The Outer Banks, paradise on earth. Or at least that's what the sign says. Olivia Madden has lived in the OBX all her life and if you ask her, the island has more cons than the locals would like to admit.
"I'm leaving!" Olivia announced, already opening the front door to the house, freedom only a few feet away.
"Where to?" Her dad questioned, walking towards her, guessing she was about to leave to the Cut.
"Beach? Annual bonfire? Friends? I don't know dad, first day of summer, we-have-nothing-to-do-but-surf-and-hang-out type of thing."
Her dad, Matthew Madden, is a big-time developer, they had a normal family and lived in Figure Eight, Kooks is what you can call them. Although she does come from money, Olivia hangs out with the Pogues, the "low-class" of the island, much to her family's distaste. So, as you can probably tell... one of the biggest problems of the island is, most definitely, the classist hierarchy created. The never-ending Kooks vs. Pogues hatred that Olivia despised.
"Okay well, be careful and for God's sake text me when you get there and maybe a few times throughout the night? Just so I know you're alive and breathing."
"Yeah, yeah. I promise, dad." Olivia kissed her father's cheek and started walking towards her car. "Tell mom I love her."
Her dad nodded and she quickly started the car, leaving before he could change his mind or continue conversation. It's not that her dad hated the Pogues, in fact, he enjoyed her friends, they weren't too bad. He just wanted her to hang out around the house more and maybe not get in trouble every two days because of whatever social injustice she thought she was fighting by starting arguments with other Kooks. The one time he thought Olivia was finally going to stick around Figure Eight, his daughter and Sarah Cameron had a falling out, bringing her right back to the Cut and the Chateau, or whatever the kids called it.
Olivia had just turned nineteen, she was back from her first year of college in the mainland, it hadn't been too bad, but she missed the island, and especially her friends. They kept in touch throughout the school year, Olivia even met up with Kiara a few times, their colleges weren't too far away. JJ and John B stayed behind in the OBX, and Pope was off somewhere doing forensic pathology. What truly mattered was... they're all back now for three months of summer, they had to make it unforgettable.
The plan tonight was the bonfire. Everyone in the island was going, it happened every year around the same time, usually kids from the ages of fifteen to around twenty something would go and hang out, maybe have a few drinks. Groups would mix and match, it was kind of weird, every other day of the year people seemed to care about your status: Kook or Pogue, but that night, as long as you were cool and wanted to have fun, no one thought about it twice.
"Look who it is." JJ greeted Olivia once she parked her car. "My favorite Kook, looking hot as ever."
"JJ Maybank, long time no see."
Olivia jumped in for a hug, which JJ gladly returned, last they'd seen each other was on easter and it was just for a week, tops. It felt good knowing they could go months without seeing each other and have it not ruin their friendship, it was weird to get used to, but Pogues didn't leave each other behind, especially not for going to college in the mainland.
"Where is everyone?" Olivia asked, looking around for Kiara's car or even Pope's truck.
"Kie meets us there, John B is inside, and I have no clue where Pope is."
They walked side by side, starting to catch up on the latest news. It was mainly JJ talking, he was the bearer of exciting news and there was no way anyone could stop him from speaking about the island, he loved it with all his heart and Olivia loved to hear about it.
"If it isn't Olivia Madden finally making her way home." John B chuckled once he saw her step foot on the porch. "Glad you're here, JJ is definitely full of my shit by now."
"You undoubtedly need to start cleaning this house, John B, it's weirdly similar to how we left it." She observed her surroundings, it did look somewhat better than the last time she stepped foot in the Chateau, but it was obvious to her that Big John hadn't been home in a few days at least.
"You've been here for thirty seconds and you're already questioning the livability of the Chateau?"
"Yeah well, remember when your dad left for a trip like... two years ago and we were all tripping on your clothing and empty cans of beer for a week?" Olivia reminded, smiles on both of their faces.
"Fair point."
They both hugged and talked about life for a few minutes. It felt good to be home, as the familiar air filled Olivia's lungs, she began to feel more excited for the weeks to come. The art of doing absolutely nothing was something she was going to have to learn to do again. No worrying about school assignments, or group projects or even failing classes, just summer and good times.
"Did we tell you about hurricane Agatha?" John B asked, handing Olivia a beer can while they waited for Pope.
"No, I heard about it on the news a few months ago but that was about it. They said it didn't hit the island that hard."
"Didn't hit the island that hard." JJ mumbled back. "Not Figure Eight at least, the Cut was out of power for weeks. If it wasn't for S-"
JJ was cut off by John B who started coughing extremely loudly. Too loudly. He was obviously trying to stop his friend from finishing the sentence, but it was too late for that, Olivia was now even more interested in what he had to say.
"For whom?" She pressed.
Both boys exchanged glances, John B with a death stare that made JJ silently apologize. "Sarah. She uh-she got the Chateau a back-up generator."
"Sarah as in Sarah Cameron?" Olivia raised her eyebrow, trying to understand the situation. The boys nodded. "So what? She's your friend again?"
"Not really, she's still with Topper. It caught us off guard too." John B's face was a mix of terrified and curious at their friend's reaction.
"She sugar momma'd you basically." She rolled her eyes.
It's not like Olivia was mad at the boys for accepting the generator or mad at Sarah for buying it... she just had mixed feelings about the situation. Before anyone could reply, Pope busted through the front door, looking like he ran all the way there. The friends looked at him, not only startled but confused.
"Easy there, Dr. Spock." JJ laughed, watching as his friend took in their faces.
"Sorry I'm late, flight got delayed, then mom and dad wanted to spend time with me, it didn't seem like they were ever gonna let me leave."
"It's okay, Pope. No one's ever on time for the bonfire." Olivia assured, walking towards her friend to give him a hug. "How are you?"
