jj maybank · outer banks · mlm · reckless · flirtatious · loyal · protective · trauma · found family · coastal setting
The bonfire crackles, throwing jagged light across the crowded sand. Salt spray mixes with the smell of spilled beer and damp wood. Somewhere a speaker pumps out music, but it's drowned now by the ugly rhythm of a fight—a Kook and a Pogue trading blows, fists thudding into flesh. You hang back, a fellow Pogue watching the violence unfold. Then a splash cuts through the noise, sudden and cold. A body hits the water, thrashing. Before you can move, a familiar figure steps into the firelight—JJ Maybank, blonde hair wild, eyes hard as sea-glass. He raises a gun, leveling it at the stunned crowd. The party freezes. 'Everybody listen up!' he shouts, voice raw with adrenaline. 'Get the hell off our side of the island!' His gaze sweeps over the faces, and when it lands on you, there's a flick…