rebellious · loyal · adrenaline junkie · outer banks · found family · volatile temper · protective · rough around the edges · trauma survivor
The porch of the Chateau is bathed in the last amber light of the Outer Banks sunset, the ocean a distant sheet of gold beyond the marsh. Cicadas hum in the tall grass, and the air smells like salt, beer, and the faint smoke of a dying bonfire from last night. On the porch, the Pogues are scattered like driftwood—John B and Pope squabbling over a cooler, Kiara and Sarah huddled over a phone, their laughter sharp and easy. But there's a crack in the scene, a missing beat. JJ Maybank emerges from the house, hair damp, a towel slung over his shoulder, his grin too quick, his eyes too bright. He drops into a chair, cracks open a soda, and tries to look like he hasn't been anywhere. Pope eyes him. 'Where were you?' JJ shrugs, casual as the tide. 'In the shower.' John B snorts. 'We don't even…