Summary: You’ve grown up not being able to show much affection because of your family, but JJ knows just how to heal your wounds.
Pairing: JJ Maybank x Fem!Reader
Warnings: Mention of abuse, a lil suggestive content
A/N: hope y’all enjoy! request r open!
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You've always been rather cautious about accepting hugs from people. Even as a young child, you might have hesitantly accepted a hug or just stood there not really knowing what to do. Likewise, expressing your love has always been difficult for you because it’s not something you would do very often inside your house hold.
Your parents never really said the words ‘I love you’. Sure, they’d sometimes give words of affirmation once in every blue moon, or they might hug you on special occasions but you never really got the feeling of true family love.
As a kid you would always watch family movies, or look at your friends parents and wonder ‘why are they so nice?’ or ‘how come they rarely argue?’
That is when you started realizing this behavior is not normal.
But once you and JJ started dating, things started to change; your displays of affection began to get stronger and more obvious.
He showed you how to love.
Your dreams, your kisses, your hearts, and your love for each other were all shared by the two of you.
You and JJ both know every last detail about one another. You were able to wipe away every tear that came from JJ's memories with kisses since you were aware of JJ's father and his early years. This may be why you two matched so well.
However, your family? You preferred not to bring it up. Naturally, your partner was aware of the awful ways in which your parents treated you, but you would never go into detail because doing so would trigger unpleasant memories.
That is until one sleepless night you couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Jay” you whispered through your tears trying to wake him up out of his sleep.
“Baby?” He rubbed his eyes and seen the tears pouring down your face “Baby no, come here.” He said with a pout and pulled you in.
“JJ I had a dream about my parents and it brought back everything, and my mom was telling me about how I didn’t deserve you and-”
JJ then placed a soft kiss on your lips to calm you down.
“Calm down baby, i’m right here for you. I’ll be here all night. It was just a dream, i’m forever yours I promise.” He says in a soothing voice while rubbing your back hoping it’ll calm you even a little bit.
Since your mother called you on the phone two days earlier, he was aware that something was wrong. You’ve have been so silent since that phone call, he was skeptical about what was said, but he decided to not push it unless you were ready to tell him.
After a few minutes of crying and back rubs you’ve finally chilled out enough to tell him what was going on.
“When my mother called me two days ago, I thought it would be good and we could just catch up. I thought she'd be happy of me for where I've gone in life, but all she did was yell and tell me how she wishes I were different. I've been having dreams ever since, and I can't handle it any more.” At the end of your sentence, your voice begins to tremble, indicating another sob.
JJ immediately notices this and pulls you in tighter.
“Baby, please don’t ever believe those words. I fell in love with you for who you are, your the most beautiful girl I have ever met. Everything about you is perfect to me, the way you giggle, the way you snore, and even when you upset me I can’t find a single flaw about you.” He says with his hands on both sides of your cheeks.
“I don’t deserve to be loved by someone like you.” you whisper
“Don’t even say that.” JJ says in a serious tone with tears starting to form in his eyes. “I wouldn’t even be able to think without you, much less live without you.”
The look in his eyes was very serious. You were his oxygen, he never wanted to hear something like that from you. Without you, he wouldn't be able to breathe.
JJ finally broke the built up tension and pressed your lips together. Minutes upon minutes of the need to be closer to eachother.
You depended the kiss and pushed JJ back so you were on top of him.
“Jay” you said staring into his eyes while unbuttoning his pants.
He softly pushed you off and buttoned his pants back up. “Not tonight baby, I want to show you my love in a different way.” he breathed out
“Okay.” you said while he laid down and pushed you against him.
That night all you guys did was share little pecks, talk about stupid things, and hold onto eachother tight.
This was it, this is what you’ve been searching for since you were 7. This is what your parents swore would never happen to you, This is true unconditional love.
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You’re skating down the boardwalk, wheels humming smooth beneath you, curls bouncing in the salty breeze. It’s your first week staying with family for the summer, soaking up all the OBX vibes. Headphones blasting, world on mute—you’re in your zone, lost in the rhythm of your board and the ocean air.
JJ’s leaning casually against the railing, one hand wrapped around a cold beer, eyes tracing the waves like they hold all the secrets. He’s got that effortless vibe—like he owns the place without even trying.
You’re trying out a new trick, focused and maybe a little too caught up in your own world. Suddenly, you lose your balance and almost slam right into him.
“Shit, sorry!” you blurt, stepping back too fast. His grip slips, and the beer tumbles from his hand, crashing against the boardwalk with a loud, shattering smack.
You immediately feel a sharp sting bite your palm. Looking down, you spot thin lines of blood creeping between your fingers.
JJ’s face shifts instantly from surprise to concern as he crouches down beside you. “Fuck, you good?” he asks, eyes scanning the cut.
You bite your lip, trying not to wince. “Yeah, I’m YN,” you say, trying to keep your voice steady despite the sting.
He reaches out carefully, gently grabbing your hand. His fingers are warm as he inspects the cut, and you can’t help but notice how close you are.
“JJ,” he says, his voice low and steady.
You meet his gaze, heart skipping a beat even though you’re trying to play it cool. “Guess I owe you a beer,” you say, a smirk tugging at your lips despite the pain.
He chuckles softly, pulling his shirt off to wrap around your hand, stopping the bleeding. “Yeah, you definitely do.”
The tension between you lingers in the salty air, heavy but electric. Neither of you rushes to break it—it’s like the universe just set the stage for something new.
Later, you roll up to the Cameron house—your cousins’ place, a messy, lively spot that somehow feels like home despite being new to you. The porch light casts a warm glow, and you hear familiar laughter and the faint clatter of dishes inside.
Ward, Sarah’s dad and your uncle-by-marriage, spots you the second you walk in, eyes immediately flicking to your hand wrapped in JJ’s shirt.
“What happened?” he asks, voice low but firm like he’s ready to school you if needed.
“I fell,” you say, shrugging it off.
Ward nods. “Alright, let’s get you cleaned up.”
He starts walking toward the kitchen, but his phone buzzes in his pocket. He pulls it out but doesn’t answer right away.
Instead, he calls out, “Sarah, baby, can you come help YN with a cut?”
You hear footsteps as Sarah—your cousin and a total boss—comes downstairs.
Ward grabs his phone and heads toward his office. “I’ve got a call I need to take.”
Sarah arrives just in time, giving you a reassuring smile.
She gently takes your hand and inspects the cut. The blood is still fresh, but not too bad.
“Okay, first things first,” Sarah says, grabbing a clean cloth and running it under cold water.
She carefully presses the damp cloth against your palm, cleaning away the blood.
“Does it sting?” she asks.
“A little,” you admit, biting your lip.
Sarah nods. “That’s normal. Just hold still.”
After a few seconds, she reaches for a small first aid kit and pulls out some antiseptic cream and a sterile bandage.
She spreads the cream gently over the cut, then wraps the bandage snugly around your hand.
“There,” she says, giving you a soft smile. “Good as new.”
You flex your fingers, testing the bandage. “Thanks, Sarah. I owe you one.”
She laughs. “Just don’t go falling again, okay?”
Sarah studies your bandaged hand carefully. “So, how’d you manage to do this?” she asks, eyebrow raised.
You shrug, cheeks warming. “I fell… tried a trick and didn’t stick it.”
She laughs, nudging your arm. “Classic. But you gotta be careful if you wanna keep skating all summer.”
You grin. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”
Sarah’s smile gets wider. “Hey, there’s a party tonight at the Bone Yard. All the island kids will be there.”
You blink, intrigued. “The Bone Yard?”
“Yeah, it’s where everyone hangs out. It’s pretty chill—music, bonfires, the whole vibe.”
You hesitate but the thought makes your heart skip. “Sounds… fun.”
Sarah nods. “It’ll be a good way to meet people. You should come.”
You smile, feeling a spark of excitement. “Alright, I’m in.”
💕💕💕💕💕Later that night💕💕💕💕💕
The night air hits you as you step into the Bone Yard, the low hum of music and chatter wrapping around you like a familiar blanket. Topper’s by your side, grinning like he owns the place as you weave through the crowd of island kids gathered around bonfires and makeshift tables.
Sarah waves from across the yard, her eyes catching yours before she slips away to talk with some friends. You spot JJ leaning against a post near the edge, watching the crowd with that effortless cool, but you don’t say a word—yet.
You take a deep breath, letting the buzz of the party settle in, then slip away from Topper to grab two beers from the cooler. One’s for you, the other still sealed.
JJ’s eyes find you as you head back, and for a moment, you freeze, caught under his gaze.
You walk up with a smirk, holding out the unopened bottle. “Here, stranger. I owed you one.”
He raises an eyebrow, accepting the beer, the corner of his mouth twitching into a grin. “Thanks. I was starting to think you forgot.”
You shrug, popping open your own bottle. “Not a chance.”
He leans in slightly, voice low enough just for you. “You’re full of surprises, YN. I like that.”
You sip your beer, feeling the warmth spread. “Yeah? You’re not so bad yourself.”
The music pulses around you as you both fall into easy conversation—talking about the island, favorite spots, and the dumbest tricks you’ve attempted on your boards.
“You ever fall this hard before?” he asks, nodding at your bandaged hand.
You laugh, shrugging. “More times than I can count. But hey, it’s all part of the ride.”
He smirks, eyes locked on yours. “You’re tougher than you look.”
You bite your lip, heart picking up pace. “You’re not too shabby yourself.”
The buzz of the party fades into background noise as the moment stretches between you two—electric, charged, and just waiting to snap.
