SUNSTRUCK | outer banks ¹

SIXTEEN. (the start of nothing)

    "She shouldn't be back for a while so you could stay here if you want Derek," Sam said to the boy, Derek.

    I didn't know what to do, my brother thought I wasn't going to be up and I pondered running back over to John B's. Or even just leaving and going for a walk, but instead, I decided to just walk back to the door and pretend to come in.

    "Hey Sammy, I couldn't go back to sleep so I just thought I'd come early and help out" I lied, the door closing loudly behind me. My steps brought me to the kitchen where Sam and Derek were standing.

    I noticed that Derek had a necklace around his neck and my eyes trained on it. It was the necklace I got from Miss Lana. I looked back at my brother, my mind jumping to a conclusion.

    "uh, Laney, this is Derek. A friend of mine" Sam said as a forced smile crept onto his face. Derek shifted and then nodded at me. "hi" He greeted, his voice was deep and he was quite attractive. Probably around Sam's age. Even his smile was attractive, if he was who I thought he was to my brother I could tell why.

    "hi," I responded, a smile forming on my face as well. I didn't want to assume so I didn't say much else, my eyes focusing on something else.

    "so, where do you want to start?" I asked Sam, I could almost see the relief wash over him when I changed the subject.

    "Well, could you empty out the fridge? The store doesn't open for a while but when it does could you go out too?" Sam asked and I nodded. I watched as Sam and Derek headed through the back door and started working on the damage on the side of the house.

     It wasn't major enough to have needed to be worked on right after the hurricane and it was Sam's first day off so he wanted to do everything today. Hence why I was not allowed to go with the pogues. And like he said it was non-negotiable.

    Cleaning the fridge out didn't seem to take as long as I thought it would, with most of the food needing to be thrown out. After all, refrigerated foods needed to stay cool and with this being our sixth day without power they were starting to go bad. I was just thankful nothing had started to smell really bad.

    I peeked out the window, the sun was now fully in the sky. I could see Derek and Sam, a smile treading on my lips as I watched them. I didn't want to assume but I figured I was right about them, especially when I saw where Derek decided to place his hand.

     A little too close for a guy to touch another without questions being asked, a little close for anyone to touch someone else without questions being asked.

    I could have moved closer to the open window, and listened in on their conversation, but I decided against it. I had already eavesdropped on them today, I didn't need to make it a recurring thing. So when I walked out the door to let Sam know I was heading to the store I made my presence known.

    I didn't spend too long at the store, just picking up the things we needed. We weren't sure how long we'd have no power so I picked up a cooler and some ice. We needed something to keep our food cold.

    I wasn't sure why when I saw Rafe Cameron rounding the corner of the aisle I was on did I suck in a breath. I wasn't scared of him, but I definitely wasn't expecting to see him there.

    I wasn't the person to avoid eye contact when in a situation I didn't like, in fact even though everyone told me not to, I'd start something, get in their face, or say something snarky. Today was no different.

    So when I was passing him I smiled. "hi Rafe" I let out, the boy stopping in his tracks.

     "What, you gonna punch me again?" He asked, and for a split second I saw a different side of him, not for long however when some of his goon squad showed up at the end of the aisle. "fucking bitch" He spat out, walking towards his friends as they laughed.

    I scoffed, I could tell exactly who he was just from that. A coward. Nothing more, than just there to impress his friends. His money was the only thing probably keeping them around, that or his family's title. I watched as he walked away, letting him get whatever satisfaction from his friends he could. I was too preoccupied to care much.

    The hours blended as I helped Sam with stuff around the house, the time ticking by. I was sitting in my room looking out the window when I noticed the van pulling into the driveway of the house next door.

    I watched as only John B got out, his gaze following to my window. I smiled, continuing to keep my eyes on him as he walked up to the house. I stood, unlatching my window as he got closer, the boy climbing in a few seconds later.

    "so, find anything?" I asked, sitting back on my bed as John B closed the window. Sam and Derek were still doing some work in the kitchen.

    I watched as John B let out a sigh, sitting on my bed too. "we found the royal merchant but no gold" He let out, I took a second to process what I heard.

    "so, that's it?" I asked, looking at the side of his face, his eyes staring at the picture of Sam and me on the wall. "Yeah, that's kinda it. I mean unless something else happens, we got nothing" He admitted, finally moving his gaze to me.

    "I'm sorry, I know how much you wanted this" I apologized, my hand resting on his shoulder, John B sending me a weak smile. The two of us stayed like that for a while as we talked, even though they hadn't found the gold, nothing seemed to be changing between the two of us. He still came over to see me, we were still whatever we were.

    "How was the day here?" John B asked, a laugh lacing his words. "oh you know, the norm" I said as I laughed too. His smile made my insides flip.

    "Although I think I know something my brother doesn't want me to" I whispered, getting closer to the boy. "What do you mean?" He asked, turning to face me, our faces only a bit apart. "can't say, if I'm right about it" I said, and he didn't pressure me to continue, picking up the hint.

    I could feel his breath against my cheek, my face heating up. We were so close to each other, so when John B started to lean in it didn't take long for him to reach my lips.

    I kissed back after a moment, recovering from the shock that spread through me. His lips were soft against mine. I pulled away for a breath, a smile tugging on my lips as I did. John B moved his hand to my cheek. His thumb rubbed along my skin. It was only when we leaned back in that I realized it wasn't a dream.

    My mind went blank, who would have known a kiss would have that effect.