Baby Blue // Outer Banks

Lions den

Waves crash against the shore and dock as the sun rises. Light casts across each of their faces waking them slowly. Birds chirp and the wind rustles the grass creating a peaceful start to a soon to be chaotic day.

"Good morning beautiful." JJ smiles at Blue.

"Good morning to you too, handsome." John B chuckles. He gets up from the ground and stretches, Blue sits up and leans against the railing. "God my back hurts. Why did we sleep on the dock?" Blue questions because there are two houses with beds they could have slept on last night. "Good question." John B shrugs as his stomach growls. "God i haven't eaten in like days." He groans clenching his stomach. Blue stands up to her feet and put a hand out for JJ to stand up. "Come on, moms home and that means breakfast." Blue says pulling JJ up to his feet. John B immediately starts racing off to the house followed by Blue and JJ.

"Morning mama S." John B grins pulling a chair out from the table and sitting down ready to eat. "Oh did you kids want breakfast?" Shauna chuckles putting down a plate of pancakes that are immediately all taken by the three of them. "Please don't ever leave again." JJ says as he shovels food into his mouth. None of them have had a home cooked meal in days, let alone any breakfast. "JJ, don't talk with your mouth full." Shauna scolds him. "Sorry." He mumbles before taking another bite. Shauna puts down another plate of pancakes that John B and JJ devour in seconds.

"Guys?" Kiara ask as she walks through the front door. "Breakfast?" Shauna asks upon seeing Kiara. "No thank you, I already ate." She responds standing at the table. "Uh we need to talk." John B says standing up. JJ and Blue stand up and put the plates in the sink and thank Shauna for breakfast. "Blue, I actually need to talk with you." Shauna tells her daughter right before they leave the house. Blue and JJ stay in the doorway waiting for her mom to say something more. "JJ you go on ahead. I'll only keep Blue for a second." Shauna smiles. JJ looks back at Blue and she nods letting go of his hand.

Blue sits at the table again except this time facing her mom. "I've filed for divorce. I'm not sure what your father has done, but i'm sure that he's not a good man anymore. I hope you understand." Shauna explains. Blue looks at her confused. "Why would I not understand? He may have helped in Big John's case. Your best friend and my best friends dad. File for divorce, get a restraining order, I never want to see him again." Blue shrugs, she honestly does not care what happens to her dad. He was never around growing up, always working when he was. Sure he paid for their things and made sure they were taken care of, but he wasn't loving. "So is that it?" Blue asks getting ready to stand up and meet her friends. "Yes darling." Shauna gives her a warm smile as Blue jets off through the open door and to the dock.

"Come on baby! We're getting the gold!" JJ yells as the two of them run to each other. JJ picks Blue up and spins her around shouting in happiness. "No time for that, let's go!" Pope yells jumping into the van. JJ grabs her hand and pulls her to the van as soon as everyone's in John B drives off. "So where are we going?" Blue asks as no one has told her anything and last she checked the gold was gone. "Airport, Ward is taking the gold, but we're gonna stop him." Pope says with a huge smile on his face, they're back in the game. "So we go there guns a blazing and make ward cameron beg for mercy, then we get as much gold as possible and vámonos out of there." JJ says getting the gun ready. Blue zones out as they keep talking, deep in thought about life with the gold. They can go anywhere, live anywhere and buy anything. Forget about wondering where their next meal is going to come from, or how their going to keep the lights on everyday. They can finally live like normal teenagers.

"Let's go!" John B yells jumping out of the van, everyone piles out and runs up to a fence with barbed wire lining the top. Pope pulls out a pair of binoculars. "They're loading up the gold." He says, John B grabs them and looks. A black SUV pulls up and out comes Ward along with Sarah. The group watches as crew members fill the plane with bags and boxes. "He's hurting her." John B says staring through the binoculars. "They're fighting." Kiara takes the binoculars from his hands and sees ward shoving Sarah into the plane. Blue notices John B walk toward the van angrily. "Hey, JB what-" she's cut off by the sound of the door slamming shut. The engine starts and everyone is yelling at John B. He presses his foot against the gas pedal and smashes through the metal fence. Everyone continues to yell at him as they watch the van speed off to the runway. "He's going to get himself killed." Blue mutters unable to watch this go down any longer. Sirens wail in the distance. "Guys I can't get arrested." Pope states. "I'm on probation." JJ agrees. "Look we're no good if we're all in jail." Kiara says. "Come on, let's go back to The Chateau and make up a plan." Blue agrees as the four of them turn around to run away from the scene.

