what now? | outerbanks

• seven •

JJ

        "Come on, Kie." My heart is beating out of my chest as her whole body is pressed against mine. There is no movement, no anything. I send Sarah a helpless look, and immediately she helps me move Kie onto her back. I place my ear by her mouth and am somewhat relieved by the feeling of a slight breath, but it's not enough.

        "We gotta get her back to the plane." I look up at Heyward when he says this, and I know it's true but we couldn't have done this for nothing.

        "No. No, we- we have to go get Pope and, and John B. We can't just go back. We can't just leave them." Sarah walks closer to me and wraps her arms around my waist.

        "JJ, go. Bring Kie back to the plane, do whatever you can. Keep her safe. We'll get the boys. We'll be back as soon as we can, okay. Just take her."

        "What if-" I try to speak but I can't seem to get my words out.

        "What if what, J?"

        "What if I hurt her?"

        "You won't. I know you won't." I cry into her shoulder as the girl rubs my back. I can tell by her voice that she's started to cry too. Soon enough, I pick Kie up and exchange worried looks around the circle we've created. "Go." And I do, without any further word.

Sarah

I pull at the hem of my dirty jean shorts, my mind completely encapsulated by Kie. Sometimes I think maybe everything that's happened is my fault, and I start to believe everything they used to say about me. Maybe, if I had never shown up, everything would be okay and we'd all be living our normal lives. I mean, yeah, some good things have happened too, but I can't help but blame myself.

"Come on, Sarah." Heyward says, pulling me out of my pity. I listen, beginning to walk in front of him and Cleo, this time much more aware of my surroundings.

        Our walk seems much longer now that our minds are on Kie. The three of us have all picked up our speeds, trying to make it to the boys and then back to Kie on time- we can't risk anything. Thankfully, it's only about another hour or two when we start to reach familiar territory.

        "Hey, wait, we aren't far out at all. I remember this path- it should only be like fifteen more minutes." And as always, Cleo knows her shit. In fifteen minutes, we're met with the spot we were in no more than 76 hours prior. All of a sudden, memories from then hit me, but I don't let it show. There are more pressing matters right now.

"John B?!" I start yelling his name, even though I know he probably won't hear. Not long after, Cleo and Heyward begin to yell the boys' names too, but there isn't any response. So, we walk until we're right at the mouth of the cave, which looks different now after it's been blown up a bit. It's definitely still manageable to get around, but not as easily as before. As if out of no where, a horrid smell comes in a wave of air, and i'm almost immediately sick to my stomach.

"Holy shit what is that?" Cleo reads my mind, and I'm glad I'm not the only one smelling it. It's clear that the three of us are all smelling the same thing, but it isn't until we walk further into the cave that we know what it is. Heyward is walking in front of Cleo and me and jumps backward when he sees it: a body. The body of the man we left here, in the ruble of the cave. He's been laying here ever since, and we definitely aren't the first things to find his body. I quickly run to the side and throw up, Cleo following to do the same.

"Fuck." Heyward goes to say something else but is cut off by the sound of something emerging from water. I jump, turning to the water that I know well- the water that leads to the gold. Cleo let's put a scream at the sudden sound and movement, but calms down when it turns out to just be Pope. Cleo is the first one he sees and he wastes no time before running to her.

"Oh thank God you're okay." The brown eyed girl breaths out as Pope picks her up into a tight hug. "I was worried sick." Heyward looks at me, and I look back at him- we both know what's happening here. Our suspicions are confirmed when Pope pulls Cleo into a quick, loving kiss. He puts her down before the two stand awkwardly before us. Quickly, Pope realizes that he's standing in front of his dad, and hugs him as well.

"Hey, boy."

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Heyward goes to answer, but again, is cut off. John B. emerges from the water just as Pope did a minute ago. There isn't a second passed before I have him in my arms, and no more then 30 seconds before his lips are on mine. My worries are nothing when I'm in his embrace- he brings me more peace than I've ever had. He speaks in between kisses.

        "Hey, hey."

        "Did you get it?"

        "Uh, yeah, yeah I think we did." He makes eye contact with Pope and smiles.

         "How uh, how much?"

         "About eight million." Pope says this, and Cleo laughs in shock- but it doesn't truly hit the rest of us until Pope says, "For each of us."

        "Oh my God." Heyward wraps his arms around his son again, and I let out a chuckle. Oh my God.

        "Wait, wait- where's Kie and JJ? Is everything okay?"

        "Kie got hurt. We, uh, we don't know what happened, but one second she was fine and the next she was collapsed in JJ's arms. So, we told JJ to bring her back to the plane and that we'd be as quick as possible." I try to stay positive about it and make my best effort to maintain dry eyes. My efforts aren't enough.

        "Holy shit- we should probably start heading back then, right?"

        "Yeah, yeah everyone grab a bag. You'll have to drag it." The bags are heavier than I could've ever imagined. Heyward pulls two, and Cleo and I decide to team work this one.

       "Wait, a plane?" Pope asks out of nowhere.

        "What?"

        "You said you told JJ to go back to the plane- how do you guys have a plane?"

         "It's a long story."

         "Well, we've got a long ways to go, haven't we?"

yayy!! new chapter new chapter :)) sorry it's been a little while i've been SO busy! i've been getting things ready for the taylor swift concert i'm going to this week 🥳🥳

nevertheless here's a fab chapter i hope you like it! don't worry, all my jiara pals, we'll hear more about Kie and JJ in the next chapter <333

keep voting and commenting like always i appreciate you guys so much!

love, sam xoxo