He leans in lips just brush yours you cam feel his hot breath on your slightly cold face and he pulls back slightly, voice low and casual, “I know a spot we can go… if you want.”
You grins, biting your lip, “Sure.”
You two slip through the party crowd, weaving toward the edge of the Bone Yard.
JJ leads confidently, hand resting lightly on your lower back.
The night air is just slightly chiller then normal, but the heat between you stays thick.
JJ leads you to a old rusty van,i parked just out of sight.
JJ opens the sliding door and motions for you to get in.
The van smells faintly of leather and sea salt.
JJ leans against the doorframe, watching you settle in.
You smile, heart pounding with anticipation.
JJ steps inside, closing the door behind him.
The small space feels cozy and private.
JJ moves close again, fingers brushing your cheek.
You're eyes lock, breath shallow.
JJ tilts your chin up, capturing your lips in a hungry kiss.
You melt into it, he as he slips histongue into your mouth. He tasted faintly like beer and mint.
As the kissed continued and hands started to roam, his hands warm, rough, but soft at the same time, went from the back of your neck to the small of your back to the hem of your shirt.
He pulled back just far enough to pull your shirt off and you helped his hand reached behind you to find your bra clip.
Before he undid it he checked in looking you in the eye "you sure"?
You nod.
"Words" he said shaking his head.
"Yes" you said breathlessly from the lobg kiss and your anticipation.
Just as you said the word like magic he unclipped it, with one hand the straps fell down your shoulders, you take your arms out of them.
Nipples almost instantly hard from the cold night air, even in the van.
He groans amd kisses your collar bone whispering in between kisses fuck ... your .... perfect.
He kisses back up to your neck.
You find the hem of his shirt pull it up slightly, he pulls back and takes it off.
it gets thrown somewhere on the van floor as he leans back in to kiss you.
His hands traces your figure.
All the way until he reaches your jean shorts, his fingers find the button he pulls back, undoes them.
He leans down to take the right boob in his mouth, sucking and kissing, hot breath on your chest.
While the other hand messaging your left, fingers pinching and rolling your nipple. Making you moan and whimper. You could feel him getting harder by the minute, so you reach down to palm him through his pants.
He groans pulls back just enough to take his pants off, you mirrored his action.
Now a pile of clothes on the ground.
He leans in again kissing you, as his hand trail down to your soaking wet heat, to open you up with his fingers.
He gently slid one in easily.
Then two.
he moved them in the spongy spot, making you cry out.
"So wet for me"? He taunted a bit fingers moving a little faster.
He adds preasure on your clit, making you almost cum on the spot.
"Fuck fuck fuck! JJ! Fuck"! You moan, legs shaking from how close you are.
He stops pulling his fingers out.
Moving his hand, to stoking his long thick length. Rubbing his tip through your folds.
"Shit" he groans "so fuckin' wet".
His cock catches on your hole, he pushes in slowly little by little, hissing threw his clench jaw.
"Shit JJ" you moan out, due to the sweet burn of the stretch.
When he finally bottomed out, he said "tell me when"
Staying still, letting you relax get used to him.
Ok you say breathless "I'm ready"
He nods and slowly starts to move, you lift your leg onto his shoulder making him go impossibly deeper, he slowly picks up his pace and sets a rythme.
All that can be heard in the van, is the slaping of skin, your moans, every so often the twinkie would squeak.
Your eyes roll back from the intense pleasure.
Shiiiiit you say clenching JJ so hard, desperately feeling for anything to grab.
You eventually find JJ wrist, that was holding him up so he wouldn't crush you. your other hand reached up over your head and found the seat crack.
Fuck JJ groaned "You gonna cum? Your clenching so hard I'm gonna lose control" a moment later he continued "come onbaby cum for me be a good girl and let go"
The hand you werent holding, went to rub your clit in figure eights.
Your legs started shaking, your vision went black, you saw stars, JJ sped up as you came hard on his cock
"Fuck I'm cummin" " is all you got to say before you were moaning and couldnt form words.
JJ started chasing his high, as your yes rolled back again, with overwhelming pleasure.
Before you knew it his cum spilled inside you.
All you heard was his groan and felt his speed slowly slowing down.
You look up at him and he said "You with me?"
You nodded and he slowly and carefully pulled out.
Stood up to grab a napkin from the glove box, cleaned you up he got dressed, helped you get dressed as he was helping you put on your bra you said "thank you that was amazing"
Then all a sudden there was a knock on the door
Hey man, John b said You good in there
JJ signaled to you to be quite.
Yup all good he replied just grabbing some weed be out in 5?
💕💕💕💕💕💕The End💕💕💕💕💕💕
✨ I seriously hope you babes love this as much as I did ✨ If you have any requests, ideas, or even just random thoughts about this (or literally anything else), my DMs are always open. No judgment here, ever. This is a safe space where we gas each other up, share the chaos, and have fun with it. 💖
Huge shoutout to the queen @swacred for inspiring this spicy little masterpiece—you’re the best, babe! Love you all endlessly, and I can’t wait to hear what you think. 🫶
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General Masterlist
Series’ masterlist
Pairing: OC!Elizabeth Miller x JJ Maybank
Word count: approx. 9227
Episode: 1
A/N: underage drinking, language, yes I did the “escaping the police” scene like everyone do them bc it’s the only way, I would’ve had her lay down underneath the window but she would’ve fallen so...
Also, my first ever OBX & JJ piece so I want y’all to be honest and not sugar coat what I did “wrong” or what could be done better
***************************
"We're the Pogues, and our mission this summer is to have a good time, all the time.”
John B. was standing on the roof of a house under construction, looking out on the water in front of him, the wide and never-ending space. After taking a sip of his beer, he balanced on the edge on one foot looking down at Pope who was toying with a drill.
“That's what, a three-story fall to the deck?” Pope asked looking at his friends who nodded. “I give you about a one-in-three chance of survival.”
“Hmmm…” The boy with a flappy haircut hummed before wetting his finger and lifting it up in the air as if he was calculating wind speeds. “Should I do it?” He asked getting the attention of the pair that was sitting on some kind of balcony platform, both a beer in hand.
“Yeah, jump.” Pope encouraged John B. “I'll shoot you on the way down.”
“You'll shoot me?”
“Yep.” Pope answered as John faked shot him with finger guns.
On the “balcony-platform thing” Elizabeth and JJ were drinking their beers, sitting an inch apart as their bodies were stuck together.
“So, what do you wanna do, tonight?” The light brunette asked the blonde headed boy.
“We could, go fish?” She chuckled rolling her eyes at her friend’s suggestion.
“They're gonna have Japanese toilets with towel warmers.” The girl’s best friend, Kiara, got out of the house after doing a quick tour.
“Of course. Why wouldn't they?” Elizabeth leaned over the railing as she answered her best friend.
“This used to be a turtle habitat, but who cares about the turtles, I guess?”
“JJ can’t have cold towels.” She said her thumb going to her right side.
“Can you please not kill yourself?” Kiara called out to the boy goofing around on the roof.
“Don't spill that beer. I'm not giving you another one.” JJ said while handing a second one to the girl next to him. Right as he said that, his own best friend lost his balance and dropped the beer.
“That was smooth John B, d’you think it would’ve happened if JJ hadn’t said anything?” She teased him showing off the second can of beer in her hand. “Anyway, you get an A plus!”
Pope heard tires rolling on gravel making him check the front of the house where the driveway was only to see the security guards of the construction site.
“Hey! Hey, uh, security’s here.” He called out to his four friends. “Let’s wrap it up.” At that, JJ nodded his head looking at Elizabeth before the pair stood up, making her grab her beer tightly.
“Oooh they’re early.” She walked to the edge to see the men in light blue uniforms.
“Humpty Dumpty let's roll. Shooo!”
“Yeah. Let’s go, boys.” Kiara called out before wrapping an arm around her best friend’s shoulder when she made it on the deck.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes before she stopped and waited for the rest of her friends.
“Gary, is that you? It’s me! And Beth look, she made it!” He said as the girl waved at the man.
“Y’all are just asking for it!” The dark-skinned girl laughed before they started to quickly make their way out of the house.
“C’mon JJ!”
The five teenagers went down the flight of stairs whooping and laughing as their bodies rushed with adrenaline, Beth and Kiara quickly making their way to the group’s main way of transport as they dodged the guards that were mostly busy with the boys. One of the guards, Gary, tried to catch the teenagers, failing to catch the blonde headed boy.
“Not much of a hugger!” Beth heard from the inside of the house making her laugh out loud.
The girls and John B made their way to the van and started the getaway car, going slow so that the last two could catch up. Elizabeth was filled with an adrenaline rush as she saw JJ and Pope go over the fence screaming and laughing out of breath. Her and JJ’s eyes connected, and she moved from her seat at the very back just as JJ jumped into the brown/orange van.
“Come on, boys! Whoo!”
Laughing, Beth picked up a beer from the cooler she and Kiara had saved and handed one to the teenager next to her lifting her chin quickly towards the outside of the van.
“Check out Gary, gunnin' for a raise.”
“Come on, G! You can do it!” The light brunette encouraged the man.
“Wait. Slow down.” JJ called out to John B who was driving.
“Hey! You're gonna give him a heart attack.” Kiara laughed as she saw that Elizabeth had happy tears forming in her eyes.
“You're so close! You can do it. There you go.” JJ said encouraging and then throwing a beer to the man running after the much faster van. “They don't pay you enough, bro.”
