stevie | outer banks | JJxOC

32- your breath smells

The vibe was damp. The remaining Pogues left Barry's house and sat in the Wreck in almost silence as they were processing. They all felt the tension and didn't know what to do next. None of them could sit comfortably and wait.

Stevie felt almost sick. She could feel it in the back of her throat. Her eyes were puffy and her face was red as well. She was done with the day and wanted to go home. She couldn't talk to JJ now. Now was not the time to be proclaiming any type of love. But she was worried. She wanted to go home and sleep but she knew that thoughts of his safety would keep her awake.

Pope started talking about his new plan for the gold; collecting it all at once and waiting till they could sell it off reliably. They were going to go tomorrow night to accompany John B's surprise fishing trip.

"What about JJ?" Stevie asked.

"Look he'll come around alright, it's..." John B tried to lighten the vibe. "He's doing a JJ thing."

"Do you think he'll go home?" Kie asked the group. The answer had always been no. He was never at home. But Stevie wasn't so sure that that was still the case.

"There's about a zero per cent chance that JJ goes home," Pope said but Stevie couldn't sit and agree. She couldn't let the group be fine with not knowing where JJ was.

"Really?" She said in a slightly aggressive tone, "I think that's exactly where he'd go." she thought about him owing all the money for restitution, she thought he'd want to make his dad proud. "Actually, I can't believe you guys are talking about the gold when we have no idea where he is." Stevie stood up for him, "What shit are you tired of exactly? His saving our arses shit? His putting us above himself shit? He was already tense because of me but you guys pushed him over the fucking edge."

"Why was he tense because of you?" Kie asked confused at what had been going on between the two, it was like they were back to hating each other.

"It doesn't matter," Stevie checked the time and sighed realising she had a shift, she was already in trouble for missing a shift earlier and would lose her job if she didn't go now, "I have a shift but if this was John B we'd be searching the island"

...

"Stevie!" Pope called to the girl as she left the shop after her shift. She was tempted to keep walking but staying mad at them wasn't going to help anything.

"Stevie please," Kie said as she walked around from the other side of the truck. "We're sorry. You're right. We tried to look around but he wasn't anywhere. We went around the beaches, the surf shop, we checked his house but it was a mess. There was a hole in the porch and no one was there. He could be at the Chateau which is where we're going now."

"Thank you, guys," Stevie smiled as she walked closer to the car. "Can I have a lift?"

"Obviously," Pope laughed, "we're not gonna just leave you here."

...

"We gotta be done by my scholarship interview in the morning," Pope said as they pulled up outside the Chateau.

"Bro you're paranoid." Stevie laughed at him, "You'll be fine. You're gonna get this scholarship for sure."

"Thanks, Steve," Pope smiled before turning to Kie and the back of the car, he explained the plan and how the winch was going to help. Stevie watched from a distance as Pope started at Kie whilst she spoke. Her heart could have exploded at the cuteness.

"I'm gonna see if JJ is here," Stevie started to walk towards the house when hundreds of fairy lights around the garden turned on. "What the hell?"

"Who the hell is that?" Kie sighed as she walked into the garden behind the house, followed by Pope and Stevie who looked at each other confused. They followed the vibrant lights till they led them to JJ sitting in a hot tub. Stevie felt somewhat relieved that they had finally found him, but simultaneously stressed by the weird hot tub situation.