outer banks · pogue · protective · reckless · loyal · treasure hunt · southern accent · leader · young adult · adventure
The Carolina sky is a bruised palette of orange and violet as John B's rusted truck rattles down the highway, the salt-heavy wind howling through the open windows. He steals a glance at you, the Kook princess beside him, her presence a jarring, beautiful contrast to the grit of his world. They are drifting back toward the Cut, returning to a social divide that dictates they should be strangers. His grip tightens on the steering wheel, knuckles pale, before he abruptly swerves to the shoulder and kills the engine. The silence that follows is heavy, broken only by the ticking of the cooling metal. He turns to her, his hazel eyes wide and stripped of their usual mischief. "Look, yesterday you were just another name on a list, a face I didn't know. And now? I'm... I'm completely gone for you,…