Pandora and The Pogues [The Outer Banks/John B]

six

After the chaos of the evening Kie, Pope and JJ had all returned to their respective homes but Pandy felt she wasn't quite ready for that, to pretend that nothing had happened and John B welcomed her company at the chateau so she decided to stay the night at his. There was very little verbal conversation but they had not ignored one another, in fact what occurred was quite the opposite. They lay in bed together, completely innocently, looking at each other. John B stroked the side of the young girl's face, playing occasionally with her hair with one hand whilst the girl fiddled with his other, eventually the two falling asleep.

The following morning John B awoke first, his hand still held by the girl. He tried to avoid waking her as he got up to look around the house but couldn't resist kissing her on the cheek first. She looked so serene; no evidence of the previous evening's events. Her dark hair was unusually out of place but she looked relaxed instead of a mess. As he walked in the main living room he discovered the reason for his awakening. Sheriff Peterkin was looking over the state that the house was in. "Sorry to break in like this but DCS called. They wanted me to check on you. See how you're doing. So, how are you, besides the--" She gestured to her eye.

"Oh, no, I'm-- I'm great. Yeah, fantastic. Uh... Thanks for coming by." John B said hurriedly, blatantly leaving out any mention of the fight the night before which had painted his eye purple.

"I'm so glad to hear you say that, John B, but I heard a few things that worried me. Let me see if I can remember." The sheriff said tauntingly, "Oh, yeah. One of the things I heard was that your Uncle Teddy, your guardian, hasn't been in the state for three months."

John B denied everything as JJ had said: Deny, Deny, Deny. But Sheriff Peterkin saw through all the bullshit John B tried to feed her landing at a deal.

"If I stick my neck out for you, you have to help me. Tit for tat."

"So, uh-- what does tat mean?"

"Oh, let me see how you can help me? Oh, I know. So, a body was in the marsh yesterday. Were you in the marsh yesterday?"

"Yeah, we were fishing for some drum."

"You catch anything?"

"Nah, we were skunked."

"Strange. Fishing's usually good after a storm. All sorts of things get stirred up. You come across a wreck yesterday?" The Sheriff interrogated John B.

"No." He declared.

 Sheriff Peterkin sighed. "You're skimming just above the surface, John B. See down here is foster care, juvie. It's a pretty big drop for a smart kid like you. And up here is you  and your little friends doing whatever the hell you want."

Coincidentally, it was at this moment Pandy emerged from the bedroom, dressed in one of John's shirts he had lent her the night before. Upon noticing John B's guest and clocked she had walked into a serious conversation she excused herself to go and sit outside.

"Now, you sure you didn't come across a wreck yesterday?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure."

"It's better if you didn't understand?"

John B nodded in response.

"I'm gonna look the other way, as long as you stay out of the marsh." She turned to leave. "I got dogs living better than this John B. You might wanna think about cleaning up. Not just for yourself but your friends too."

Pandy waved to Sheriff Peterkin as she walked by the young girl swinging on the hammock. The Sheriff smiled and nodded, giving the girl the 'ok' to go back inside.