"I was already drowning in your love by the time I realized I needed you to keep me afloat."
outer banks one shots and short series for all characters. all pieces belong to me, they were just posted on my tumblr before this.
a/n: this is a long one lmao just over 5k words so buckle in
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being a kook definitely had its perks. got to go to the best schools, nice vacations, could basically buy anything you could ever want with daddy's money, and, most importantly, you had options others didn't when it came to your future. on the flip side, there were also certain expectations that came with all the perks. for instance, you were expected to be well behaved, to do nothing that could reflect badly on the family, and you needed to be smart, or at least smart enough and accomplished enough to get into the best schools daddy could pay for. and for you, specifically, to be absolutely perfect.
you were known on kildare island for the longest time as topper's twin brother, his built in competition. as the two eldest sons, much was expected of you, but only one could come out on top as the golden child. and for the longest time, everyone thought it was you. your father was certainly looking to groom you as the future heir to his company. and then you entered eighth grade.
topper found some pictures hidden under your bed and discovered your biggest secret: you liked boys. it wasn't long after that your parents found out, and suddenly you weren't treated like the successful son you were. your mother took over the job of looking after you, and your father in turn focused on grooming your brother for the role you were supposed to have. according to your mother, this sort of thing getting out could be detrimental for the company if you were allowed to take over. having a gay son wasn't bad, but having that gay son become the ceo? unheard of.
so, you were to be perfect. who would be upset at the sweet gay kid who shut his mouth? the one who didn't stir shit up? so you kept as low a profile as you could. you hung around topper and rafe, accompanied girls to their debutante balls, and any relationships you had were either with perfect kooks like you or low profile hookups. everyone learned to turn a blind eye at any parties at the boneyard if they saw you standing maybe a bit too close to some handsome tourist. relationships were hard to come by, and you never hooked up with someone from the cut.
that is, until you did.
it was at some party at the boneyard, a kegger some of the pogues were throwing, and you arrived with sarah cameron instead of your brother. while she had broken up with topper, you still liked to spend some time with her. gave you a break from having to act so perfect all the time. she led you towards the booze, her arms around your waist with your arm slung over her shoulder. none of the other kooks you ran with were around yet, so you felt more relaxed than you had in months. she had helped you get ready, convincing you to keep your shirt unbuttoned to entice any cute guys at the party, and you had to admit, you were having a pretty good time. that is, until your eyes met those of jj maybank over by the keg.
it wasn't that you hated the blonde, but you didn't necessarily like him. you heard topper complain about the boy enough times to know that you should steer clear of him. he was bad news. after all, wasn't he always getting into fights with your friends? but he was best friends with john b, and sarah was with john b, so you couldn't really avoid him for much longer. so you allowed her to tug you over to the two boys who were serving drinks. at least you'd be getting alcohol.
