Chasing The Stars || JJPOPE

FIVE

JOHN B CLIMBED onto the Druthers, finding his way inside, hiding from the blistering sun that had been beaming on him the entire walk there. He treaded lightly as he tried to draw the least amount attention to himself as possible. The Routledge boy was quite good at blending in -- well, that was until his father went missing at sea nearly a year earlier. It had been all everyone had gossiped about for two months straight, and then suddenly, John B and his father's disappearance went back to being invisible to the rest of OBX.

He found himself wandering through the Druthers, searching for one thing and one thing only -- the mini fridge. John B had worked on the Cameron's boat for about five months at the time, so he had a good sense of where everything was placed.

He and Kiara had the brilliant idea that Wednesday afternoon that they should steal beers from the Druthers — it wouldn't be the first time. And this time, Pope hadn't been there to object since he started tutoring JJ Maybank.

John crept down the slim hallway, a blood colored carpet beneath his feet, him high alert of any stray Camerons around. As he was about to turn the corner, he heard the familiar clientele clanking of beer bottles. He threw himself back around the corner, realizing that someone else was on the boat with him.

And once they spoke, he knew exactly who this person was, "Trying to be slick, Routledge?"

Roxy Cameron — twin sister of Rafe Cameron, making them the oldest of two other sisters. Roxy was a tall brunette with the looks to wrap any guy around her slim finger. And as for her brother—well let's just say he had a list of girls he could call and minutes later, they'd all be on their knees for him.

"How'd you know it was me?" John B inquired, still not quite ready to reveal himself to her yet.

"You're really loud, and you're the only person besides our family that has keys to the Druthers. No one else is home right now." She went on to explain, and John B could practically hear her signature smirk through her words, "So... John B, what're you doing here?"

"I work here." He choked out, wincing as he waited for a response from the girl.

"Mhm, true. But today is your day off. You always have Wednesdays off, remember?" Roxy hummed, tapping her plump lip, acting as if she were thinking deeply.

"So you've memorized my work schedule?" John B questioned, him now being the one smirking.

"What does it matter?" Asked Roxy, swinging around the corner. Now the two were facing once another in the tight hallway, bodies only inches away.

"That's a bit stalkerish, don't you think?" He taunted, tilting his head to the side slightly and grinning cockily.

She laughed in amusement, "Hardly."

Roxy and Rafe Cameron were quite similar, yet so different at the same time. She had cocky tendencies, but over all, she was quite humble. She had gotten a job as soon as she graduated high school, taking a gap year before attending college.

On the other hand, Rafe had turned to working in the family business and had ended up with an addiction to drugs. Ward Cameron had never really paid attention to his two eldest twins, but once Roxy had learned to make a living for herself, she was just a bit more glorified in her father's eyes, which was all she and Rafe had ever wanted.

"Well, I'll be on my way now." John B announced awkwardly, his cockiness seeming to be only temporary.

"So you're gonna leave without telling me why you're on my dad's boat?" Roxy questioned with a taunting smirk tugging at her plump lips.

"Yeah." He deadpanned with a shrug, then turning to walk off. As he turned, her hand gripped his forearm, causing him to slowly turn. Her eyes peered directly into his, his head beginning to bang against his ribs like punches to a punching bag.