EDEN held on to JJ tightly as he sped down the roads of the island towards the Kildare County Detention Center.

Everyone but Pope had stayed the night at the Chateau.  That morning, Kiara departed while Sarah stayed with Eden's phone in hand, still conversing with Wheezie. Eden had scheduled herself a reservation to visit John B. the night before, to which JJ had begged to come too—Eden herself wanted to make sure her best friend was holding up while the Maybank had a secret plan in mind. 

Which is how she found herself on the back of JJ's motorbike, hands wound tightly around the boys waist as he skid to a stop in front of the detention center, thankful they hadn't crashed on the way—if JJ was reckless in the Twinkie, he certainly passed the speed limit on the bike.

The wheels of the bike slightly screeched as they skid against the pavement, and Eden unhooked her arms, throwing her leg over the bike to get off. JJ kicked the kickstand down and swung his leg over, pausing a moment to take a tooth pick out of his back pocket—to which the Bexley gave an eye roll.

JJ was trying his best to act intimidating, adding swagger—as he had so called it when Eden asked—to his appearance with a pair of sunglasses, tooth pick, which he let dangle from his lips casually, and  bulky headphones instead of Eden's Airpods. 

To Eden, he looked like he was trying to get into trouble. However, she didn't bother say anything to him as he pulled the headphones over his ears and began to blast punk music—which she could make out rather clearly, for the point of headphones being to keep your music to yourself.

The two teens began to walk towards the detention center, only to get stopped as two officers passed by. Instead of ignoring them they same way they were ignoring him, JJ jumped into a salute, only to turn his salute into a middle finger as they turned their backs to him.

Eden pushes his arm down with a tired expression, "I'd actually like to see John B. today, believe it or not."

JJ listens and keeps his hand down as they enter the detention center.

Eden comes forward towards the man with the nicest expression she can muster, despite her utter hatred for cops at the moment and states, "Hi, we're here to see—"

"We're here to see John B. Routledge." JJ cuts her off rather obnoxiously, voice louder than it needs to be. 

The officer behind the desk looks less than amused with the Maybank's act as he dryly instructs, "No music, and get rid of the toothpick."

"I can't hear what you're saying, man, alright?" The Maybank continued to mess around, an innocent smile playing on his lips as he watched the officer's reaction. From beside the boy, Eden sighed and awaited JJ to finish whatever act he was trying to play. "These things are on full blast—that's what I said. I'm here to see John B. Routledge."

With his hands, the officer motioned for JJ to take off his headphones and ditch the toothpick—simply instructing to cut the crap. The man then glanced over at Eden, firmly asking, "Are you with him, Miss Bexley?"

Eden hummed dryly, "Mhm."

"Wait. Music?" JJ confirmed, pointing to his headphones. The officer gave a fake smile and nodded, motioning yet again for him to take them off. The Maybank does as he's asked with an 'oh!' of understanding. "I mean, I thought it was a free country and all but, I guess you—" his finger circled at the facility, "—don't like freedom very much, now do you, cupcake?"

At unimpressed expression crossed Eden's face as she reprimands, "JJ."

The officer had already crossed behind his desk, grabbing him by the shoulders and pushing him against the wall when the door clicked open to reveal Plumb.

The woman chuckled humorlessly as she approached. "Ah. Not worth it."

Eden sent a displeased expression towards the female deputy. After John B.'s arrest, she was one of the last people the Bexley wanted to see, let alone have to speak with—she hadn't done anything to stop Thomas, she hadn't let JJ help her, she'd stopped her from trying to stop Thomas from hurting her friend.

"Good to see you, Plumb." JJ greeted the deputy as the officer let go of his shoulders. He pulled the toothpick out of his mouth and smiled at her, "Just nice to have something in your mouth, y'know?"

"Yeah." Plumb sarcastically mutters before beginning to firmly instruct, "Take off your hat and empty your pockets." Her eyes look the Bexley up and down next, "You too, Miss Bexley."

JJ pulls off his hat, "Yes ma'am."

The two teens do as asked and empty their pockets before following after Plumb down a hallway full of cells.

