A LITTLE LUXURY // Outer Banks // JJ

Meet the Pogues

"I had that familiar conviction,

that life was beginning over again with the summer"

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

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"Kie!" The sound tore across the street. "Kie, hold up! Kie!" My voice came out half yell half strangled laugh as I raced alongside the road, weaving behind my childhood friend.

She turned around smiling, finally hearing my voice. "Finally! What took you so long? The boys are waiting at the docks".

"Well let's go then", I smirked, draping my arm over hers. "Wouldn't wanna keep those pansies waiting".

She giggled. "Race ya there!", taking off before I could register what she'd said.

"Ah, come on!", I took off after her. "Kiiieeee, no fair!"

My tiny raggedy backpack bounced behind my back as I sprinted behind her, already 10 feet behind. 

"Oi! Hurry up girls, or we'll leave without you!" I recognized John B's teasing voice from across the way, perched at the steer, grinning good naturedly.

"Yeah, what about a boys trip today lads?" JJ joined in, turning back to Pope, who sat next to the cooler in the back. His scruffy blond hair was getting blown about in the wind and he was waving his arms around wildly. "It's been a while, hasn't it", he joked.

"Wait!" Kie screamed as she approached them full speed, seeing that JJ was already letting the ratty old boat free of the docks and it was slowly but surely inching away from the safety of the pier. 

The boy's laughter got louder and louder as we got closer and closer, and I panted as I willed my legs to go even faster so they wouldn't leave us behind.

"Come on, time's a wastin", JJ drawled loudly, eyeing us as we rapidly approached, gesturing a bit dramatically with half drunken beer in hand. "Gonna have to be faster than that".

JJ and John B's yells egged us on, while Pope seemed more than a little concerned that we were edging onto dangerous territory. He looked at the other two boys disapprovingly.

"Be careful!" Pope protested, as Kie got close to the end of the dock where they were still drifting away. His efforts were in vain, she'd already jumped the few feet of water and made it on effortlessly, over him and landing nicely on the faded wooden seat.

"Tally ho! Thats one! Now where's the other one?" JJ laughed.

"Assholes!" I shrieked, approaching the end of the dock full speed, my ratty vans hitting the boards beneath me with dull thumping sounds. The boat was inching away faster and faster, now a good leap away, but in a split second judgement I launched off full force-

Landing just on the edge of the boat triumphantly, knocking over Kie and Pope in the process and ending up in a tangle of legs and bodies on the ground in between the coolers and ropes.

I giggled, sticking an arm up. "Made it".

Pope groaned, shoving me off him but offering me a smile. I heard JJ's laughter as he strode over, offering me his hand and easily pulling me up off the ground and into his chest.

He looked down at me with a playful smile on his lips, "Wouldn't have it any other way, princess".

I snorted. "Doesn't seem that way", I took the opportunity to bat him over the head. "Oof! I change my mind!" he muttered, turning away from me and faking hurt, both of us laughing all the while. 

Pope helped Kiara to her feet and the both of us immediately went for the beers in the cooler the boys had already opened. "Salud" Kiara cheered, as we all clanged them together before her and I took our first sips. 

I angled my face back, letting the sun hit my skin and sighing in contentment. This is how great summers began.

"Lemme show you a party trick!", before anyone could respond JJ leaped to the front of the boat. "Hey, can you go a little faster please?" We all laughed and observed him and his antics. "He's tried this like 60,000 times" John B muttered, shaking his head.

JJ stood at the very front of the little boat, holding the bottle up away from his face in the air in front of him. Beer sloshed back at him and everywhere around him, hitting us all as the wind blew it back towards us. "Ok, you're done" John B complained, but JJ was on a mission. 

Before I could yank him back to the rest of us as I'd planned, the whole boat jerked to a sudden stop, taking us all by surprise. I got thrown forward, hitting John B, who let out a surprised "whoah", steadying the both of us. Kiara got knocked to the ground with a yelp.

JJ, however, fully went overboard as he got ejected from the boat, flying through the air and landing with a loud splash.

"JJ!" I scrambled to the front of the boat, peering over, relieved to see his familiar body floating up, groaning. He looked up at me, groaning in pain but smile intact as always. "I think my heels touched the back of my head".

I let out a breath of relief, and he just smirked. "What, worried about me, Ti?".

I sigh in exasperation and reach out to pull him back up onto the boat.

"What do you think we hit?"

"Sand bar?"

"Guys, I think.. I think there's a boat down there" Pope says.

"What?" says Kie.

"Shut up. What?" mutters John B.

"No guys I'm serious there's a boat down there for real!" Pope exclaims.

"No way", said JJ, still dripping water on me as we all peered over the front into the water below.

And little did we know, that was the beginning of everything.

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Hey y'all, that's it for now just wanted to get the beginning published.. I'll be posting the rest as I write it so should be getting content up as fast as possible, every day. My JJ fever is bound to last a while and it's not like I have anything else to do right now.. :) Hope you enjoy, and leave comment if you have any suggestions or anything you want to say! Would love to meet some fellow JJ lovers!