A good half hour or so later, Eden finally stepped her converse onto the familiar grass of the Chateau. 

The trudge back to the Cut had been long but Eden hadn't complained. It felt nice to have a moment to herself after having to take care of her friends for the past few days—and if she did have time to herself, it was spent trying to help her friends or crying over something. For thirty minutes, Eden had nothing to do except admire the calm blue of the sky and the light breeze blowing against her hair. 

Walking towards the front porch so she could enter the run down house, Eden slightly smiled at the Twinkie parked in the driveway—John B. was probably home. While she hasn't had much time to do so since the boy returned, she feels like she hasn't really gotten to idly chat with the Routledge. She'd cried with him, and he'd stitched her up but she hasn't gotten to simply talk; she misses the days where she did just that for hours on end without worry. 

However, her smile slightly falters when she notices Sarah's bike lying on the ground near the porch—if Sarah was going through with what she said to Eden earlier, she was more than likely calling it quits with John B.

And, of course, Eden had to return home when it happened.

Not only did Eden not want to intrude in the moment—she'd walked in, as well as seen, too many moments between her friends over the past month—but more so, Eden didn't want to see how hurt John B. would be after Sarah left.

No matter how often Eden would make fun of the way he said 'love just walked in', the Bexley knew that, ironically, love did just walk into John B.'s heart in the form of Sarah Elizabeth Cameron; he hadn't expected to fall for the Kook princess from Figure Eight, he just did. 

And Eden also knew that John B. hadn't loved a girl as genuinely as he loved Sarah. She'd been there to see all of his flings and girlfriends; seen him get over girl after girl; see him get rejected and had even had to reject him herself—she'd been there for all of it and never had she seen him smile; seen his eyes light up; seen him simply melt; the way he did when Sarah smiled, or laughed, or simply stood there.

It was cheesy to Eden, but it was also true.

Being the best friends—the siblings—that Eden and John B. were, neither liked to see the other get hurt; mentally or physically. The Bexley would show the Routledge tough love, sure, but she never wanted to see him hurt.

Which is why she had tried to reason with Sarah—the girl wasn't in the right mind space, John B. hadn't meant to seem so cold in those raw moments after Ward's explosion, Sarah could blame him.

But, there was also a part of Eden who knew that Sarah needed this. Their relationship had been under strain since they got back from the Bahamas, and the whole Topper situation only worsened that. The Cameron was currently in a state of grief, and while John B. could comfort her, he also would stand as a reminder to why her father was dead—she would only see his face of no remorse when she tried to let him tell her it would be okay.

Sarah wanted this and while Eden didn't want to see John B. hurt, she wasn't going to stop the girl.

So, Eden walked through the porch and into the house expecting to see the couple conversing somewhere. 

As Eden entered the house, her gaze was drawn to the window overlooking the dock, where John B. and Sarah stood facing each other. The wind tousled their hair, creating an almost dramatic scene. 

Looking out on the couple, her eyes caught something that made her heart sink—a strand of bandanna dangling from Sarah's outstretched hand; what John B. had given her to promise his love to her. 

Deciding not to intrude on whatever was happening, Eden took a seat at the kitchen island, pulling her phone out from her back pocket. Opening it and beginning to scroll through her socials—not like she had many notifications, given she hadn't posted much in the past month or so—the Bexley quietly waits for John B. to return to the house.

Which happened a few minutes later.

The back door clicked open, and Eden swiftly looked up from her phone to see John B. trudging back into the house. The two friends easily made eye contact, and Eden's heart sank when she noticed his flushed cheeks and leftover tears falling down his face. 

"Didn't know you came home." John B. muttered, gaze shifting towards the floor. There's a small sniffle and the boy brings the edge of his palm to his cheek, wiping away excess tears. 

"Yeah, I just got back a few minutes ago." Eden sets her phone down on the table, ready to listen to John B. if he needed her—God, she hated being in the middle of this. She didn't like seeing John B. like this, but who was she to tell Sarah to stay with him? Both of them deserved better right now.

"Did you...." The Routledge trailed off for a moment before spitting out, "Did you know?" 

Eden met his gaze with a solemn nod, telling the boy that she had known that Sarah was going to break up with him. She felt shitty about it—she'd known her best friend was going to be broken up with and she didn't tell him. She'd known and he'd thought him and Sarah were fine. 

"Yeah." Eden softly admits, voice laced with  genuine sympathy, "I knew."

John B. feels his gut twist again and he manages a curt nod, eyes trailing back down towards the floor. He doesn't know what makes him feel worse; the fact that his best friend knew he was going to be dumped before it even happened, or the fact that it had been pondering on Sarah's mind long enough for her to have time to tell Eden.

Either way, it hurt. 