Given her reputation and her usual good behavior, Eden had never actually been in a jail—one perk about being a Bexley that she enjoyed. Getting in trouble didn't come easy to her.  So, walking through the hall, looking at the different inmates in bright orange jumpsuits, she almost felt bad. It was dark and grimy, and she could tell no one within those bars was treated with an ounce of respect.

She hopes John B. is doing okay.

Plumb leads them around a corner, where JJ and Eden are greeted by another inmate pounding his fist against his cell door. The Bexley slightly flinches at the sound and looks at the man, whose eyes are locked on her exposed figure instead of her face.

"Hey, sweetheart! Why don't you come in here?" 

The man's exclamation causes Eden to unlock her gaze from him and turn back to face Plumb—sure, his comment didn't make her feel great, but she didn't need to make a scene. It was fine. However, she could see the way that JJ's jaw clenched together at the comment thrown at his best friend, and made sure he kept walking with a small mutter of, "It's fine."

Plumb stopped in front of  the visitation room, which looked like a glum cafeteria with the round tables filling up the dimly lit room. Looking through the window, Eden can see a head of messy brown hair and knows it's John B.

"Five minutes." Plumb states, opening the door.

Eden doesn't hesitate before entering the room, JJ following behind her.

John B. was sitting quietly at a table as they entered. He was looking down blankly at the table, handcuffed hands clasped together. The silence within the room is unnatural—never were the trio so quiet, either you heard JJ ranting about some stupid subject, John B. bluntly stating his or Eden reprimanding the two boys with a grin. Certainly not silence.

Eden sits down in the seat surrounding the round table, goosebumps running up her skin as her bare thighs make contact with the cold metal. She looks at the Routledge boy who finally looks up at her and a frown immediately meets her lips.

His eyes were sunken in and he looked tired—tired of everything. His face seemed paler than normal and he had yet another bruised ring around his eye, Thomas having given him a black eye. It looked like this detention center was sucking the life out of him, and Eden doesn't blame him.

"What happened to your bracelets?" Eden's eyes trail over the boys' arms, noticing the only thing his wrists wore were the metal handcuffs—not all the colorful bracelets she'd made over the years, as she and JJ wore. 

John B. muttered, "They took them."

Eden frowned. As if anything about this place made him happy, they took his bracelets too—the one thing that could remind him of his friends and Eden. "Why?"

"They could hurt other people, I guess." John B. shrugs, looking down at his bare wrists. He'd had bracelets covering them for so long that it felt off to not to have any in contact with his wrist at all. "It feels weird without them so I'm kinda pissed."

Eden knows nothing about this situation is funny. John B. sitting in handcuffs isn't funny. Her best friend getting the death sentence for a crime he didn't commit wasn't funny in the slightest but.....the Bexley can't stop the way her lips upturn as she meets her friend's gaze yet again.

Maybe it was the absolute ridiculousness of the situation, or the fact that no matter how many times they joked about going to jail, Eden had never actually expected to have to schedule a visit with her best friend in jail. Something about the dire seriousness of the situation was simply funny.

At Eden's lips upturning, John B. starts to laugh, causing JJ to let out snicker—this was the trio. Laughing in the worst of situations, never a moment of silence shared between them.

"I thought it was gonna be me." JJ admits with a chuckle. Out of everyone, it was mostly joked that JJ Maybank would be the first to find himself in an orange jumpsuit, so the fact that he was the one visiting was almost funny. 

John B. hums, "I did too."

"It was you."

The Routledge lightly muttered, "Welcome to my humble abode."

"Yeah, when you said you had a new apartment, I had no idea." JJ sarcastically continued, looking around the dimly lit room. There was no personality whatsoever—very different from the Chateau, which had a warmly lit frontier and Christmas lights hanging over the trees. Crumbs over the couch, clothes thrown all over the place, beer bottles and cans in the most unusual of places; you could tell it was lived in and loved. 

Eden's eyes trail over the room for a moment before she shrugs, "It's more livable that the Chateau."

The Routledge trails off, "Yeah, it's uh...."

"It's cozy!" the Maybank quips.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"A little aluminum theme."

Eden smiles, "Could add a hint more of despair and depression to really finalize the theme you have going on in here."

