sweet | outer banks

c h a p t e r / t w e n t y - o n e

hello best friends in the whole wide world!

thank u so much for 32k reads :,) never gonna get used to a number that big. i appreciate every single one of u who is reading this right now!!!!! u are the best ever. also thank u soooo much for being so patient during the wait for this chapter <3

apologizing in advance again for any emotional damage this chapter causes. it wasn't me.

ENJOY!!! :D -katie <3

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

b r i e l l e

"What time is it?" Sarah asks me through a tired groan, shielding her eyes from the bright morning light.

"I have no idea." I respond after a long yawn as I stretch my arms up in the air. I feel Sarah get up out of my bed and watch as she goes over to check her phone.

"It's like, 10:30. What time did we fall asleep?"

"Way too late." The two of us laugh at my words, thinking about how we spent our night last night. It consisted of at least two hours of Taylor Swift karaoke and even more hours worth of Gilmore Girls, and even though we're exhausted today, I wouldn't have wanted to spend the night any other way.

I get out of bed shortly after, almost tripping over the empty popcorn bowl that we left on my floor. I flatten my blankets on my bed and place Jackie carefully between two of my pillows, not caring enough to properly make it. As Sarah goes quietly to the bathroom, I hesitate a second before grabbing my phone from my bedside table and tapping the screen to turn it on. Still nothing from JJ. What the hell happened to him? I texted him once more last night before Sarah and I fell asleep, but it was way past midnight so I didn't expect him to answer then. But it's the next morning now. He's supposed to be at work so maybe he'll see it when his shift ends.

I toss my phone onto my bed, not wanting a couple of unread texts to get in the way of having a good day. When Sarah returns from the bathroom, I connect my phone to my speaker and give it to her to choose the music. To literally no one's surprise, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things is the first song to come on.

After singing into our hairbrushes about swimming in a champagne sea, Sarah opens my closet doors and looks for some clothes to borrow since she didn't come over last night prepared for a sleepover. It's an unspoken rule between the two of us and Kie that we never have to ask before borrowing each other's clothes, so my wardrobe now consists of some of my own clothing as well as two thirds Sarah's and Kie's.

As Sarah gets dressed, I throw on a pair of ripped denim shorts and my trusty high tops, along with JJ's Jeep t-shirt that I tricked him into giving me one night at the beach when I 'forgot' to bring my own top.

Jeep t-shirt. My Jeep. Goddammit. "My car's still at your house from yesterday." I tell Sarah as I brush out my hair before sitting on the edge of my bed to put it into two Dutch braids.

"Yeah, I saw that last night. I can drive it back over here soon if you wanna give me your keys. Just so you don't have to come to my house." She's got that right. I love Sarah and Wheezie to death, but the very last place I want to be right now is their house after yesterday.

I only nod in response, not really wanting to talk or even think about everything that happened with Rafe. Luckily, Sarah is quick to change the subject by holding up two of my tops, inviting me to tell her which one I think goes best with her shorts.

I point to the one on the left, a white, orange, and beige striped tank top that I think actually belongs to Kie, and Sarah puts it on as well as her shoes before posing a few times in the mirror. She also puts on some of my perfume and fixes up her hair as Message In A Bottle comes on through the speaker.