duchess → outer banks

EPISODE XV.

[but you're not a pogue]

Duchess decided that her favorite thing about moving to the Outer Banks was the fact that she learned to surf. As a kid, she loved watching movies the revolved around it, but never got the chance to experience it herself. Until she met The Pogues.

It was John B who taught her how to surf initially. Then, all of The Pogues would surf together, and they all had different tips and tricks to teach her. John B, Pope, and Kie were all really good surfers. But they had nothing on JJ.

Even if you knew nothing about surfing, you could just tell that JJ was amazing. He was one with his board, one with the ocean.

On this particular day of surfing, Duchess decided to ask JJ about his talent. "How'd you get so good," she asked. The were sat on their boards, waiting for a perfect wave.

"Did you forget that I was born here, Duchess," JJ asked jokingly, "Everyone here surfs as soon as they learn to swim."

"Yea but they were born here too," Duchess said, pointing to the other Pogues. "They're not as good as you."

JJ shrugged. "I don't know. It's an escape, I guess. When I'm out here, all I think about is this. Everything else fades away and I feel present." It's kind of how I feel when I'm with you.

"Do you guys have competions down here," Duchess asked," You should enter one."

JJ laughed then. "Duchess, I'm good, but not that good."

It was her turn to shrug. "I guess, but it wouldn't hurt to try, right? Might put a little money in your pocket."

"Always got money on the mind, huh Duchess?"

Duchess rolled her eyes, "We're poor, JJ. We don't have the luxury to not think about money."

"Exactly why I don't enter competitions. Like I said before, surfing is an escape from all the shit there." He pointed to where to ocean met the sand. "I'm not trying to taint that."

Duchess nodded and didn't say anything else about the subject. She understood. JJ's life was fucked up, probably more than the rest of them. He needed surfing to just be one thing: an escape. And as she thought about it more and more, the brunette girl realized that she too had an escape from all of the things that went wrong in her life. Her escape was being with the blond boy next to her.

She tried not to think too much about what that meant, instead, she shifted her focus back to the waves she was trying to catch. She could sort out her feelings for JJ at a later date.