a/n: smut warning this chapter... cough

——

The bonfire has always been Outer Bank's tradition where everyone aligned at the same place every year. A year ago, Emelina would have never imagined she'd arrived in the Twinkie. Yet here she is.

Pope and Kiara were the first to exit the van, swiftly maneuvering around the already drunken teens. John B locked the vehicle and slipped the keys in the front pocket of his flannel before squeezing in between JJ and Emelina and throwing his arms around their shoulders.

"You guys better not make me a third wheel," he told them. Emelina pushed away his hand that began to shake her hair and mess it up, "Why don't you find that girl who gave you that note?"

"Hmm, that sounds like a solid plan." JJ nodded and pointed his finger in agreement.

John B playfully pouted, "Getting rid of me so soon?"

A random girl came by and handed John B a red solo cup and he mustered out a quick, "Oh my God, I missed you so much."

"And that's a sign for a shotgun. Em, you ready?" JJ looked over to the brunette. She nodded, the pain of her neck fading away as the days go by. The yellow bruises were still there, but it was nothing concealer couldn't fix.

"Yeah—" Her words were cut short by a cup being chucked in their direction. All three of them jumped back, then looked up at the sound of the thrower's voice. "Hey, derelicts!"

Emelina tried hard to hide the scowl forming on her face. The liquid residue from the cup left little splatters on her skin and clothes, but she said nothing as she recognized her as the note girl. "Hey, there she is!" JJ said and turned to his friend, "That's you. We're out of here. Good night."

John B stepped toward the girl and JJ slung his arms around Emelina's shoulder and guided her away. "C'mon, you still owe me a round."

"Do you think it's too soon?" Emelina asked, her eyes turning back to John B then returning to JJ. The corners of his lips curved upwards, "Didn't you kiss me right after you broke up with Topper?"

"And I'd do it again," Emelina peeled his arm off of her and stood in front of him, granting him a peck to the lips before pulling away. "And besides, that was different. My feelings for you never went away and they just met."

JJ closed his eyes for a second until he opened them again. "Sorry, I'm hearing a lot of John B and less of," His finger tapped his lips repeatedly.

She spun around to the coolers beside them and extracted two beer cans. He was frowning at the lack of kisses when she faced him. "The beer isn't gonna drink itself."

After handing him one, they both puncture a hole at the bottom and do a quick countdown in preparation for opening the tab and chugging it. The beer burned her throat, some escaping her mouth and trailing along her jaw down to her neck.

By the time she finished, JJ was already done and grinning down at her. "I win."

She looked at him through her eyelashes whereas his eyes followed the trail of liquid on her skin. "You got a little something there," he said and inched closer, leaning down to her neck to stop the trail with his tongue. She fluttered her eyes shut. It turned to sloppy kisses after, moving up to her jaw then to her lips after collecting every last drop.

"We've been here for less than ten minutes."

JJ and Emelina separated with an annoyed sigh and both Kiara and Pope came to view. "Who's ready for round two?" JJ asked, raising another beer in hand.

Emelina shook her head, feeling she might get sick if she chugs it for a second time. "I'm good."

"Pope?" JJ held out the can in a taunting manner in front of his face, "I think it's time to put those big boy pants on."

He swatted his hand away. "I'm the designated driver, dumbass."

"You're always the DD. Why don't we switch it up for a change?" JJ asked, his eyes moving to Kiara. She flattened her lips and showed him her red solo cup. "I am unavailable."

JJ huffed. "Fine, I'll find someone who dares to join this challenge." He squeezed Emelina's shoulder and walked away. Pope rolled his eyes and followed him, "I'll keep an eye on him."

"Have you seen Sarah?" Emelina asked Kiara, who shook her head in response. "Nah, I haven't. I don't really expect her to come."

"Yeah..." she sighed, then looked at the huge bonfire in the stone pit that created such warmth and light to the dark night. "Wanna dance?"

Kiara smiled. "I would love to," she said, forcing on a posh accent.

The music only seemed to be getting louder when they joined the huge crowd on the make-shift dance floor. Emelina moved beat with Kiara by her side, loving every moment because for once it felt like normalcy.

Mai tai in a can was served her way and drank enough to really feel the buzz of the party and thankfully it was working.

A few songs later, she found JJ a few yards away talking to a redhead. Normally, this wouldn't bother her, but the way the girl was offering a flirtatious smile his way made her stomach churn. He seemed oblivious.

She turned her head and saw John B dancing with the note girl. Excusing herself from Kiara, she pushed past the swarm of teens on her way over to him.

"Hey, JB," She slapped a hand on his shoulder and he smiled at her. "Hi, Lina. What's up? Did you lose the golden retriever?"

