Denial || An OBX Story

Chapter Sixteen

It wasn't long until John B showed up with the Twinkie, he held his hand out the window and waved at JJ, Maddie, and Pope to get in the van.

"Let's ride." JJ says as he exhales his smoke and fixes his shorts. "Hey Maddie, wanna help me with these?" He smiles proudly at his comment.

"I heard a belt helps." She rolls her eyes and walks ahead of the boys who were following her.

Pope shakes his head and shoves JJ's shoulder. He looks back at John B who wasn't even paying them the slightest bit of attention. "This better be good."

Maddie climbs in the front, putting JJ and Pope in the back even though the blonde boy called shotgun. However, when he tried to grab the front seat from her, John B locked the doors.

Eventually, JJ did give in and sit in the back so that John B could drive the group of energetic yet unamused teenagers to The Wreck so they could pick up Kiara from work. The drive consisted of JJ and Pope chatting in the back, Maddie adding comments every once and a while. John B was quiet. Even when they got to the restaurant, he didn't say anything.

"Get your ass in there, Pope." Maddie orders him as they come to a stop at the back of the restaurant, the smell of seafood lingering in the air. She smiles when he scoffs and drags his feet out of the van. When Pope made it inside, JJ and Maddie smile at each other before they look at John B. "So, I'm gonna ask."

"No, no you're not." John B shakes his head. "Chances are if I tell either of you, you're gonna make it weird or say something stupid."

JJ's face had confusion written all over it. "Right. John B, I'm not picking up what you're dropping here, so, can we stop avoiding this. I mean, eventually you're gonna tell us either way."

John B was about to argue back but he was interrupted by Pope walking back out of The Wreck without Kie by her side. "She says she's not coming."

"Why not?" JJ asks.

Madeline's jaw drops when she finally puts the pieces together. "John B, did you..."

"Shit." John B whisper yells as he leans on the steering wheel. He hesitates before opening the door and stepping out. "Hang on, I'll deal with it."

Maddie immediately turns around to look at JJ before Pope came back into the Twinkie. "JJ, they so kissed."

"In a creepy lighthouse or after being chased by the cops?" JJ questions her, not sure if he was gonna believe her or not. "That's not very like John B."

"What's not like John B?" Pope asks as he shuts the van door and takes his seat next to JJ. When he sat back with a huff, it was obvious that Kiara didn't make it an easy no, and that she was much more elaborate than using just one word.

Maddie smiles and ignores JJ shaking his head. "Him and Kie definitely kissed or something. Why else wouldn't she wanna go?" She laughs and tucks her hair behind her.

"Look, I think you're thinking wrong here." Pope sighs as they all hear the Wreck door opening and closing again. "Look, they're fine. It was probably just an argument."

Maddie shakes her head and waves her hand at John B and Kiara to hurry up. John B climbed in the Twinkie and shut the door behind him, "So, what do you guys think happened?"

"Nothing." Pope says quickly, avoiding both Maddie and JJ from saying anything stupid. He knew that the teens wanted nothing more than to ask them what had happened, but he also knew that if they did ask... Kiara would walk right back into the restaurant.

"Where the hell are we going?" JJ asks, leaning back in his chair and running his tan hand through his messy blonde hair.

"Would you hate me if I said the cemetery?" John B starts the van, the smell of exhaust filling the air around them, covering the smell of the delicious cooking coming from The Wreck. The group, including Maddie all answer in a unison of 'yes' leading John B on to roll his eyes. "Too bad."

When they start moving, Maddie looks back at Kiara who forces a smile. "Where are we going?"

Kiara looks at Maddie confused, John B had just told her where they were going and Kiara wasn't one for playing Maddie's games. "The cemetery." Kiara deadpans.

Maddie takes the hat off her head and reclines her seat back, covering her face with it. "I was hoping you'd say something different." She groans, closing her eyes with a sigh. "This should be so much fun."

The Pogues were mostly quiet for the trip that was much longer than they expected. John B didn't mention that the cemetery they were going to, wasn't local at all. By the time they even got close to the area, the golden sun had set and the darkness swallowed the sky.

JJ spoke up, breaking the quietness that had been lasting for the previous couple minutes. "Do you mind if I just relax on this one? It's been a long day, and a lot of weird stuff's gone down. I'm just gonna lay low. Oh, did you want a hit of this?" JJ offers Pope his blunt, the smoke filling the van making John B open some of the windows.

"I... keep the signal clear." Pope rejects him with a hand in his face. Pope never smoked, even when Maddie and JJ begged him to join them, he'd politely decline and send them both on their way.

JJ shakes his head, his high being heard in his voice. "Dude, okay. Do you understand that your problem is that you don't get creative. If you got creative..."

"I want some." Maddie stops him, sitting her seat back up again and turning around to look at the blonde boy in the back seat.

JJ couldn't help but smirk as he leans forward to give her the blunt. "See? She's got it down and dirty." His eyes lingered on her as she took a drag from the blunt he rolled a little too perfectly. She could feel him staring, his eyes crawling all over her. It made her smile proudly knowing she could practically have JJ wrapped around her finger if she ever wanted to.

Maddie takes a drag and lets the smoke relax the muscles in her body. John B looks at her before turning back to the road again. "Look, I know I was wrong about the lighthouse, alright?" He admits to the group, making Maddie nod sarcastically. "And pretty much wrong about everything else going on. But I was right about one thing. Okay? My dad is trying to tell me something."

No one in the van responds. But John B seemed to have gotten the hint when Maddie took another drag and turned her head towards the window.

John B came to a stop at the front of the graveyard, quickly opening the door and climbing out. "Hey, come on." He rushes them, eager to find out if he was right about the clue this time around.

"I'm coming. This place is scary." Kiara admits as she tilts her head at Maddie as a thank you for getting the van door. "John B, what are we doing?"

John B whispers as they get closer to the gate preventing them from entering. "You know how you're trying to remember a song and you can't remember who sings it?" He asks, waiting for Kiara to reply before starting again. "So, Redfield. This whole time, I thought it was a place, right? But it's not a place." They walk through the cemetery, and weirdly enough, John B knew exactly where to go, shining a light onto the name. "It's a person."