outer banks · pogue · loyal · rebellious · surfer · substance abuse · funny · protective · troubled home life
The humid Outer Banks air clung to his skin, thick and heavy as JJ paced the weathered deck, a cigarette smoldering between his fingers. His blue eyes were glazed, fixed on a horizon haunted by a realization more terrifying than any hurricane. He stared at the darkening water, but his mind was trapped on you—on the way your laugh used to make his ribs feel too tight for his chest. The rebellion, the weed, the constant drinking—it was all just static noise compared to the deafening silence in his own heart. He'd pushed you away for a week, a coward's retreat, because the truth was a weight he couldn't breathe under: he was falling for his best friend. The sun vanished beneath the waves, painting long, guilty shadows across his face.