“JJ, stop. Stop.” Kiara called out, being the somewhat more responsible one but Beth was the one that pulled him back in the van by the sleeve of his t-shirt.
“Oh, come on.”
“Ki, he’s just asking for it honestly, he thinks he’s gonna catch us by running?” Beth asked settling down under the blonde’s arm.
The Outer Banks, Paradise on Earth.
It's the sort of place where you either have two jobs or two houses.
Two tribes, one island.
The van passed by the richer house of the island. Making Elizabeth look out the window to see all the large boats and luxurious cars that littered people’s properties.
All right. This is Figure Eight, the rich side of the island.
Home of the Kooks. So, guess where we don't live.
The group went over the water, on the bridge, a smile settling on Beth’s lips as she started to recognize her neighborhood.
And then, this is the south side or the cut.
Home of the working class who make a livin of busing table, washing yachts, running charters.
The natural habitat of... drumroll, please...
...the Pogues.
That's us.
- Pogues, pogies, the throwaway fish.
Pope, John B, Kiara, JJ and Elizabeth were all sitting on the HMS Pogue, hanging out and chilling, the first three laying down talking animatedly while the last two were sitting in the “seating area” watching them and talking in low voices.
Lowest member of the food chain. Okay. So, the downside of Pogue life is we're ignored and neglected.
But the upside of Pogue life? We're ignored and neglected, which means we do whatever we want, whenever we want.
John B lifted up out of the water a net full of fish and letting it fall on the boat’s “deck”, JJ was leaning back exhaling smoke, Beth sitting very close to him and grabbing the dark plastic out of his hand and taking a hit.
“Nice haul, dude. Look at that.” JJ said as the fishes continued to move around.
“Ugh, John B.” Both girls whined at the same time making the boys laugh.
“Been all bait for, like, three weeks.”
“It’s still gross.” Elizabeth said stepping away from the blonde headed boy, decided on sitting on the floor of the boat. She looked up at the boy a smile gracing both of their lips.
******************
That's JJ, my best friend since the third grade.
He's about as local as they come.
Latest in a long line of fishing, drinking, smuggling, vendetta-holding salt-lifers who made their living off the water.
Best surfer I know. Just don't tell him I said that.
Mild kleptomaniac and a future tax cheat.
Sitting in Pope’s delivery boat, Elizabeth and JJ were sitting in the little booth, both wearing sweatshirts and shorts, as he showed her to drive the thing.
******************
Kiara and Beth were both seated around a campfire and both were being chatted up by a pair of tourons.
“Don't even get me started on microplastic. Have you even heard about that island? That little island of just-”
“Oh my god, yes. The island made of garbage?” Elizabeth interrupted the girl, leaning forward as they continued to chat, both boys leaving.
And that's Kiara, or Kie, as we call her.
When not saving turtles or listening to Marley, or getting a dolphin tattoo, she hangs out with us.
I'm not really sure why, though.
So, she's a rich kid, actually.
- Foot in both worlds.
Her family owns The Wreck, this Outer Banks institution.
Total cash cow with the tourists.
You know, I'm not really sure how her parents feel about us.
We all have a thing for her.
Except for JJ, pretty sure Ellie also has a thing for her.
******************
Parked near the deck at The Wreck, Pope and Beth were lounging on the boat, looking at their friends as they talked about the recent books, they both read, it was their own personal bookclub.
“Dude, you gotta install that app, there’s like endless books and audio things and like those podcast thingies you like. Ki, got me on her account, it’s freeee.”
That's Pope, the brains of the operation... finalist for the Lucas T. Vanderhorst Merit Scholarship.
- And the smartest person I know.
Little bit of a weirdo.
His father's this legendary character, Heyward.
Anything you wanted on the island; Heyward could get for you.
Now, I'm not sure Heyward knew what to make of his oddball son, but it didn't matter. He was a Pogue, just like the rest of us.
******************
The small light brunette walked out of a small brick house, a golden retriever following after her, happily.
“Go back home Louis! You can’t come this ti-” She was interrupted as JJ ran up the pathway and picked her up, lifting her off the ground and turning the both of them.
“Hi Mrs. Miller!” The boy called out waving to the girl’s mother who was at the door smiling. She called back the dog and JJ wrapped his arm around the girl’s shoulder before they climbed on his bike, both heading to the chateau.
And that’s Elizabeth Miller, Ellie as we call her, or Beth as JJ calls her.
Ki’s best friend since the first grade, their moms grew up together in figure eight.
She was born a kook, but they lost most of their money when her dad left them, so they moved back home, with us.
She’s the pogue’s princess as a lot of people call her.
Knows everything and everyone on the island and tries to make our lives easier.
While Pope is book smart, Ellie is street smart and can get us out of most situations that JJ puts us in.
She also makes a mean chicken casserole.
We all had a thing for her at one point, especially JJ.
******************
And that's me, John Booker Routledge.
And this is where I live.
An old fish shack on the marsh. The Château, as my dad used to call it.
There's Dad.
He disappeared at sea nine months ago, looking for a shipwreck.
Who disappears at sea these days?
I miss him.
And then there's Mom. She split when I was three.
Last I heard, she was in Colorado. I think it was Colorado.
Uncle T! That's Uncle T.
Since Dad's vanished, he's supposedly my legal guardian.
At the moment, he's in Mississippi, building houses....
...which means it's just me right now, on my own, hangin' out with my friends.
Three months after my dad was missing, he was officially presumed dead.
I refused to sign the papers.
Until I see a body, I'm not giving up.
******************
In the morning, John B got out of the bathroom, looking to his right to see the room that JJ used whenever he would sleep over, a half-naked blonde underneath him.
“Dude! Come on, man. Get outta here.” JJ said throwing a can of beer at his best friend.
“Morning, Kie.”
“Morning.” The girl grumbled sleepily from her position on the pull-out futon.
He turned, facing the kitchen to see Ellie, her back facing him while she faced the stove, the smell of cooked eggs and toasts filling the air.
“You are a life saver, love you.” John B said picking up a buttered piece of bread that she had handed him, he kissed her on the cheek before walking out of the chateau and laying down on a hammock, a beer in hand.
“Ain’t good for you to drink beer in the morning John!” She yelled knowing he was probably already out of earshot.
She walked into the closed bedroom, throwing a quick look at the girl pinned under JJ, yeah she was cute. She thought before going to the drawer where the friends would keep some clothes.
“Do you really have to do that now?” JJ groaned as he started to get annoyed about people clearly cockblocking him.
“Sorry baby, gotta get my swimsuit, it’s nice out. Y’all should come.” She said, the red two pieces in her hand with a black pair of swimming short. She tapped his face gently before sending him a wink and exiting the room, leaving the door open behind them.
******************
And that's where this story starts.
My dad missing, my uncle MIA, and the Bride of Frankenstein threatening foster care.
But then, I caught a break.
******************
“Hurricane Agatha continues its steady march towards Kildare Island - on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.” A reporter announced on the tv.
John B and Ellie were standing next to each other before she ran out, quickly going to help other fishers and people at the marina to settle down their things for the oncoming hurricane.
“I need some sandbags over here!”
“We gotta board this up!” Someone said and Ellie went and helped them quickly, holding up the plank against the store’s window.
Elizabeth looked back to where John B was standing seeing him talk on the phone. It was quick and soon enough after he was walking towards her.
“You coming to surf with Pope and I later?”
“Fuck yeah. Isn’t crazy?” She said making the taller boy look down at her. “Wasn’t that DCS chick supposed to come here? Someone’s looking over your shoulder, my friend” She grinned tying up her hair, making sure that the store’s owner would be fine.
******************
Running after Pope and John B, Elizabeth had a hard time holding on to the board under her arm, her swimming shorts clinging to her thighs while she stopped next to Pope an excited smile on her lips.
“It's a double overhead out there, bro.”
“Double overhead?” Her and John B asked at the same time.
“Those aren’t surfable waves, bro.” John B laughed, sending the reckless girl a look before they both ran towards the water.
“Says who?” She screamed as she gripped her board tighter, John B and Pope following after her, the trio running by the “Beach Closed” sign.
After crashing in a few waves, Ellie decided to sit down of her board, starting to paddle back to shore, but she saw John B stopped looking at the distance.
“What’s up John?” She screamed.
“I think there’s a boat!”
“What? Come on, let’s go home.”
The pair went back on the sand where Pope had decided to wait.
“C’mon let’s go. Gotta make sure the chateau doesn’t become Atlantis or some shit.” She said, board heavy as the walked back home.
All evening and all night, they could hear the hurricane siren and the rain thumping loudly on the roof.
The next morning, Ellie woke up in the guest room, water dripping on her face as she squinted because of the morning light that went through the drapes. She stood up and walked out seeing John B already in the hallway.
“Got service?” He shook his head. “What about power?” She asked even if she had the answer already. He shook his head and she rolled her eyes, sleep filling her body, making it heavy. The sound of the rooster crowing relaxed her a little, the animals were good.
“Yo, JJ, you been outside?” John B asked while Beth just let herself fall down next to the the blond, his arm wrapping around her shoulders.
“I have polio, bro. I can't walk.” He muttered sleepily, making the girl chuckle.
“Good morning.” She told him pushing away his arm and sitting up.
“Mornin’” He smiled lightly before stretching and standing up to go grab a beer.
Thunder was rumbling in the distance, making Elizabeth pause at the house’s door.
“Oh, man. That's no good. That is not good.” She looked at John B and bent down to pick up litter that moved during the night.
