The Forbidden Zone: Kook Rich

"You mind if I just relax on this one?" JJ keeps his eyes trained on the blunt he's rolling, "It's been a long day, and a lot of weird stuff's gone down. I'm just gonna lay low." He holds the blunt out to Pope after it's ready, "Did you want a hit of this?"

He gives him an annoyed look, "I keep the signal clear."

"Dude, okay. Do you understand that your problem is that you don't get creative? If you got creative, then--"

"Look, I... I know I was wrong about the lighthouse, alright?" John B cuts JJs ranting off, "And wrong about everything else going on. But I... I was right about one thing. Okay? My dad is trying to tell me and Willow something."

Everyone stays silent when we pull up to the gate of the cemetery, when I climb out of the van with shaky hands everyone gives me a few concerned looks. Honestly, I am not a fan of walking in the dark through the home of dead people, it's just not my thing, but here we are and I always follow after my brother and the group so I'm sort of stuck going along with this plan, the voice in my head doesn't seem to like this plan either, the uncoherent whispering in my head makes this whole experience ten times scarier. 

"Come on." John B rushes us once we drop down from the fence. 

Kie and Pope start to complain while we follow my stressed out brother through this creepy ass graveyard, I can hear him going on and on about his theories while ignoring everyone's complaints, but I've been too focused on clinging to JJ so I don't fall behind.

"Jay, I do not like this."

He chuckles, "You're fine, Princess. I won't let anything happen to you."

"You fight ghosts?" I ask while wildly looking around for paranormal activity.

"You're scared of ghosts?" He grins when I start to panic more.

"I mean I'm not best friends with any." I whisper shout, "I'm already possibly being haunted by one, I'm not trying to add more to my roster of voices."

Everyone busts out laughing. Rude.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh at my misfortunes." I grumble, my heart sinks because they think it's a joke but I'm being honest about my worries and the voice in my head, "Whatever, lets just hurry up and get out of here."

"I'm sorry, Princess." JJ murmurs in my ear, "I didn't mean to laugh, you were just being so adorable."

"I'm not being adorable, I'm being serious," I tuck myself under his arm and wrap my arms around his torso, "I really don't like this, being here isn't good for me."

"I know, we'll be done soon." He kisses my head, "Just stay close to me and you'll be fine." 

"This place is scary." Kie agrees with my fears, "John B, what are we doing?"

"Shut up." He sighs after we all go silent, "You know how you're trying to remember a song and can't remember who sings it?"

"Like when you get an earworm?"

"What the fuck is an earworm? That can't be real." John B looks back at me with a bewildered expression while Pope nods at me, "No, just.. stop Will, so anyways, Redfield, this whole time, I thought it was a place, right? But it's not a place." He shines his flash light at the mausoleum, showing everyone the name chiseled into the stone, "It's a person." 

"Voi-effing-là." JJ states in a french accent.

"I figured this out, thanks for the recognition, Johnny." I laugh when he rolls his eyes at me, "And earworm is just an expression, it's like the concept of a worm going into your ear to whisper a song to you, making you want to listen to it, but it's only a short portion of the tune so it leaves you on loop." 

"She's right," Pope smiles at me when I gesture to him so my brother will stop glaring at me, "people also call it brain worm and stuck song syndrome, it is very real but not an actual worm." 

"Thank you for the lesson we didn't ask for." John B sighs and turns away from my frown, "See, our great-great-grandmother Olivia Redfield. That was her maiden name. Help me with the door. Come on." He shuffles over and tries to push the stone door open, Pope and JJ now at his sides.

I roll my eyes when they all start to argue about who's not pushing enough, my gaze lands on Kie's amused eyes, "They do realize that door is way too heavy to move, right?"

She covers her mouth when she laughs too loud, "I was wondering that too, it's basically sealed shut from being so old."

"I think they do seal it." 

Pope steps back, his breath coming out as a pant, "This door is like 700 pounds. It's not gonna budge."

"We didn't come this far to get this far, alright?" JJ tries to move the door again, "We got this."

The boys all jump back when a long black snake hisses and drops from a crack in the wall.

