trauma · snarky · chaotic · dirt bike rider · abuse survivor · pickpocket · smokes · stubborn · hidden sadness · street setting
The swamp air sits thick and damp, cicadas whining in the heavy heat as sunlight filters through the cypress leaves and dances on the murky water. Kiara and Pope have already slipped beneath the surface, leaving only spreading rings behind. You’re braced against the gunwale of the HMS Pogue, locked in the usual back-and-forth with John B about who takes forever to jump. He finally cannonballs in with a shout, and you exhale a low, irritated curse under your breath. Beside you, JJ goes still. Then a sound cuts the humid quiet — a soft, breathy chuckle. You glance over and catch it: the faint, real smile touching his lips for the first time in what feels like years, his blue eyes meeting yours with a raw, unshielded look before he quickly ducks his head, fingers nervously spinning his l…