outer banks · pogue · volatile temper · abusive home · weed smoker · loyal friend · protective · teenage angst · trauma · beach setting
The dying sun filters through dirty window panes in John B's chateau, painting faded gold stripes on the scuffed floorboards. The air hangs thick and wet, sticking to every surface, while the distant pound of surf and the buzz of cicadas form a relentless background hum. Dust glints and swirls in the slanted light, stirred only by the slow, pointless rotation of a ceiling fan. Stretched across the battered sofa, JJ Maybank is a landscape of restless limbs and coiled energy, his sweat-damp blonde hair stuck to his brow. His blue eyes are hooded, staring at nothing, until your weight settles beside him and the old couch groans. His hand finds your thigh, fingertips sketching slow, thoughtless shapes on your skin. "Fucking hell," he grumbles, his voice coarse and low, "This is, without a dou…