Hold My Hand - Sarah Cameron x OC

Prologue: Meet the Pogues

"We're the Pogues and our mission this summer is to have a good time, all the time."

          The Outer Banks, paradise on Earth. For most, it's home. For some it's paradise. For others, it's a prison. It's the sort of place where you have two jobs or two houses. Two tribes, one island. Figure Eight is the rich side of the island and the home of the Kooks. On the south side, there is The Cut. The home of the working class, who make a living busing tables, washing yachts, running charters. The home of the Pogues. Pogues, pougies, the throwaway fish. The lowest member of the food chain. The downside of Pogue life is we're ignored and neglected. The upside of Pogue life is that we're ignored and neglected. Which means that we do whatever we want whenever we want.

        First, there's JJ, John B befriended him in the third grade. He's about as local as they come. Latest in a long line of fishing, drinking, smuggling, vendetta-holding salt-lifers who made their living off the water. He prides himself on being the comedian in the group. It's a shock that he hasn't been arrested, yet. Best surfer around. Mild kleptomaniac and a future tax cheat.

       And then Kiara, or Kie, which is what everyone calls her. When she's not saving turtles or listening to Marley, she hangs out with us. She's a rich kid, actually; foot in both worlds. Her family owns The Wreck, this Outer Banks institution. Total cash cow with the tourists. Her parents don't really like that she hangs out with us and avoids all the Kook events. They aren't quite sure why she is friends with us Pogues.

     Then there's Pope, the brains of the operation... finalist for the Lucas T. Vanderhorst Merit Scholarship. One of the smartest people around, a little bit of a weirdo. His father's this legendary character, Heyward. Anything you wanted on the island, Heyward could get for you. He can be a little too structured comparatively speaking, but he's a Pogue and nothing would change that.

      Next is John Booker Routledge. It's his old fish shack on the marsh, which is practically Pogue headquarters. The Château, as his dad used to call it. Big John disappeared at sea nine months ago, looking for a shipwreck. Who disappears at sea these days? John B has been struggling through it. And his Mom split when he was three. Uncle T, since Big John vanished, he's supposedly John B's legal guardian. At the moment, he's in Mississippi, building houses which means it's just us right now, with no supervision.

      Lastly, there's Jordyn, more commonly known as Jo. She joined the Pogues when she moved here in middle school. She was always covered in paint and kept at least one book in her backpack at all times. If organized chaos was a person it'd be Jo. She keeps us all grounded, but she is a bit all over the place. She is always busy, between keeping up the pogues and working two jobs. One with her mom at the Kildare Marine Center and another at The Four Corners, which is pretty much everyone's favorite shop in town. It's not that her family isn't comfortable, but she is set on getting out of OBX, which is understandable.