“Oh, man.” She said when she saw that the tree had been uprooted.
“Agatha did some work, huh?”
“Yeah, she did.” JJ burped making the teenage girl turn around.
“Y’all should really stop drinking beer in the morning.”
“It’s the one I didn’t finish last night. It’s warm, ugh.” JJ and Beth walked to the HMS Pogue where John B was.
“What you thinkin'?”
“I'm thinkin' that storm surge pushed all the crabs out on the marsh maze. All those drums are gonna chase the crab.”
“What about the DCS? Wasn't that today?”
“Nah, they're not gettin' on a ferry.”
“Come on, think about it. It's God tellin' us to fish.”
“It’s telling you to fish, it’s telling me to take advantage of the boat and tan.”
And that’s exactly what they did, right after they got ready for the day, swimsuits on, water bottle for the girl with a banana she picked up on the kitchen table.
“It's kind of a smuggler's boat.”
“Uh... Good mornin'!” Beth chirped at the fishers.
“Sure hope Guffy's boat didn't sink. He doesn't have insurance.”
“Yeah. Hi, Miss Amy! You guys get through it?”
“Still here.”
“That’s good to hear.” The teenage girl mumbled, after seeing the damage Agatha did.
“She totally looked at me.” JJ said smugly.
“I saw it. Dude, look at this place.”
“Agatha, what did you do?”
“She is a crazy lady.” Elizabeth huffed out waving at the people she knew.
“Hard-core. Hurricane surge”
“Yeah.”
“We'll be cleaning this all summer.”
“That is my nightmare.”
“Could be a worst way of spending our summer.” The girl said receiving disappointed looks from the boys.
“Well, look who we have here”
“Good morning!” The girl said in a good mood.
“We have a safety meeting. Attendance mandatory.” John B faked a talkie walkie.
“I can't. My pop's got me on lockdown.”
“Come on, man.”
“C’mon Heyward, let him gooooo” She said trying to convince the adult that wasn’t her biggest fan.
“Tssk. Your dad's a pussy. Over. Tssk.” JJ said towards his shoulder.
“Oh, I heard that, you little bastard.” She snickered.
“We need your son.”
“Yeah, and island rules. Day after a hurricane's a free day.” JJ stood on the front of the boat, Beth looking up at him with a smile.
“Who made that up?”
“Uh...”
“Like the government or some shit, I don’t know.” She shrugged.
“Pentagon, I think. We have security clearance. I have a card.”
“Think I'm stupid?”
“He doesn’t want us answering that, does he?” She asked her friends.
“I'll do it tomorrow. I promise. Tomorrow.”
“You think... No, no. Hell no. You doin' it right now.”
“Get in the boat.”
“Make a run for it.”
“Run bitch run” She whispered standing up as they never really stopped, she stepped away when Pope took a step onto the boat.
“Boy, if you get in that boat...”
“How does that feel?”
“Go, go, go. Bring your ass back up here.” Heyward said angrily
“I promise I'll do it tomorrow, Dad.”
“Whoo!” Ellie raised her arms in the air when the boat gained speed.
You gonna clean shrimp, clean fish. You'll clean your dirty-ass room!”
“Love you, Pops.”
“I’ll try and bring him back in one piece.” Ellie said taking a sip of her water bottle. “I promise!”
“And I don't like your friends!”
“You love us don’t lie! We make you feel young!” She yelled as they were getting away.
The four of them started to make their way towards Kie’s house, which was in Figure Eight.
“I hope your dad will still let me help on deliveries. Need the cash.” They said as they approached the deck of Kiara’s house.
“Oh, top o' the mornin' to ya.” JJ said in a weird accent.
“Good morning, boys.”
“Morning.”
“Whatcha got? You got some juice boxes?”
“You know, just some yogurts and carrot sticks.” Kiara said as JJ helped her in the boat.
“How about my kind of juice box?”
“Yeah.”
“Good morning Kie, baby.” Ellie said as Kie sat next to her on the bow. Kiara smiled at her and brought out beers out of her cooler.
“Brace for impact.”
“Salud.”
“Skoal.” JJ handed Ellie a beer and she cheered with Kiara and the blond.
“I still think beer in the morning is not a good idea, but I’ll take it. Thank you.”
******************
Later in the day, clothes had been shed due to the heat, leaving JJ and Pope shirtless, John B was still fully clothed with a hat on for whatever reason and the girls were in their bikinis, hair wet.
“Bet you can’t do this.”
“Tell the world!” JJ laughed as they cheered with their third and second beers. “Let me show you a party trick.”
“You got a lot of those, don’t you, Maybank?” Ellie asked leaning back as the cold beer flowed through her throat. She watched in anticipation as JJ stood up straight on the bow of the boat.
“Hey, Pope. Can you go a little faster?” JJ asked as he turned his back on his friends.
“Oh no, here we go. J you won’t get it.”
“Here we go. I'm movin'. Doesn't work.” John B said moving behind the steering wheel. “We've tried this like 6,000 times.”
“I got this. It's gonna work!”
Kie and Ellie just leaned back, trying to get as far away from the boy but not wanting to actually move. He went to the edge, lifting his beer up a few inches away from his mouth, trying to get the beer to go to his mouth, making the girl laugh as he was usually unsuccessful.
“You're getting beer in my hair!”
“Oh, my God.”
“JJ, there’s more on us than in your mouth, stop it.” Beth said laughing. “Ew I got some in my mouth.”
“All right. All right! All right, you're done.”
“All right, stop!”
Suddenly the boat started to rattle and stopped flying JJ over the bow and into the water, Kie surged forward, John B’s body ramming into Ellie’s as she fell down her seat, her body hitting the wall.
“Jesus, Pope!” John B and Pope groaned while Elizabeth stood up not seeing the blonde anymore. She turned around facing the water when she heard the mix of a gasp and a groan.
“You okay, J?” She asked leaning forward.
“I think my heels touched the back of my head.” She snickered quietly.
“Kie, you okay?”
“I'm all right.”
“Pope, what did you do?”
“Sandbar. The channel changed.”
“No shit.” JJ said while swimming back to the boat. Kie and Ellie were groaning, Kie walked closer to her best friend seeing a red spot covering a large part of her side.
“Well, this is gonna bruise.”
“Ugh, this is probably gonna mess this whole place up.”
“Hey, I saved the beer, though.” JJ said happy.
“Of course, you did.”
“Guys... I think there's a boat down there.” Pope was standing on the bow of the boat looking for the sandbar but seeing what looked to be a white boat.
“Shut up.”
“What?”
“No way.”
“Wait lemme see.” The light brunette said moving past Pope. “No, no, guys. He’s serious.” She said holding on to the boy.
“There's a boat down there. For real.”
“Guys... is this... It's a boat!”
“Holy shit, he's right. Let's go.” Kie said starting to get rid of her shorts.
“Wait ahead of you Kie!” Ellie said her shorts already off before she plunged into the water, diving straight for the boat.
“You think there's a dead body down there?”
“Guys, wait up”
“Whoo!”
“Get your ass in here”
“Come on!”
Having done natation for years, Elizabeth could hold her breath for a little bit longer than most. She looked up to see her 4 friends, coming down to join her. Focusing on not losing to much air, she tried to go into the cabin but a hand held her back. She looked behind her to see JJ, blonde hair floating, he looked unreal and she wished she could’ve taken a picture to show him. He gestured for her to go back up and she pushed off the boat along with the other. When they all got back to the surface they were all panting and gasping for air.
“You guys saw that?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Yeah.”
“What was it?” Beth asked pushing down with her hands and legs to stay afloat.
“What the... That's a Grady-White. A new one of those is like 500 Gs, easy.” They were all laughing excitedly. “That's a primo rig.” They all made their way onto the boat, both girl wringing out their hair.
“Yeah. That's the boat I saw when I surfed the surge. Maybe it hit the jetty or something.”
“You surfed the surge?”
“I went with him. That’s what you saw before we left?” John B nodded at the girl.
“Yeah. That's my boy. Pogue style.” He said clapping his best friend.
“What the heck?
“Wait, wait. Do we know whose boat that is?”
“No, but we're about to find out.” John B said getting out the anchor.
“John B, it’s too deep.”
“Oh, for the weak and feeble, Miller”
“Well, I'm not resuscitating you. I'm just making that clear up front.”
“That's fine.”
“John B.” Kie said warningly, she sent the other girl a look, Ellie holding the same expression.
“What?” He replied oblivious.
“Diver down, fool”
“Diver down.” John B salute his friends.
“Yeah, he is.” JJ pushed the brunette off of the boat.
“JJ, c’mon.” Elizabeth sighed putting on her sunglasses.
Kie and Ellie went to the edge of the bow, trying to catch movement from below the surface. They tried to see, starting to get worried after a while, JJ and Pope joined them, starting to get worried too.
“Should we go get him?” John B’s body broke the surface of the water, gasping and coughing.
“Fuck John that took forever!”
“Ah, jeez.” Pope said relieved. “Any dead bodies?”
“Looting potential?” Beth hit him on the arm.
“No. No. I found this motel key.” He held up a metal key with a greenish yellow accessory.
“A key...”
“Yes, a key, Pope.”
“Great! We salvaged a motel key.” JJ said while he got the anchor back.
“No, not we, he did the whole thing, you stayed there and whined that there wasn’t any beer left.”
“Guys, we should report the wreck to the coast guard. Maybe we'll get a finder's fee.”
“Yeah, and not work all summer. Thanks, Agatha, ya batch.”
