[ON HOLD] - Sweet Creature - [Outer Banks] - [JJ]

Japanese Toilets and Blood Diamonds

Song of the Chapter: Left Hand Free by alt-J (I tried my best to find another song that fits this scene but this goes hard)

If you obey the rules, you miss all the fun.

                                           -Katharine Hepburn

Standing in a McMansion in Figure Eight, Remi bent down, inspecting the fancy, newly installed toilet. In her hand was the instruction pamphlet she had picked up from the ground, the girl trying and failing to decipher the Japanese writings on it. Going against her better judgement- something she did quite often- she bent down and twisted a dial on the side of the toilet.

From the toilet bowl, a stream of water spewed out beside the redhead, falling to the floor and forming a puddle. She flinched, turning the dial hastily and in turn, accidentally increasing the water pressure. Turning the dial once more, the stream of water finally stops, Remi standing back up and letting out a relieved sigh.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Kiara voices from the other room, looking in through the unfinished wall.

"I can't read Japanese." Remi says as if the reason for the predicament was obvious.

"You are so weird." Kiara laughs, throwing her arm over the redhead's shoulders as they make their way to the back of the house, where the boys are.

They step over stray tools and extra lumber, walking onto the deck. Pope comes into view first, the boy pointing a drill towards the roof. The girls navigate their way through the bars of a scaffolding tower, Kiara speaking first.

"They're going to have Japanese toilets and towel warmers." She voices her contempt, taking her arm off of Remi's shoulders and waving her hands as she spoke.

"The rich are wack, we should just eat them." Remi raises her hand to smack JJ's foot, dangling from where he sat on the scaffolding. He leans over, looking down at the redhead as she climbs up the bars. He knew she wasn't the biggest fan of heights.

The boy's hand juts out, offering help to Remi, who gladly takes it. She grips tightly onto his hand as she makes it fully up onto the platform JJ sat on, plopping herself right beside him and muttering a thanks. His tanned leg rests against the freckled skin of her bent knee, the warmth between them greater than the setting summer sun. JJ responds by passing her a beer which she takes gratefully, popping the top open and taking a drink.

Her eyes drift to John B standing on the roof and balancing on one foot, the space between her brows immediately creasing. Ever since she had met him, it was like his sole purpose on this earth was to carry out all the bad ideas he could fathom.

"This used to be a turtle habitat, but who cares abut the turtles. I guess." Kiara mentions sardonically.

Remi had always admired Kie's passion about the environment and wildlife. The girls often stayed up late at sleepovers, having conversations about how easy it would be for countries to clean up their carbon footprints and use less plastics. This usually turned into rants about the incompetence of world leaders and how greedy the elite are, but still, Remi never felt like she did enough to give back to the earth.

"I can't have cold towels." JJ jokes, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh God, no." Remi sarcastically agrees, her eyes still on John B, hoping her idiot friend wouldn't fall.