Audacious//JJ Maybank (Outerbanks)

Chapter 107 (season 4)

{Poguelandie 2.0}

So, you might be wondering what happens after you find the lost city of El Dorado, get blown up, lose your dad, and end up stranded in South America with a bag full of gold.

Well, let me catch you up.

First, you catch a ride back home. And then? You sleep—for like three weeks straight. When you finally wake up and face the world again, you start to make peace with everything. The Heywards welcomed us back with open arms, especially Pope. Mrs. Heyward nearly cried when she saw him, hugging him so tight like she'd never let go. Kiara's parents, on the other hand, weren't thrilled. They were relieved she was safe, but their disapproval of the Pogues still hung heavy between them. It was the same old battle—they wanted her to choose a different life, but she kept choosing us.

We've been home for three weeks now, and it still feels surreal. Every day, I visit Big John's memorial—a simple engraving on the oak tree outside the Chateau. I leave flowers, and I sit there for a while, remembering him. It's peaceful, but the ache in my chest never really goes away.

Once we got all the loose ends tied up, we took the gold to get it weighed. The moment we'd been waiting for. The man carefully set it on the scale, and I held my breath as he read out the numbers.

"Twenty pounds," he said, looking up at us. "98.5% pure gold."

I exchanged a look with JJ, my heart racing with excitement. John B stepped forward, asking the question we were all dying to know. "And that translates to...?"

The man smiled, clearly enjoying the suspense. "This is money. A whole lot of money."

We all lost it—jumping, screaming, hugging. JJ grabbed me, pulled me into a tight hug, and then kissed me like there was no tomorrow. I laughed against his lips before turning to John B, who hugged me just as tightly. "We did it, Jackie," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

The next stop was the ATM. We needed to see the numbers in black and white to make it real. John B punched in his pin—zero-zero-zero-zero.

"You can't be serious," I deadpanned, raising an eyebrow at him. Kiara looked equally unimpressed. "Tell me that's a temporary pin," she said, crossing her arms.

John B shrugged, genuinely confused. "I thought no one would guess it."

"Change that immediately," Pope ordered, shaking his head, and I nodded in agreement. But all of us fell silent as the machine started to spit out the receipt. John B grabbed it and began to read, dragging it out just to mess with us.

"Our joint account balance, after paying JJ's restitution at 10:04 a.m. on Tuesday..." He trailed off, enjoying our collective impatience.

"Get on with it!" Cleo snapped, unable to wait another second. John B grinned. "Our joint account balance is one million, seventy-two thousand, five hundred and forty-nine dollars."

The air buzzed with disbelief. We gasped, looked at each other, and then all at once, chaos broke out. We were hugging, laughing, and celebrating—jumping up and down like idiots because we were actually rich. The dream we'd chased for so long had come true.

But while everyone else was caught up in the moment, I noticed JJ slip away to the fridge, grabbing a beer. He popped it open, downing half of it in one go. I walked over to him, standing in front of him as he tossed the empty can aside. He leaned in, one hand against the wall behind me, his body close.

"You can smile, you know," I said softly, searching his face.

JJ smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. I knew what was bothering him. The money—it didn't change who we were, but to JJ, the idea of turning into the very thing he despised most—a Kook—was unsettling.