"That's a moccasin, alright." JJ moves to block me from the angry reptile, "Ye olde Dr. Cottonmouth. Death in tall grass." He bends over and starts to bark at the damn thing, making everyone freak out. 

"JJ, shut up." Kie whisper shouts, "Shut up!"

Pope grabs his arm, "You're gonna wake the dead, man."

My fingers dig into my wrist, all of the commotion around me setting me more on edge as the seconds tick by, "Jay, please stop."

"They're afraid of dogs." He turns to us with an innocent smile on his face, "Everyone knows that." His eyes go wide when he looks past us, "Wait, hold on. If there's one.. there's probably dozens. All around."

Kie grabs my arm, "Stop. You're scaring me."

JJ starts to bark again, making Pope stress even more, but John B finally shuts him up, and turns to us with a disappointed expression. Yeah our group is a bit much sometimes.

Kie steps forward, letting my arm go so that she can shine her light at the top of the door, "Someone can get through right there."

"What?" Everyone exclaims at once.

John B looks between her and the sketchy hole, "No, no, no, no. You think you're gonna fit through that hole?"

"Look, this is about your dad. And honestly, I really don't believe in it, but you and Willow deserve to know the truth. So Willow will do it."

"Um what?" My face scrunches while she busts out laughing, "I thought you were being all Katniss Everdeen on us but no, you're just volunteering me as tribute instead." 

"You're the smallest one here, so it makes sense that you should go." She finally settles down from laughing at me, "And this is for you and John B."

I groan while JJ protests this new plan, "Fine. But if a ghost takes me hostage you're coming in the save me since you're the second smallest one here."

She laughs again, "Just go."

JJ presses his back against the tomb door and cups his hands in front of him after everyone else cleared the vines out of the way, "Alright I'll boost you baby, just step on my hand."

My foot rests in his hand while my hands grip his shoulders, "I better not get attacked in there." 

"Yeah if she gets hurt then I'm going to be mad." JJ sighs when my brother tells us to shut up and hurry, then he's hoisting me up and into the gap, his hands grab my thighs to push me up into the small space. 

"I need a flashlight."

"Take mine." John B passes his lantern through the hole.

I quickly grab it and hold it out to look around, gasping when I see something move, "Oh no no no." 

"Baby! What is it?" JJ yells from outside, "WILLOW."

My feet shuffle backwards at the same time something furry runs at me causing me to let out a blood curdling scream, "Get away! Get away!" 

"I told y'all this was a bad idea. Fuck," JJ stresses, "Princess come to the hole so I can grab you." 

I frantically run away from whatever is chasing me. The sounds it's making has me screaming more, the tiny small around us doesn't give me much room to get away. 

"We can't fit through, come back out, Willow." Pope raises his own voice, "What does it look like? Can you get away from it?"

"It wont stop chasing me!" I scream back at them, "Ow!" The stupid thing grabs onto my leg, making me grit my teeth when pain radiates up my calf, I can hear JJ arguing with everyone but all I can focus on is the raccoon holding onto my leg for dear life, "Fuck it." My teeth clamp down on the flashlight while I grab the raccoon, running over to the hole so I can shove it through.

"Holy shit!" Pope yells, "Move JJ."

"Its a raccoon!" Kie shakily calls out, "Are you okay Willow?"

"Fucker attacked me." I grumpily respond, "Tore me up but I'm good." 

"Just come out, Princess." JJs strained voice echoes in the chamber after he tried shoving his face through the hole.

"Hold on." My eyes land on something in the corner, the envelope is crinkly and bright white when I pick it up and shine the light at it, seeing it's addressed to Bird and Bug, "I knew this would lead to something."

"What is it?" John B excitedly asks. 

The whispering in my head grows louder so I scurry over to the hole, pushing the envelope out, someone's quick to grab it, then my arms are being gripped while my feet kick at the wall so help whoever is yanking me out of here. 

My body is dragged through the hole and then I'm in JJs arms, "Fuck, Willow, you had me stressed out."

"You were stressed?" I laugh while he sets me down, "I was the one being attacked in there."

"Damn you're scratched to hell." Pope kneels down to look at my bloody calf, "We need to clean it."

JJ grimaces when he see's my injury, "Can you walk?"

"Yes, Jay, I can walk. It's just a couple scratches."

