Never the First || Outer Banks

Chapter 1

"You gonna share, JJ?"

Tobias sits on one side of a slanted roof, the tiles warm against his back, blowing bubbles through a curved piece of plastic.

John B steadies himself on the edge to jab his fingers into as many as possible.

With a huff of laughter, Toby turns away, only to jolt when a can of beer whacks against him, knocking said bubbles right off the roof and into the air. He tries to catch it, JJ flinching forward in the corner of his eye, but stops himself last second.

The bubbles splatter against the concrete. The can of beer remains safe in his lap.

Toby's narrowed eyes flit to find the culprit.

"You asked me to share." JJ squints up at him from the scaffolding, legs swinging lazily, cap on backwards.

Toby smiles, tight-lipped and sarcastic, "Thanks." And when JJ turns back around, he flips him off, "Ass."

"They weren't even yours." Seemingly with eyes at the back of his head, JJ returns the sentiment over his shoulder.

Standing on the deck below, Pope glances pointedly up at John B's dangling foot, just daring to bring the rest of him down too.

"That's what, a three-story fall to the deck?" He calculates, fiddling with a drill, "I give you about a one-in-three chance of survival or you end up like the bubbles."

John B pulls a considerate face, sarcastically, "Hm." He wets his finger and sticks it in the air, "Should I do it?"

Toby chuckles, the can hissing open and spraying frigid beer against his fingers.

"Yeah, jump." Pope grins, aiming the drill up at him and pressing the button down, "I'll shoot you on the way down."

The whir of the tool echoes through the empty building.

"You gonna shoot me?" John B squints one eye, shooting finger guns down at an amused Pope, "Pew, pew."

"Solidify the pogue's never die rule." Toby tilts his beer towards John B, who does the same in return, winking at him.

"They're gonna have Japanese toilets with towel warmers." Kiara saunters out from the construction of a two-story house.

"Of course. Why wouldn't they?" JJ throws his arm out.

"That's ridiculous." Toby sits up and frowns, sliding a little further down the roof towards the scaffolding.

Kiara leans back enough to meet his eyes, "It's true."

"Warm towels?" Toby sits back, pursing his lips in thought. He could only imagine wasting money on such luxuries.

"You know, this used to be a turtle habitat, but who cares about the turtles, I guess?" Kie sighs, moving closer to Pope.

"I can't have cold towels." JJ mocks.

Kiara's attention is caught by John B, his foot hanging over the edge of the roof like a bird ready to take flight. She squints up at him, "Could you please not kill yourself?"

"You can't die, I need the couch."

"We don't need him," JJ shrugs at Toby. "We could just steal the Chateau for ourselves." They knock beers despite John B's offended glance, who wobbles a little on the edge.

JJ frowns, jabbing a finger at him, "Hey, don't spill that beer, I ain't giving you another one. You can fight with Tobias for his."

Toby tosses his head back, hat toppling to the tiles, and finishes the beer within seconds.