It has been four months. Four months since John B and Sarah disappeared and changed all of their lives. For Kiara, it has been four months of non-stop work to make sure that she doesn't get caught up in the mess that is her life. Her parents have loved her spending the time at the Wreck away from her 'heathen' Pogues.

It hasn't even been hard. For the last four months, Pope has been out of town with his family. Kiara wonders if his parents had a similar view on the situation as her parents- John B did this to himself.

No one knows the truth.

JJ on the other hand has been missing in action ever since JJ and Kiara slept together. They both agreed that it was a mistake, that they should not tell anyone. There isn't really anyone to tell in the first place though. Kiara knows it's probably not the healthiest thing to avoid her best friends because of the stupid mistakes that she has made. But it is something that she needs to do. For the most part, Kiara liked working in the Wreck every day as it gave her a place to be by herself and not be asked 24/7 how she was doing. She hates when people ask her idiotic questions that they already know the answer to.

Of course, this is hard. She lost two people in a fucking storm all because a drug addict Kook killed the Sheriff and it was all pinned on John B. She cries every night, reliving the same scenes over and over again. Sarah and John B on the ocean floor. Their motionless bodies haunt Kiara every moment she closes her eyes. She always wakes up trying to catch her breath as she is drenched in sweat. She should probably tell her parents but Kiara knows that they are done with Kiara moping about someone who, according to most of Outer Banks, murdered Sheriff Peterkin in cold blood.

It doesn't help that Ward is still walking free, as if none of this ever even happened. About a month after Sarah and John B disappeared, the Camerons held what they called a funeral for them. Funeral? Yeah right. They threw a fucking party for the daughter that they lost because she idiotically followed a murderer into the water during a storm. Kiara was forced to go as a way for her mom to get back into the good books with the Kooks. It was fucking laughable how Anna would just laugh along with what Ward was saying and even tried to get Kiara to make nice with Rafe.

Fucking Kooks.

The fucking Kooks are another reason why Kiara is enjoying working as much as she is. The Kooks don't visit the Wreck due to it not being up to their pretentious tastes. Kiara is left to deal with the Tourons that only know what is going on from passing comments. Even if they believe the bullshit, the Tourons are always gone after a week of their business so, it works for Kiara.

Today is a particularly slow day at the Wreck, Kiara thinks it must be because another storm has been brewing. The storms seem to be endless at the moment. Kiara is busy cleaning the counter down as her dad approaches her "You know you don't have to work today." Kiara just shrugs. There is no point telling him the truth about why she is here. She isn't too sure herself. "Go and see your friends." He's playing nice.

"I thought you didn't like my friends?" Kiara doesn't want to play nice.

"I'm just saying." Kiara thinks the conversation is over so goes back to cleaning the counter. "Those boys would normally be sniffing around here like dogs, begging for scraps." Kiara rolls her eyes, trying to get her father to see that she doesn't want this conversation.

"Pope's away so..."

"Okay, tell them to come over to hang out when he gets home." This makes Kiara snicker. Come and hang out? None of them are talking to each other, Kiara knows that neither Pope nor JJ would just show up to the Wreck where they know they would get funny looks from the Tourons as well as Mike Carrera. Hanging out with the Pogues does not sound as intriguing as it once did and Kiara knows that it is all because John B is gone. "They haven't been up for hanging out since John B..." Kiara couldn't finish her sentence, feeling the tears forming in her eyes. He must have spotted the tears because Mike is quickly by Kiara's side, throwing an arm around her. "You're going to be okay."

Why do people keep saying that?

Kiara pushes Mike away, wiping away her tears and trying to keep a strong face. "We're not going to be ok, dad." Kiara cringes at her own intense volume and tries to quieten herself down "they're gone. John B is gone. And I have no idea what is going to happen anymore."

"Kiara, I'm sorry."

"No. Stop it. Stop saying you're sorry." Kiara takes a deep breath. "Just let me keep working. This is the only thing that feels normal at the moment." For once, Mike doesn't fight her on it. He just nods and goes back into the kitchen, leaving Kiara to get back to the counter.

Pope being out of town is just an excuse for Kiara. She knows that he will be home in a couple of days and he will be rearing to ask Kiara question that she knows she won't be able to answer. Especially now. Not telling anyone about what happened between herself and JJ should be easy. But it's not. It's not easy pretending like nothing happened because something happened and Kiara knows that it would break Pope if he were to find out even if there is nothing going on between JJ and Kiara. Avoiding Pope entirely is the only thing keeping Kiara from breaking down entirely and ruining all of her relationships in the span of four months. It may be awkward not talking to the boy Pogues, but it is better than losing them completely.

