Danny woke to a seagull cawing in his ear. He jerked awake with a startled scream and waved his arm around to scare it off. A hat fell from his face, and he scooped it up.
His chest heaved, and he flopped back down on the poor excuse of a cushion on the stern, waiting for his heartbeat to return to normal. He covered his eyes with his arm to shield the sun while he grumbled curses about the birds.
He was exhausted. He sat up and ran a hand down his face, dying to fall back asleep. Well, not really. He just wanted to be unconscious.
The boat was stopped and docked. He glanced around and saw nothing except tall grass for miles. The boys gathered around in a group at the bow, but Kie and Sarah were missing.
He stumbled his first few steps and nearly ran into the beams. "Ouch, fuck," he grumbled to himself at the new ache in his shoulder. He was so grounded.
The sun was harsh on his eyes, making him squint. "Sup?" he said and yawned when he arrived.
"Dude, were you fighting a bird?" John B asked. He walked over and slung his arm around Danny's shoulders.
He winced and stepped out of John B's hold.
Luckily, he didn't think anything of it and instead rested his arm against a beam. Danny walked to the controls and squatted before the storage compartments. He opened the doors and searched for meds or booze or anything that would numb him.
"What're you looking for?" Pope asked and walked behind Danny.
"Oxy, Percs, fuckin' Tylenol, I don't care."
"Yeah," John B said. "You're shit out of luck, dude."
"Great," he grumbled and rubbed his forehead. He stood and sighed. "Where are they at?"
He looked down the length of the dock but saw no sign of them.
"Lookin' for food," Pope answered.
"You look like shit, dude," JJ commented. He motioned to his own face and then pointed at Danny's face.
Danny placed his hand over his heart and said, "Be still my beating heart."
He reached out to JJ and placed his hat back on his head. When he was close enough, he tugged on the visor and stole a kiss on JJ's cheek.
Danny walked to the bow and sank onto it, then slid down to the floor and tilted his head back to rest against the edge. He kicked his legs out and let the sunlight warm his skin.
"So, uh, what's up with this Kiara stuff there, big guy?" John B asked from Danny's right.
"Uh, honestly, I don't know right now, man. I mean, I definitely like her."
"Sure."
Danny was mystified that John B could pick up on the thing between Pope and Kie in less than a day, while it had to be spelled out to Danny for him to even notice.
"And I'm pretty sure she likes me."
"Seems like it."
"Right now, there's a lot of conflicting information going on. Like, I'm trying to gather all the data and put it into a folder in my mind—"
"Folder?" John B mouthed, and Danny snorted.
"All right, man, look, women, all right, like, they're just not consistent," JJ said.
Danny furrowed his eyebrows. He did not agree with that statement at all.
John B interrupted, "All right, we're not gonna take girl advice from JJ." He changed the subject to more pressing matters. "What's the deal with this Limbrey chick? You think she knew my pops?"
YOU ARE READING
Exception // JJ Maybank
Fanfiction"Don't give me that look. You love me." "Wish I didn't." Daniel Sarver is probably the only Kook on the island who doesn't attend the private school for rich kids and participate in their even more pretentious lifestyle. He's probab...