"This is from our dad." John B smiles at me, tilting the thick envelope so everyone can see it, "He left us something." 

I turn to JJ when he lights a cigarette, plucking it from his fingers, giggling when he tries to grab it back but I run backwards and take a long drag, "He sent us a message, baby."

JJ smiles and pulls me into his arms, snagging the cigarette before I notice, "You don't need to smoke this, and I know." He kisses my forehead, "I'm sorry I didn't believe in all this more."

"It's okay," I hug him tightly, "it is a bit crazy."

"Run."

"Shit." 

JJ tenses at the same time I look up to see fear in his eyes while he stares at something behind me, "Code red. Code red. Square groupers! Square groupers!" He pulls me with him while running around the side of the mausoleum, everyone following behind us, "It's the guys who robbed your house." He whispers after we duck against the stone wall, "Stay down." 

"I see something!" A man yells close by, causing my already fast heartbeat to speed up. 

We all click off our lights and try to quiet our breathing.

"Do you think it's them?" Kie softly cries while squeezing my hand.

JJ leans around the corner, "Homie's got a gun."

"Screw this." Kie pushes off the wall and takes off running, making me trail behind her.

"Princess!" JJ yells, I can hear footsteps and two different men's voices yelling behind us but I don't look back.

We both jump the stone wall at the entrance and run for the van, "Get me the hell away from this place."

"Guys! Guys!" Pope cries out, I turn around to see him dangling from his shorts at the top of the metal gate, "I'm stuck."

"Pope, come on!" JJ calls out, then he pulls his gun from his waistband and aims it towards him.

"No, Jay." My shaky hand carefully pushes the gun down, "You'll hurt him." 

He grimaces and stuffs the gun back into his shorts, "Yeah probably not the best idea." 

"I got you." Kie starts to pull on our terrified friend, "No. Pope, don't move, okay?"

"You're gonna rip me." He stresses when his shorts start to tear off of him, "Wait. You're gonna rip me!"

"You're fine. Come on!" Kie reassures him after he lands on the ground in his underwear, causing all of us to laugh at him.

"It's a little Tootsie Roll." JJ jokes while we jump into the van and find our seats, "You scared me, Princess." He pulls me into his side and kisses my cheek, "It was so dark I could barely see you ahead of us." 

"Kie took me with her." I playfully glare at her, "We needed the head start anyways."

JJ laughs, "You are the slowest."

"Hey!" I poke his side making him jerk away and laugh harder, "I have shorter legs than you guys do, so don't make fun of me."

"We're... not.. it's cute." JJ squirms while I poke his side a few more times.

"Whatever." I cross my arms and pout.

"I'm laughing with you, not at you." He kisses my lips, "Don't be sad baby."

Kie chuckles at us, "She's faking."

"I know she is," JJ tickles my sides, making me squirm in my seat while I laugh, "my little faker."

I arch my back, trying to pull away from his hands, "Stop! Jay!"

He laughs and pulls me into his lap, "There's that smile I love."

I hum in response while curling into his chest, presses a few kisses to his neck, "I'm hungry."

"I can make us sandwiches at home." He moves my wild curls out of my face, tucking them behind my ear.

