'she's kook fuckin' royalty, man.'
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a lot of things go unnoticed in the outer banks. things like missing millions in gold, underage drinking, and the bruises that litter the skin of the kook princess.
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( chateau )
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WHEN JOHN B FELL FROM THE TOWER, LANDING WITH A SICKENING THUD, NONE OF THEM HAD EXPECTED IT.
Pope, JJ, Lucy, and Kiara had retreated into the cover of the trees, seeking protection from the pouring rain. Lucy pushed her hair back from her face, damp ringlets clinging uncomfortably to her skin. The humidity was cloying.
She had tried holding JJ's shirt above her head like an umbrella. It hadn't worked. The blond boy was clearly struggling in just a vest, sun-kissed arms wrapped tightly around himself, water droplets tracing smooth lines down his skin. Lucy swallowed. Averted her eyes. Refocused.
"I'm gonna double back and grab the Twinkie," Pope announced, ever the smartest of the group, gesturing over his shoulder with a thumb. His eyes landed on Kiara with a hopeful sort of sparkle. "Wanna come?"
"I'm good," she replied, and Pope deflated. Lucy watched intently, noticing the way Kiara glanced back over her shoulder towards the Hawk's Nest. She was worrying her lower lip between her teeth.
"He's gonna be fine," Pope added, sounding dejected. There was a bitterness in his voice that Lucy didn't think she had heard before. "Like always." Kiara let some of the tension in her shoulders drop.
"Yeah, well..." Her voice trailed off. She had no rebuttal.
"You know, Kie, holding on to your grudge is like drinking poison, and thinking Sarah will die," the boy continued, dissatisfied with Kiara's response, "It's just stupid." His tone was final, before he turned on his heel and made his way back towards the van.
"Pope!" Kiara called his name, muscle memory making her move after him before she caught herself. Her hands fell to her sides, limp.
"No Pogue-on-Pogue mackin'," JJ sing-songed, and Kiara whirled on him, eyes ablaze.
"What? What makes you think—" She practically bit her own tongue off to stop herself speaking, eyes narrowing as she watched him grin. Her jaw clenched. "Asshole." JJ nodded, self-satisfaction clear on his face. "It's not my 'macking' we have to worry about, anyway."
As if to punctuate Kiara's point, lightning cleaved the sky in two above their heads.
"Twenty bucks says they're doin' it right now." JJ was the first to speak when the rumble of thunder subsided.
"You don't even have twenty bucks, JJ." Kiara's voice was humourless, but JJ just grinned, relishing in the act of annoying the other girl. "Unless you're getting Lucy to bail you out again." Lucy looked down at her feet, suddenly sheepish. She peeked up at JJ from under her lashes, too afraid to reignite old disagreements after all that he had seen. His façade slipped for one moment, annoyance passing through his eyes, before he schooled his features back into a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