They walked back to the Twinkie, which made John B the designated driver back home. Pope told them all about the weird things he had to do during his school year. The group didn't know if they wanted to hear more or stop the van to puke, but they ended up going with a third option, subtly changing subject.
Once they got to the bonfire, they could already see a crowd starting to form. Olivia felt excited, not only because she was back on the island with her friends but also because her social life could finally start blooming again. All four of them immediately grabbed themselves drinks from the bag they had brought, while also keeping an eye out in case Kiara showed up.
It didn't take long for JJ and John B to start chatting up a few girls, both of them Tourons. This was so typical that it almost made Olivia roll her eyes at the boys. She was still standing and chatting with Pope when someone put their hands over Olivia's eyes.
"Guess who." Pope spoke, a chuckle leaving his lips soon after.
"Hmm, I don't know." Olivia brought her hands up to the other person's, they felt soft and whoever it was smelled like perfume. Once she felt the rings, it became too obvious. "Kie!"
She turned around to hug her friend, who laughed with her excitedly. "Didn't think you could start a party without me, now did you?"
"Never." Pope chimed in. It was his turn to get attention from their friend.
"Where are the other two?"
"Take a wild guess." Olivia replied, a sarcastic tone in her voice.
"Already?" Kiara groaned. "Barely waited for me to get here, those fuckers."
The three friends continued to talk and laugh together, occasionally taking sips of their drinks. As time went on, people kept showing up. A lot of them the Pogues recognized from high-school, others they guessed, were Tourons. It became increasingly hard to move around and Olivia only made the conscious decision to leave her place next to Kiara when she spotted John B in the crowd, holding the bag they had brought with drinks.
Olivia was halfway through the sea of people when she felt someone grab her arm, pulling her back. She turned around quickly, her hand halfway in the air expecting to deliver a punch when she realized it was just JJ holding two red cups in his hand.
"Woah, woah, no need for violence Liv, I swear the beverage in the cup is good." JJ defended, putting his free hand up in a clear sign of peace.
"Jesus Christ, you scared the devil out of me." Olivia complained, already feeling relieved it wasn't some random person holding her.
"I wanted to give you a refill and ask you for a dance." He handed her the drink, sticking his arm out for her to grab
"Aw that would be sweet if I hadn't just seen a Touron reject you."
JJ pouted, still holding out his arm, she rolled her eyes but accepted his offer, how could she say no to that? They had very poor dance moves but they did it through giggles and laughs, having the time of their lives.
*
The rest of the night went smoothly, they all got pretty drunk but not to the point of feeling sick and John B even scored with one of the three girls Olivia had seen him with. She had sent a text to her dad once they got to the Chateau, just warning him she wouldn't be sleeping home and crashed on the couch, next to Kiara.
The morning after was rough for all of them, their headaches were bigger than expected. "Good thing we have this." Kiara spoke, revealing a joint.
"When I tell you I missed you so much, Kiara Carrera." Olivia's voice was raspy, most likely from all the yelling over the music
They both stepped foot outside and lit the joint, sharing it with one another. The girls sat in a comfortable silence, Kiara's head resting on Olivia's shoulder as they took in the view of John B's backyard. It was peaceful and felt like home for both of them.
The Pogues had known each other since the first or second grade. They were inseparable inside and outside of school, everything they did was together, and they probably knew each other better than they knew themselves. It was a beautiful friendship to witness as it blossomed. Olivia couldn't think of anything she would keep from her friends.
A text pulled Olivia out of her thoughts, she handed Kiara the joint to pay better attention to it. It was from her dad,
Dinner with the Cameron's tonight at 7:30PM, do not be late.
11:38AM
"Boy do I not catch a break?" Olivia sighed when she finished reading it. Replying with a simple 'okay' and the first happy emoji she could find. It did not mirror her feelings at all.
"What's wrong?" Kiara asked, lifting her head from her friend's shoulder, and turning to face her. Olivia handed her the phone so she could read the message. "Oh, that has to be fun."
"Don't even joke about it. I've been back for like a day and a half. You know I hate the Camerons."
"Rose and Ward are cool. Wheezie too." Kiara was clearly trying to make the situation better, not that she had any faith in it working but it was worth the shot.
"I wasn't talking about Rose, Ward or Wheezie." Olivia rubbed her eyes. "Can we meet after? I'm gonna need the good vibes."
"Sure. Meet me at The Wreck whenever it's over. We can watch movies at my place." Kiara suggested, a grin appearing on her face.
"I love you, Kie."
"Confessing your love this early in the morning, Liv?" John B yawned stepping outside, his eyes squeezing shut as the sun hit them.
"It's Kie we're talking about so..."
"Yeah, that about covers it." He chuckled. "Do you girls wanna go for a swim in the marsh? We can take the HMS Pogue."
They both agreed, jumping up from their place to wake the other two boys. While Pope and JJ whined about not wanting to get up, John B gathered basically every edible thing in the kitchen, placed it in a cooler and took it to the boat, waiting for the others.
The boys lazily changed into swimming shorts, while the girls chose the best bikinis to wear. It should be weird how they had most of their stuff at the Chateau, but they barely ever slept anywhere else. Over time they all just started to occupy the empty drawers in John B's room to make it easier.
"Boy have I missed this." JJ said with a whistle when both girls left the bathroom.
"I see some things never change, JJ."
Olivia laid down on the boat, head resting on Pope's lap while John B took them further into the marsh. They shared drinks, trying their best to stay hydrated under the hot sun that hit the island.
Once they reached the destination, it was a matter of seconds before everyone was in the water, doing stupid competitions and tanning under the sun. Bad jokes, swimming and sitting around doing nothing together was the definition of their afternoon. There's nothing like home.