Sea You Soon // An Outer Banks Fanfiction

7- I Got You

I couldn't bring myself to go inside, knowing that JJ was most likely sitting in the living room. I wasn't ready to face him yet. I didn't want to tell him what had happened on mine and Braeden's date because I was really just embarrassed about the whole thing. The two of us clearly weren't on the same page, and now things are going to be really awkward between the two of us.

I sat down on the front steps, buried my face in my hands, and started bawling harder than I had in a very long time. I was confused and I just wanted to go to bed, but going to bed meant that I would have to confront JJ first.

After about 15 minutes, I heard the front door open slowly. I heard JJ's voice, "Paisley, are you alone out here?"

I didn't have enough time to compose myself and hide the fact that I had been crying. I looked down at the ground and said, "Yes, I'm alone. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I saw Braeden's headlights when he pulled up, and I just assumed that you guys were saying goodbye, but 15 minutes is a really long time to say goodbye, so I figured I should come check on you," JJ spat out quickly, trying to explain himself.

I just sniffled.

"Wait, are you crying, Pais?" JJ asked, fully opening the door and coming to sit on the step next to me.

I winced because I knew that JJ was about to get mad. I knew that he was going to tell me that I was stupid for letting Braeden mess with my emotions. I knew that he was going to go off on Braeden. I just sat there and waited, my entire body clenched in anticipation. The anger never came. Instead, he put his arm around me and started rubbing my back lightly. I let out a huge sob.

"Come here," JJ said, putting his other arm around me, pulling me into a tight hug. I buried my head in his bare chest and kept crying. I noticed that he hadn't changed since he was in the hot tub.

"I'm not going to make you tell me what happened if you don't want to, but I want you to know that I'm willing to listen if you want to talk," JJ muttered.

I nodded in response.

After a few minutes, I lifted my head and asked, "Can we go inside? It's getting a little bit chilly out here." Goosebumps started to rise on my skin. JJ helped me up and we went inside.

"I'm going to head to bed now, I'm exhausted. We can talk about tonight tomorrow when I'm not in danger of bursting into tears again," I laughed, my eyes starting to tear up again. "Also, I'm sorry for getting my tears and snot all over you. That's really gross."

"It's all good. I need to take a shower anyway." I turned toward my bedroom as he added, "Paisley, if you need anything tonight, just come get me, okay? I'll just be right here." He pointed to the couch where my laptop was sitting. A look of deep concern was plastered on his face.

I ran across the room to him and gave him a tight hug. "Thank you, JJ. I mean it," I said, pulling away and looking him in the eyes.

He smiled at me and nodded, acknowledging my thanks. "I'll always be here for you, bug."

I rolled my eyes. "Are you really going to bring that stupid nickname back? No one calls me that anymore," I said loudly, already standing in the doorway of my bedroom. When we were little kids, John B started calling me his bug because I constantly annoyed him. I was "bugging" him, so I became known as "bug." I know, so funny, right? JJ used to think that it was absolutely hilarious, but he stopped using it once John B went missing.

I closed my door and quickly got ready for bed. Before I knew it, I was in a deep sleep.

In the early hours of the next morning, I was woken by the sound of my door slamming open and JJ yelling, "PAISLEY! YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT, THEY FOUND THEM!"

"What?" I mumbled, turning over in my bed.

"John B and Sarah were found last night. They're in the Bahamas," JJ continued to yell.

"Haha, very funny, JJ. Can you please go away? I'm trying to sleep like normal people do at, like, 4 in the morning."

JJ ran out of my room and came back a few seconds later with my laptop. He jumped on my bed and sat down next to me. "Paisley, look. Right here under the shipwreck thing. That's John B and Sarah. They have their pictures right here." JJ was pressing his finger into the screen.

I sat up and leaned my head on JJ's shoulder so I could get a better look at the screen. He was right. Under the shipwreck section of the feed was a picture of a very disheveled looking John B and Sarah with their names displayed underneath.

I looked up at JJ, my eyes starting to well up with tears. "Holy shit, they're okay. They're really alive."

JJ's eyes also started to tear up as well, but he quickly wiped away the evidence of his emotions. He was quiet for a moment before whispering, "I can't believe that we actually found them. We have to tell Pope and Kie. They can help us figure out how to get in touch with John B."

"I have to work at 12, and I'll probably see Kiara then. She's at The Wreck literally all the time. When does it open? 11? I should go then."

"Do you want me to come with you?" JJ asked, looking down at me.

"Honestly, I think it might be better if I just talked to her," I replied.

"I see how it is," JJ said, faking an offended tone. "You just don't want me around."

"If I didn't want you around, bud, I would've kicked you out a long time ago," I said, bumping into him with my shoulder.

JJ let out a yawn. "Okay, this is all really exciting, but I want to go to sleep now." He laid down and nestled into one of the extra pillows on my bed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I said, giving him a disapproving look.

"I'm going to sleep, duh. Well, at least I'm trying to go to sleep. It's kind of hard when you won't close your mouth," JJ sassed.

I was too tired for this shit. I laid down and turned my back to JJ.

When I woke up again, the sun was shining through my window. I moved to get up, but one of JJ's arms was draped across my waist. I didn't want to wake him, so I gently pushed his arm off of me. I went to my closet to grab some clothes, and I accidentally closed the door a little too sharply.

"Paisley?" JJ mumbled, still half asleep.

"Sorry, JJ. I'm just going to go get dressed," I said, leaving my room and closing the door softly.

At 10:45, I slightly opened my bedroom door and peeked in. JJ was still passed out. He looked really peaceful. "Hey JJ, I'm leaving to go to The Wreck. I'll be back around 7."

"Okay, be safe," JJ replied, rolling over.

I left the house and headed for The Wreck. I was hoping to catch Kie before the restaurant opened and she was too busy to talk.

When I arrived, I saw her unlocking the main entrance. I jogged to catch her before she went inside. "Kiara!" I yelled.

She whipped around and looked confused, trying to figure out who had said her name.

As I got closer, she saw me and acknowledged my presence. "What are you doing here, Paisley? I thought you normally don't start until 12."

"I don't, but I have something really important to tell you," I gasped, trying to catch my breath.

"What is it?" Kie said, confused.

"We found them. JJ and I found John B and Sarah. I mean we didn't, like, find them, but we know that they're alive and that they're in the Bahamas." I proceeded to explain everything about how JJ had been monitoring the news feeds for months, waiting for something to change. I pulled up the feeds on my phone so she could look through everything for herself.

Kie just looked at me, tears forming in her eyes. She threw her arms around my neck and pulled my into a tight hug. "Paisley, I'm so sorry for everything. I'm sorry that I didn't believe you and that Pope and I left you and JJ." She pulled back from the hug and put both her hands on my shoulders. "John B is really alive. We're going to get him back here somehow, and things are hopefully going to go back to normal." She hugged me again, and I could feel the tears running off her face.

I smiled. It felt nice to have my best friend back.