Outer Banks (JJ Maybank x Reader) Book 1

The Chicken Coop

"And then we were right outside like this," JJ says quickly, pressing his back against the brick wall on the porch of the Château. "And all we hear is just, Bam! Bam! Bam!" He shouts, pumping his fist to imitate the bangs and crashes. "JJ...," I say quietly. He's freaking out. Kie and Pope watch him nervously. John B leans against the railing with his arms crossed as JJ explains.

"Knocking paint off the wall, G. From the inside!" He shouts, motioning to the inside of the house. "Alright? And I'm just looking at them like-," He pants. "Wait, first off, look at this shit," He says, walking up to Pope and leaning his head forward, shaking out his hair. "Look at it," He says, shaking out "bits of paint". "The house," He breathes. "That's dandruff, disgusting," Kie mutters.

"Okay, thank you," Pope says quickly, pushing him away. I sigh. "Look at all that? Alright? That's paint," He bites out. His eyes are red-rimmed, stressed. "At that point, I was just, like... I'm waiting for death," He says, shaking his head and glancing at me. I purse my lips. "Oh-okay, so you saw the guys that shot at us, right?" Pope asks, turning to John B and I. "Yeah," JJ breathes.

"Did you get a good description of them? What'd they look like?" Pope asks, gesturing wildly. "Yeah, yeah anything? Anything helpful," Kie says, shaking her head nervously. "Anything we can bring to like a police report, maybe?" Pope asks hopefully. "Yeah," Kie agrees, nodding. "Burly," JJ decides, nodding his head. I let out a sigh. "Burly?" Pope asks incredulously.

"Yeah," JJ nods. "You know, like-," He starts to pace again. "That's not very helpful," Kie mutters. "Okay, well, no, like the type of guy at my dad's garage," He says, pacing. "I mean, you guys know he made cargo hides for drug smugglers," He says, catching my eye. I look away. "Yeah, we- yes. No, we know," Kiara nods exasperatedly. "Alright, so then I can tell you with full confidence, these boys, these killers...," He sighs, placing his back against the wall again.

He takes out a cig and takes a long hit, blowing out the smoke angrily. "They're square groupers," He finishes. "They're square groupers? Like, narco square grouper? Like Pablo Escobar square grouper?" Pope sighs. JJ nods along with his words, taking nervous hits of his cig. "Yeah, man," He nods heatedly. "You guys, not everything is a kingpin movie," Kie sighs.

"Okay, so what does this square grouper look like?" Pope interrupts her. JJ shakes his head, breathing heavily. "Specifically..." Pope nods. "You-you weren't there, bro!" JJ screams. "JJ!" I thought. "...because apparently you don't know what to look for!" Pope is yelling. "Dude! I wasn't taking little mental polaroids the whole time!" JJ spits out, his voice cracking. "JJ!" I shout again, he's breaking down. "Man, I was under duress, okay?" He says in a high-pitched voice like he's about to cry. He backs up, taking another hit. "But I can tell you...," He pants, trying to calm down. I look at him worriedly.

"I can tell you by the way that Ms. Lana was screaming...," He says in a shaky voice, pointing with large hand gestures. "That these guys, are serious, serious, hombres man," He says, his voice cracking again. "It's a heavy vibe right now, okay? I'm not liking this right now," He breathes.

"Okay, why would they want the compass?" Kie asks. "I-I," John B thinks as the rooster crows again. "How do you concentrate with that damn rooster crowing all of the time?" Pope asks. "JJ likes the rooster," John B sigh. "I like the rooster," Kie says. "Okay, okay," Pope says. "That things a piece of shit, you couldn't pawn it off for like five bucks if you wanted too," Pope says. "No offense, guys, I know it's like in your family...," He trails off as John B interrupts him, "The office," He says. "I can't do this right now," JJ says as he blows out another puff of smoke before leaving the porch. "What?" Pope asks John B. "My dad, my dad's office," He nods, walking inside. "Go," I nod to Pope and Kie. "I got him," I say before following JJ.

