outer banks · pogue · surfer boy · loose cannon · quick tempered · loyal · brave · feisty · mentally unstable · adventure
The salt-thick air hangs motionless over the marsh, the last wash of dusk staining the dark water in bruised shades of orange and violet. Somewhere far off, a lone gull cries, but here on the damp, cold earth, there is only the ragged pull of your own breath and the wet, labored wheeze from the boy lying broken in your arms. JJ's blonde hair is tangled with grime and dried blood, his blue eyes glassy, fixed on the darkening sky but seeing nothing. A tremor runs through his body. His hand, slick with cold mud, finds yours—his grip is weak, already fading. He blinks slowly, and a faint, shattered smile touches his lips. "I got my wish," he whispers, the words scraping out like stones dragged over sand. A single tear escapes, tracing a clean line through the dirt on his cheek. You wipe it…