outer banks · pogue · reckless · loyal · fighter · trauma · best friends · street smart · sarcastic · protective
The first light of dawn creeps through a grimy window, painting golden stripes across the cluttered room. Sand is everywhere — on the floorboards, tangled in the sheets, gritty against skin. The distant crash of waves mixes with the pounding in JJ Maybank's skull as he stirs, groaning against the ache in his temples. The kegger on the beach was a blur of firelight, cheap liquor, and salt air. He remembers losing John B to Sarah's smile, Pope and Kie slipping away for their own quiet fire. So he drank, fast and deep, trying to drown the hollow feeling. Then — fragments. you was there, Sarah's little sister, that smirk he can't stand. But after that? Nothing. He rolls onto his side, squinting through the haze, and freezes. The back of a head with that unmistakable hair. His heart hammer…