Shattered- Outer Banks Fanfic [JJ MAYBANK]

xxiv Midsummers

"I don't know what happened to Topper's boat." Mr Heyward and Pope had just arrived at the Midsummers party as they were on catering duty and clearly still not over the events of the morning. He looked over at Pope who was giving him a deadpan expression not wanting to hear this again "I do know you came home that day missing my favourite employee" He questioned the boy still not convinced the girl he loves so dearly would ever be involved in something like this.

"You were two seconds away from havin' a different life. You just about killed me." He continued to lecture Pope as they rounded the truck; Pope jumped into the trunk trying to avoid eye contact. He was already feeling guilty enough especially for Tana considering she wasn't even there. "It would have killed your mama." Mr Heywrd opened up the boot pulling out a trolly, "Hell it did kill her and it wasn't even her own kid" He spoke about the Summers who held a special spot in the Heyward household. "And you know the deal!" He just couldn't believe his son had been involved in something so stupid; he knows how this island works and was so willing to throw away his chance at a future, it didn't make sense there had to be someone else to blame. "One of these rich kids messes up, they'll still go to college and meet another rich person." The older man continued to berate his son on the injustice as they unloaded their trunk, "Then they'll make more rich kids, who'll also get third and fourth chances."

"I know. I gotta do better. I get it. All right?" From the moment he pulled the plug he was regretting it and his hands still hadn't stopped sweating, everything his father was saying he had already heard from himself and he really did understand the gratitude of the situation.

"You wanna... spend your whole life grindin' it out like me?" He didn't stop he had worked his ass off every day to hopefully provide his son with the opportunities he was never offered and seeing his son doing something so stupid to jeopardise that just didn't make sense to him.

"It's your grindin' keepin' us afloat in the first place," Pope argued even though he understood his father's words and respected the man more than he would ever know. He was just tired of this conversation.

"I expect better for you, Pope. I want better for you. And if you end up like me, I will consider that a personal failure. So please, keep it in check. At least until you have your... your scholarship interview. You need to wake the hell up. And you could start by picking better friends."

"And don't drag my favourite Summers into your mess again" The man added with a glare, Pope wondered how he knew she wasn't involved he thought she sounded pretty convincing. Who was he kidding, his father knows his best friend better than that, everyone knows she wouldn't do that.

"Don't talk about my friends." He muttered not liking the way the man had bad-mouthed the boy who had just saved Pope's future by flushing his own down the drain.

"What'd you say?" Pope surely wasn't talking back to him right now, not after what had happened he had to be dreaming. "You don't know nothin'. Friends. Shit. You'll see. You'll see."

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Mr summers was sat in the passenger seat of the car taking them to the country club for the party and the two teens were sat in the back. Montana was just watching the houses pass by as the twisted her earring unaware of the longing gaze the boy beside her was giving, she was worried about what Sarah would say when she saw the ex-couple walking in together, as well as Kelce. She knew Rafe and Topper would also be there but she was still upset with the group and just hoped she wouldn't be running into Ella tonight because that would be awkward.

She turned to the boy beside her, catching him already looking at her bringing a blush to her cheeks that she had to shake away "Have you spoken to any of the guys since, uh-" She was trying to say the party where she found out about him cheating on her but her brain couldn't seem to think of the right words. Plus the memory of that night kind of put a damper on the soft mood they had a second ago.