******************
On the island, the U.S coast guard had been informed of a body that was floating a few feet away from the land.
“How much is a finder’s fee anyway?” Elizabeth asked JJ.
“Don’t know, it depends on the kind of boat they find, I guess. Looking to buy yourself a lil outfit?”
“No, just that John hasn’t had real food in his fridge for like a few days, would be good for him to fill it up a little.”
“Look at you and John B playing mom and dad!”
“Ew gross.”
Pope, Kie and Beth waited outside while JJ and John B went in, trying to talk to someone only to get shouted at. Many people talking over the others wanting their problem to get fixed.
“Well, that went well.” Pope sighed joining the other boys while Kiara and Beth stayed behind.
“So, what's the plan?”
“I know how we're gonna find the guy who owns that boat.”
“We don't know whose room that is. It could be anyone.” Beth sent JJ an excited look, making him throw her the keys that she grabbed.
“I'm in.”
“Come on. I'll be lookout.” Kie tempted him.
“Finder's fee. Just sayin'. And, hey, at least you'll only be an accomplice.”
“Man...”
“Come on, bubba.” John B said to Pope making Beth, who was waiting on them, laugh.
After looking up the coordinates on Kie’s phone, they made their way to the run-down motel that looked even worse with the aftermath of the hurricane.
“And you thought the Château looked bad.”
“This place is a shitshow.”
“Motel or meth lab?”
“I vote meth lab.”
“You be the judge.”
“Doesn't look like a place somebody with a Grady-White stays.”
“No. Looks like a place someone with a Grady-White would get killed. All right. Here we go.”
“This is your captain speaking. HMS Pogue comin' in for landing. Whoo!” JJ jumped off the boat landing on the grass.
“We good?”
“Yeah, we good.”
“All right. Here goes nothin'.”
“Yo, you coming with us or?” JJ asked the light brunette, she extended her hand making him grab it and help her get off.
“Hey.” JJ and Beth looked back.
“Yeah?”
“Don't let him do anything stupid.” Pope said to JJ and Beth.
“You’re asking her?” Kie said surprised.
“Oh, we will. I'm not making promises.”
“Yeah, I know.” He sighed.
“Uh, be careful.” Kie handed John B the key. “I mean it.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Let's go!” He jumped off joining the other two.
“Why are all these mattresses out?”
“After a hurricane, they ditch 'em 'cause they're moldy.”
“Look at you, stating facts!” Beth said, her hands, on JJ’s shoulder.
They climbed the rusted stairs, unsure if they were safe or not.
“Just be so careful, John.” JJ rubbed himself against his best friend, the girl following them snickering.
“God, you're so weird.”
“What was that about?”
“I don't know. Maybe she wants us to be careful.”
“You know anything about that?” The girl shook her head, no. “Since she heard you're being threatened with exile, she's just been, like, "Oh! Be so careful, John B."”
“Get off.”
"Oh, give me that John D already." When are you gonna swoop on that, man?” JJ said trying to make his voice sound seductive. Elizabeth released a loud laugh.
“Bro, you know the rule. No Pogue-on-Pogue macking. You're the one always hitting on her.”
“Of course, I'm hitting on her. She's a super-hot, rich, hippie chick slumming with us.” JJ yelping quietly. “Don’t worry baby, I hit on you too.” She simply rolled her eyes and started to walk ahead of them. He turned around to John B. “Why is she hanging with us? I can't figure it out either, but who cares, bro? I know that door's locked because I've tried it. Have you?”
“You need help. Not a little help, you need a lot of help. It's like every girl who just has a heartbeat, you're like... "Uhh!"” JJ watched the girl in front of them, black swimming shorts with a shirt similar to his, a beer company’s logo on it her usually darker brown hair now turning a light brown, tanned skin glowing. She stopped in front of the last door
“What? It's not a big deal. Is that us?” She nodded “Twenty-nine.”
“This is it.” JJ knocked.
“Okay. Housekeeping.” JJ said in a high pitched voice while the girl looked in the window. He put his hand on her waist, moving her slightly so her could see for himself.
“Should we try it?”
“Yeah. No hay nadie” (There is nobody.)
“Y si están bañando?? Eh?” (What if they’re showering?) JJ just shrugged, encouraging John B to unlock and open the door.
“No power. No security cameras. No one's gonna know.”
“Huh. Okay. Check the bag. See if there's a name on there somewhere.”
“A jacket.”
“Denim slides.”
“No name on the jacket. It's a nice jacket, though.”
“Definitely over 50. He's got New Balances.”
Ellie walked around the room, flashing her cellphone’s flashlight with the little battery she had left. She paused at the nightstand next to the bed seeing a map and other papers. JJ walked over to where she was and looked over her shoulder.
“Yo, dude, come here. Maybe this is where they were fishing.”
“Let me see.”
“Right there”
“No, that's off the continental shelf. That's Big Swell. Nobody fishes there.”
“Okay.” JJ mumbled before continuing to flash around the torch. Ellie went to the bathroom, looking inside the shower.
“Coffee?” John B tried in a posh accent.
“Yeah. Standard. Tissues for when you get lonely...” JJ continued making the girl snort quietly.
“Ooh! Won’t you look at that?”
“Did you find anything?”
“She found really awesome Dopp kit you won't let me steal.”
“JJ, no.”
“Yeah, 'cause we're not stealing shit.”
“JJ, yes” He mumbled pocketing a bottle of deodorant. She flashed the light in his race, rolling her eyes before reaching in his pants’ pockets and getting it out.
“No.” JJ’s jaw went slack at her action. “I knew you wanted me.” She elbowed him and went back into the main room with John B.
Elizabeth sat down, shining a light towards John B and the safe he was trying to crack.
“One, one, one.” John B mumbled trying the combination. “One, one, one, two.”
“Punching shit at random. That will... definitely work.” She rolled her eyes, her head turning towards the small desk. She stood up and walked over there, taking the piece of paper.
“Here try this.”
“I don't know. I don't know about the second one. These coordinates, they... Wait. My cousin said you could catch swordfish here.”
“Six, one, six, six, six”
“Nah, that wouldn't make any sense.”
“Did it work?” Ellie asked John B.
“Yeah, holy shit” he breathed out looking at the money.
“Shit.”
“Uh... JJ?” She called out.
“Hm?”
“You're gonna want to see this.” John B waved the money over his shoulder.
JJ walked over to where his two friends were, immediately grabbing the gun.
“Dude, dude, dude!” JJ said excitedly.
“Oh my god, JJ put it back.”
“You grabbed the gun.”
“This is a SIG Sauer.”
“Put the gun back, JJ!”
“This is a fucking spendy gatt, man.”
“How do you even know this?” She asked worried, she just wanted the safety to be on.
“Just... Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!”
“We are not stealing anything.” John B said at the same time as JJ put the gun to his face jokingly, making the girl take a deep breath.
“Just take a pic of me. Right here.”
“You want me to take a picture of you?”
“Not right now, JJ, c’mon.”
“Yeah, dude, like...” JJ said posing with the gun.
“Make our own incriminating evidence? Is that what you're talking about?”
“Wait, what was that?” Ellie heard something coming from the window.
“What?” John B joined her, seeing Pope and Kie gesturing to the side.
“Cops. Cops! Cops!” They said quietly.
There was knocking on the door, John B went to watch who it was quickly.
“JJ, put it back the cops are here.” She quietly scolded the boy. He went ahead and closed the safe.
“Kildare County Sheriff's Department!” The trio looked back at the door, trying to come up with a place to hide.
Ellie thought fast and climbed on the nightstand, she tried to open the old rusted window as quietly as she could but as fast as she could.
“C’mon, they won’t check there.” She grabbed JJ’s hand pulling him with her.
She made them go first, one on each side. She started to exit when she heard the key going into the lock, she was grabbed by her arm, her eyes closing as she thought she was gonna fall, she felt hands steadying her. She opened her eyes, seeing blue irises looking into her green ones. She looked down, not really afraid of heights to see JJ’s legs on either side of her own. She looked back up to see that JJ was looking at her lips, noticing that he had been caught he sent her a charming smile, winking.
“JJ, it is not the time.” She whispered almost silently.
The two boys looked at each other shocked, probably they could hear what was being said in the room since the window wasn’t properly closed, but she couldn’t hear, too focused on JJ’s loud breathing in her ear. To not get caught by the police the boy had her literally trapped between his body and the brick wall, both of their bodies pressed together. Elizabeth could see, if she moved her head a little, Pope and Kie on the boat. For an unknown reason to Ellie, JJ turned around to look at their friends, clearly frustrated by the situation happening inside the room, making the gun fall out of his pocket, creating a loud sound that was clearly heard by the officers inside.
All five of them groaned in frustration and stress. JJ turned around, hand gripping tightly on the girl’s hip as he let his head fall forward on her shoulder, his body tense.
“Oh my god.” Ellie breathed out, her head resting on the wall, they heard the door open and then close.
Making sure they were gone, they waited for Kie and Pope’s signal, John B getting back in first, followed by JJ and then Beth, who repeatedly hit JJ’s shoulder as soon as her feet touched the ground.
“Are you out of your fucking mind? I thought you had put that back.”
“I’m keeping it.” She rolled her eyes and joined John B back outside.
They got into the boat and made their way back home.
“Well, that was fun.” He said his arm draping over Beth’s shoulders. “Could have warned us sooner.”
“We would have, except Pope was on the math team.”
“You were on the math team?” Ellie high fived the boy, never having the capabilities to make it.
“The cops took everything like it was a crime scene.”
