P4L | Outer Banks | JJ Maybank

Danger Brewing

JJ whistled as they pulled up to the motel. "And I thought the Chateau looked bad."

"This place is a shit show," John B commented, pulling the boat in.

Kie groaned. "Motel or meth lab?"

"You be the judge," Pope said. He and Cory had been quiet the whole ride over, not sure how they felt about breaking into someones hotel room.

"Doesn't look like the type of place someone with a grady white stays," John B commented, tying the boat off.

"No, it looks like the type of place someone with a grady white gets killed," Pope groaned.

"Alright," John B says as him and JJ start off towards the motel. "Here goes nothing."

"Hey," Pope said. "Don't let him do anything stupid."

"Oh we will," JJ adds, making Cory roll her eyes.

"I can't make any promises."

"Yeah I know," Pope groans, going to sit back down with a shivering Cory.

"Uh... be careful," Kiara says to John B. "I mean it."

Cory raises a brow at JJ, who also looks shocked. Someones macking on another Pogue, and it was getting more and more obvious by the day.

John B awkwardly chuckles. "Heh... yeah," he says, climbing over to JJ.

The three that were left sat in a triangle on the boat in silence. Cory shivered, zoning off and feeling the beat of her blood pulsing through her hip.

Her sister was probably at her Kook boyfriends house right now, eating well and enjoying the backup generators.

Cory pursed her lips. And here she was. Soaking wet on a boat at a random motel while John B and JJ did some illegal tresspassing.

"Biggest pet peeve?" Kie said. "Easy. Giving one percent to the environment."

"Whys that?" Pope asked.

"We only have one earth, Pope," Kie said. "We should be giving it a hundred percent, bare minimum," she said as she took a hit of her vape.

"Right," Pope said. "Thats not fiscally sound."

"Neither is destroying the only planet we have to live on," Kie argued.

They went quiet for a moment, and then Popes eyes narrowed on Cory.

"Cory," Pope said, grabbing her attention. "You're shivering."

"Its cold," Cory responded, gesturing to the wind.

"But you could've just taken the wet clothes off," Kie commented.

Dont ask, dont ask, dont ask, dont ask–

"Why don't you?" Pope asked.

Screw off, Pope.

Cory sighed. "Just," she didn't know what to say. "Didn't want to."

"You can take them off," Kie said. "We've seen you in a swimsuit before."

Cory sighed. "I know..."

Pope pursed his lips, pulling off his unbuttoned shirt. He offered it to her. She looked at him but took it after a second.

"We'll close our eyes," Pope said, lightly whacking Kies knee.

They did so, and Cory quickly slipped off her wet clothes, pulling on Pope's shirt and buttoning a few buttons closed.