"Do you know what time it is?" Affinity yawned while her head sunk deeper into her arms that rested on the table.
John B turned his phone over to check the time. "Quarter till one," he answered sleepily.
"Seriously? I'm surprised they haven't kicked us out yet."
"Yeah, we should probably get out of here. We have everything we need."
"What exactly are we going to do for the next four hours?" She asked. "The first ferry doesn't depart until five."
John B grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulders. "I don't know, we will figure something out."
Affinity stood to her feet and stretched. "Can we eat? I haven't eaten since lunch."
He chuckled slightly. "I'm sure there's a diner somewhere that's still open."
"Okay, then let's move it or else my stomach might start eating itself."
"Yeah, and I'm the dramatic one."
Affinity punched him in the shoulder. "Like you have any room to talk."
"Now I just think you're hangry," he snickered.
"I bloody will be if you're not careful there, mate," she shot back in a British accent.
"Ah, are you threatening me, Viv?" John B played along.
"I will put you in my sauna if I have to," she threatened.
John B threw his hands up in surrender. "Whoa, read loud and clear, no thank you!"
"At least you learn quickly."
John B nodded up ahead to a neon blue sign up that shone above a building up ahead, reading: Niko's. "How about this one?"
Affinity shrugged. "I eat anything."
John B jogged up to the door and opened it for her. "After you, madame."
Affinity playfully curtsied as she walked through the door. "You're too kind, my good man."
John B bowed and laughed, then following behind. Affinity selected a booth and plopped down onto the squishy seat, feeling her entire body finally relax. She leaned herself up against the wall and stretched her legs out across the seat, one arm dangling over the seat while the other desperately grabbed a menu. John B sat across from her and picked up a second menu. It didn't take long for her to decide what she wanted.
"You ready?" She asked.
"Fin, I haven't even looked at the menu yet," he scoffed.
Affinity pursed her lips together. "Well, decide fast because I'm waving the waiter over anyway."
John B opened his mouth in protest, but no argument followed. He only huffed and started to look a little quicker while Affinity waved over a young boy. The boy smiled and started to walk towards them.
"Good evening, Miss," the waiter greeted. "What can I get for you."
"Hi, can I get the grilled chicken caesar wrap with a chocolate milkshake," she smiled.
The boy jotted down her order and turned to John B. "And for you, Sir?"
"Uh-"
"If I started singing the Mission Impossible theme song, do you think it would make you think faster?" Affinity chuckled.
"Definitely not," he muttered back. He looked up at the waiter. "Can I just get the Philly cheesesteak sub."
"Of course, anything to drink?"
"No thanks," he replied.
"Alright, it'll be out in a moment," the waiter smiled before he left the table.
John B let out a heavy exhale. "You tend to induce anxiety when you do stuff like that."
"Sorry, Vlad, I'm just tryin' to keep you on your toes," she smirked.
He rolled his eyes in response.
"Okay, back to the mission," Affinity continued. "You said someone could help us with the letter. Who?"
"My history teacher," he answered. "He's really my only shot."
"What do you think it says?"
"Hopefully, where the gold is. I'm not positive but Denmark Tanny had to have done something with the gold before he was lynched, right?"
"One would think," she frowned. "Fingers crossed, I guess."
"Hey, we got to remember to get out of here a little before five so we can get to OBX before the craziness of Midsummer's Eve starts up."
"Wow, I totally forgot about Midsummers," Affinity sighed. She never really liked the party so much, but that was one confirmed day of the year where everyone in her family was happy.
John B's brows furrowed. "You don't miss it all?"
A faint smile curled over her lips. "I don't miss it that much but there are the little things I do miss."
"Like what?"
"Well, it was one of the only days of the year that my mom would force my dad and me to dress up all fancy. As you could probably tell, I'm not one to dress up that much but I actually enjoyed it. We had this tradition where we would all go out and pick out something new to wear for the party that night. It's stupid but I knew for a fact that on that day we didn't have to fake happiness to hide our family problems from the public."
Affinity felt herself sink deeper into the seat. Her sadness was apparent to John B, but he didn't know how to help her. His only method for dealing with pain was to just forget it and move on. To him, it felt like she always knew what to say...he admired that. He wished he had that type of social maturity, but despite him not knowing what to do or what to say to her, he knew he would always try to help her any way he could. Maybe coming to the mainland was the best thing that happened to them recently? They finally found a way to detach themselves from what was happening in their lives.
"Well, she's a witchy bitch." That's all he could come up with.
Affinity smiled at his attempt to make her feel better. "Come up with that all on your own?"
John tried to come back with a snarky remark, but all he did was blush. "Shut up."
"You're not wrong though," she shrugged sadly. "Money does that to people. My dad didn't know how to do her job like she did and suddenly he wasn't bringing in the same amount of money. Once she had the affair, all she needed was an excuse to tell to his face. It's just what manipulative people do. They take everything from you until you have nothing else to give."
