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╔⭑-⭒-⭑-⭒-⭑-⭒-⭑╗ 𝕮hapter one ╚⭑-⭒-⭑-⭒-⭑-⭒-⭑╝
Summer in the OBX was an experience that rivaled California's. But to Evangeline, it was nowhere near the same. Beaches on the Pacific Coast were overwhelmingly packed, loud, overall a cluttered mess. The only thing untouched was the horizon that she could never get tired of. When the sun began to set, giving the water a golden glow, the waves calming for just a moment. But the OBX? Evangeline could hear herself think, feel the sun blanket her instead of lashing at her for not wearing copious amounts of sunscreen. The water was always warm and welcoming, and there was room for everyone to have their own space. She guessed that was the only good take away from being sent out here. "Wakey, wakey, Evie!"
Maybe not the only thing.
Peeking through one eye, she scrunched her nose at the blinding sun that she was currently bathing in, her arms crossed underneath her head acting as a pillow. Hovering over her, John B. Routledge smiled down at her, his hazel eyes piercing into her amber ones. Since the night he invited her to the Boneyard, the two had become inseparable. The Pogues - the label the group had commandeered themselves - always made fun of the boy for it. In some ways, John B kept her sane. All that time spent around the Kook's sometimes became too much, and John B was her safe place, where she could be just herself. He was also someone she could trust wholeheartedly, especially with the loss of her family. Not even 9 months before, John B's dad was lost at sea, leaving him all on his own at the old fish shack that was famously known as the Chateau. The Pogues were practically his life now, but with Evangeline it was different.
There were a few times Evangeline caught John B in a moment, the loss of his Dad still heavy on his shoulders. Evangeline could understand entirely what that felt like and she made sure John B knew that he wasn't alone. After that, John B saw her in a new light. Just as he was a safe place for Evangeline, she was his. And everyone knew it.
You never saw one without the other, and if they were separated, they managed to always find one another again. "Can't you see I'm busy?" A few chuckles sounded behind the teen, as he stared down at the bronze skinned girl. "Fine, no beer for you." At this, Evangeline sat up and faced the four teens who had been the missing piece since moving. The first few months, she was catered to by the Kooks, specifically Sarah and Topper. She had attended many of their party's and countless hangouts at the Country Club where she was subjected to Topper and Sarah's older brother, Rafe, golf sessions. The night she met the Pogues and the rest that followed filled her with an adrenaline that the Kook's could never give her. The group of 4, now 5, wreaked havoc through Figure 8, the Twinkie, their reliable getaway car. It was an adventure every day with them and to Evangeline it felt like she was with her Dad all over again.
But although she finally felt at home, there were some disapproving eyes on her the entire time. And that was her Aunt, Cynthia. Evangeline would leave the moment the sun began to rise until the very late hours of the night, tracking sand and the smell of saltwater into their home. She had stayed silent for the first few times, but she eventually grew annoyed when the sand started appearing in her own laundry. Topper, however, was more annoyed at the fact that she was hanging out with the Pogues. It was no surprise that the Kook's despised the group of teens, hurtful words going back and forth between the two, but they were never directed towards the brunette. Mostly because she was Topper's cousin and Sarah's friend. They wouldn't dare cross that line.
