a midsummer's rose || jj maybank

||the cut||

a/n: hey besties! enjoy the vibes of this chapter it's a tad bit chaotic. also for a bit of reference this happens at the same time of the end of the last chapter so like idk it'll make sense as you read :)

trigger warnings: mentions of drugs/ being high, cursing

August had to get out of her neighborhood.

The sun was going down and so was her patience. If she had to see one more screenshot or reposted video from that night she would actually rip her hair straight out of her head.

Gripping her bike's handles August was finally making her escape. Was going into the worst area in the island at night a particularly good idea? No, obviously not. Was that going to stop her from running from all of her problems? No.

Soon enough the blonde had found herself on the other side of the island, "The Cut".

"The Cut" was the as most people put it the shitty part of town. Of course August refrained from calling it that in front of people in fear of ruining her sweet outward impression. However, that did not stop her from thinking it.

Most tourists did not even dare step foot in the area and it was mostly inhabited by drug dealers and druggies alike.

And JJ alongside the rest of the pogues, which was where August had begun pedaling towards for no apparent reason.

"aw, fuck" August muttered as she felt rain begin to drizzle onto her. 'And I JUST straightened my hair,' the blonde girl thought.

The North Carolina humidity was starting to affect her and she was glad that she was nearing her final destination. John B's small chateau. Which just happened to be where all of the pogues hung out including JJ.

August had a few scattered memories from the waterfront property. Most of which consisted of parties from over the years or her distant freshman year relationship. None of which left her with a happy feeling present day. Really why was she biking there again? To be honest August had really started to lose her mind in the last few days and this was just her most recent lapse of judgment.

She spotted the old building and hopped off of her bike leaving the white vehicle thrown onto John B's lawn. August sighed pushed her hair out of her face and began the walk to the front door. Really beginning to question her choices.

August knocked softly on the beat up door and moved backwards to stand on the porch and wait for a response. For a second she thought one wasn't coming until she saw a familiar face appear with a soft smile.

Kiara or "Kie" as most teenagers on the island called her was never particularly close with August but they had seen each other around from various functions. Both of the girls lived on Figure Eight and were technically kooks. Even though one girl embraced the status and the other one denied it.

Kie was wearing a stripped pair of pajama pants and a light orange tank top and judging from the fact that she reeked of weed and her eyes were bright red she was very high.

'That explains why she is being so nice to me,' August began to think, 'She's to high to even know who I am,'

"Soooooo," Kie began to giggle at the blonde.

"Yeah?" August slightly grimaced at the intoxicated girl in front of her.

"You know we were JUST talking about you?" Kiara continues giggling glancing back into the house.

August sees a shadow getting closer and she noticed who Kie was referring to when she said: "we". There, standing in the doorway was JJ Maybank in all of his glory. If you could even call it that. Like his best friend he was not about to pass a drug test any time soon and was most certainly out of it.

"August?" J looked at the blonde girl with confusion but before he could even react Kie yelped at the lightning she saw in the distance and without a second thought ushered August inside the chateau.

"We can't have you getting struck by lightening on JB's front yard! Get your ass in the house right now Auggie." August just stared at the curly haired girl with confusion at the nickname but sighed and stepped inside.

Sitting on the couch was John B and Pope too busy bickering to even realize that August had arrived. Pope was the first to notice and did not seem pleased to see the blonde girl to say the least. Her and her family were the embodiment of the thing he hated most about the island, Kooks.

August didn't know what to say once she entered the house. More memories from the past began to flood her mind. The thing overarching it all is that the house had really gone down hill in the most recent years.

Ever since JB's dad went missing the chateau really had been neglected and August was uncomfortable in the mess of the house.

She wrapped her arms around herself and looked around the messy living room, her eyes finally meeting with John B's.

"Hey, look I'm really sorry about your dad. I'm sure you'll find him." Was it a weak thing to say? Yeah, of course it was. August couldn't muster anything better though so that was going to have to do.

The boy just smiled at her and nodded, though after a second looked slightly confused. 'What was THE August Harvey doing in his living room?' he thought and glanced back up to the girl.

"So, what's the it girl of the island doing on The Cut at this time of night?"

"Ex it girl JB," Pope chimes in with a smirk, "Didn't you see the videos?"

JJ motions for Pope to stop it and looked back at August waiting for her to answer his friend's question.

"Just thought I'd swing by, I was really starting to miss this place." August was right, she really did miss her time here even if it was so short lived.