family. | outer banks x oc

it's the royal merchant

It was now Friday, I find myself on Heyward's boat with Pope, Kie, John B, and Jj driving.

We had the right weather to find the Royal Merchant. I had high hopes for today.

"All right, Jj. Pin it here." John B demands.

"Roger that! X marks the spot."

John B begins to put the drone, or ROV, as Pope would call it. "All right, ladies and gentlemen. To going full Kook."

The drone sinks beneath the surface of the water. Our eyes all immediately get stuck on the small screen.

It looked like a whole lot of nothing. I wouldn't call myself the most patient person in world. So, waiting for a hypothetical ship to appear on a tiny little screen, was absolutely dreadful. I also hate when I'm in situations where I feel useless or in the way. Right now, I felt pretty useless just standing around.

I decide to go stand by Jj. Maybe he needed some help with something.

"Hey, Squirt." Jj smiles.

"Hi." I smile back.

I walk up beside him and his smile fades. "You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Feeling anxious?" Jj questions.

Somehow this idiotic boy always knew when something was wrong with me, and what it was.

"I feel kinda useless right now." I state.

"You can help me steer."

We both knew he didn't need help doing that, but I liked that he was trying.

"Sure." I smile.

Jj pulls me over to him and puts me in between his arms and infront of of him. I was short enough to where he could see over my head. "Put your hands on the wheel."

"I don't want to fuck it up, J."

"Fine." He smiles. "Just stand there awkwardly."

"Shut up."

"All right Jj, we're right over it." John B says. "Ten seconds northwest."

Somehow, Jj understood what that meant, and starts turning the wheel.

"One hundred feet." Kie informs us. She was putting the tether into the water and telling us when it got to every hundred feet.

Pope gasps, gripping everyone's attention.

"What?" John B asks the boy.

"It's nothing." Pope states.

John B groans.

"Don't do that to me, man." Jj says.

"Oh my God, Pope." I laugh. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Down, down, to Goblin Town." Pope quotes. "Down, down, you go, my lad."

"The Hobit." I comment.

Pope snaps his fingers at me. "Correct."

We had began to play a game where one of us would quote a movie, actor, celebrity, etc. and the other one would have to say who wrote/said it. 

I think my love for poetry and quotes came from my mom. According to my dad, she always loved writing. He said there's a notebook around the house somewhere with her writing in it, but I haven't found it yet.

"Four hundred feet!" Kie states. "The tide's turning!"

"Hey, Jj?" John B speaks. "Ten seconds easy. South-southeast."

"Copy that." Jj says.

I laugh at the boy. I still didn't understand how this whole thing was working.

I pull away from Jj's arms.

"Hey! Where you going?"

"I'm in your way, Jj."

"No you aren't." He argues.

"I'm gonna go make myself useful."

Jj sighs and turns back around, focusing on the wheel.

A storm starts brewing not too far from us. The thunder rumbles and lightning crashes in the sky as the boat sways back and forth.

"Kie, can I help?"

"Go help Pope or something." Kie snaps.

"Jeez, okay."

I walk towards Pooe and ask if he needs any help.

"Nope. All good here. Thanks, though."

"700 feet!" Kie yells.

I decide to find a place on the floor of the boat instead of helping. If nobody needed my help, I didn't want to be in the way.

Thunder crashes again, still no sign of the Merchant.

"Jj, hold it steady!" John B yells.

The clouds start getting a dark and scary shade of gray, not good boating weather.

"900!" Kie shouts.

"Jj, we're gonna turtle in this storm."

"920!"

"Crank it north by northwest! Ten seconds!"

"John B! There's too much current! We're gonna lose it!" Kie yells.

I decide Kie does need my help, whether she likes it or not.

I help her hold the tether, and she smiles a thanks.

"South southwest, Jj! Hard!"

John B was determined to find this boat.. Today. There was no way he would wait another day when we were so close.

"Half speed. Steady at this bearing, Jj!"

"What do you got, Pope?" John B asks the boy. "Come on, we're right over it!"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing." Pope states.

"Kie! Leia!"

"960!" We both shout. "970! 980!"

"I'm at the bottom! I'm at the bottom!" Pope exclaims. "Okay, steady here, Jj."

"See anything?" Jj shouts.

"It's the Royal Merchant." John B gasps.

a/n
im lowkey getting pick me vibes from leia and im getting mad at myself 😃

sorry this chapter is so bad

-826 words