking slightly as she still held them above her head. "So whatever beef you have with them isn't gonna be resolved tonight."

Barry clucked his tongue, taking a step closer to her. "They ain't here, huh? Who you talking to then?"

She had to lie, and she had to lie quickly. 

"A friend from school. We were hanging out here. I thought I should check up on the place for John B since you know..."

A menacing smile came to his face. "You're a quick liar. Rafe teach you how to do that?"

She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Come on Barry. Just─we don't have to do this tonight, okay?"

He didn't answer her with words, but instead reached out and grabbed one of her arms, yanking her toward him. 

A small gasp fell from Charlotte's lips as her body collided with his, their faces inches apart.

"I'm done letting you call the shots." He bit out, his warm breath hitting her face. "You used to gettin' everything you want, but not anymore, princess."

Charlotte winced, trying to pull away as he fastened an arm around her neck, trapping her in a headlock-like positioned, the gun pressed to her temple. 

He yanked her forward, pulling her toward the door and out into the yard. Silently, Charlotte prayed repeatedly that the rest of them weren't out here currently being held at gunpoint by Rafe. 

Apparently, the god that she wasn't sure she believed in was listening, because as her and Barry emerged, there was no one to be seen aside from a pissed off looking Rafe. 

He turned toward them, and when his eyes landed on the terrified one's of Charlotte, his whole fave clouded in an anger that would scare anyone. 

"What the fuck are you doing?" He snapped, rushing toward them with so much intensity it caused both Barry and Charlotte to stumble backward. 

"I told you not to fucking touch her!" He yelled, running his free hand over his hair in a move fuelled by stress. 

Barry kept his grip on Charlotte, not backing down. "What? You wanted me to let her go so she could run to the cops?"

Rafe's eyes flickered toward Charlotte, and they softened ever-so-slightly. "You wouldn't do that, Lottie, would you?"

"What the hell are you doing here, Rafe?" She bit out, anger coursing through her. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"

These were the first words the two of them had exchanged in weeks, and Rafe seemed less than thrilled that Charlotte wasn't fawning over him with admiration. 

A switch seemed to flip in him as he licked at his lips. "Where the hell are they, Charlotte? I know they were just here."

She met Rafe with the same resistance that she met Barry with. "I don't know what you're talking about. No one else was here."

"They were obviously just here based off of the smoke!" He yelled, anger rising. 

Barry shifted, adjusting the grip he had on Charlotte. "Good observations, Boy Scout."

Rafe shook his head, "They're not far, you know?"

He was spiralling, and Charlotte was terrified as to how this was going to end. If somehow he found them, she feared he would kill them all.

"Smokey the Bear! Look at you, bro!" Barry taunted, his loud voice causing Charlotte to wince as it reverberated in her ear. 

Discreetly, Charlotte scanned the area, trying to figure out where her friends were so she could at least steer Rafe and Barry away. There were only so many places to hide. 

When both Barry and Rafe were focused in the other direction, Charlotte's eyes scanned upward. There, in the branches of the tree they had carved John B's memorial, were her friends. 

A new panic soared through her...they were so close. If they made one bad move, it was all over. 

JJ was watching her with a fierce intensity, John B wore a similar expression. They wanted to help her. 

With barely any movement, Charlotte shook her head, deterring them from even thinking about coming down from that damn tree. 

Rafe and Barry's attention had now turned to the lower half of the tree, neither of them realizing that they people they were looking for were just above their psychotic little heads. 

"P4L." Barry read, a mocking tone in his voice as he tightened his arm around Charlotte. "You and your little friends do that?"

"Go to hell, Barry." She spat, pulling her head further away from him. 

He let out a laugh, "Your sister and your little girlfriend are Pogues for Life. Now who woulda thought, hey, Rafe?"

Charlotte remained still, swallowing the lump in her throat as Rafe turned to look at her for a moment. "You do that?" He demanded, waving the gun in her direction. "You one of them now?"

She didn't say a word, knowing that no matter how she answered him he was already ready to fly of the handle. 

And that he did. 

A scream ripped through him, one loud enough that even Barry jumped. "Woah, chill out, man." 

Rafe ignored him, raising his gun and firing at the tree. Bark and bullets alike flew back toward them. Barry ducked down, inadvertently pulling Charlotte with him. It wasn't like he was trying to protect her, she knew that much. 

"Rafe!" She yelled, voice muffled by Barry's body. "Relax!"

"Chill out man!" Barry echoed. "You're gonna get our asses busted! We gotta get the hell up out of here."

The gunfire stopped, Rafe letting out another yell of pure anger as he lowered the gun. 

"Come on." Barry snapped, yanking Charlotte back up. "You coming with us."

Turning, Rafe locked his eyes on Barry. "Leave her."

"So she can run and tell her little friends that we're after them? I don't think so."

Charlotte's chest heaved with heavy breaths as she looked toward Rafe, sheer distaste present on her features. He regarded her for a moment, as if hoping she would look at him with something other than resentment. 

When she didn't, he gave a small nod. "Alright then. Let's go."

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