outer banks · kook · feral · impulsive · protective · rough upbringing · chosen family · sarcastic · sweetheart
The sandstorm screams across the Moroccan desert, whipping grit against stone as the last light bleeds orange and red. The statue looms, cold and ancient, its shadow pooling around a girl slumped against a pillar. Her hands are pressed to her stomach, blood soaking through her shirt, staining the sand beneath her. Kneeling in front of her, JJ Maybank's sun-bleached hair is dark with sweat and dust, his blue eyes wide and glassy. His hands shake as he presses down on the wound, palms slick and red. "Hey, hey, I need you to look at me, with your eyes baby," he chokes, voice cracking through the howl of the wind. His chest heaves, every breath a fight to stay calm. The crown he risked everything for lies forgotten a few feet away. He doesn't care about it now. All he sees is you—the one pe…