"J?" I call, looking around the side of the house. He's sitting by himself, head pressed to his knees. "I can't do this right now," He says. "JJ," I say again, grabbing his wrist and pulling him up to meet my eyes. His eyes are red, but he won't cry. "It's gonna be okay," I whisper, pulling his hand up to my shoulder so he has something to hold onto. He shakes his head violently. "No, no, no, it's not," He whispers. "We could've died, y/n," He whispers, searching my face. "These guys are dangerous, and as much as I want whatever that dirtbag was hiding, we've got ourselves into a much bigger mess," He says, his eyes trailing over the ground. "Hey," I snap. "Hey, hey look at me," I say. He does, his eyes snapping back to mine.

I shake my head. "I'm here for you," I say. "And whatever happens, we're going to stick together," I tell him. "You don't understand," He says, shaking his head. "I have nothing, y/n," He whispers. "You have me," I whisper. "And I do understand, JJ. I'll always understand, even when no one else does. You're my best friend, JJ, and even-," I don't get to finish my little speech because he presses his lips against mine. I stop talking, shocked. His hands are on my cheeks, and he lifts me slightly off the ground, my hands around his arms.

As much as I don't want to, I pull away too quickly. "y/n...?" He whispers, afraid. "Shut up, shut up, JJ," I hiss, looking over his shoulder. "Come on, come on," I say, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the back of the house. "Someone's here," I say, watching as the black truck pulls into the driveway. The two of us peer around the corner, watching as two people get out. "Shit, shit, is that them?" I wince. "No," He breathes anxiously. "No, no, this can't be happening," He says, shaking his head. "Hey, hey, look at me," I snap, shoving him against the wall. "Where's the gun?" I bite out. "Gun?" I asks, breaths shaky. "I-uh-I can't...," He trails off. "Now you don't have the gun, the one time we need the gun?" I ask, my voice cracking.

"Shit, shit, shit, what to we do?" I ask, running my hands through my hair as the tears threaten to fall. "The backpack, it's in my backpack, on the front porch," JJ nods. "Go, go," I nod, breaths shaking. He turns to corner, starting to head towards the front porch. "John Routledge!" I voice booms. JJ jumps, spinning and tripping, falling onto the ground. "JJ," I cry, pulling him up and back around the corner. "Shh, shh," He says, shaking, pressing his finger to my lips.

"Come on out now!" The voice yells. "Oh, my god, oh my god, they're in the house," I wince, trying not to cry. "Get out here!" The second man yells. JJ presses his full weight against me, trying to keep us hidden in case they come out back or look out of the window. "Routledge! Come on out boy!" The men yell. Crashes echo from the house. I flinch, clinging onto JJ's shirt. "Where the hell is that compass?" One of them yells.

There's more shouts and crashing as they search the house. Suddenly, the window on the side of the house opens. Kiara, Pope, and John B climb out, panicking. "Go, go, go, go, go," John B cries, rushing to the front of the house. A gun shot rings out from inside the house as the five of us crawl into the chicken coop, hiding. The chickens cluck, annoyed, and we wait.

The crashes stop, but a few minutes later, the men leave the front of the house, carrying crates of stuff, probably from our dad's office. The rooster crows again as we watch. "Do something Pope, shut him up!" JJ says through gritted teeth. I press my head to the straw underneath me, squeezing my eyes shut. "JJ, what do you want me to do?" Pope whispers. "Pet it, or something, or talk to it! I don't know!" Kie says with a sob. The chickens screech again and one of the men turns to the coop. "Oh, my god, oh, my god, oh, my god," I say, a sob breaking it's way through my chest. We're going to die. JJ clings onto my hand and we sit up, all five of us pressing our back against the wall of the coop as the man walks towards us.

Tears flow freely down my cheeks, but I stay quiet. "You do something," Pope hisses at JJ as the chickens continue to squawk and the man walks slowly closer. JJ tries to grab the rooster but it flaps around, out of reach. Finally, he grabs it by the neck, pinning it to the ground. I cover my mouth, trying to stay quiet. JJ squeezes it's neck, killing it, then slowly looks up at us. Kiara lets out a sob and the I see John B silently grab her hand.

The crowing stops, and so does the man. He freezes, hand on his gun, waiting. I squeeze my eyes shut and JJ holds me still, letting my press my face into his neck. "Ratter! What the hell are you doin'? Let's go!" The second man yells. Finally, the man, Ratter, turns, walking back to the truck. Kie and I sob silently, and even the boys' eyes are red-rimmed and glassy as the truck leaves the house.