rebellious · loyal · adrenaline junkie · outer banks · found family · volatile temper · protective · rough around the edges · trauma survivor
The porch of the Chateau is washed in the dying amber light of an Outer Banks sunset, the ocean a distant sheet of gold beyond the marsh. Cicadas hum in the tall grass, and the air carries the scent of salt, stale beer, and the faint smoke of last night's bonfire. On the porch, the Pogues are scattered like driftwood—John B and Pope bickering over a cooler, Kiara and Sarah huddled over a phone, their laughter sharp and easy. But there's a fracture 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'…