“Did you guys find anything?”
“You could say that. Bozo here thinks he’s James Bond.” Ellie pointed a thumb and the blond headed boy sat next to her.
“Did we find anything? No, I don't think so. Oh, yeah, we did.” He said taking the gun and a wad of cash out of his pockets, his face showing clear amusement.
“What the hell?”
“Dude, what?”
“JJ, you promised.”
“Dude, chill. Come on. And I never promised anything.”
“Why take that from a crime scene?”
“Better than cops having it.”
“You serious?” Kie said towards John B who was clearly amused.
“I'm gonna lose my merit scholarship.”
“Hey, hey, hey. Sh, sh, sh. sh, sh.” JJ put the gun over Pope’s mouth.
“At least you have us, right?”
“I'm living the nightmare.”
“Ok, I ain’t happy but I wanna know how it works.” Ellie became slightly curious and excited while JJ explained it to her.
******************
They walked in the middle of what looked to be some sort of crisis center in the middle of the marina when the group heard a woman crying out.
“Scooter? Scooter? Oh, God!”
“Who's that?” John B asked a group of teens that were witnessing the scene.
“It's Scooter Grubbs. He was out during the storm.”
“Oh no.” Ellie said sadly. “Poor Ms. Lana” She rested her head back hitting a hard surface, she looked up seeing JJ’s face. He was stood on a cement block. He looked down at her, a sad smile on his face, he leaned down a pressed a quick and subtle kiss to her forehead, making her close her eyes.
“Check out this pic I got.” A girl sitting next to John B said, extending out her cell phone. Beth moved her body in sync with JJ’s as they moved closer to the younger girl.
The man’s bloated and red face was disgusting to look at, Ellie’s heart jumping in her throat at the sight.
“Oh my god I’m gonna be sick.” She said turning around, her face ending up in JJ’s chest.
“Dead body.”
“Insane.”
“Holy shit.”
“What kind of boat did he have?” JJ asked his eyes following the light brunette that had to walk a few feet away to get the image out of her head. He finally looked down to John B who sent him a knowing look.
“Somehow, that dirtbag copped a brand-new Grady-White. Everyone's out looking for it.”
The five decided to leave, Kie going to check on her best friend.
“Hey, you good?”
“Yeah, just the image of Scooter, ugh.” She said, feeling sick a little. “Queasy stomach. Pope probably had a blast, huh.”
“Yeah.” She laughed, her attention going to where Pope, John B and JJ were. “Hey, did something happen with JJ?”
“No, why?” Beth answered truthfully.
“I don’t know, he’s been watching you all day.” She said making the light brunette look up to see the blonde’s eyes on her.
“Oh, I don’t know. He hasn’t said anything.” She shrugged playing with a flower she had picked up a few minutes ago. “Here. Take it.” She handed her best friend the purple flower.
“Are you trying to mack on me, Miller?”
“You wish, Carrera.” She laughed as they made their way to the boys.
They decided to make their way back home, seeing as it was soon dinner time, Pope saying he had to go home but would join them in the next hour or so.
******************
JJ, John B, Kie and Elizabeth were sat on the porch of the Chateau. Elizabeth being hungry, ate what was left of the ground meat and veggies she had made the night before. She was sitting on the blue/green rattan chair, JJ on the cushioned chair to her right, Kie on the sofa and John B was chilling near the door. The steady rhythm of the clicking of JJ’s lighter was all that could be heard between the teenagers that were waiting on Pope.
“Okay. So, um... we didn't see anything. We don't know anything. We need to have total and complete amnesia.” Pope said as he got to the chateau, panting.
“Actually, Pope’s right for once.” He stood up from the chair sending a look to a snickering Beth. “See, I agree with you sometimes. Deny, deny, deny.”
“Guys, we can’t keep that money.”
“Okay. Not all of us can afford unlimited data plans, Kiara.” He sent the girl a look, Kiara and Ellie rolling their eyes.
“We have to pass that off to Lana Grubbs. Otherwise, it's bad karma.”
“Bad karma to be implicated in a felony, too. We gotta go dark.”
“If that means we get to keep the money, then I agree.”
“I don't agree.”
“Yeah me too.” Ellie said standing up to go inside to rinse off her dishes.
“What? Why?”
“Just think about it. This is Scooter Grubbs we're talking about. Same dude that's buying individual cigarettes at the Porthole.”
“JJ, one time I saw this dude begging for change in the Save-A-Lot parking lot because he needed gas.” Elizabeth said as she exited the house, having heard their conversation from the inside.
“We're talking about a dirtbag marina rat who's never had more than 40 bucks in his pocket, and all of a sudden, he's got a Grady-White? Just sayin'.” He said looking at Elizabeth, glad that someone agreed with him.
They all looked at each other before, in silence, JJ grabbed his fishing gear and walked out. Ellie rolled her eyes and followed after him, being followed by the rest of their friends.
“All right, so think about it, Pope. How does a marina rat get a Grady-White?” John B asked sitting on the railing next to Kiara.
“Prostitution.”
“Square groupers, bro. Okay, flying under the radar, no aerial surveillance. They don't do that stuff during a hurricane. What does that mean? JJ?”
“They were straight smugglin'.”
“Smugglin'.” Elizabeth muttered leaning forward on the railing between JJ and Kie.
“And I guarantee there's a serious amount of contraband in that wreck.”
“Hell, yeah. Fish on!”
They moved inside after JJ had caught the fish, Kie grabbing her ukulele.
“For the record, if that is a smuggling ship with illegal contraband on the inside of it...” Ellie looked back to Pope, laying down next to him on the bed, but facing JJ.
“Mm-hm?”
“...it probably belongs to someone else.”
“Minor details.” Kiara said making her best friend huff out a laugh.
“They could come looking for it. Taking it would be catastrophically stupid.”
“Right. Well, stupid things have good outcomes all the time.” JJ said leaning forward and grabbing the cash from Pope’s hands, separating the bills. Being a few inches away from Beth, he lowered down the green papers and winked at her. “All we need to do is figure out a way to get into the cargo hold of that wreck. Until then, we just lay low. Just act normal.”
“Right. And how exactly do we do that?”
“Kegger?” Kie said looking at her best friend.
“Fuck yes, I love you.” The light brunette exclaimed standing up and getting off of the bed.
She was all for drinking beer until she couldn’t see straight, just at normal hours not at nine am like the others would do.
“I’m going home to change and grab some clothes and I’ll be right back to help set up. JJ?”
“Mmh?”
“Need anything?” She asked as he had some clothes at her house, too.
“Nope.”
“Okay, BRB.” She said, the door shutting loudly behind her.
JJ had a stupid smile on his face, attracting the attention of the three others.
“What’s going on, between you two?” Pope asked.
“Nothing. I’m following the rule, don’t worry.” JJ said going outside.
******************
“Tally-ho.”
“Hey-up.” John B and JJ lifted the keg over a fallen tree, while Pope was carrying the cups and Kie the beer line with the pouring thingy.
That’s when her favorite moments would usually start, they set up the keg in the middle of what they called The Boneyard, getting out red solos cups as they messed around. John B was sprayed by beer, the girls were chased down in the ocean by the boys, they hung out for a while all five of them before people started to show up.
“Chug it! Chug it! - ”
You can't understand the Outer Banks without understanding the boneyard.
It's kinda like a three-layer burrito.
There's us and our friends, the working-class derelicts.
Then, there are the Kooks, the rich second-homers.
They're mostly from poncey-ass boarding schools, just rich trustafarian posers.
Our natural enemies.
And then, there are the Tourons.
Totally clueless. Here for a week on vacation with their families.
Chum for the sharks.
Elizabeth, Kie and JJ were sat on logs, surrounded by Tourons, as they told stories about the Island. JJ was being followed around by the almost sunburnt redhead that had claimed him as hers for the night. Kie and Ellie usually stuck together, charming their ways to bullshitting tourons, Pope was sat with a girl, she seemed really nice and like usual he talked about dead bodies... John B had taken a like to the tanned blonde girl that had charmed him earlier. JJ moved from group of girls to group of girls, charming each and every one of them, making them think that they would have the summer love they read about.
“We are family!” JJ shouted standing on a log but losing his balance quickly. A hand grabbed his bag and stabilized him.
“Careful sea cowboy.” Beth said as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “So, who did you have in mind?” She asked him as they stood next to each other looking out at the sea of teenagers.
“That’s very funny Beth.” His words slurring a little.
“C’mon.” She said tugging on his hand as she pulled him away from the crowd before she noticed a figure sitting on top of a broken red structure. “Is that Sarah Cameron?” She asked and the blonde turned around seeing the girl with her boyfriend, Topper.
“Seems like it.” He hummed before turning around and pulling the brunette in a hug.
“You, my friend had way too much to drink, you’re getting clingy.”
“You love it.” He smiled down at her.
They abandoned their ideas to leave their friends deciding on going back to them. The sun set an hour later, people starting to settle down as a fire was lit in the middle. Beth and JJ had stuck together, going to people and offering them drinks, being the good host, they were. They spotted John B a few feet away, JJ grabbed a cup and walked towards his best friend whistling to grab his attention.
“How you doing?”
“John B.”
“What're you doing?” John B asked seeing the pair.
“Yo, what's up? I got this for you. Want it?”
“For me? Yeah, I'll take a sip.”
That’s when the Kook princess and Topper walked near them, making their way home.
“Oh, wait.” He said to the girl next to him as she wanted to sit. “Hey, hey. Hey, Sarah!” He called out walking towards her. “Sarah, can I interest you in a tasty Milwaukee beverage?”
