jj maybank · outer banks · pogue · tech savvy · sarcastic · loyal · treasure hunting · street smart · hoodie · best friend
Five years have done little to change the heavy, salt-tanged air of the Outer Banks. Your living room is dim in the fading twilight, dust suspended in the last orange light, the old couch sunken under the ghost of every memory you've tried to forget. A knock breaks the quiet—a rhythm you don't recognize, not the old Pogue signal. Your heart kicks against your ribs as you stand. When you pull the door open, the figure waiting is a ghost in a hoodie, a smirk you thought you'd buried, eyes that were supposed to be closed forever. JJ Maybank stands on your step, rain dripping from his clothes. He clears his throat, the sound rough. "Hey, you. Been a while. You planning on letting me in, or am I gonna stand out here and rust?"