riptide- outer banks

seventy-seven | my boys

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Nausea had long since settled at the bottom of Kori's stomach as they waited. All that was left of the chateau were shards of wood and the floor. The floor. Other than that, everything else had burned up, continuing to crumble until morning. And now, half of them were waiting at the private air strip, Ward Cameron's jet a couple hundred feet behind them.

To say that things hadn't worked out in their favor would be an understatement. Actually, the understatement of the decade. Hell, the century. Anything that could have possibly gone wrong had gone wrong. And to top things off, Pope, Cleo, and Kiara were missing. They hadn't shown up in the hour time frame they'd given them, only furthering their distress.

"Dude, where is everybody?" JJ voiced, hand gesturing to the van. "No, you know what? We should get in the twinkie and we should just get 'em."

"Five minutes. Just give 'em five minutes, all right?" John B responded as Sarah let out a breath of relief.

"Guys, there's Pope and Cleo right there." She pointed out as they pulled up on JJ's motorcycle.

"So Heyward's lettin' you out?" Kori asked.

Pope climbed off as the brunette's hands raised up. "Cleo convinced him."

"My girl. That's what I'm talking about." JJ exclaimed, hand lifting in their handshake.

"Guys, where's Kie? Have you heard from her?" Logan spoke up as a tense breath left his mouth.

Kori scoffed, head craning back. "It's gotta be Mike. I swear to God, I'm gonna kill him."

"Yeah. They've been up her ass." Sarah agreed.

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

"No." JJ objected, shouldering his backpack as he turned back around. "Give me the keys."

John B's brow shot together. "No, dude. No, no, no, no."

"Gimme the keys, man." He repeated, letting out a breath. "Look, her parents already hate me. All right? Just give me an hour. It'll be like a black ops mission— in and out. Surgical removal type shit, all right? Plus..." JJ exhaled, hands landing on John B's shoulders. "I kind of owe her."

Realization washed over him as his lips quirked up, brow raising.

Logan leaned forward, voice lowering. "He owes her."

"Stop making that face and gimme the keys. Also, shut up." JJ ordered, hardly glancing back at the younger boy.

John B was grinning as he handed him the keys. "Okay. Well, yeah. You owe her, right?" He paused as JJ rolled his eyes. "Look, I just appreciate the honesty. Hurry back. Okay?"

JJ turned back, keys in hand as he met Kori's stupid-ass grin and humor-filled gaze. "Go get your girl, J." She teased.

He irritatingly tore his eyes from her, breaking out into a sprint for the twinkie. Complaints and objections cut through the air as he dove in through the window. He grunted, breathless as he came back up from the driver's seat, meeting their wide eyes.

"That door opens, bro." Pope pointed out.

Ignoring him entirely, JJ's gaze landed on John B before flickering to his sister and her new little boyfriend. "JB, don't let them—" He emphasized what he meant with his hands, letting them dramatically fly in the air before slapping together. "Do anything. Okay?"

Kori's face contorted as she met her brother's stupid-ass face. "You realize we're waiting to get on a private jet to go to SOUTH AMERICA, right?" She exclaimed, head shaking at him.