Strawberry Sunscreen - JJ Maybank - Outer Banks

Chapter 7 - Pilot || Part 7

It had been nice for Elizabeth to speak to others outside of the kook academy. Elizabeth had relied on her friendship with Sarah for so long, not even bothering to attempt to make other friends when she started at the school. Sarah and Elizabeth were close on the surface, but their friendship lacked the depth that she had felt with others.

As soon as she walked through the front door, she and Topper were pushed back out. "I have a business meeting this week and I'm flying out in two hours. You guys can stay at the Cameron house for the week, I've already cleared it with Rose."

"We can't even stay in our own house?" Elizabeth asked her mother, who gave her a stern look and shut the clear door. "You've got to be kidding me. We need clothes!" Their mother allowed them to enter the house for fifteen minutes, the two of them leaving with duffle bags full of necessities.

Elizabeth set off for the Cameron household, her brother following closely behind her as he attempted to talk to her.

"Lizzy, we have to talk someday!" Topper pleaded. Elizabeth continued walking. "Please."

She spun around, eyes full of anger, "God, Topper. If I had done this to you about Sarah you would have never forgiven me. You're my brother! You're supposed to look out for me!"

"And I'm sorry that I broke your trust," Topper sighed.

"Topper, I need time. Away from you, away from Rafe. Away from everyone." The girl sighed, smiling to herself as she walked towards the door. She knew that she would be in trouble with Sarah after the events of the other night occurred. After ringing the bell once, the door swung open moments later. As the girl behind the door realized who it was, she instantly scolded Elizabeth.

"Where were you last night?" She asked. "Topper and I were worried!" Elizabeth sighed at the mention of her brother's name. Now that he and Sarah have become closer, he has been the subject of every other conversation and has squirmed his way back into Elizabeth's life through Sarah. Topper and Elizabeth's had been exact opposites ever since they were kids, with both of them involving themselves in different aspects of life. As they grew older, Topper became increasingly popular while gaining a vast amount of friends. For him, the more friends he had, the more confident he was. Elizabeth, however, only wanted a small group of friends to care about her, which was difficult to find at the kook academy. Everyone there was worried too much about what everyone else thought about them and not worried enough about what they thought about themselves. It was honestly saddening and disencouraging to see the way that both girls and boys alike acted at school.

Elizabeth struggled to make friends due to her sarcastic nature along with her connections to the cut. She had always found the other world more intriguing, not wanting to involve herself in her own. To her, the grass was certainly greener on the other side, even if it didn't really show. Her few moments with the group from the cut had reminded her of the carefree life that she had always wanted to live. A life where she could avoid the judgment of older, rich gold diggers and just focus on making herself happy. She sighed, not wanting to tell Sarah anything about what had happened-- she knew she would either be judged for the company she kept or because of the actions she had taken. Or maybe, both.

"Lets just go inside," Elizabeth instructed, walking past Sarah and going towards her room. Topper had escaped the two in an attempt to find Rafe. "I was making friends!"

"With who, the cops?" Sarah joked, her tone still stern but her attitude lightening as she was just happy that Elizabeth showed back up.

"How dare you!" Elizabeth jokingly hit Sarah lightly on the shoulder. "You know I'd never befriend cops." Elizabeth couldn't be blamed for how she viewed police officers-- especially after what had just happened to her.