...

Pope thinks of himself as the smartest one of the Pogues. It's pretty obvious though when looking at the other members of their group. That is why it comes quite quickly to Pope the realisation that Kiara is ignoring him. It may make him sound like an obsessive friend that needs to know where his best friends are at all times of the day but it's not the case. Pope knows that Kiara is ignoring him due to the fact that she is working at the Wreck every hour of every day. Even though it's the slow time of the year for the restaurant. He has only been home for a couple of days but he knows that something is up. Kiara hasn't ignored the Pogues since her Kook year, a year that none of them ever like to talk about. But it's not just Kiara that is acting weird but JJ as well. JJ has not been seen anywhere for months, even before Pope went away.

Maybe they really are nothing without John B.

Pope, being the smartest Pogue, knows that they must be missing John B that much that they are breaking away from the group. But, deep down Pope cannot get the idea that Kiara is ignoring him for a completely different reason out of his head. Four months ago, Pope told Kiara that he loved her. He's loved Kiara for years, even before she had her year with the Kooks. But Pope knows that they all had a thing for her at one point. But Pope did tell Kiara that he loved her. Shit. He was a real idiot for doing that. Pope can't help but wonder if Kiara is ignoring him because she regrets kissing him. Pope must admit, it came to a surprise that she had even kissed him. It felt awkward and completely weird, saying that they were trying to help John B escape.

He still loves her, he thinks. Kiara is still the most beautiful girl that he has ever seen in his life. Pope still hopes that one day she will realise that she could learn to have feelings for him. Pope knows how selfish that sounds. But Pope knows that they could be great together, even if their first kiss was weird. He knows that they just need to talk to each other and then the Pogues would be back together. They would go and find wherever the hell JJ has disappeared to and then John B and Sarah would come home and they would all be happy once more. Because Pope knows that that is what is meant to happen. They are all meant to live happily ever after and be together forever.

That is why Pope decides that today is the day that he breaks the silent to try and get the group back together. Pope will do what John B used to do on a daily basis. Pope is going to be the new moral compass. Pope finishes off his shift at Heyward's shop and begins to head to the door when he spots someone familiar stood by his bike. Rafe Cameron.

Pope goes to turn around but it's too late. Rafe has already spotted him. "You know you guys should have tried to leave with him." Pope decides to try and ignore him and move passed him. But Rafe doesn't let that happen. Rafe snickers at the cowering figure of Pope

"You guys should have just stuck to the fucking cut."

"Just let me go, Rafe." This just makes Rafe laugh louder.

"You know my dad is being questioned by the cops because your boy spat some shit about him killing Big John?"

"He did kill Big John. Just like how you killed Sheriff Peterkin!" Rafe doesn't wait any longer to make Pope really regret his words. Rafe launches forward, punching Pope square on the face. Pope almost falls straight to the floor but forces himself to stay stood. Rafe doesn't stop. "Fucking Pogue" Rafe repeats this over and over again, making sure to keep hitting Pope with every syllable.

Pope knew all along that they shouldn't have got into finding the gold. The gold only led them to being chased by hitmen and then finding out that the gold is why Ward is crazy. If they didn't go after the gold, Sheriff Peterkin would have never had to save John B and Sarah from Ward. Sheriff Peterkin would never have been shot. They should have stayed out of the drama.

But here he is taking every punch from Rafe. Here he is taking all the spiteful words that come out of Rafe's mouth. Pope eventually falls to the ground, in pain feeling everything. "Hey!" A voice appears from the front of the shop. Hayward. It makes Rafe stop and turn to the voice. "Get the hell out of here before I call the cops."

Rafe just smirks and stands straight and then leaves, looking pretty pleased with himself. He still thinks he can own everything even when his own father is being questioned by the cops and it wouldn't be too long until someone starts to realises what a phony Rafe is.

...

That evening, Pope makes his way to Kiara's house. The weather is getting back. Pope had to do a lot of convincing to get Heyward to give him a lift to Kiara's house. Going back and forth between Pope and Heyward talking, they had come to a decision. You see, Pope didn't leave town just to grieve Sarah and John B. Pope left to look at colleges. Pope wasn't sure that he wanted to leave Outer Banks but that afternoon, as Heyward patched him up after the fight with Rafe, it was decided that he was going. Pope is going to leave Outer Banks so that his parents can sleep knowing that their son is safe.

He knocks on Kiara's door, just like he had done four months earlier. And just like that time four months earlier, Kiara opens the door with a confused expression. This time though, Pope doesn't smile at her. She needs to hear what Pope needs to say. "You've been ignoring me, Kie." She just looks down.