"I'm sorry, John B." Eden started softly. She was sorry—she knew John B. loved Sarah and she knew he was going to take it hard, whether or not he understood why she called it quits. "I really am."

"Me too." John B. sourly muttered before glancing up at Eden, hoping that she could provide more of what Sarah had said than what she'd told him on the dock—he didn't get it. He loved her. Why did she not want him anymore? "I just don't get it. I mean, we had a little spiff over Topper but....I thought we were solid."

"She just needs time to herself right now. Ward's death is really hitting her and her family, and she just wants to focus on all of that." Eden tries to explain. She knows that no matter what she says, the Routledge boy will still be left with a broken heart, but she can try to make him feel better. "Sarah just needs time."

"I just....I wish she would have talked to me." John B.'s shoulder sag even further. Sarah Cameron had gone through hell and back with him—she had died for him, in all honesty—yet they couldn't stand together through this? "We could have worked something out."

Eden nodded in understanding, "Sometimes.....people just can't find the right words. They know what they're feeling, but they don't know how to express it. Sarah's feeling a lot of complicated emotions, and right now, she thinks breaking up is the best idea. That doesn't mean she'll feel the same in a week." She offers a sad smile, "In simple words, I wouldn't give up on her yet, okay? She loves you. She'll come around when she's ready."

John B. nods slowly and sighs, "I hope so." 

"In the mean time, to ease your heartbreak—" A small smile tugs at the corners of Eden's lips as she gets off the stool and makes her way towards the pantry, "—what do you say about sharing a bottle of Vodka and some Baby Goldfish with me?"

"Do we even have—" John B.'s words get caught in his throat as Eden opens the pantry to reveal his and the rest of the Pogues' favorite snacks and drinks—Baby Goldfish, Nerds Gummy Clusters, Mini Apple Juice Bottles and Coconut Redbull cans; practically everything Eden could find. His face lights up in surprise when he sees the assortment of foods; there hadn't been much since he and Sarah returned from the Bahamas.

"When you were in jail, I happened to find time to go to the grocery store. Hope I didn't disappoint." Eden smiles knowingly—John B. rarely cared what she got, more so that she got food. 

John B. meets his best friends gaze, eyes filled with gratitude. "You are literally a lifesaver, Eden." 

"Just doing my job." Eden wearily smiles—she'd always help out her boys. 

She places her hand into the pantry, grabbing the alcohol she'd been able to snatch using her fake I.D— yes, she had one and yes it worked, though Eden's sure it's just because she was Eden Bexley because everyone knew she was not indeed twenty-one.

 Holding it out towards the Routledge boy with a playful smile, Eden states, "Now am I getting drunk by myself or are you coming with?"

"Can't let you have all the fun, Ed'." John B. rolls his eyes, accepting the bottle from her with a small smile—if anyone knew how to get him out of the dumps, it was Eden. Whether it be her famous invitation to get shit faced, or just one of her smiles that makes him sure it'll be okay. 

Eden smiles back at him and snatches the bag of Baby Goldfish she'd bought. Holding them up in a small salute, she states, "To surviving heartbreak?"

John B. held up the bottle of Vodka in response, curtly nodding as he repeated, "To surviving heartbreak."

When Pope, JJ, and Kie returned to the Chateau, they found Eden and John B. half drunk on the HMS Pogue, pointing out different constellations with a bottle of Vodka in between them, a joint in between Eden's fingers and an empty bag of Baby Goldfish aimlessly thrown on the boat floor. 

It hadn't taken much questioning to get the truth out of either teen; Sarah called it quits, John B. didn't get it, Eden suggested they get drunk to make him feel better and here they were. Kiara had shrugged her shoulders before running back inside to get more alcohol, JJ had been surprisingly a bit hesitant before following the Carrera—last time he saw Eden with a bottle of Vodka, she was midst a breakdown—and Pope had wandered into the HMS Pogue with the two brunettes, fitting right into the heartbroken atmosphere the Routledge was giving off.

Pope was trying to act civil—he'd told Kie they could still be friends, that she was right to say they weren't working, that what happened was just an 'in the moment' sort of ordeal—but truly? He was upset; angry; confused. Despite their conversation ending in a hug rather than tears......Kiara had broken his heart, too. 

So, it didn't take long for the three teens—Eden listening rather than speaking, due to her single status—to start speaking on the broken bonds the Pogues were currently facing.

"I don't get it." John B. quietly states, words slightly slurred from the Vodka. Crickets chirped around them and the water stirred against the night air, but otherwise, the three teens simply laid silently. "I don't."

Pope sighs, "Love is five minutes of pleasure for a lifetime of pain." 

"Wow."

Eden slowly turns her head over to look at the Heyward boy—what was up with these boys and turning into Shakespeare when they fell in love? "Shit, Pope. That was kinda poetic." 