John B nodded in agreement. "Honestly, I know close to nothing about my mom. I don't have a lot of memories of her and my dad never really liked to talk about her. My guess is that she got so fed up with his work that she just...left."
"Moral of the story...people suck," Affinity tried to laugh it off, but it felt too true...too personal.
"That they do." John B noticed that the waiter was bringing them their food. "Food's here," he announced.
"Thank god," Affinity groaned.
They both sat up to accept their plates and thanked the waiter.
Affinity glanced over at the boy. "Hey, JB?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you promise me something?"
"What is it?"
"Never let me become one of those people."
His eyes locked with her's. "Only if you do that same for me."
She smiled. "Always."
<<<>>>
Affinity felt a hand grab her shoulder and gently shake her awake. Not realizing she had fallen asleep, her eyes fluttered open. The lights that beamed brightly above her made her squint. Her hand reached up to rub the sleep from her eyes and looked up at John B, who stared down at her with a soft, closed lipped smile.
"Mornin', Sunshine," he teased.
Affinity stared at him in disbelief. "I fell asleep?"
"Yeah, you were out for like almost three hours," John B laughed softly.
"That's surprising."
Affinity sat up and stretched, feeling something that was draped over the top of her fall into her lap. She grabbed the light pink zip up she had often seen John B wear.
John B looked up at the ceiling and nodded at the vent above her. "You were under a vent," he defended.
Affinity desperately tried to keep her cheeks from becoming a rosy color. "I knew you were a softie," she smirked.
He threw his hands out to his sides and rolled her eyes. "How do I still manage to get lectured after doing something nice?"
Affinity stood up to her feet and handed him back the sweatshirt. "Honestly, I don't have the answer to that question. I guess I'm just full of surprises."
"Perfect..."
"Is it time to go yet?" She asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, the office will be open in 10."
"Alright, let's go home."
Affinity was the first out of the door, holding it open so John B could walk through behind her. The harbor wasn't far and it would only take them a few minutes to get there. The sun hadn't rose yet, but the shade of the sky had begun to lighten, the moon and stars slowly disappearing from where they had shone in the sky. The man that was at the front desk was polite and sold them two tickets back to the Outer Banks. Not many other people were on the ferry with them, a few dozen or so, but it was enough that the ferry could depart for the islands.
Affinity and John B found seats that sat outside and looked over the railing of the boat and out to the sun that was now rising. Soft, warm colors danced through the clouds as streaks of heavenly golden light. Affinity had seen her fair share of sunrises while battling her insomnia, but this one was different. She didn't understand why, but it did. Maybe she had finally found peace within the craziness and this was her reward?
"You know, Fin," John B started, ripping her dazed thoughts back to reality. "You're not what I thought you'd be."
She cocked a brow at him. "Thanks? Should I even ask or?"
"No, no, no," John B corrected himself. "It's a good thing."
"Mind painting me a before and after picture," she laughed.
"I don't know, I guess I thought you'd be like this- stuck up, no heart or soul, only cares about herself kind of person."
His words took Affinity back, there was no doubt about that. "I hope there's a 'but' following this."
"Yeah, I really need to get to my point faster," he rambled on to himself. "My point is, you're definitely not. You're definitely someone who cares about anyone, even someone who was a complete and total douche to you. I really respect that." The way he looked at her gave her the reassurance that he was being sincere. And John B? He suddenly looked at her differently. It was more like...admiration.
"I just needed to coach you up," she teased. "But I can say it was a mutual feeling, you're a lot different than I expected, too."
"Yeah, how so?" He asked curiously.
"I didn't really know you but I thought you'd definitely be someone that would pass out drunk on a surfboard." John B sent her a funny look. She raised her hands up in defense. "You asked. I just thought you were just this laid back kinda hippie who honestly didn't care about anything- like nothing at all."
John B crossed his arms and stared off into nowhere. "Yeah, that's very wrong."
"Yeah, now it's more like a neurotic headcase with ADD," she laughed.
He shrugged and laughed. "I'm not even going to try to argue."
She nudged him with her elbow. "But I do appreciate the finger guns."
John B formed finger guns and pretended to blow them out, then securing them in his pockets. "Much obliged."
The boat ride back to the island only felt like 10 minutes to Affinity and John B, having become lost in their conversations and laughs. She couldn't remember the last time she had made a friend or became super close to someone. The last person she could come up with was Kiara and that was a long time ago. Being around him felt natural and their personalities automatically meshed. Honestly, it felt relieving. She was beyond happy they had that time together. It was one of the best things that had happened to her and it was the first time in a while she felt like she didn't have to worry about something. When she's around him, she feels like she can actually let go of everything that'a holding her down.