"Okay babe."

~~~~~

"That bread had mold on it three days ago." Pope tells JJ while passing through the kitchen, I lean over his shoulder, cringing at the green mold on the corners.

"I'll pull off the bad parts." JJ continues making our peanut butter and jellies, "Plus, mold is good for you. It's just a natural organism." He smiles at me and hands me one, "For my Princess."

"Thank you babe." My lips press to his cheek before I turn around and quickly pick off the mold that's still hanging on for dear life.

Fuck it, I'm starving and we have nothing else right now. I've eaten like three times in the last five days since we're so low on money lately.

"Willow! JJ!" Kie calls out from the other room.

"Coming." I round the corner and sit down next to my brother who's staring at the envelope like it'll crawl away if he doesn't watch it carefully.

"Yup, yup, yup!" JJ runs in and stands behind me, one of his hands resting on my shoulder, "Hot damn! Let's do it." He gags when he takes a bite, making me cringe while I take a bite of mine, hoping it's not as bad as his, ignoring Pope's disgusted expression while he watches us. Whatever.

John B tears open the package and pulls out a large map, "Holy shit."

Pope leans forward and touches the map, "X marks the spot."

"Longitude, latitude." John B breathes out, he reaches for the package again, "Wait, there's somethin' else in there."

"What's that?"

"It's a tape recorder, dumbass." Kie sasses, making my boyfriend look rather embarrassed.

I tilt my head back so I can see JJ, "You're not a dumbass, I didn't know what it was either."

He chuckles, "Wouldn't that make us both dumbasses?"

My eyes roll, "No."

"Shut up." John B presses a button on the tape recorder, static crackles for a few seconds before my fathers voice fills the room.

Tape Recording Audio. 

"Dear Bird and Bug, I hate to say, I told you so, but I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either. You were probably right to call me out. Wasn't exactly Father of the Decade."

He shuffles around for a moment. 

"What can I say? I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we're listenin' to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, livin' off passive investments and pulling on permits, If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. Finish what I started."

The sound of a gun being loaded makes my heart thud against my chest. 

"John B, Willow, go for the gold of the royal merchant. I love you, Bird and Bug, even if I didn't always act like it. I'll see you on the other side. Oh one more thing, Willow plug your ears... JJ if you're still sticking around, I want you to know that my answer is yes. I don't know if you remember our conversation on the dock, but I thought about it often while watching y'all interact."

He sighs. 

"I watched how you were around her, and I saw her light up around you... So yes. I know I told you to focus on yourself first but I think she's exactly what you need in your life. I trust you'll take care of her, probably better than I ever did. And John B, don't give them a hard time. This was long overdue to happen, if it does. Hopefully I'm there to watch it all unfold, but if not, then know I approve and I love you, JJ, like you were my own."

End of Tape Recording. 

John B shoves away from the table and crashes into the door frame when he tries to leave the room, sobs racking his body. I want to hug him but I can't move, I can barely breathe, and I can't see through my tears. I can feel arms around me, JJs cologne filling my nose while I cry, so I lean into his embrace. 

"I'm here, Princess." JJ sniffles, "I've got you." He pulls me into his lap and rubs my back while I slump into his chest, burying my face against his neck. Minutes felt like hours while he comforted me, saying all the right things as he whispered in my ear, then I could hear shuffling around in the room, "Come on, everyone's going outside." He lifts me up and holds me bridal style, trailing the others down to the dock.

I nuzzle into his side when he sits down, leaning against the railing, the dark night surrounding us as Kie plays a soft tune on her Ukulele.

"So how much was it again?" JJ asks no one in particular, his lighter in his hand, flicking it open and closed.

"500 million." Pope and Kie both respond.

JJ sighs and shifts to face everyone, the crickets chirp in the distance as the quiet night shields the tears that fall down my face, "Alright, lets talk about the split." He looks around, "Now before we say evenly, may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us." He pulls his pistol from his waistband, "Protection? Not cheap, okay?"

"You haven't trained." Pope fires back in a strained voice, he moves to sit on the ground across from me with a first aid kit, getting busy cleaning my injury for me. 

He's such a good friend, I didn't even have to ask him for his help, he's just always so selfless and caring. 

"Youtube bro!" He exclaims, tucking the gun back into his shorts after I nudge it away from me, "I should get at least a five percent bump because of it."

"What are you going to do with your 100 mil, Pope?" Kie changes the subject.

"Pay for college in advance, and also textbooks." He briefly looks up from my leg to smile at her, "Those are expensive."