"Yeah, I like to go for the cold, dark..." John B. nods.

JJ continues, "Alone kinda theme."

"...depressing."

"Yeah, yeah."

"John Booker Routledge is Batman confirmed." Eden comments before her eyes glanced over at the door. Plumb had her back turned to the teens, eyes trained on the white wall ahead, so the Bexley took her chance to give her friend what she'd brought.  Sticking her hand in her shirt, Eden pulls a Tootsie Roll Sucker from her bra and hands it to the Routledge boy without hesitation. "I brought this for you. If I'd known they took your bracelets, I would have made you another one, too."

John B. doesn't seem to care where the sucker came from, the boy allowing a smile to grow on his lips as she drops it in his hands—he'd figure out how to hide it before they took him out. "Thanks, seriously."

JJ sends the Bexley a look before looking at the Routledge, "Are you seriously gonna eat that, bro?"

"Does it look like the food here is Michelin star?"

"No, but she had it in her bra."

"I could care less."

"I'm just saying—"

Eden rolls her eyes. "Stop talking about me like I'm not here."

"Right, sorry—" The blonde boy spared a glance at the Bexley before staring firmly at the brunette in front of him, "Anyways, look. I would love to sit and chit-chat but I'm on the clock. And I'm here for one reason only, okay?"

Eden raises her brow, "To visit your imprisoned best friend?"

"Operation liberation, baby."

"Oh boy." John B. tiredly sighs, the boy locking eyes with Eden, "Here we go—you let him come see me knowing he'd do this?"

"You think I'd have let him come with me if I knew he was going to try and bust your ass out of jail middle school boy trying to skip class style?" Eden retorts before sending a look to the Maybank. She wanted to get the Routledge boy out, but by the way JJ said 'operation liberation', she was rather unsure it was cooked in the slightest. "Already putting a veto on that. Sorry."

"Here me out, though. Here me out." JJ reasons, slightly offended that his two friends were already weary of his plan—he felt rather good about what his brain had wracked up the night before. "Step one, piss off the cops so badly they don't see what's coming." He pauses a moment to salute to a passing guard, "Check. Step two, at exactly Eleven p.m this evening, you're going to have an attack of acute appendicitis."

John B. narrowed his eyes, "Do you even know what appendicitis is?"

"Yeah." 

The Routledge boy widened his eyes and the Maybank proceeded. He jabs a finger at Eden, "For starters, we're friends with this nerd."

"I'm not a nerd, but continue." Eden yet again rolls her eyes.

"Remember eighth grade? Algebra final?" 

Eden and John B. lock eyes yet again, sharing a look of 'are you kidding me?'

"Jesus Christ." the Routledge mutters.

Eden sighs, "JJ, this is jail. Not a math test you want to get out of."

"Worked like a charm, okay?" The Maybank states. Eden remembers when JJ called her with questions all related to appendicitis, only to watch him fake it in front of the class during the final the next day. It did get them out of class, but that was school. "Now to sell it, you gotta actually look sick, though, okay? You got some of the ghost face sunblock in here?"

"JJ, I'm in jail." John B. deadpans, "I have a......a block of soap. That's it."

JJ thought for a moment, "Is it white?"

The Routledge hesitates, "....Yes."

"Perfect. That'll work." the Maybank nods, before diving into a explanation on what the brunette boy would have to do. "Take some of that. Rub it into your face well, okay? You don't want that shit rubbing off when they check your vitals. After that, run your hands under cold water for five minutes. After that, you're ready. Showtime, baby. Stumble out and collapse, okay?"

Eden's lips are drawn in a straight line as she watches John B. nods along—he wasn't seriously buying into this bullshit, was he? Eden's sure he wants to get out as much as the next inmate, but there were more thought out plans they could figure out than JJ's idea to fake sick as if this were trying to convince your parent to let you stay home from school.

"Once you're down on the ground squealing, they're gonna rush you to the infirmary. There, you just gotta convince the nurse that suckers' about to burst, okay? So she's gonna take her hand.....she's gonna take her hand and she's gonna put it—" He falters and looks over at Eden, "Where is your appendix, again?"

Eden lets out a sigh—this plan was going to fail. However, she takes her hand and grabs his wrist, setting his palm over where his appendix would be. 

