P4L | Outer Banks | JJ Maybank

Wilderness Camp

Cory followed behind JJ through his dads house as he scrambled to salvage anything they could need on their trip. He grabbed shirts, a lighter, a beer.

But as they attempted to pack a bag for South America, they heard a car engine rev outside.

The two froze, glancing out toward the window before JJ turned back to look at Cory.

"Who is that?" she whispered.

"I don't know," JJ mumbled. He reached down, tying off the backpack of stuff and handing it to Cory, who flung it over her shoulders.

JJ moved forward toward the window, catching sight of the approaching car.

"Oh shit," he mumbled. "Shit, shit." He attempted to grab a few more things, shoving them into his cargo pockets.

"Who is it?" Cory whispered, ducking to the ground as she watched her boyfriend grabbing random things off the floor.

JJ didn't answer, but then the door of the car slammed and a voice came from outside.

"JJ!" he yelled. "It's your old buddy Mike!" Cory's face dropped. "You lost my load! Time to pay up!"

JJ moved to the side, grabbing Cory's arm as they attempted to move toward the back of the house together.

"Alright, we'll do this your way," Mike called out. "I'm coming in, JJ!" JJ moved quickly, pushing Cory up against the wall and standing next to her. "Yeah, I know you're in there."

The door creaked open.

"We're gonna do this your way!" Mike called out.

As soon as the voice moved close enough, JJ grabbed Cory's wrist and began to sprint toward the back door. They pushed through, onto the porch, and out into the yard. Cory still wasn't a good runner, but JJ made sure she didn't fall behind as they pushed out toward the trees to the side.

They could hear Barracuda Mike's voice calling out as they continued onward, pushing through the trees until they were sure he wouldn't see them.

"Dude, where is everybody?" JJ spat, nervously pacing the tarmac.

"I don't know, man," John B sighed.

"We should get 'em," JJ said. "We should get in the Twinkie, and we should just get 'em. That's what we should do."

"Just give them five minutes, alright?" John B offered.

"Guys!" Sarah interrupted the argument with a wide gesture. "There's Pope and Cleo right there."

"God!" JJ mumbled.

"Were you guys waiting for us?" Cleo asked as Pope's bike came to a stop just beside them.

"Yes, we were," JJ said. "You're late."

"Jay," Cory said softly, reaching for his arm. He sighed, allowing her to touch him.

"Now did you actually convince your Pops this time or..." JJ mumbled.

Pope climbed off of the bike. "Cleo convinced him."

Cleo shrugged with a smile, holding her hands out. JJ and Cory went to either side of her, dapping her up quickly.

"That's what I'm talking about," JJ said. "I thank you for being a part of my crew."

"Anytime."

"Hey, where's, uh, where's Kie?" Pope asked.

"I don't know," Sarah said. "It's gotta be her parents, dude, they've been up her ass."

"They must've said she couldn't come," Pope concluded. "We're gonna have to do this without her."