"So, okay, you and Kie." John B. gruffly begins, turning over so he was staring at Pope instead of at the night sky. He picks up an empty beer can, shaking it to see if it was empty before continuing, "What's going on? Talk to me."

Eden sits upright, crossing her legs. She brings the joint to her lips, readying herself to listen to the Heyward.

"Um, well..." Pope trails off, running a tired hand over his face. He then raises his hands to simply say,  "She just wants to be friends."

Eden solemnly nods, "That's tough."

 While she herself hadn't been 'friend-zoned' per say—Eden Bexley was someone everyone wanted to have, whether it be her looks or her money—she'd done it to both JJ and John B. at least once in her life. And while it had been better on her own end, she still felt shitty doing it because she knew it hurt. Being told the person you liked didn't see you the same way. 

"Death blow." John B. lowly sighs, patting Pope on the shoulder. "Oh, no. I'm sorry man." 

"I...I didn't even see it coming." Pope admits, slightly frowning. Kiara had been one of his closest friends for years—they knew each other, they clicked. He couldn't find a reason why they shouldn't have worked. Yet, every time he tried to think of what he could have done differently, he came up blank there, too. 

"I know you really liked Kie, but...." Eden took a drag of the joint, blowing out a small stream of smoke before continuing, "There will be someone else—there's always someone else, even if you don't see that yet."

The Heyward boy raises a brow, "You think so?"

"I mean, yeah. Kiara's great and all, but there's going to be someone else who comes along and sees you. You're kind, you're funny, you're a genuine person and you're smarter than anyone else I know. Someone will see that and appreciate it." Eden sends a small smile his way as she speaks, "Sometimes you get so hung up on one person you forget there's more than just them." 

Pope curtly nods. "Thanks. That was surprisingly.....helpful?"

"I'll take it." Eden shrugs, taking another drag of her joint.

John B. lightly chuckles, "You know, for being single you have some pretty decent relationship advice, Ed'."

"JJ acts like it's the end of the world whenever a girl doesn't want to hook up with him. This is not the first 'there are other fish in the sea' spiel I've done." The Bexley admits with a small chuckle, reminiscing all the tubs of ice cream JJ would eat after being rejected only to be fine the next day; the talks she'd had to have with him that 'there's other girls'.

"Talking about me, Your Majesty?" 

All three teens look towards the dock to see JJ Maybank approaching the dock, cradling an armful of beer cans, Kie at his side with a joint lazily hanging from her lips. 

Eden smiles up at the boy, "Just the usual—that you're a pain in the ass." 

"Heads up." JJ fondly rolls his eyes, chucking a can in her direction. The girl catches it with ease, opening the can with a small click as the Maybank begins to unexpectedly toss cans into the boat, John B. and Pope scrambling to catch them, "Hot potato, hot potato, hot potato two!" 

As the cans hit the bottom of the boat, getting shaken up in the process, Kiara lazily exclaims, "Impressive catch, impressive catch."

"Oh!"

"He shoots!"

"I need another one."

"One, two. One, two."

"Hey!"

"I'll take that."

 JJ looks down at the three teens as they opened the beers he'd tossed, "What are you guys doing down here? Having a good cry?" 

Pope looks at John B., "Cry?"

The Routledge boy shakes his head as he slurs, "Cry? What are you talking about—We don't cry." He runs a hand through his hair, "Eden was actually giving fabulous relationship advice to Pope, if you were curious."

"Eden giving relationship advice?" JJ raises his brows and eyes the girl—he was teasing of course, yet he was curious to know whether her advice was actually good or not. "When was the last time you were in a committed relationship?"

"I mean me and Sean had that summer thing, like, a year ago if you're counting that." Eden shrugs, raising her joint casually in the air—she hadn't actually dated someone in years, but if she's honest, the Pogues kept her busy enough with their relationship issues. 

"Doesn't count." JJ shakes his head.

"Fine. Not since like.....freshman year." Eden admits, before stating, "But that doesn't mean I can't give good relationship advice—ya'll are too whiny when your ego get's bruised for me to not be good at it." 

"Eden Bexley; relationship guru of the OBX." JJ declares, sending her a grin, "Has a ring to it." 

 "I think I like Your Majesty better." Eden hums in response. 

"All I know is that she went to the grocery store and bought food and made me feel better after Sarah dumped me." John B. states, downing the mood yet again by bringing up the Kook princess.

Kiara pulls her joint away from her lips, tilting her head. "You know it's not your fault, right?"

"You think she'll come around?"

"Yeah, dude." Kiara calmly states, weed running through her system. Lightly shrugging, the Carrera adds, "She's one of us."

"Hm." That phrase seems to speak to John B., and a light smirk appears on his lips, as if he was thinking of something enjoyable. The smile didn't leave his face as he mused to himself, "Sarah's a Pogue. She'll come around. Yep. You know, she'll come back to me. Right." 