"She's gonna put it right here, okay? Right there." JJ continues with instructions, "When she does that, she pushes down, don't do anything. Just lay there. It's when she takes her hand off that you let it rip, man. Scream like your life depends on it, like a lobster hitting the pot, like you're passing a kidney stone the size of a bowling bowl."

"Okay, I get it. I get it." John B. grits. It's quiet for a few moments, the Routledge boy looking to the side before muttering, "Then what?"

Eden looks at the Routledge like he has two heads, "Don't tell me you're actually considering this, John."

John B. shrugs and looks back to JJ.

The blonde boy smirks at winning over his friend and continues to explain, "They're gonna eject you to the hospital. Remember Cousin Ricky?"

John B.'s brows furrow, "Cousin Ricky, the weed dealer?"

"He's actually an EMT, believe it or not." Eden states. Ricky was most notably known amongst the Pogues as someone who supplied them with weed, but the Bexley knew that he truly worked at the hospital—he'd actually taught a first aid class she'd done. It was ironic that his side gig happened to be selling cannabis to minors.

At some point, Eden had his number saved in her phone, on the ready to buy weed or to ask about an injury.

John B. looked at the Bexley incredulously, "He sold us our first dime bag."

"So?" JJ replied, shrugging. "You can do both. Gig economy, bro."

"Jesus."

"Okay, but step three is extraction."

The Routledge boy, with full certainty, states, "This is the dumbest freaking idea you've ever had."

"Yeah, you're probably right." JJ admits before retorting, "But, you know what's even more dumb? You thinking you have any other way out of this."

John B. deadpans yet again, "I'm sure Eden could have came up with eight better plans in the time it took you to figure out this one."

"Or Pope." Eden looks at the blonde boy. She appreciated the fact that he was so willing to get his best friend out of jail, but if his plan failed, it'd do more harm than good and would probably cause an even harder time to be put on the Routledge than there already was. "Why didn't we ask Pope?"

"Because we've only listened to Pope this entire time—"

"The camera was Kiara's fault and Limbrey was a good idea—"

"Enough arguing." John B. states before firmly meeting JJ's gaze, "JJ, this is a fortress. What, you think you're just gonna stroll in here? They've got barbed wire, cinder blocks, there's guards at every corner—"

"John B—don't." the Maybank see's Plumb approaching the doors, and he finishes up. "You're not the detail guy, okay?" His eyes dart to the door, "Leave it to the professionals."

"Hey!" Plumb calls into the room, eyeing the two visiting teens, "Time's up."

"Yes ma'am." JJ hums before locking eyes with the Routledge, "You gotta trust me on this one. Nothing to lose now. Eleven p.m." The blonde boy gets out of the seat and walks towards the door to leave.

"I'll be back at some point. Love you." Eden manages a soft smile before trailing after JJ out the door.

Plumb led them down a different hallway then they came, and Eden isn't sure why until JJ's eyes double take a certain room. He halts in his steps and approaches the door, and the Bexley does the same, frown etching on her face as her eyes are met with the figure of Luke Maybank.

The man is playing basketball with other inmates, shoving his opponent back with a glare of rage. From the outside, JJ starts to bang his fist against the door with soft eyes—his swagger is gone. "Dad! Dad!"

Eden turns to the deputy with absolute hatred in her expression. That was just mean. Leading him down this hallway knowing he'd see his dad—she wanted him to see his father. She was a bitch. 

"Let's go." Plumb came up to JJ and grabbed his shoulders to pull him away.

"Dad—" JJ gets pulled away and he shakes his head in disbelief as he continues to walk forward,  "I see what you did there, Plumb."

Eden wants to punch the woman as she looks back to see the deputy almost smiling. 

The two teens retrieve their items and hand in their visitation badges before getting shoved out of the detention center by Plumb. The deputy has her hands on JJ's shoulders still, forcing him to proceed walking.

"He's not gonna do anything." Eden looks over at the deputy and her firm hold on the boy, "You don't need to walk him like he's a dog."

"I just have one question before I leave." the Maybank starts, sending a knowing look towards the woman as he asks, "How much are you splitting with Shoupe?"

