written in the stars - a topper thornton fanfic (outer banks)

n i n e t e e n

present

'She clearly likes you,' JJ said to John B as they sat in the Twinky, driving on their way to Genevieve's house. 'She's like 'Oh, John B' and then she kissed you. Kiara literally kissed you and you won't man up and make a move.'

'Let's talk about you and Genevieve then, huh? You've had a crush on that girl since you were five. Five years old, JJ. That's like...' John B paused, trying to do the maths in his head. 'A lot of years, I don't fucking know. That's not the point. The point is-'

'The point is' JJ interrupted, 'that Genevieve has never shown the slightest interest back and I'm not about to make a move for her not to return it, and then lose our friendship as a result. I almost lost it once, I'm not about to do that again. Besides, with Gen, doesn't it always seem that she's hung up on something, or someone? Like, she's keeping something from us?'

John B shrugged. 'I guess. We all keep plenty of stuff from each other though.'

JJ sighed and looked out the window as they pulled up outside Genevieve's porch. He watched as she slowly closed the door behind her and quietly walked towards them. It seemed as if she was always walking on eggshells in that house lately.

As she hopped into the back of the Twinky, Genevieve handed JJ and John B a granola bar each. 'Bon appetit.'

'Sick,' John B said as he took a bite out of his.

JJ looked inquisitively at Genevieve through the rear view mirror. 'Where'd you get these?' He knew that there was never food at Genevieve's anymore. He knew because he used to eat them out of house and home and then one day, there was no food there for him, or anybody, to eat.

Genevieve shrugged. 'I've seen you eat food from the bottom of a dumpster. The origins of this granola bar are not a concern for your health. Where are we going?'

JJ couldn't help but grin at Genevieve's witty response, and swiftly inhaled the granola bar.

'I need to return these tanks to the Druthers, and then we are off to visit Ms. Lana.' John B said as he pulled into the dock. 'Won't be a minute,' he said, shooting JJ a wink as he ran towards the Druthers with the diving gear in his arms.

JJ climbed back and sat next to Genevieve, who shot him a sideways glance as he did so. 'Want the end of my granola bar? I'm not a fan.'

JJ gladly accepted the offer and watched John B run up the steps of the Druthers. He glanced over as Genevieve yawned and rested her head against the window.

She hadn't been sleeping much lately. Partly because of her lack of curtains, and partly because she was staying up late so to make sure that her father was asleep before she fell asleep, and waking up early so that she was out of the house before he awoke.

JJ frowned and chewed his lip. JJ had seen this film before, mainly because he had fallen victim to the exact same plot line.

Meanwhile, John B was tiptoeing around an unusually quite My Druthers, attempting to return the empty tanks as discreetly as possible. Unfortunately for him, Topper had tipped Ward off about this, so Ward was up bright and early, ready and waiting for John B's arrival.

John B set the last tank down gently and turned on his heel, hoping to leg it out of there as soon as possible. However, he was greeted by Ward Cameron blocking the exit. 'Good morning John B!'

Genevieve sighed and rubbed her eyes, leaning across JJ to get a better view of the Druthers. 'He's been in there for a while now, hasn't he?'

JJ, distracted by the proximity of Genevieve to him, hadn't noticed John B's prolonged absence. 'I guess he has.'

'I don't recall telling you to refill the air tanks but jeez, if you have done I'll be more than grateful,' Ward said with a smirk as he walked towards the cupboard where John B was stood and peered inside. 'Empty tanks, nice.'

John B avoided Ward's gaze and glanced out of the window towards the Twinky. 'Ward, sir, I can explain.'

'No need. Topper's filled me in on you and your little group of Pogues' excursions out on the marsh. Using stolen air tanks, interventions with the cops, a trip to the coastguard. All quite suspicious, don't you think?'

John B looked up at Ward in confusion. Ward's smug grin sickened him. 'Did Topper tell you how he found that information or...'

'He'd seen you guys when he was out searching for Scooter Grubbs and his boat. Followed your boat around the marsh and back.'

'He was following us?'

'That is besides the point. What I want to know is a) why you lot were diving and b) how were you even diving? Those tanks were barely full, and as far as I'm concerned, Pogues don't dive.'

John B's jaw clenched slightly, but he remained composed. 'Genevieve had dived before apparently. She was only able to go under for a short time, because there was so little air. We were.... We were just looking to see if there was any good stuff thrown into the marsh after the storm.'

Ward nodded slowly, before he turned to the window with a sigh. 'You do see the awkward position that this puts me in, don't you?'

A few minutes later, the pair watched John B walking slowly towards them, glancing back at the Druthers as he did so. JJ and Genevieve exchanged a worried glance.

'Took your time,' JJ muttered as John B sat in the driver's seat with a sigh.

'Ward was there.'

'What?' Genevieve exclaimed, thinking that the reason that John B had been there so long was because he had gone snooping around the Druthers.

'How'd he know you'd be there?' JJ asked.

'Topper fucking Thornton tipped him off.'

Genevieve felt her breath catch in her throat. How did Topper know? If Topper knew, this meant that he'd been following them. Following her. How long had this been going on? Why had this been going on?

Genevieve forced herself out of her thoughts and back to reality, but her zoning-out hadn't gone unnoticed. JJ was watching her through the rear-view mirror, with his brow furrowed.

'How did Topper.... How did he know we had been diving?' Genevieve asked in the most casual tone that she could muster.

'Fucking followed us around the marsh and watched us go into the coastguard's office as well.'

Genevieve felt sick. The thought of Topper following her and her friends filled her with anger, but it was the undeniable hint of hope that she felt that sickened her the most. He was going out of his way to get the Pogues into trouble, but no matter how angry she was at him, Topper would always make her heart soar. She bit her lip, a sign that she was deep in thought.

'Actually Gen, how did you ever learn to dive?' John B asked her, pulling her from her daze.

'Huh? Oh, one of dad's customers' kid invited us onto his boat and his kid showed me how,' Genevieve said. That wasn't a lie. 'Can't remember who it was for the life of me.' That was a lie.

'Still don't understand how you failed to mention that,' JJ muttered as they pulled up to Ms. Lana's house.