The boat came to a stop and all the passengers started to get off the boat and exit through the docks. It had started down pouring again, which forced Affinity and John B to sprint back to his van. The two ripped open the doors and threw themselves inside, laughing the whole way. John B tossed his bag into the back and worked to start the car. Affinity pulled back her soaked hair that stuck to her face and hugged her knees to her chest as she shivered slightly from the chilly rain. The car ride was quiet, yet comfortable. Conversations didn't have to be forced between the two of them anymore.
Soon enough, John B clicked on his turn signal to turn into Affinity's gravel driveway. As he parked the car, she fished yesterday's clothes out of John B's backpack.
"I'll call you after I talk to my history teacher," John B remarked.
"You better," she ordered. "Please don't make me pick you off the side of the road again."
"I think you should be saying thank you, actually," he argued. "If I wouldn't have bit it, we wouldn't have been assigned to this mission."
"Ah, yes," she agreed, nodding her head with a smile that seemed to be glued on her face at this point. "You have a point."
"I can't lie, Fin," John B spoke, shaking his head. "That was one of the best days of my life."
Affinity bit the inside of her cheek. "Yeah, it really was. I'm really glad we don't want to kill each other anymore."
He let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, no kidding. Tell your dad 'hi' for me."
"Will do," she answered while she opened the door. She closed it behind her and waved goodbye.
After dragging herself inside, she found her dad sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. He looked up at his daughter, noticing the big smile on her face. It was impossible for him to say nothing.
"Not a date my ass," he muttered.
That quickly caught her attention. "Well, good morning to you too."
"I may be running on two hours of sleep, but the extra wrinkles in your face because of how much you've been smiling are very noticeable."
"No wonder you never became a CSI agent, you're reading all the wrong things. But I'd love for you to explain why you didn't sleep. Oh, right, it was because of your date."
He chewed on his cereal slowly, realizing that arguing with his daughter was pointless because she was gifted with his stubbornness. He looked up at her. "Call it a tie?"
"Deal." Affinity looked over her shoulder to check the time, realizing that her dad was going to be late. "Hey, dad, shouldn't you-"
Mr. McCormick checked the time, his eyes widening in response. "Shit, shit, shit," he muttered as he quickly gathered his stuff and hurried towards the door. "Have a good day, love you!"
"Love you too!" She called out after him.
<<<>>>
It was almost noon. Affinity had spent her time trying to clean up the house since it hadn't been cleaned up much since they moved in. As she was humming along to 'Do It Again' by the Beach Boys while cleaning down the counter, her phone started to buzz on the table. She read John B's name and immediately answered it.
"Hey, what did you find out?"
'Fin! You're not going to believe this! I know how to find the gold!'
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, JB, take a breath. What did the letter say?"
'At the end of his letter, he asks his son to harvest the wheat!'
"Uh- okay, so?"
'So, wheat is code for gold! Th-There's a symbol at the bottom of the letter and it matches the same symbol on the gold.'
Affinity grinned ear to ear, being completely floored by everything John B was saying. They were going to find the gold.
"O-Okay, what do we do now?"
'I don't know yet but we need a plat map of Tannyhill. I'm not sure how to get us one yet.'
"Okay, well let's rally up the others and we will figure something out."
A knocking on the front door suddenly sounded throughout the room. Affinity's brows came together.
"Hey, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later."
'Loud and clear, talk to you later. I'll let you know if I figure anything out.'
Affinity hung up the phone and hesitantly approached her door. She didn't know who would be at their house, but after everything they've been through, it was a bit unsettling. But when you opened the door, it was probably the worst thing that she could've found on the other side of the door.
It was her mother.
"Hi, Finny," she spoke softly.
"What the hell do you want?" Affinity muttered through gritted teeth, not even bothering opening up the door all the way.
"Sweetie, have you forgotten?" The woman continued as if she were the most innocent person on the planet. "It's Midsummers!"
Affinity could feel the anger build up within her and this time, she wasn't sure she could keep it in. But it wasn't only anger, it was disbelie. How could some be so ignorant.
"And you think that's okay?! You think you can just waltz right over to this side of the island like you didn't just abandon your family?!"
"Affinity, please-"
"No, just-"
But then it hit her. She knew how to get to the gold.
"Actually," Affinity mumbled, her mood switching almost instantly. "Maybe I-I was being too harsh," she lied and forced a smile. "We always had the best times at Midsummers."
Her daughter's sudden mood change puzzled her but she went along with it. "We did," her mother smiled. "So does that mean we can pretend like it's the good old days and go pick out a lovely dress?"
This act was painful for Affinity but she knew this was the only way she knew how to make sure their plan worked. "Yes, we can. I have to grab a few things, can I meet you in the car?"
"Of course, Fin."
Affinity shut the door as her mother turned away, snatched her phone off the table, and frantically dialed John B's number.
'Hello?'
"I have a plan."
•••
a/n: eeeee things are starting to get intense!!! there are definitely so many mistakes in here so let's just ignore that. hope you guys enjoyed! please vote and comment :)
- ky <3