growing in love - jj maybank

SEASON 2! Ch 1. P4L.

The great nights of summer disappeared fast. The warm air began to dip, quieting just enough that the locals could tell fall was approaching.

Dani hardly noticed the change in the air. She didn't really leave the house.

It was like that one scene from High School Musical 2, where all the teens are sitting at their desks, desperately watching the clock and waiting for the day to finally end. Except, if you were to ask Dani, she couldn't tell you what she was waiting for. The girl needed some significant end, some true conclusion to the depressive mind fog. 

It had been a month, though it didn't feel that way. Every time Dani closed her eyes she could see the incident at the Point so clearly, feel the exact same dread, panic, exhaustion, despair. It couldn't be healthy to dwell on these things, but Dani went right back to that night every time she dared rest. 

Dani had only seen the pogues three times in the month that passed. 

Kie and Pope visited their friend exactly a week after Sarah and John B disappeared. The three did nothing, choosing to lie on Dani's boat and stare at the stars, bottles of the worst beer falling through their hands. Surprisingly, Dani drank the whole thing.

Dani saw JJ once while working a shift at the Wreck. It was really the only other place she would be if not at her house, and even then, her shifts were sporadic.

The third, and most recent, meet-up occurred the night before the four teens were set to go back to school. The pogues agreed to meet at John B's house, per Kie's request, to have a sentimental, good luck sleepover. 

Dani spent more time than she'd admit convincing herself to go to the Chateau. Pope, JJ, and Kie would have each other at school, while Dani was left to kick it alone at the kook academy. It was a reasonable worry, and Dani hoped that by not going to any pogue-sponsored back-to-school festivities, she could potentially soften the blow. Fortunately, Dani inevitably did convince herself to see her friends.

Dani woke in a sweat, the couch beneath her damp. It wasn't abnormal. Dani started having explicit nightmares about treasure hunts and storms, drug dealers with guns, the entire Cameron family... But the dreams were always scarier any time Rafe appeared. The boy had infected Dani's brain, his beady eyes and evil smirk would not go away.

Dani's eyes adjusted slowly to the light coming through John B's patio door. She appreciated that door, the way it creaked in the wind and let in the bright hope of sunlight. It was the strongest defense against the last remnants of the dreams that haunted her. 

Dani sat up, noticing the distinct lack of noise rumbling through the house. Her friends were still dreaming.

The small girl took this time, alone, to mentally prepare herself for what was to come. She still hadn't shed a single tear regarding the incident, but spending all day at the kook academy? Surrounding herself with those who only knew her as 'Rafe's girlfriend,' 'Sarah's friend,' or 'Topper's neighbor?' That was a terrifying thought. 

Dani knew that Kelce, Rafe, and Topper pretended as if nothing happened that summer. She had stalked their social media, not lost to the way they spent their days flaunting at the country club, boasting about how "trash was discarded." Even still, the whole island knew Rafe and Dani were no longer together, that Sarah had practically committed treason and Dani was a witness. There was no way Dani was going to be safe.

Dani moved slowly. She was dreading the inevitable and trying not to wake her friends.

As Dani was preparing to walk out the door, JJ shuffled into the kitchen, seemingly coming from the guest bedroom. "Hey," he tried to say, voice barely a whisper. The blonde cleared his throat and tried again, "Hey."