Runaway Kids - JJ Maybank - Outer Banks

Chapter 13 : Deny, Deny, Deny

"It's not there. Look, just... just pull the drone up," John B sighed as the thunder continued to rumble. "Shit." Kiara, Pope, John B, and I all watched the video, but all that was left of the merchant was debris and a skeleton of what used to be.

"Look, we can do another pass. recharge the battery. We can... we can go back down," Pope attempted to uplift John B, but the boy just sighed in defeat.

"We've done it three times. There's nothing there," explained JJ, the frustration clear in his voice. JJ was extremely disappointed— he definitely needed the money for reasons he never wanted to admit.

"Shut up!" Kiara yelled at him. "The gold could be buried. We don't know," stated Kiara. I sighed, wishing I could be that optimistic.

"If it was there, it would've been found on the metal detector, okay?" John B stated. So it was true, the gold was gone. "Somebody beat us to it."

"Or it was never there," mumbled JJ as he turned the steering wheel to drive them back to the chateau. John B placed his hood over his head, placing his head in his hands. He was sure the group was missing something, but the boy had given up.

John B dropped everyone off at their houses. Instead of going back to the chateau, Kiara and I had decided to hang out just the two of us. We hadn't gone out together in a while and I really missed things just being the two of us.

"You want to help me find some dresses for Midsummers?" Kiara asked me and I shrugged. Not like I had anything else to do.

"Sure," I said. "Sounds fun."
Kiara smirked, "Perfect. Let's find the most expensive dress to put on the credit card."

"You sure about that?" I asked her and she nodded.

"Mom told me I could buy a dress. She didn't say how much," She clarified and I shook my head while laughing. This would be interesting. The two of us drove one of the finest dress stores in the Outer Banks, which had outfits that I could only dream of buying. The store had racks and racks of floor length dresses lined with silk or jewels.

"Wow," was all I said as I walked in. As soon as we did, a woman walked over, offering us a drink or a snack, which we both politely declined.

"What about this one?" Kiara asked sarcastically as she held up a hot pink dress.

"Seems a bit bold," I said, trying to hold in my laughter.

Kiara broke, "It's horrible." I nodded as she put it away, chuckling. The first fifteen minutes involved the two of us finding the most horrendous dresses we could find and trying them on. Some dresses even included feathers. "My grandmother wouldn't even wear this one."

"What about this one?" I asked the girl, holding up a mute purple silk dress with a lowline neck. She stared at it for a minute before grabbing it from my hands.

"I'm definitely trying it on. Thanks Avery," She said. "Ave, you should try the blue one on, too." I shrugged and grabbed the dress next to the one she had been trying on.

I stared at myself in the mirror: I should have never tried on this dress. Truthfully, I wasn't into dressing too formal, but it could be fun occasionally. I looked over my shoulder and grabbed the tag, my eyes widening at the price. It was way too expensive for me, but a girl could dream. "You ready?" Kiara asked from the room next to me. I opened the door as she opened hers, the two of us eyeing each other with admiration. "Wow."

"Kie you look so good," I said, eyeing her up and down.

"Avery, you look really good in that dress," She stated. I turned to look at myself in the mirror again-- I loved this dress. It was absolutely stunning and it would have matched Kiara's pretty well had I actually planned on attending this event. Kiara had mentioned taking me a while ago, but I assumed the offer was off the table now. "You need to buy it."