"I'm sorry Pope" It sounds sincere.

"Why have you been ignoring me?" He doesn't mean to get angry, but he is. Pope hates being ignored and he doesn't even know what he is meant to be apologising for.

"It's just so much Pope and I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't hurt me Kie if you don't ignore me."

"I still can't be who you want me to be Pope. I can't" She's breaking down, crying uncontrollably. It makes Pope tear up as well.

"Then why did you kiss me?"

"I didn't want to lose you." It all makes sense to Pope now. She didn't kiss him because she liked him. Kiara knew she was about to lose her best friend and she needed to feel close to someone. Queue Pope. Pope can't be mad at her. He can't be mad that she doesn't love him back. He's not mad at her especially right now as Kiara stands in front of Pope, looking broken.

He knows that she doesn't want to be touched. She doesn't like to be touched. So, he stands looking at her. Taking her in. God, Pope is going to miss her. He needs to tell her. After all, there are no secrets amongst Pogues. Pope takes a deep breath before breaking the silence. "I got accepted into Duke." Kiara looks up at him. "I'm leaving Outer Banks, Kie." Kiara wipes away her tears before eventually speaking.

"You'll be great there."

"I'm leaving Outer Banks in a week." It is the news that Pope has been leading to say the whole journey to Kiara's house. Pope is not just leaving Outer Banks; he is leaving so soon. "Okay" She is trying to keep it together, Pope can tell. "Pogues for life?" She gives Pope a small smile. Because they all know, the Pogues are falling apart. It's going to be hard to keep them together but she replies "Pogues for life."

So, maybe Pope is wrong about Kiara finally loving Pope in the way he wants but he knows that Kiara will always be there for him. She's one of his best friends. And, that's okay. It's okay as long as they promise to never forget one another.

...

Pope makes the first move to repair the bridge and Kiara is relieved by this. He spoke to her even though she had pretty much shut him down. It's the reason why the No Pogue on Pogue Macking was even made. The rule made sure that if anyone had any feelings for anyone else in the group, they avoided the feelings to avoid the chance of rejection. But Pope understood Kiara. And they remain friends.

The new issue is that Pope is leaving. Another Pogue leaves Outer Banks, maybe forever. Whilst Kiara is happy that Pope has been accepted into a great college, she knows what this means. She knows that this is the end of the Pogues. It will only be Kiara and JJ left and JJ is still MIA. The week goes by quickly, with Kiara spending almost all the time making up for lost Pogue time with Pope.

It is the day before Pope leaves and Kiara decides that they need to go to the docks one last time before he leaves. Kiara even decides to go over to the garage to see if JJ is working and wanted to come and fish off the dock as a way to say goodbye to Pope. But just like how he has been missing in action with her, JJ is not at work. He hasn't been at work for a few weeks. Kiara decides to shake it off, knowing that it's a path that she does not want to follow right now. Anyways, this is a day of celebration. Pope's final day in Outer Banks.

The wind has picked up, but this doesn't stop Kiara's determination to make this a happy day. So, Pope and Kiara sit on the wet dock covered in coats and trying to not be pushed into the water by the wind. Pope is trying to fish but, just like a normal day, no fish seem to be biting. Kiara laughs at this. This feels normal. "I give up."

"Don't give up, Pope. They're just around the corner." They both know this as a joke. Pope is the worst fisher in Outer Banks, luckily something he won't need in Duke.

"At least JJ isn't here to make fun of this." Kiara catches a breath, she doesn't know why JJ's name makes her scared all of a sudden. "He's missing his last chance to make fun of me."

"Yeah. Don't worry, I'll let him use my phone to send you jokes when you're at college." JJ is the only Pogue that doesn't have a phone. He always says that the doesn't want a brick that people could use to track him. The rest of the Pogues wanted him to have a phone for that reason. "God. I'm gonna miss you." Kiara breathes out.

"I'll come home for the holidays." Pope abandons the fishing altogether, turning to face Kiara. "And you still have JJ." Ciara scoffs.

"JJ is in hiding."

"You know JJ, Kie. He does this all the time and then he'll come back with a massive smirk plastered on his face and a joint between his fingers." Pope tries to lighten the mood. But the wind is getting stronger and Kiara can feel herself breaking.

"I don't know..."

"Whatever happened between you two will blow over eventually." Pope interrupts. "JJ just needs time. He always finds his way back."

