Kook Year {Kiara x Sarah (Outerbanks AU)}

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟙

JJ propped himself up on his board with his legs dangling over either side, "so how was your first tutoring session with that kid Pope?"

John B paddled towards him, "actually really good."

The two boys bobbed up and down on the ocean surface as the tide began to retreat. JJ shielded his eyes from the sun, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. At first, he wasn't that great at dumbing it down for me, but after a little bit he was able to help me get a lot done."

JJ nodded, "sick." He knew that Pope would be a good teacher.  "I knew he would be a good teacher," he revoiced his thought out loud.

"You're just too good," John B stated sarcastically. "How do you do it?"

He thought about it for a minute, "even though I don't know him personally I can tell that Pope is a hard worker with a lot of character. Sometimes I wonder if Pope knows that about himself- that he's so tenacious and has so much discipline."  He doubted it.  The guy was pretty quiet and didn't seem like the confident type. "I think it seems like a waste for someone to unawarely hold themselves back because of insecurities, especially when they have nothing to be insecure about."

"Ur talking about this guy like he's your boyfriend or something," John B laughed.

JJ put his hands up, "hey, Pope's an attractive-looking dude." 

John B nodded in agreement, "yeah, dude's set."

"He could literally pull any girl he wanted with that little cute nerd act he's got going on. Like, come on bro! Nobody can even compete."

"Why would he want to fish for minnows when he's already got a big bass on the hook," John B winked at JJ.

JJ pinched John B's butt, "my heart belongs to another." He bit his lip and squinted his eyes, "my heart belongs to you John B."

The two began to paddle in, seeing as the swell had dissipated and it was getting dark and cold.  JJ had tried his best to try and drag his summer into the fall, but school and changing weather made that difficult. "You got that job working for that kook yet?"

John B dried his hair with a towel as the two of them began to walk back to the Twinkie, each with their surfboards overhead and a towel around their waist. "Yeah. His name's Mr. Cameron. Apparently, he's pretty big around town and is one of the richest kooks on the island. He basically hired me for maintenance, mainly boat maintenance. So I'm gonna make most of my money in the summer, with a little side hustle the rest of the year."

JJ held up his fist for a fist bump "that's how we do it."

"What about you," John B bumped his fist back.

"I applied for that dishwasher job at Heyward's last week but still no word."

John B chucked to himself. "If you work at Heyward's maybe you'll have the same shifts as Pope."

"Hopefully," JJ made kissy faces. "Only time will tell."

Time did tell when JJ received an email asking for an in-person interview. He quickly emailed them back setting a date and time. When the time came for the interview his mom mentioned that he looked handsome before planting a kiss on his cheek, so he assumed that he looked professional in his suit. Over the years JJ had noticed his mother becoming more and more distant, so shows of affection like hugs and kisses had become scarce. His heart cracked a little more every time he looked into her eyes- she seemed so tired. He had stepped up and tried everything in his power to make it easy for her to be happy, but there were other factors involved...

On his first day on the job he just so happened to be clocking in as Pope was clocking out. He walked into the kitchen paying no mind to the wet floor as Pope stood with his back turned to JJ as he chatted with a co-worker. As JJ passed by him he noticed him and turned to greet him, "Hey Po-" The next thing he knew his legs had slipped out from underneath him and Pope and grabbed onto the front of his shirt as he leapt into action.  JJ fell right on his back and Pope toppled on top of him, unable to prevent the fall.

Pope got up immediately, brushing off his pants before extending a hand to JJ, "I am so sorry."

JJ took his hand and Pope helped him up. "I'm suing this place. Lawyer up." He broke character and cracked a smile quick when Pope froze and look like he saw a ghost, "I'm joking Pope. Don't worry about it."

Pope laughed nervously, "haha, yeah. Okay." Pope turned and headed for the door, "see you next shift."