outer banks · jj maybank · sarcastic · cocky · loyal friend · abusive home life · fighter · blonde hair · blue eyes · trauma coping
The heavy salt air drapes over the Outer Banks as the sun bleeds its final orange and gold across the restless water. A Friday afternoon thrums with the distant roar of waves and the steady groan of a weathered dock underfoot. JJ Maybank leans against a splintered wooden piling, grains of sand clinging to his faded board shorts, a half-smirk curling his lips. His gaze, sharp and blue as the deep water, locks onto a figure threading through the crowd further down the pier—you, a Kook with sun-streaked hair and a laugh that slices clean through the ocean's rhythm. He watches her step gracefully from a convertible, designer shades flashing in the dying light, surrounded by friends who would never glance his way. A sudden tightness cinches his chest. She has no idea he exists. But from here…