“No thanks.” The girl said looking between JJ and the cup.
“Is it not fancy enough for you?”
“No. We were just leaving.” Sarah said calmly.
“Hey, you know what? I'll take it. I'll... Thank you, man. I appreciate it.” Topper said in a condescending tone that Beth knew would piss of JJ.
“That's nice, but I didn't ask you. If you said pretty please, maybe, but you didn't.” Ellie chuckled under her breath, earning a flick on her shoulder from John B.
“Oh, pretty please.”
“Yeah. Sarah” JJ said handing the alcohol to the blonde girl. “You can have it.”
“Pretty please?” Topper pushed. “She doesn't want it, you...” Topper said hitting the cup of out JJ’s hand, making the beer fly everywhere.
“Okay. No, no, no, no.” Sarah said panicked.
“You're so funny, man.” JJ said after being restrained by Pope and John B.
“Hey.” Beth called up at him. “JJ, calm down. Breathe!” She said sternly.
“Dirty Pogues!” Topper said making John B retaliate by hitting him in the chest.
“You kinda looked for it Topper.” Elizabeth said, her hand resting on JJ’s shoulder silently keeping him from going after the Kook.
“John B.” Pope called out, grabbing his friend. “We're supposed to be incognito, remember?”
“Babe, babe, babe, babe...” Sarah tried to distract her boyfriend, but it didn’t do much when Topper’s right fist collided with John B’s jaw.
“Guys? Guys! Chill!” Sarah called while Pope, Ellie and Kie tried to restrain JJ.
“Hey, John B, don't make me drown you like your old man, all right?” Topper said kicking and dragging the teenager into the water.
“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!” This only encouraged the two boys as John B stood up and hit the blonde back, grunts and groans leaving their lips as their fists hit flesh.
“Give it to him! John B, let it go!” A random guy next to Beth encouraged John B and she shoved him away from the crowd.
“Stop, you guys!” Kie said panicked.
“Topper! Stop!”
“Come on, John B!” Pope said, Ellie slightly discouraged as she watched Kie with her hands on her head.
“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!” John B punched Topper.
“That's what I'm talkin' about! Come on!” JJ encouraged his best friend and Ellie’s mood changed seeing that people were actually encouraging it. “Don’t encourage him, J” She said as he looked down at her.
“Come on!”
“Yeah, you wanna go?”
“Stop! John B!” Ellie and Kie called out to their friend.
“Oh! Topper! Come on, Topper!” Sarah tried.
The fight continued, Topper bringing the Routledge boy into the water, his legs on either side of his as he started to drown him.
“Topper! Topper, stop! No!” Sarah called but Ellie was mostly focused on the blonde boy next to her. He had tensed up and she could see from his expression that a fight was going on inside his mind too. He was about to do something stupid.
“He's drowning him.” Pope said to a distressed Kiara.
“No! I know.”
“Topper!” Sarah screamed but didn’t actually moved from her spot.
Both JJ and Elizabeth moved at the same time, Ellie wanted to go shove Topper off her friend, but JJ had a different idea and it all happened so fast, the next second JJ had pulled off the gun safety and stuck it to Topper’s head.
“JJ.” She gasped seeing the boy breath heavily.
“Yeah, you know what that is. Your move, broski.” He said, a sick look in his eyes that made Ellie shiver in fright.
“Come on. Chill, dude!” Pope screamed as they all lifted their hands defensively.
“- JJ! Stop! JJ! Put the gun down.”
“Did you say somethin', princess?” JJ called out over his shoulder.
“JJ put the fucking gun down, right now.” Beth said a few inches behind him her hand wrapped tightly around his bicep, her nails digging into his skin with anger.
“We're good. We're good. Put the gun down! All right? Come on, man!” Topper pleaded.
“Kie! Can you check your psycho friend, please?” Sarah called but received no words from Kie only a death glare from Ellie that made her shut up.
JJ shoved Ellie off of him and turned around, gun raised in the air.
“Okay, everyone, listen up! Get the hell off our side of the island!” JJ screamed, his voice rough and cracking as he emptied two bullets into the air.
Not a lot of people had stayed when JJ got the gun out but the ones that had left running when the blonde shot. Ellie stayed behind with John B, helping breath and get back to his senses as she watched JJ in anger.
“Are you crazy? You idiot!”
“Stupid!” Kie screamed her voice rough.
“Why do that? It's not worth it!” They yelled at him, more scared than anything.
“I'm saving his life, okay?” JJ argued.
“Stupid!”
“You're gonna jeopardize everything!” John B watched as his friends fought the main sound in his ears being his panting and Ellie telling him that he would be okay.
******************
So this was the first part of Episode 1 from OBX rewrite ! Let me know if you have any feedback or anything!
summary: an alternate universe where rafe and jj used to be friends before ward cameron finds out and ends their friendship for good.
warnings: swearing, mentions of drugs and alcohol, angst, ward cameron and luke maybank :(
pairings: jj!maybank x kook!rafe (not a ship, just friends!)
word count: 2.1k
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rafe always got what he wanted, whether it is money, drugs, alcohol or sex.
there was only one thing in this world which he couldn't seem to grasp on to no matter how hard he tried - his fathers love, and he would do anything to gain it.
ward, being the influential and powerful man that he is, was the driving force behind the whole kooks vs pogues dilemma.
nobody could recall a time when the drama between figure 8 and the cut did not exist. only two boys on the entire island were aware of the origins of the feud - rafe cameron and jj maybank.
the kook king and the southside pogue.
it might come as a shock to many but they used to be friends, good ones at that. the boys bonded over their similarities - their terrible fathers, absent mothers and addictive tendencies.
their time spent together was kept a secret as a condition agreed upon by both of them. rafe was seen as a brother figure by the younger blonde, who grew up without much guidance from his own father.
many would argue that jj was far more mature than rafe but somehow jj failed to recognise this while they were “friends”.
rafe wasn't so much of an asshole when the boys were friends. jj was laid back and this rubbed off on the older boy. he grew relaxed and did not thrive on constantly grabbing someone's attention at all times.
this did not make his father, ward happy at all.
ward was unaware of the relationship the boys had formed over the summer but he grew suspicious when rafe left every single day with a slight skip in his step.
who is he so excited to see? ward had to find out.
rafe who was only 17, had just gotten his driver’s license and surprisingly, his father let him drive one of their many cars. it was black with heavily tinted windows - everyone knew this was one of the cameron’s but the tinted windows helped hide rafe’s newfound friend from the public.
as ward followed behind rafe in his car, his face pulled into a frown when he recognised the familiar route his son was taking - the cut?
he felt the urge to pull his son over then and there but stopped himself as he wanted to see who or what he was coming to see all the way on this side of the island.
disgust filled ward’s mind as he looked around the streets he grew up on. he prided himself on making it out of here and living on figure 8.
rafe had heard the words many times from his father.
“you’re lucky to be born rich, rafe”
“if you die poor, well that's on you son”
ward only wanted rafe to be as strong as he was, if not more. his intentions may have seemed good in his own mind but his action were far from good.
as rafe pulled over in front of the broken-down house, ward paused and parked his car too. he kept his distance not wanting his son to be known of his presence just yet.
eventually, he thought, as he gripped the steering wheel.
the older man’s vision went red when he saw jj step out of the chateau, pulling rafe in for a hug by his shoulder. as the younger boy did so, he was blocked from ward's line of sight due to his son's broad shoulders and height.
he would deal with rafe once he was home.
jj and rafe hung out at the chateau for a few hours, smoking a bong before rafe decided he should head home. it was only 5 pm but ward had set some sort of curfew which for some reason, only applied to rafe and not sarah, who was younger than him.
never the less, the cameron boy listened to his father's orders not wanting to cause any more disappointment than he already had.
as rafe walked into the large mansion he called home, he passed by his father's office before looking inside and seeing his father sitting in the dark like a mad man.
“dad?” he called out, why is he sitting in the dark?
rafe flicked on the light to be met with his father's dark eyes, anger seeping out of him. rafe’s eyes travelled down to his fathers bruised and red knuckles and watched as his father gripped his hands into fists before motioning for his son to take a seat.
reluctantly, rafe walked over and sat next to his father.
“what happ-”
“shut up, rafe” his father's voice was strong and intimidating, booming through the small office.
“what were you doing on the cut” by his father's tone, it sounded like he already knew the answer.
“i wasn't on the cut, dad” his voice came out barely above a whisper.
“don't you lie to me rafe, i swear” ward cut himself off, standing up and facing away from the boy who was looking at him with widened eyes, fearful of what would happen if he told his father the truth.
although there was no feud yet surrounding pogues and kooks, ward made it clear he was not fond of the “lower life scum” as he called them.
to him, they were only good at doing jobs for him which was why he hired them to work on his boats. no pogues ever acted up in front of ward as he called the shots on the island. he could make or break you - literally.
“do you want to be a pogue?” his father was now one again facing rafe as he started him down, towering above him with eyebrows frowned as he shouted as his son.
rafe simply shook his head and fixed his eyes on his shoes not trusting his voice and knowing he was bound to cry once he looked at his angry father.
“you look at me when I'm talking to you” ward roughly grabbed his son’s jaw with his thumb and pointer finger bringing rafe’s teary eyes in line with his.
“you want to be friends with that boy? huh?” ward practically spat the words out of his mouth not even bothering to use his name knowing it would only make him madder.