The comment seems to hit Plumb because she pushes JJ down the ramp, the boy letting out a small groan as he stumbles. 

"You'll be back here one day." Plumb states, looking down at the blonde boy before adding, "It's in your blood."

Eden yet again glares at Plumb before she walks down the ramp, coming up next to the blonde and bringing a hand up to squeeze his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." JJ grits, beginning to walk back towards his bike, "Let's just get out of here."

Eden doesn't say anything else before following him back to the bike.

Eden pulled into the Chateau driveway from the drivers seat of Kiara's 4Runner.

After leaving the detention center, JJ and Eden parted ways yet again. The Maybank took John B.'s long board, stating he was going to visit Ricky—as if Ricky was going to approve of the plan. He may sell illicit contraband, but he wasn't stupid. He would see how stupid the plan was and tell JJ no. 

Eden herself, having no where to go, had just lounged around the Chateau.  She had been the only one in the house for a while, scrolling through her phone,  cleaning up the mess that the house always had and just relaxed. It felt nice.

The house was empty when JJ departed—Sarah had gone to visit Wheezie, given the spam of text messages to her sister and address sent back to Eden's phone, Kiara had dispersed that morning to go home and Eden assumes that Pope did the same to ask about the cross Limbrey wanted —which left the Bexley to herself. She'd cleaned up the mess that the house always held, scrolled through her phone, until she noticed the sun was setting and decided to feed herself; she hadn't had a proper meal in what felt like forever.

However, due to the fact that no one had really lived in the house for a month, there was nothing worthy of being ate—most things were experienced or close too it, not to mention the scarcity of things that were there. A few half-empty beer and water bottles were about all Eden was willing to taste, which led her to the decision of just going grocery shopping instead of welcoming John B. back home to an empty fridge when he ultimately got out of jail.....because he would.

Kiara had returned around the time Eden decided to go grocery shopping—she had a pile of clothes in her hand, making Eden assume things hadn't gone so well with her parents—so the Bexley had taken her 4Runner to the local shopping mart and used her father's cash to pay for everything.

Ever since Big John died, Eden had been helping him out in these ways. Supporting him with extra cash when he was coming up short on bills, going out to the grocery store to make sure the Chateau had food and drinks and supplies so the Routledge boy didn't starve himself, cleaning around the house whenever she noticed it was a mess—she was always willing to help in those ways, and it came naturally to her, now.

After a good thirty minutes of shopping, the Bexley returned back to the Chateau with many bags full of groceries. She hops out of the truck and starts loading some bags into her uninjured arm, the one with a bandage around it pulling up Kiara's contact on her phone so she could call the girl to help her carry things in.

However, before she could call the Carrera, another caller ID popped up on her screen. She accepts the call with a grim expression. 

"Bexley." Ricky's voice comes through the other end of the phone. Eden puts her phone against her shoulder, head tilted sideways so she could call and continue to stock groceries at the same time. "Would my cousin happen to be with you?"

"Haven't seen JJ since he left to see you." Eden replies, shuffling towards the door. She decided she'd just ask Kiara to help her when she got inside with what she had. 

"So you'd happen to know why my ambulance is currently not in my driveway after I told JJ he couldn't take it?"

Eden's lips drew into a thin line. Of course he hadn't listened. 

Despite knowing Eden was against his plan, and getting the no from his cousin, JJ had gone through with the appendicitis plan. Now, the Bexley wanted John B. out of jail just as much as the other Pogues, but she'd rather have him get out with a more sensible plan, or legal one, for that matter. 

She bends her injured arm with a slight cringe to take her phone again to look at the time—it was 10:45. JJ's plan went down at eleven. Unless he'd decided to take the ambulance for a spin, JJ Maybank was currently waiting outside the detention center for John B.'s soap covered face. 

"Uh, kind of?" Eden replied, putting her phone back on her shoulder. She makes her way to the door and opens it, hauling the three bags she was holding on her arm up and then herself. 

"Eden, you do know he's gonna get his ass busted for this."

"Planning my visitation with him right now, actually." Eden manages to joke, but she does understand the seriousness of the situation.  JJ was stealing someone else's ambulance and breaking a boy with the death sentence out of prison—he got caught and shit wouldn't be the greatest. The Bexley didn't want either of her boys to get caught in this plan.

