Tidal Wave. | obx szn 1

Yucatán.

JJ and Aurora quickly finish their meals. JJ groans when Aurora reminds him that they have to walk.

"It's so far." JJ sighs as they walk downtown.

"No it's not." Aurora replies. "It's, like, a 10 minute walk. You're fine."

"Stop gaslighting me."

"Oh my God." Aurora scoffs. She rolls her eyes and looks up at the Maybank boy. "You're so dramatic."

"Whatever." JJ says.

After 10 minutes of walking, they arrive at JJ's house. "Wait here, Rory."

"Okay, hurry."

JJ places his middle and index finger up to his forehead and salutes to her. Aurora smiles.

She waits outside and kicks a rock.

JJ slowly walks into Luke's house. He prays that Luke won't hear him.

A beer can crushes beneath JJ's foot. "Shit." He mumbles.

"JJ? That you, son?" Luke slurs from the living room.

JJ nearly kicks himself in anger.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Come here."

JJ slowly walks into the living room. Luke immediately grabs him by his shirt collar and starts punching him to the face. Bruises show up on JJ's face in an instant.

"You're a huge disappointment. Just like your mother." Luke tells JJ. He finally lets go of JJ and drops him to the floor.

JJ scrambles to get up. Without a word, he goes to his room to find his suit that he had to wear to work months ago.

'You're just like your mother!' 'I hate you!' 'Fuck you!' Luke yells short phrases from the living room. JJ tries to block them out.

Luke goes silent.

JJ had gotten all his stuff together. He goes out to the living room. He sees Luke passed out on the couch. JJ grabs the gun he got from the motel out from his backpack. He holds it up to Luke. Now is his chance. He could end it all. All his pain and torture would be over with.

He puts the gun down.

It goes back into his backpack— just in case.

Aurora reluctantly stayed outside. Her arms are crossed and she's pacing back and forth when JJ comes out of the house. She immediately looks up at him.

She sighs and shakes her head when she notices the cuts and bruises covering his face.

"JJ," Aurora starts to ask him questions, but she shuts her mouth. When Jane hurt her, she didn't want to talk to anyone.

JJ places his hand on her upper back and guides her away from the house.

They walk to the chateau in silence.

When they get there, they see a cop car.

"Shit, JJ." Aurora says. "What do we do?"

"John B has got to be on his way over here. We have to stop him before they get to him."

"Okay so, what's the plan?"

"You go hide on the HMS. I'll stop John B when he gets here, okay?"

"Okay, sounds good." Aurora says.

Aurora walks around a section of trees and into the marsh. She makes sure her shorts are pulled up high enough so they don't get wet. Almost nothing is worse than wet jean shorts. As she goes through the marsh, she weaves through the tall grass so the cop can't see her. JJ smiles proudly at her survival instincts.

Aurora makes it to the HMS without being seen.

Before she knows it, JJ and John B climb into the Pogue.

John B smiles at her and pulls her into a hug. Although he's soaking wet, she doesn't care. Aurora hugs him back.

They pull away from each other and John B puts the keys in the ignition. Hopefully whoever is in that cop car doesn't hear them.

"Why're they here?" Aurora asks John B.

"I have no idea." He replies.

༄

They finally make it to a part of the island that nobody is on.

Aurora sits on a broken tree branch with John B beside her. JJ stands across from them.

"First, I almost get strangled to death by kooks, and now I'm on the hook for 30 grand." JJ says.

Aurora looks down at her converse and watches them sway back and forth. John B stares at JJ while he talks nonsense.

"We should just dip." JJ adds.

"Yeah? And go where?" John B asks.

"Yucatán." JJ suggests.

Aurora looks up at that comment. She laughs to herself as she realizes what the idiotic boy across from her just said.

"You just wanna leave because you got your ass beat?" John B scoffs.

"JB—" Aurora starts.

"Bro, you didn't see the photos. Those guys' bodies were absolutely obliterated. They had sword scratches and scars from head to toe." 

"They are willing to kill for the gold, dude!" John B yells. He jumps down from the broken tree branch so he can be level with JJ.

"Have you lost your mind?" JJ yells back.

Aurora looks down again. She tries to drown out their yelling and arguing.

"One hundred years." JJ says. "One hundred years, people have been trying to find the Royal Merchant. No one succeeded. You think you can? You're a 17 year old kid, John B! If you keep going down this road, you're gonna end up just like your dad!"

John B shoves JJ after his last comment.

Aurora jumps down and pushes the boys off each other. "John B, chill out, dude!" She stands between them now.

"I can't give up, JJ!" John B argues. "The last time I saw my dad, we got in an argument and then he took all of our rent money and dipped looking for this Royal Merchant. I told him he was a shit father. You know how the rest of the story goes."

"John B, that wasn't your fault." Aurora says. She stands in front of JJ and listens to John B's rant.

"It doesn't matter! Do you guys not understand? I can't give up on the hunt. I don't care who's out there or who is gonna try and kill me. You get it?"

Neither Aurora or JJ respond.

John B walks away. "I've got a plan. You coming or what?"

JJ and Aurora look at each other. They shrug their shoulders and follow John B.