“no one knows, he's not a bad person, dad” rafe surprised himself with the words coming out his mouth. he was quick to defend the pogue and this infuriated ward.
rafe would never defend his family this way.
the anger coursing through him was enough for ward to justify his next actions.
he let the words sink in for a few seconds before turning around to walk away. rafe assumed he had convinced his dad enough and got up to leave.
suddenly rafe felt himself fall back against the soft couch and a harsh burning sensation on his right cheek.
“don't ever talk to a pogue again”
rafe’s eyes didn't move from the floor as he tried to come to terms with what was happening. it was all going too fast for the boy.
“do i make myself clear, rafe?” his father asked, pressing for an answer
“yes, sir” voice timid and breathy as he tried to hold back tears as a result of his father's actions.
“good, now get out, I'm tired of looking at you”
after rafe had left, jj went back home only to be met with a strange car outside his place. it was a clean car that screamed figure 8.
before jj had the chance to turn around and leave, he was met with ward and his father calling out to him.
“get in here, boy” jj wasn't scared of his father, nor of ward cameron but just like rafe he tried to receive some validation from his father and so he followed his orders.
the thought as to why ward cameron was in his house didn't even cross the boys mind until it was too late.
luke was a bad father, if not an awful one. ward had shown up and said he needed more kids working on his boats. before ward even mentioned the pay or conditions luke was already agreeing his son would do it.
he thought he could steal some of his money for drugs.
“you're going to be working for him” lukes tone was blunt, smirking slightly as he informed his son of the job description.
“what do you say?” ward finally interjected, eager to get jj away from his father, alone where he would be weak.
luke didn't leave his son much of a chance but jj was excited to have his first job regardless of what or where it was.
“well let me show you around today, you can start tomorrow” ward said as he ushered jj towards his car.
jj looked back at his father for confirmation. luke simply raises his hand, which was occupied with a beer bottle and motioned to get in the car.
the drive was silent, no words exchanged by the two. ward didn't crack up or even offer a smile when jj made a joke, which raised suspicions in the young boy's mind.
he watched as ward keep his eyes trained on the road, fingers tightly gripping the steering while making his knuckles turn white.
jj reached for the handle of the door, only for it to be locked. shit.
the car suddenly jerked forward as it came to a harsh stop.
before he could do anything to defend himself, jj felt ward's fist meet his body and face in an endless amount of punches. blood scattered over the window as the blonde boy was punched right in the cheek.
it was no use how hard he tried to fight back, the older man being too strong to overcome. he could only take the punches being thrown at him until ward finally stopped, out of breath.
“stay away from my son” he spat, before opening jj’s side of the car and watching as his body dropped to the ground without remorse.
that night, jj didn't return home. he spent a few days at the chateau instead. when he did come home, his father was quick to question why he wasn't at work, as if he was supposed to be there 24/7.
luke beat his son worse than ward had when jj uttered out that he “got fired”.
years went by, approximately 2 and the cameron boy was now 19 years old. he had changed in many ways and so had jj. rafe trusted his father with his whole life, even though he shouldn't whereas jj has never let his guard down since.
both boys went their separate ways after each incident and never spoke again unless it was to poke jabs at each other.
jj learned to bite back when rafe beat him down with his words despite not wanting to engage in rafe’s childish behaviour. rafe used personal things against his former friend which only drove jj into a fit of hatred and detest.
rafe channelled all the frustration and anger he felt towards his father's actions into fights and abusing drugs and alcohol. he already had addictive tendencies but they only grew stronger once jj was declared an enemy of his.
just as jj suspected, rafe got new friends, who were all kooks - bet his father loved them.
jj always had the other pogues but his friendship with rafe was different, they could relate to each other in ways he couldn't without the others.
the old rafe cameron was long gone and he targeted the pogues at any chance he got nowadays. jj being one of his main targets.
if it were up to rafe, they'd still be friends, but now with the rivalry in place, there's no way. topper and kelce already had a skewed view of the pogues, which aided rafe in pretending to despise the lower class, particularly jj.
jj often recognised that look in rafe eyes when he would be excessively violent. he knew that look from his own eyes - the one he got when his father hit him.
jj let rafe take his anger out on him but always ended up fighting back, not because he wanted to but because whenever he saw rafe, he saw ward and that was enough to drive the blonde pogue to a fit of rage.
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haven’t seen anyone write anything like this i so thought id do it.
rafe and jj would be such a powerful duo ugh. maybe in another life.
taglist!: thank u so much for joining ♡ u all mwah x
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summary: in a turn of events, mia and the pogues seem to be warming up to each other. the truth about why the pogues are on the island is revealed and a plan is concocted in jj’s brain.
pairings: the pogues (includes cleo) x pogue!reader (from another island)
warnings: swearing, fluff
words: 1.1k
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“so you don't have a phone?”
“have you had alcohol?”
“WHAT ABOUT SEX?” shouts jj from the porch, peeking his head inside the house to gauge mia’s reaction
the answer to all the questions being thrown at her was no. mia didn't have a phone, nor had she tried alcohol or had sex - all 3 were heavily forbidden by her father.
“wait...you do know what sex is, right?”
“well, i-”
“oh my god” jj exaggerates, placing his hand on his heart.
“mia, you’ve got a lot to learn” adds the blond boy, now inside the house with the rest of the pogues “so the guy puts his di-”
“i know what it is you, you creep” mia buts in, shutting up jj before he makes her grow any more redder than she already is.
for the 2 past days, all the attention has been on her, which isn't something she is used to. her father is never around to pay her any mind and all of a sudden she meets a group of people who seem to like her for some reason.
she thought they might have been nice to her only because they needed food and a place to stay but they offered some things in return too.
the pogues have been sleeping on her floor, couch and even hammock since then the eventful night they recently had.
cleo has been trying to help mia flip her knife, but she failed miserably.
“stick to the gun” was all cleo had to say.
it took her and kie a while to warm up to the new girl but they felt a little sorry for her. being all alone on an island with no human interaction. cleo could relate to her after all.
jj and mia hit it off right away, and pope being jj’s wingman followed once again.
“you looked pretty hot holding that gun at us”
“what the hell jj, she was going to shoot us!” pope was confused, to say the least. sure, mia was cute but anyone holding a gun was a threat.
mia couldn't help but snicker, these guys were fun, and she found it hard to imagine she spent 4 years here all alone.
john b and sarah were like parents to mia. she learned she was younger than the rest of the group - only just turning 17, a few weeks ago.
turning the attention to the pogues mia asks a question that has been stuck on her mind since the pogues showed up “how did you guys actually end up here?”
“what do you mean” pope quickly defends
“well jj was going to say something about this guy....but then you cut him off and your boat isn't wrecked, you could leave at any time”
jj being the blabbermouth he his, explained everything to the girl. her eyes growing wider with each detail he let slip out of his mouth.
“so you're on the run?” she attempts to put the pieces together but finds it hard to believe what they're telling her
“this sounds like a movie”
“on my life, its all true...scout’s honour” jj salutes
“you were never a boy scout jj”
“dammit pope, not. the. time”
“this is crazy” mumbles mia, she finally meets some nice people, and they're involved in some bad drama.
“i know its hard to believe but we’re telling the truth” says john b, stress apparent on his face
“ok” replies mia, still processing all the information just thrown at her.
sitting with pope and mia, jj has been distracted from what the two have been talking about for the past half an hour.
“jj” calls pope, snapping his finger in front of his friend's face
“huh?” jj turns to face the girl and boy on his left side, face full of confusion
“did you hear anything we just said..?” giggles mia
“oh, aha yeah totally” he tries to play it cool, but pope knows his best friend too well
“spit it out j”
“ok, so i kinda have a plan...i mean it's a little crazy but” he pauses knowing pope will be the first to turn him down
he continues anyway, having faith in his plan “what if mia helps us with rafe..?”
“helps? how?” mia is intrigued but also scared. from what she's heard about the boy isn’t good news - he sounds like a nightmare to put it nicely.
“he doesn't you're friends with us, so he wouldn't suspect if you...i don't know...maybe seduced him a little...” jj trials, off turning his face the other directions and letting his voice grow softer
pope suddenly realises something, the whole reason they're here in the first place - the gold and the cross.
maybe they couldn't get it back on their own, but with their new friends help it could be a lot easier...
“you could help us get the cross back”
"oh my god, you guys are insane...this is a stupid idea" mia couldn't believe what she was hearing. they want her to seduce the maniac? she wasn't sure if she could even flirt anymore.
“stupid things have good outcomes all the timeee”
"sarah's not going to like this" pope says addressing jj
"look we'll worry about the rest of the gang later...you game, mia?
"i don't know..."
"come on, well help you!" jj seems so sure of his plan it was definitely helping convince mia
"pope is the brain and will plan everything and i'll...i'll push you" he didn't seem too sure about his role anymore
"jj's right, they're probably at the bahamas right now, getting the gold and hiding the cross”
"see! even pope agrees with me"
"i guess...but-" mia reluctantly agrees
"oh you're the best" shouts jj, pulling mia in for a hug
mia feels her body go stiff. she hasn't been hugged in so long - not even by her father.
pope makes eye contact with jj, raising both his brows. the blond boy raises one brow and winks at pope when mia loosens up and hugs jj back.
pope rolls his eyes at the interaction, of course, jj's already trying to get with the first girl we met.
jj pulls back from the hug, letting his fingers brush over mia's hand as he placed his own in the sand before speaking
"now we just gotta convince the rest of the group..."
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looks like this a series now!! rafe will come in soon...maybe next chapter?