"Are you going to stop him?  Because whatever appendicitis plan he was ranting to me about earlier was absolute shit. I mean, JJ's not known for smart plans but that was just stupid."

"I heard the plan, it's stupid as shit." Eden agrees before voicing her opinion on the matter, "However, I trust that despite the stupidity of the idea, JJ is playing it safe. I trust him.  If he needs help, he'll call me and I'll save his ass. Until then, I'm going to ignore whatever he's doing and pray that maybe it works." 

"I thought you were the sensible one of the group."

"I am." Eden smiles as she practically hears Ricky roll his eyes from the other end.

"I'm suing you if I lose my job because of this."

"Sounds great." 

Ricky hangs up the phone and Eden sighs, placing it in her back pocket so she has the arms to open the door

The Bexley does so and opens the front door, making her presence known, "Hey, Kie, could you help me with the—" She quickly freezes when she notices Pope standing by the door, eyes locked on Kiara, who's shirt was unbuttoned to reveal a lacy bralette. "—groceries?"

"Jesus, Eden." Kiara turned around, hands moving to finish buttoning up her flower printed button down.

Looking between the two Pogues— Pope looking slightly flustered and Kiara embarrassingly buttoning up her shirt—Eden slowly sets the groceries down on the floor with an awkward expression, "Did I interrupt something, or....."

"No! No." Pope rushed, looking back at his friend, "I literally just walked in here. Swear."

"Don't get so worked up, Bubs. I don't care what you guys were doing." Eden replied, crossing past the Heyward boy towards the Carrera, who had taken a seat on the pullout couch, continuing to button her shirt. 

Kiara sends a small look to the Bexley, "Well, we weren't doing anything."

Eden notices a difference in her voice compared to Pope's. The Heyward boy was merely embarrassed that he'd been caught in an act that looked suspicious. The Carrera sounded annoyed that Eden had even assumed they were doing anything.

"Okay, jeez." the Bexley notices the tone of voice and drops whatever she'd been thinking. Instead she looks to the pile of clothes tossed upon the pull out and asks, "What happened when you went home?"

"My mom snapped and I got booted." Kiara huffed softly.

Pope's brows furrow, "Wait, what?"

"It's not a big deal." Kie dismisses, though it's clear to see that it did indeed bother her. "I'm just gonna stay here a couple of days, hang out with my friends. We have stuff to figure out, anyways." 

Pope comes over to the two girls and looks at the Carrera sympathetically, "You know, if you need a place to stay, you can always come stay with me." 

Kiara didn't reply to the offer and instead cleared her throat, "Um...Yeah, uh—how did things go with you?"

Eden looked between the two teens, yet again feeling the awkwardness. 

"Um...." Pope trailed off, crouching down. "Well, Pops was upset."

"Upset? After you left his truck in Charleston?" Kiara sarcastically commented, "What for?"

"Uh, you know, I'm trying to figure that out myself. I can't really see any reason that would make him upset." Pope playfully continued, earning a chuckle out of the Carrera. "But, um, I did ask him about the key, and he said that his grandmother had something like that. So, I went over to great-grandma's place, and, uh—" The Heyward shuffles around for a moment before pulling something from his pocket, "I found...this."

He dangles the item in front of the girls and Eden's eyes widen as she recognizes the gold object. It was the key—the key that Limbrey had shown them a drawing of. 

Kiara raises a hand to touch the object, "Oh my God..."

"Yeah."

"That's amazing, Pope. Like, seriously." Eden genuinely smiles as she looks at the item in Kiara's hands. Maybe John B. wasn't a goner like they thought—if they gave Limbrey the key, they got the evidence that would call out Ward, Rafe, and Isla. That could free John Booker Routledge from the death sentence and this murder once and for all. "Holy shit!"

"I know! I know, right? I know!" Pope fervently exclaimed.

Kiara's eyes are wide, "This is exactly what we need to get the evidence!"

"I....I—I was right in the room, and it...it came out the ceiling!"

"Oh my God."

"Look at it."

