Dead End Summer *JJ Maybank*

JJ Maybank x FemOC

Season 1- In Progress

Blake Cruz grew up in the Outer Banks, not just knowing every street and dock, but building a life out of the people she found there - her people. JJ Maybank and John B Routledge were the first. She met them on her very first day of public school, when she was the quiet new girl with a pencil in hand and no real friends. They saw her, sat with her, and never left her side. Over time, they became inseparable - and JJ, especially, became something more, even if they never dared say it aloud. Pope Heyward joined next, roped in by Blake's chaotic charm and relentless energy. Then came Kiara, after a chance encounter on the beach that began with sea turtles and turned into a bond as fierce as it was unexpected. The five of them became the Pogues - loud, loyal, and untouchable. They weren't just friends. They were family. But Blake wasn't all jokes and bruises. After her dad crumbled under the weight of a failed business and her mom was left holding the pieces, Blake stepped up. She toughened up. She got angry. And sometimes, she didn't know how to stop. Her fuse was short, her record wasn't clean, and her loyalty was lethal. But no matter how reckless she got, the Pogues had her back - especially JJ, who was just as broken in all the same places. Now, at sixteen, things feel heavier. Big John is gone. The laughter's quieter. And Blake's running out of ways to outrun everything crashing down around her. This summer was supposed to be simple.

But it never is in the Outer Banks.

Not when secrets start surfacing.

Not when Blake Cruz has to decide who she really is - and what she's willing to lose to find out.