The plane flies over the four of them and they all watch as their gold flies off into the air. "There goes the gold." JJ mutters. Pope starts smashing things, JJ kicks a broken plastic chair over and yells "shit". Blue crouches down defeated and worried about what happened to John B. Pope continues to smash and throw things yelling curse words in anger. "Pope!" Blue and kiara yell at the same time. He finally calms down and sits down hyperventilating. Blue sits next to him and grabs his hand. "I was wondering when this was gonna happen." JJ admits digging in his pockets. He pulls out a vape and holds it out in front of Pope. "A little weed never hurt no one." JJ shrugs. "JJ, you know he doesn't smoke." Kiara interjects. Pope takes it from JJ's hand and stares at it. "Maybe not until today." JJ says and sits on the other side of Pope. Kiara looks at Pope in complete disappointment as he considers hitting it. "Yeah what is that gonna help?" Kie questions. "I lost my scholarship. Walked out in the middle of the interview. Everything is gone. It's not gonna happen." Pope explains. "You did that for us." "No. Not for us. For nothing." Pope says standing up to face kiara. JJ and Blue give each other a look and Blue nods her head toward Pope signalling to JJ to help him. "I'm here for you Pope. Welcome to my world, okay?" JJ says throwing an arm around popes shoulders and tapping his chest with his other hand. "JJ-" "what Kie? He's right. It doesn't matter anymore." JJ cuts her off. Pope leans against a wooden pillar and takes a hit. "You don't have to do that." Kiara says shaking her head. "Good god Kie, it's just weed and it's not your life." Blue rolls her eyes finally tired of Kiara's constant judgment and need to control everything lately.

"John B?" JJ tells rushing over to the defeated looking boy. John B walks toward the group with his head down staring at the ground. The crew scans their friend and see blood. Hands covered in blood. Blood splotches on his clothes. "Are you okay?" "Whose blood is this?" "Is that blood?" "Is that yours?" "jB are you okay?" The group talks over each other throwing question after question at John B who stares blankly at the ground unable to speak or even move after what he witnessed. Sirens fill the silence. "Shit" John b says under his breath and rushes to hide.

Night falls and the group drive in Kiaras car. Blue, JJ and Kie in the back, Pope sitting in the passenger and John B driving. Blue sits between JJs legs and rests her head on his chest lost in thought about how many people they know that have been killed at the hands of Ward Cameron. "What are we doing at the police station?" "Someone's gotta tell them what happened." John B responds staring out the windshield. JJ changes position causing Blue to move and knocking her out of her thoughts. "I'm gonna just gonna be real with you right now. You might end up in the lions den, but you don't go there on purpose. It's fundamental. Just like my old man always told me, you should never ever trust cops, no matter what the circumstance is." JJ tells John B. "Your dad is an abusive liar." Kiara says. "Really Kie?" Blue mumbles rolling her eyes, "I agree with JJ. Fuck the police." Pope agrees. Blue is taken back by Popes new attitude. "You goin to the dark side now?" Kiara questions. "When was the last time the police helped us?" Pope throws back. "Peterkin looked out for me, alright? Tried to at least. They need to know." John B says. Everyone looks at John B in agreement. "Go or don't go, we'll be here for you either way JB." Blue gives a soft smile to her conflicted friend. John B nods and slowly gets out of the van. The group waits in the van quietly, not for very long. John B runs out of the station. "Kie start the car!" He yells running to the van. "Go! Go!" He yells jumping into the back. "What did you do?" Everyone yells over top of each other again. All panicking seeing cops flood out of the station. Two cops run along side the car as kiara speeds off, everyone on edge as ti what happened in there.

Kiara parks the car on the side of a quiet road under a carport hidden. "So what do we do now?" Blue questions as they sit in the car in the dark as the night progresses. "We wait it out here until it's not so hot on John B." Pope says taking another hit of JJs joint. "So they really think you did it?" Blue asks. "Yeah." He responds with his eyes closed. Blue takes a breath and opens her mouth to ask another question, but leans forward to whisper in her ear. "Just go to sleep, baby." He says just below a whisper. Blue nods and closes her eyes, even if her mind won't stop racing through questions.