Pope brings the key closer to Kie's face and Eden leans it to try and see what he was trying to show. She squints at the key, making out small etched engravings in the metal, though it's so small that she can barely decipher what it says.

Eden looks at Pope, "Is it writing?"

Pope smiles, "Turn the lights off."

Kiara sends him a confused look, "Why?"

"Just do it. Trust me."

Kiara did as he asked and got up to shut off the lights, Pope flipping back on the couch to grab a pillow. He sets it down on his and Eden's laps, sliding down to pull something out of his pocket as the Carrera returns, sitting on the opposite side of the Bexley.

"I don't see anything." The curly haired girl states. 

Pope takes her hands, setting them down on the pillow. "Right there. Don't move it."

"Okay."

Pope brings up a flashlight and turns it on, shining it on the key. The boy pauses a moment before abruptly hitting the pillow, causing a giant puff of dust to emanate off the fabric, the two girls rearing their heads back with slightly disgusted expressions.

"I literally sleep on these cushions." Eden cringes at the dust flying past them, "Remind me to clean these, please."

"Holy shit!"

Kiara voice takes Eden's eyes away from the dusty pillow cases and back to the key. Above the item, within the cloud of dust, was a hologram of sorts. The engraved letters barely visible under normal light could now clearly be seen levitating within the dust.

"What the fuck?" the Bexley exclaims, utterly surprised as to what she was seeing—let alone how the Heyward had even figured it out. Excitement was running through her body as she started at the engraved letters. "Pope, how?"

"I know right!?" Pope has a huge grin on his face, "It's so freaking cool!"

Kiara's eyes are wide, "Wait, do it again. Do it again."

Pope once again slaps the cushion and another pool of dust floats above them. The flashlight illuminates the hidden message the key had.

"'Path to the tomb begins in the island room.'" the Carrera reads the message, brows furrow. She repeats the sentence under her breath for her own understanding before looking between her two friends, "What does that even mean?"

Pope explains his thoughts, "So, I'm—I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Denmark Tanny....and an angel. 'Cause, I—I remember Limbrey saying something about an angel and how the key led to the cross."

"The real treasure lies at the foot of the angel." Eden nods, recalling what Limbrey had said. 

"Pope, this is insane!" Kiara exclaims, turning to face the boy, "You're a freaking genius."

The compliment seems to surprise the Heyward boy, and a genuine smile appears on his lips as he breathes, "Thank you."

The Carrera lets out an exhale, "Kind of makes you wonder what the island room is."

"Maybe it's at Tannyhill?" Eden questions, standing up to turn the lights back on. Her phone begins to buzz obnoxiously in her back pocket as she does so, and she continues speaking as she pulls it out. "I mean, the gold all had everything to do with Tannyhill. Maybe we can ask Sarah if she knows what the island room—" The Bexley's words get caught in her throat as she catches sight of the spam of texts popping up on her phone. 

All excitement leaves her body. "Fuck."

pain in my ass:

Eden, are you at the Chat

Eden

Eden Brielle Bexley

My ass is about to be busted

The cops are behind the ambulance

Help me please

I'll let you say I told you so and everything

sos 4th and Seneca

"Goddammit, JJ." the Bexley curses, shoving her phone into her pocket again. She pulls out the keys to the 4Runner and runs towards the door.

Pope's brows furrow, "What did he do? What's wrong?"

"No time to explain. We need to go now, because at this rate I'm setting up a visitation appointment with John B. and him."

Kiara quickly gets on her feet, "One boy in jail is enough. Let's go."

The Pogues sprint to the car, and Eden hopes she gets to JJ fast enough.

It wasn't too difficult to spot the ambulance.

Speeding down the roads of Kildare County, Eden's eyes darted between the streets the Maybank gave her and the road, ears listening for the sound of sirens. Which, after driving past the detention center, she was able to hear.

As she sharply swerved a corner, Eden could make out the flashing lights of cop cars and stomped harder on the gas—if she played her cards right, she may just be able to buy JJ a split second of time to get out of the ambulance.

"Hold on to something." the Bexley mutters underneath her breath as the 4Runner slides into the open road. Looking out the window, she sees an incoming ambulance with multiple cop cars speeding behind it—if this wasn't JJ, she'd be surprised.

