Troubled Water » Outer Banks [JJ Maybank] BOOK TWO

II: Becalmed

becalmed
adj. unable to move due to a lack of wind, said of a sailing vessel; resigned merely to drift with the current rather to move by controlled management of sails.

⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓

August 17, 2020

we're going after ward

shit's fucked lee

did u lie to shoupe?
Not Delivered

August 18, 2020

u can fix this

we're gonna find ur dad's gun
Not Delivered

⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓

It was weird, getting to know Danny. He was so different from Lee's friends in the Outer Banks. John B was fiery, he would go to bat for the silliest things, but Danny was slow to anger. Kiara was stubborn and refused to back down on what she knew was right, but Danny was so willing to compromise that it drove Lee insane. Pope was constantly thinking ahead, but Danny was spontaneous. Sarah was gentle, but Danny asked tough questions with all the grace of a hippopotamus. JJ was loyal to a fault, but Danny seemed so scared of commitment that he and Lee wouldn't even call one another friends.

"Earth to Lena," Danny said, waving his hand in front of Lee's face as she blinked rapidly back into reality. "You still with us?"

Lee smiled and rolled her eyes, batting Danny's hand down. "How'd the procedure go, doc?" she joked, loving the sound of her other new friends' raucous laughter.

Danny dramatically grimaced and tsked. "It's good and bad news, Lena. Good news is, we were able to find a donor for your heart."

"Wow!" Lee gasped in mock delight. "But what's the bad news?"

Grabbing Lee's hand and working up some fake tears, Danny said, "The donor was Harry Styles." Their other friends mock gasped as the table elected to continue with the performance.

Lee dropped her face into her hands, her shoulders shaking from a combination of laughter and fake sobs. "No, please, not the love of my life Harry Styles."

"We did everything we could to save him," Danny continued, his own straight face breaking, "but without a heart, it was unlikely he could have survived."

Beaming despite her best attempts to keep a poker face, Lee said, "He always said that he would die for me. I had only hoped that it wasn't ever going to be true."

The table was alight with laughter as Lee and Danny finally gave up the act, breaking into fits of giggles themselves. In these moments, when Lee's abs were hurting from how hard she was laughing, when her cheeks were sore from how wide she was smiling, when her heart was beating out of her chest with excitement, she almost forgot about what she had left in the Outer Banks.

"Lena, you coming to practice this afternoon?" Kelsey asked from across the table.

Kelsey was tall and tan with the brightest auburn hair that Lee had ever seen. She was quick to welcome Lee into the group when Danny had first introduced the new girl to his friends. Kelsey, Danny, and the rest of their group were all swimmers on one of the best teams in the state—North Shore High School's Varsity league. Lee was set to try out next week and, although she was nervous, Danny and his teammates continually reassured her that she would make the team without a doubt.

Lee nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I think so. Rory said that Coach Timmons likes to see new people putting in the work, so I figure I might as well start before tryouts."