The Routledge's words didn't make much connection to anyone else—simply because everyone was either drunk or high—but John B. seemed pleased with his own revelation; Sarah would come back because she was a Pogue, too. 

"You know, I was just thinking about it." John B. jabs a finger towards JJ, words slurring together as he admitted, "I'm gonna do a back flip."

Eden takes a drag of the joint with raised brows, managing to slur, "Can you even do a back flip?"

"Of—fuckin'—course I can, Ed'." the Routledge turns to her. 

Kiara's words come out lazy as she points at him, "You're lying."

"Oh, I won't do it?!"

JJ edges on, "You won't!"

Kiara exclaims, "If I had money, I'd totally bet that you won't!"

"I wanna see you do it!" Pope eagerly adds.

"Don't lose a bracelet when you fumble backwards off the boat." Eden comments, watching as the boy tipsily made his way towards the edge of the boat.

"Hold my beer which you've already dropped." John B. stammers. 

The Routledge boy then steps onto the edge of the boat, bending his knees slightly before throwing himself backwards. However, instead of failing, the boy manages to actually flip, landing a solid back flip into the water with a splash. 

The four remaining Pogues let out cheers and hollers of excitement as John B. resurfaces.

"That's my boy!" JJ calls out.

Pope stands up and raises his hands in the air, "Woogity-woogity, baby!"

"John B.!" Kiara hollers in a deep voice.

Eden stands up, feeling the cool air against her skin as she walks towards the edge of the boat. Taking a seat, the Bexley dangles her legs over the water and outstretches her beer holding hand towards her best friend, simply offering the Routledge her drink. "Want a sip?"

 John B. seemed to take the offer, swimming towards the Bexley. However, instead of using his hands to take the can from her grasp, he grabs her ankles and quickly yanks her into the water below, mischievous smile on his face. 

Eden let out a startled yelp as she was unexpectedly pulled under, hands instinctively letting go of the can of beer and joint—not like they would be good anymore, anyway. The somewhat cool temperature of the water was welcoming, yet still sent a small shock of adrenaline up her substance numbed body, and she quickly surfaced with eyes squeezed shut and mouth wide in surprise.

"You jerk!" Eden exclaimed, splashing as much water as she could towards the Routledge with one hand while the other worked to wipe her eyes of salt water. Once she manages to do so, she uses both hands to yet again send a wave of water his way to express her annoyance. 

"Careful, Eden." John B. teasingly smirked as he was splashed, "You don't want to start something you can't finish."

Competitive nature getting the better of her, Eden swims towards her friend with determination, "Oh, it's fucking on, Routledge."

With her declaration in the air, it didn't take long for the two teens to start splashing one another. Every splash Eden sent got one in retaliation from John B., laughter echoing through the water as they swam towards one another, middle fingers and exclaims being thrown around as they managed to dunk the other.

From the dock, amidst the screeching and splashing, JJ turns over to Kiara, "I'm betting my non-existent money on Eden."

"Her and her 5'4 ass? I'm betting my non-existent money on John B." Kiara retorts, taking another drag of her joint.

"Eden's kicked my ass before, I wouldn't underestimate her."

Eden and John B. proceeded to splash around with each other for a few minutes—JJ and Kiara respectively yelling out while Pope contently watched his friends mess around from the boat—before the Routledge called a truce, declaring they instead head inside to order a pizza. 

No one disagreed, and the Pogues retreated to the Chateau, letting go of all worries and problems and returning to the past life of simply being The Pogues—no relationship problems or gold hunts, just weed, beer, and a whole lot of laughter. 

Eden isn't sure how long they partied until they ultimately succumbed to everything in their systems and crashed. 

mara's misc!

almost forgot to say happy easter to you bitches so happy easter <3 here's my gift to you

somehow i made this 3000+ words and idk how it was literally filler and one scene. 

this chapter is honestly one of my favs.....i'm a sucker for writing jb and eden moments and i've missed them during s2, (i'm a sucker for bonding moments period). i also just love writing the pogues being happy for once, and that hasn't REALLY happened since the party chapter so....

on call with kensie as we speak and she threatened to spoil the ending of her book for me (she's mean to me you guys) bc i wouldn't tell her what happens in a future moment. this is what happens when you give your online friend ur number (guys we're talking about florence pugh rn   —only kensie will understand this.)

also to yap i'm going to the found heaven tour!! my parents got me tickets for easter, so yay. with this i find the urge to state that i've knocked out all four of my top artists (stephen sanchez, taylor, olivia, & conan) in the like a year??? like i've saw stephen (twice) and taylor in 2023, saw liv last week and seeing conan in september???? i promise i'm not rich ya'll

anyways, next chapter is boring but see you back with chapter 50 <3 hope you enjoyed!