Deep Water [OuterBanks]

23: family ties

Alana's cerulean eyes fluttered open the following morning as the familiar chirping of the songbirds traveled in through the opening in her window. She found it sort of ironic how they still sang, no matter how much ruin the world around them was in. Logically, the crew had decided to call it a night after talking to Sarah Cameron; opting to crash at the Kessler's single-story bungalow instead of spending another night in the car. So, JJ, and Pope, slept out on the couches in the living room, while Kiara slept alongside Alana in her full-sized bed. The two best friends slept wildly, with legs tangled, and arms splayed across one another. And though, it sounded like an uncomfortable mess, Alana would argue that it was the best sleep she'd had in a while.

The sixteen year old shifted off of her stomach and onto her side, unexpectedly finding Kiara already awake; the back of her head flat against the pillow, and her brown eyes fixated skyward on the plain white ceiling. "I can practically hear your thoughts, you know." Alana acknowledged sarcastically, prompting the brunette to turn onto her side as well, the two girls now face to face.

"Pope said that he loved me last night." Kiara admitted lowly, her voice laced with obvious bewilderment. "Or put more accurately, in love with me."

"He just dropped the L-word on you? No smooth talk or anything first?" Alana asked, somewhat amused. She would have never guessed that Kiara was Pope's type. Not to say that the environmentalist girl wasn't smart, but she more or less expected him to come out one day and say that he was dating some quirky teenage girl he met at an academic decathlon. Although in retrospect, there have been times where the Heyward boy could have potentially come across as jealous of the bond Kiara has with John B.

"Nothing." The brunette shook her head. "We were literally walking into Sarah's backyard when all of a sudden he's pouring his heart out."

"Wow, I mean it's not uber-romantic but kind of sweet nonetheless." Alana mentioned. "What did you tell him?"

"Just that it wasn't gonna happen. He won't admit it, but we both want different things." Kiara answered. "And besides, I think I still have feelings for someone else." She tucked a few of her dark curls behind her ear.

"For John B?" The Kessler girl assumed, but Kiara's vagueness that followed led her to believe that the brunette might've had someone else in mind.

"It doesn't matter." Kiara shook her head while feigning a half-smile. "It's just a hopeless crush."

Alana studied Kiara's dark brown eyes for a moment, unable to pin the emotion in which they held. Initially she had written it off as guilt, and then uncertainty, followed by longing. "Well, try not to overthink your conversation with Pope. He was blitzed out of his mind last night. It might've just caused him to have an epiphany or some shit." The blonde peeled herself out from underneath the mustard colored comforter, her joints popping as she stretched her arms outward. "But at the same time, look at it this way. Who else can say that they've had two guys confess their undying love in the time span of a month?" Alana climbed over her friend, the soles of her feet meeting the wooden floorboards. "Exactly. That'll earn you a shit-ton of cool points if you ever decide to go back to the Kook academy." She jested, laughing as Kiara too climbed out of the bed, flipping her off.