"Only when John B forces him to." Pope goes silent. They have an unspoken rule for the day to not bring John B's disappearance into conversation to force emotions to surface. She doesn't mean to bring him up. But she has to. John B was the leader of the Pogues. "He'll be back." Kiara isn't too sure if Pope is talking about JJ or John B; however, Kiara is doubtful that either will return.

A wisp of wind interrupts the eery silence. Kiara thinks tonight must be the night for the storm to really hit. She can feel the floorboards beneath her vibrating through the bad weather. "I think the storm is telling us it's time to go." Pope jokes, making Kiara snicker as she watches the rain fall into the water below her.

"It's not going to be the same."

"It's already not the same."

Nothing will be the same ever again.

...

Kiara drops Pope off at his house after the two stop crying in an emotional goodbye. Pope will do great at Duke but she will miss one of her best friends. She knows she should go home. The weather pushes a tree down on the drive and scares the shit out of Kiara. She should go home and watch as another storm devastates Outer Banks. But this storm is only bringing her nightmares back to her. She's wide awake, still sat in her car looking at her house in front of her. Tears are threatening to fall and Kiara closes her eyes to try and force them to stay put. By closing her eyes however, all Kiara can see is the Phantom taking Sarah and John B into the waves.

A crack of lightning jumps Kiara into motion and she is starting the car once more. She drives even though she is having a difficult time fighting the tears away and not swerving the car. She doesn't stop the car until she is parked outside the chateau. The chateau is already feeling the impact of the storm with a tree threatening to fall at any moment. But it doesn't matter. The chateau is the only place where she feels safe. Kiara has been finding herself coming back to the chateau throughout these months after their disappearance. She just needs a sense of normalcy and the only thing that has ever felt normal is the security within the battered walls of the chateau.

Throughout the years, the chateau has survived multiple storms and floods but every time there is a storm Kiara finds herself wishing that this won't be the storm to take the chateau.

A sheet of lightning lights up the sky and Kiara gets a better look at the chateau. No lights are on but the door is wide open. Kiara hopes that some random person hasn't decided to break in and take everything. Kiara moves closer to the stairs and looks into the house. The place is a mess. But no messier than usual. Everything is in the same place as it was the last time she came over. She walks onto the porch, listening to the familiar creak from the floorboard underneath her. There is that normalcy that she wants. She just stands there for what feels like hours, just taking in the porch that she has spent so many hours on. Thunder rolls from the sky, waking Kiara up from her thoughts. Kiara looks out to the world being destroyed by a storm.

This storm is going to be a bitch.

Kiara begins to turn around but is stopped by the sound of a yelp. The yelp comes from the stairs of the porch. Kiara thinks she must be imagining things as nothing is there. But when Kiara begins to move away again, a much louder yelp is heard. Yeah. Kiara doesn't that great of an imagination. Kiara stalks back to the stairs and looks closer. Kiara reaches for her phone and turns the torch on to find out what is causing the sound.

Scrunched in a ball, under the stairs is a small creature. It takes Kiara a moment to realise that it is a dog. Kiara goes to move closer but the dog begins to whimper, obviously scared. No. Kiara's wrong. This isn't a dog. It's a puppy. A puppy that doesn't look any older than eight weeks. The puppy has a brown and white coat, with Kiara guessing it to be a spaniel of some sort, maybe a mix-breed. The puppy is shaking and tucked completely up under the stairs. Kiara goes to the bottom of the stairs to try and get the puppy to trust her. Kiara makes herself look small. It looks as if it is working when the puppy begins to crawl closer. A sudden crash of thunder echoes and the puppy moves back to its original position.

Giving up with the idea of trying to trick the puppy to move closer, Kiara reaches under the stairs to pull the puppy out. The puppy is howling up a storm but Kiara can't leave him out in the storm. As soon as Kiara picks the puppy up, she is running up the stairs and straight into the chateau. Kiara holds the puppy tight to try and stop the whimpering. She is whispering in his ear, trying to soothe him.

When Kiara looks down at the puppy, she notices a cut on his face which looks like he must have run into barbed wire. The puppy is obviously in pain and Kiara feels the need to heal him. She takes him straight to the bathroom to have a better look at his injuries. The poor thing is bleeding. Luckily for Kiara, no one has taken the first aid box out of the bathroom.

It takes a couple of hours, but Kiara finally heals the puppy and calms him down enough that he could go back to being on his feet. For the first time since Kiara found him, the puppy is hopping around looking happy. A genuine smile appears on Kiara's face. This time when thunder is heard, the puppy comes running at Kiara to hide behind her feet. Kiara sits on the sofa and just looks down at the puppy without a collar. He is laying down on her feet, falling asleep.