JJ looks down at me, frowning when he sees me wince in pain, "What about you, Princess?"

I sit and think for a moment, exhaling my smoke from the cigarette I just lit, he eyes it in my hands but doesn't say anything, "I'd invest some of it into things that can make profits. Maybe take a vacation, see the world, surf, early retirement, stuff like that." He smiles at me, nodding in agreement, "What about you, Kie?"

"I want to make my own album. About the OBX, the Pogues, like how catch a fire is about Kingston. I've always wanted to record at Marley Studio, with Peter Tosh producing." She shuts down Pope's comment about Peter Tosh being dead, saying something about his legacy living on without him, "What would you do with your cut, JJ?"

He smiles, "I'm going to get a big ass house on figure eight and go full Kook."

"You're gonna go full Kook?" Pope asks, a mixture of disbelief and humor in his tone.

"Yep," JJ confidently says, "gonna get a marble statue of myself, one of my beautiful Princess too," He smirks at me, so I playfully roll my eyes at him, "and then I'm gonna get a koi pond with a bunch of fish in it."

"I am never visiting." Kie giggles when he scoffs.

"What are you gonna do, JB?" Pope asks, making everyone go quiet, he pats the bandages on my leg before turning away to look at my sad brother. 

John B sits for a minute looking out over the dark water before turning to us, "To going full Kook."

He raises his beer in the air, everyone doing the same, except I raise my cigarette, "To going full Kook." We all say in unison as laughs escape our mouths, the thought of being rich raising our spirits.

"We still gotta find the gold though." I remind them, "That's the hard part anyways." 

"We'll fine it." John B smiles at me. "For dad."

"For dad." I repeat with a sad smile, "Alright, I'm tired, I need a solid 24 hours of sleep."

JJ stands up and throws me over his shoulder, "We're out of here, night y'all."

A collection of goodnights came from them while he carries me away, my laugh fills the quiet night around us, "Jay, I can walk."

"I know, but I like carrying you." He sets me down on my bed and hands me one of his shirts to sleep in, "Bedtime for my Princess."

I slip on his shirt and lay on my side of the bed, curling into his bare chest when he lays down, "What else would you do with your share, other than get a house on figure eight?"

JJ runs his fingers through my curls, "I'd travel with you, baby, we'll go see the world together."

My body shifts to see him better, "I'd like that."

He presses a soft kiss to my forehead, "I really like being in a relationship with you, Willow."

I stare into his ocean eyes, letting his words soak into my brain, "I do too, JJ."

"I never want to lose you. I don't know what I'd do not having you by my side now that I know how good it is." He confesses, his eyes glossy now that he's letting out his emotions, "Shit, sorry, I don't know why I feel so emotional right now."

"No, it's okay. I want you to tell me how you feel. You can be open with me, I won't ever judge you for crying or for showing vulnerability." My hands hold onto the side of his neck so he can't look away, "I've felt like crying after we've had sex. I think we have all these feelings between us that we keep holding back, we can't keep bottling it up. Besides I want to know how you feel."

JJ nods, my thumb wipes the single tear that slipped down his cheek, "This is all new to me, I've never had to handle these kinds of feelings."

"I know, and it's scary." I feather kisses along his cheek, his hands press against my back, holding me in place, "But its me, Jay, you can show me this side of you, okay?"

"Thank you." He kisses my lips, "Who knew I'd end up a softy with a girlfriend."

"I know right," I grin at him, "simp."

He groans and pushes me off his chest, "You're the simp." I hum in response, a cheesy smile crosses his face when he lightly squeezes my cheeks together so my lips are pouty, "I love these plump lips." He leans over and kisses me, lightly biting my bottom lip when he pulls away, "So soft."

I laugh when he lets me go, settling back into his side when he lays back, "When you called my lips plump at that house we broke into, I thought you were picking on me, and that girl had lips like mine and I was so offended that you liked hers and not mine."

JJ frowns, "I'm sorry I made you feel that way, Princess, but it's always been you. Your lips," His finger traces over my mouth, "your hair," He moves to touch my curls, "your eyes," His gaze locks with mine, "your body," He slowly glides his hands down my back, feeling me as he goes until he gets to my ass and squeezes, making me laugh, "that sweet heart," He pokes my chest, "and of course that smart but also silly brain of yours." He pokes my forehead next, "It's all perfect, because it's you." 

"Stop it, you're being so mushy." I giggle when he blushes, "You really think all that about me?"

He pulls me closer, "Yes, Willow, I promise I mean it."

"Well, it's always been you for me too." I twirl his hair on the side of his head in my fingers, "Everything about you just makes sense to me."

"Perfect for each other." JJ yawns, "Okay sleep time."

"Fine." I close my eyes and listen to his heart beat.

He kisses my head before clicking off the lamp, "Goodnight, Princess."

"Goodnight, Jay." -