𝐹𝑜𝑜𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝐵𝑜𝓉𝒽 𝒲𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹'𝓈 || OUTERBANKS

-23-

•Dead Calm•
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I spent the rest of the day looking for JJ, I asked John B to drop me off at the docks, I needed time to think. After I sat there for an hour I began my hunt for the blonde boy. I couldn't see him going home, I know he and his father don't get along, so now I just had to think like him, where would he go?

After hours and hours of searching, I met up with Kie and Pope at John B's house, one of the last places I thought to check. Once I arrived at the old house I saw Kie and Pope unloading equipment out of the back of Kie's truck. Only as I approached them a mass of fairy lights turned on and a generator whirred.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked them confusedly pointing to John B's back yard. They both shared the same confused expression as I did.

"What the hell?"

"Who the hell is that?" Kie asked as we walked over to where the lights were coming from. There was a mountain of neon lights, blow up stuff, and a hot tub. The sound of a cork going off was enough to make me look at the blonde boy confused. So this is where he's been all day.

"What did you do, JJ?" Pope asked with a gasp, walking over to the side of the hot tub.

"I got a jet going straight in my butt right now." He laughed slightly sitting at the opposite side of the spa, a bottle of champagne in hand, he was clearly drunk, "Y'all should get in immediately, you hear me? Salud"

Pope and Kie had angry looks on their faces as JJ grabbed three champagne glasses, filling them up and holding one out to me.

"How much did this cost?" Pope asked as I messed with the hem of my shirt.

"Uh... Well, with the generator, the petrol, and oh, hey, express delivery... pretty much all of it, yeah" With that I felt anger bubbling inside me too, I couldn't express my anger and confusion.

"All of it?"

"Yeah, all of it"

"You spent all the money in one day?"

"Yeah, burned a hole right through my pocket. But, I mean, like, come on, guys, like, look at this" He told us with a half-smile pointing to the excessive amount of neon fairy lights wrapped around the branches of the large tree. He is definitely too drunk right now, "Finest in jet-based massage therapy, that's what they told me... Kie, what? Can't a man have a little luxury in life?"

I looked away looking into the darkness covering the rest of the garden, I couldn't look at him like this. I was angry, but also heartbroken.

"Come on, all this scrimpin' and scrapin'... I mean, like... guys, we—- you only live once, right?" He sounded hurt, like he was forcing himself to be happy, to which I looked back at the blonde again, he had now plastered another smile on his face, "Enough of this emotional shit. Get in the Cat's Ass. Come on."

"I'm the what?" I asked with a ridiculous look.

"In the Cat's Ass. That's what I named her. Oh, hey, yo, I almost forgot," He nodded holding a finger up to us telling us to wait, before clicking a button on the side of the spa, "Huh? Yeah, that's right, I know. Disco mode. That's right, baby!"