In which a Kook gets in the middle of a Pogue mess.
ADVENTURE, ROMANCE, SACRIFICE, FRIENDSHIP.
{slowburn}
jj maybank x female oc
(Season 1 - Season 4)
Outer Banks - JJ Maybank fanfiction. I don't own anything related to Outer Banks. I only own my ch...
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"Growing up, Luke would always tell me when he was drunk off his ass, 'If there's one thing I know, hell is other people.'" JJ's words rang in Avery's mind, hollow and heavy as they drifted through the smoke curling up from the fire. He wasn't looking at her — his gaze was locked on the flames, the light flickering across his face in broken patterns.
"When I was a kid, I didn't get it. It didn't make any sense to me." His voice cracked slightly, more from exhaustion than emotion. "But then one day, I just decided to ask him."
His fingers found Avery's in the dim firelight, twitching with restless energy as he fiddled with them—grasping, releasing, grasping again. Like he couldn't decide whether to anchor himself or pull away.
"I said, 'What do you mean, hell is other people?'" he continued, voice softer now, more distant. "And he looked at me for a while. Real long. Then just said, 'Just keep on living... and you'll find out.'"
There was a bitter pause.
The sinister smirk that curved on JJ's lips didn't reach his eyes — and even that faded fast. "Luke's been wrong about a lot of things," he muttered, jaw tightening, "but man... was he right about that one."
Without looking up, he tossed a bottle cap into the fire. It hissed as it landed, vanishing in a small spark of flame. "Went from a fake dad to a real dad who just tried to kill me," he muttered, almost to himself. "So yeah, Luke. I found out. Hell definitely is other people."
He gripped his beer tighter, hand trembling slightly, then tipped it back until it was empty. The silence that followed was sharp, uncomfortable. Avery sat next to him, watching his profile — the shadows under his eyes, the flicker of fire reflecting in his irises, the invisible weight pressing his shoulders down like stone.
Around them, the group was scattered in a loose semicircle, all staring into the fire, the dark, or each other. Their makeshift camp — a stretch of sand pressed up against the edge of the woods — had always been a safe place. But tonight, the air felt thinner. Like even here, the outside world was catching up.
"I just didn't think it could get worse than Luke," Avery said softly, eyes down, her fingers nervously picking at the grass beneath her. "But Groff? I should've noticed something. I should've—"
"Ave. Ave." JJ cut her off, sharp but not angry. Just fraying. He still wouldn't look at her. His breath was uneven, and when he spoke again, his voice was laced with something colder. "Your sympathy, thank you, but it doesn't do anything."
He held up a fresh bottle of liquor, a mocking little smirk on his face. "This does."
The words hit like ice. Avery's heart dropped. She had felt it the second they'd pulled away from that kiss hours earlier — the shift. The retreat. Now it was fully here. He was slipping.
She'd seen JJ unravel before — but not like this. Not with this dead look in his eyes.
"I'm only trying to help, J," she murmured, barely audible. Her voice faltered under the weight of it all. She didn't expect a response. She didn't get one.
