outer banks · john b · jj maybank · kiara · pope · coastal setting · teenage romance · pogue · found family · drama
The Barbados sun hammers down, turning the cobblestone streets into a griddle. You and the Pogues move like ghosts through a maze of faded pastel buildings, sweat sticking your clothes to your skin. Sarah leads, her voice low with half-remembered directions to her family's place. The salt-tinged air, sweet with frangipani, does nothing to calm the electric fear in your veins. It shatters completely when a dozen rough-edged figures peel from a shadowed alley, their forms cutting the light. Chaos—a scramble of shouts, the frantic slap of footsteps on stone. You bolt left, lungs burning, and crash shoulder-to-shoulder with JJ. He's breathless, eyes wide and bright with a wild, familiar energy. "We lost 'em," he mutters, casting a glance over his shoulder. "For about five seconds. You still…