Pope and Kiara are quick to grab on to some part of the car and Eden tightly holds the steering wheel as she slams her foot on the brake. Her eyes squeeze shut as blue and red light encompass her view. 

The 4Runner's tires squeal against the pavement as the car comes to a halt and as expected, the ambulance too lurches to a halt in attempt to not hit the car—which, by law, was supposed to stop for the ambulance, not the other way around.

"Go! Get out of the way! Go!"

Eden slowly opens her eyes and sees the ambulance halted in front of her, the driver—who was not JJ—waving his hand fervently, trying to get her to move yet again. 

However, the Bexley did the very opposite and rolled down her window with the most apologetic smile she could muster on her face as she exclaims, "Oh my God! I'm so sorry!" Her eyes dart between the back of the ambulance and the driver, "This car is stick, so I'm still trying to get used to everything, you know?"

"Move! Get your car out of the road!"

"She just got her license." Pope tried to stall, reasoning with the officer in the front.

Eden watches as JJ hops out of the back of the ambulance, figure covered in the white uniform of a paramedic. His looks back at the 4Runner before sprinting off into the shadows, practically thanking the Bexley with his cerulean gaze.

"Move!"

Kiara smiles apologetically, "It was an accident!"

"Move your car now!"

"I'm so sorry, again!" Eden apologizes before accelerating on the gas, driving past the ambulance like nothing happened. She continues forward enough so the cops wouldn't see her halt before turning around, driving into the direction she saw JJ run instead.

It didn't take them long to spot him and she slowed the car down, watching as the blonde boy sprinted through the grass towards the vehicle.

"Come on!" Pope yelled out the window.

"Okay, open the door!" Kiara instructed the Heyward, who did as she asked, "Open the door!"

Once close enough, JJ practically flew into the vehicle, fervently instructing, "Go! Go! Go! Go!"

Eden doesn't wait for the Maybank to shut the door before she hits the brakes again. 

The 4Runner is utterly silent. 

Eden's fingers are tapping against the wheel and she looks in the rear view mirror to see the boy she'd just saved from jail time. JJ was panting heavily in the backseat, the boy leaning back as his hand ran up and down the side of Eden's seat, body trying to relax after the adrenaline and anxiety rush he'd just been on.

"Wanna tell the rest of the class why we just had to come save your ass?" the Bexley sends him a pointed expression.

JJ swallows thickly before breathlessly stating, "Look, I busted the wrong guy out of jail. Sue me."

Kiara's face twists together as she exclaims, "What!?"

"At least I was trying."

Kiara shakes her head—she'll never get it; why her friend puts himself in these kinds of situations, why he keeps doing it. The Pogues were already scrambling with John B. being locked up; the last thing they needed was JJ behind bars, too. "Why are you always doing such stupid shit?"

Huffing, the Maybank boy replies, "Well, I'm gonna end up in jail anyway, so....." He trailed off, "So why does it matter?"

"Because you have friends who care, JJ." Eden frowns at the mention of what Plumb said earlier. It had been cruel of her to show the Maybank his father, to say what she had said that he'd be back sooner or later. Because no matter how reckless JJ Maybank happened to be, he wasn't his father. He had a heart, he knew what was right and he genuinely cared. "People who care."

However, Eden knew that just as she always feared she'd end up uncaring and cold like her mother, JJ feared he'd become the deadbeat his father was. He could see his father's reflection dancing around in his eyes every time he looked in the mirror, no matter how different they truly were.

Pope looks between the two girls beside him before asking, "You okay, man?"

"Yeah." JJ states, leaning his head back against the seat and closing his eyes, "Just a doozy of a day." 

Eden relaxes her hands against the wheels, "It's been a doozy of a week."

mara's misc!

can we actually talk about how bad plumb is???? like she deserves all of the hate bc she's a bitch.

for once i actually don't have anything to yap about???? crazy. other than some friend drama and my next year schedule nothing interesting has happened last chapter???

leave some eden (young/now her, her and jb, her and jj, her and pogues, etc) headcannons for fun bc im bored

hope you enjoyed <3 see you back with chapter 45!!