Tangled Tides ☆ Outer Banks

☆04☆

Ali woke up in her bed with a heavy heart. She wanted to clear her head and find some solace, so she decided to go to the beach. 

As she walked towards the shore, she noticed someone sitting near the water. She couldn't see clearly in the dark, but as she got closer, she realized that it was JJ, the last person she wanted to see.

"What are you doing here?" Ali asked, surprised to see JJ at the beach at 4 am.

JJ turned around, and Ali noticed that he looked disheveled and distraught. "I needed to clear my head," he said.

Ali was still upset with JJ because of their history, but she couldn't ignore the fact that he seemed genuinely troubled. She sat down next to him, leaving about two feet of room between them.

"Yeah. Same," Ali replied, mirroring JJ's vague response.

"Little miss perfect having some issues?" JJ asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Far from perfect," Ali said with a sigh.

"Why do you say that? What's going on?" JJ inquired, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Why would you care?" Ali asked defensively.

"I didn't say I did. You need to talk, so talk," JJ responded firmly.

"Uh, okay. So, there's this guy. And my parents and his parents are like pushing us together like we're some sort of arranged marriage or something. I mean, he's cool and all, but I don't know if I'm actually ready for all this commitment they're talking about. We kissed yesterday, and it wasn't terrible or anything, but I don't know if it was because I wanted to or because everyone else wants us to. And now, I have to spend the whole night with him at Midsummers. I just feel like I'm being forced into something that I'm not sure I want. You know what I mean?" Ali confided in JJ.

JJ listened attentively to Ali's story, nodding in understanding. "Wow. That sucks."

Ali scoffed. "Yeah, I guess it does. Thanks for the help."

"No, wait, sorry. I'm not really good at this," JJ apologized.

"It's fine," Ali said.

"Yeah, I get it. You know what you gotta do?" JJ said, sounding a bit more upbeat.

"What?" Ali asked, curious.

"Smoke a little weed and watch those hypnotizing videos on Youtube," JJ suggested, sounding a bit high himself.

"I actually don't like to use weed to solve my problems," Ali responded firmly.

"Don't know until you try," JJ said, shrugging.

"Well, I guess I'll never know," Ali said with a straight face.

"Alright," JJ said, dropping the topic. "Hey, Ali?"

"Yeah?" Ali asked, turning towards JJ.

"Why don't you just talk to Rafe about how you feel?" JJ asked, sounding curious.

"How'd you know it was Rafe?" Ali asked, surprised.

"First, I'm not blind. Second, everyone on the island knows. You're not discreet," JJ replied, chuckling.

"I wasn't trying to be," Ali admitted.

"Well, anyway. You should talk to him. And your parents. Maybe talk to Pope, he gives great advice," JJ suggested.

"Maybe I'll try one of those," Ali said, considering JJ's advice.

"Yeah. You will," JJ said with a small smile.