What he did not notice was her other hand slithering its way down his flannel pocket to sneakily retrieve the van keys. "No, he's somewhere with Pope. You having fun? Who's this?" She wanted to keep the conversation short, but not too short that it was obvious.

The keys discreetly slipped in her pocket, forcing a smile on her lips. John B cleared his throat, "Yeah, uh, this is Yvonne."

"Yvonne," Emelina repeated, still unable to find a reason to like her. Maybe it was her respect for Sarah—she wasn't sure. "Okay, have fun! I'm gonna go find JJ and Pope."

She dashed away from them and toward her boyfriend and sadly the same redhead. Her fingers grazed his clothed arm to make her presence known. He smiled. She did not.

"Hey, babe."

"What are you doing right now?" Emelina suddenly asked, ignoring the scoff by the redhead next to them. JJ furrowed his eyebrows, "Well, I—"

"How about me?" She didn't give him much room to react, minus his growing wide eyes when she pulled his head down for an intense kiss. He gave in straight away—hands on her waist, chest pressed against each other, mouths ajar.

Emelina heard a second scoff from the redhead and imagined her strutting away through her closed eyes. She pulled away, satisfied when she saw the girl no longer in their inner bubble. "Guess she didn't get the memo. That skank was all over you."

"Her name's Rachel."

"Don't care."

"Are you drunk?" he asked, his hand cupping her jaw to get a good look at her. It didn't do much, seeing as he was squinting his own eyes to concentrate. She pushed his grip away. "So are you."

JJ cleared his throat to hide his rising grin. "Were you serious about..." he trailed on, his fingers running along her arm. She whipped out the keys and dangled it in front of his eyes, "So serious. Look what I got."

He took it from her. "Did he willingly give this to you? He sort of... gave me a rule to abide by."

"No, I might have taken it without him knowing... What rule did he give you?" she asked, ignoring his proud smirk at her stealing tactics. He answered, "No sex in the van."

"What he doesn't know won't kill him," Emelina raised her eyebrows. JJ exhaled a breath, "I think you were made for me."

"C'mon," She grabbed his hand and led him all the way to the Twinkie. Luckily, they parked away from everyone since they arrived a little late and most of the parking spots were taken. Only the trees ahead could see inside their future mischiefs.

JJ forced the sliding door open, closing it once they were inside. The keys were tossed to the side and both of them found a few blankets from the back to place on the floor.

He wasted no time in pushing her back down, situating himself in between her legs and diving in for a kiss. It was rough, driven by their desires for each other.

Sweet nothings were whispered into her ear and it only made her want to pick up the pace. She discarded his dark blue flannel, throwing it behind him as he began running his hands underneath her shirt.

He pulled at the fabric of her shirt before taking it off completely, his lips finding hers again until they trail down her jaw to her neck, gently, then to her chest. He slid his hand behind her back to unclasp her bra with ease—a skill she never questioned, and placed his mouth on her skin.

She bit her lips to avoid a sound coming out of her and tugged at his shirt, refusing to be the only one with a bare chest. He sat up to take it off and when he came back down, she took the opportunity to push him on his back and reverse their positions.

JJ smirked. "You should see the view from down here."

Emelina rolled her eyes, leaning down to kiss him hard while her fingers played in his hair. His neck was her next destination, leaving kisses that earned noises from him and got sent straight down her core.

"J, I don't think I can wait any longer." she breathed out. Usually, they would take time to pleasure one another, but being in a drunken mess only amplified her neediness.

"Someone's a little desperate," he teased, but she knew he was just as needy due to feeling him hard underneath his jeans.

She moved down to sit on his thighs. "They'll probably start looking for us," she said and began undoing the button of his pants before pulling that and his underwear down.

He hissed when she touched him, hand running up and down to help slip the milky latex on. He watched her carefully. She picked a good day to wear a skirt, so when she slid her own underwear off, she was readily prepared to sink down on him. They welcomed the feeling.

JJ sat up again, his back pressed against the back of the passenger side seat as he held a grip on her hips. She screwed her eyes shut, adjusting to his size before moving again. His lips attacked hers again, muttering how good she looked on top of him.

He started to move with her, creating a rhythm and she forced her face in the crook of his neck to muffle out her moans. No luck in being found—although the thrill of it sent shivers down her spine and only made it more exciting.

His hands were touching everywhere on her body and she loved it. She held tightly on his shoulders, looking down at his dark blue eyes that were already staring up at her.

He always looked at her. Paid attention to her likes and dislikes. It always made it feel more real to her and she wouldn't trade places with anybody else.

The position switched as he forced her on all fours, resuming his pace inside of her. She was a withering mess under him and he took appreciation to that by vocally expressing it.

JJ was able to keep an inside voice. Couldn't say the same for Emelina and she wondered how he was able to because that was not the case when they were fully alone. They were lucky the blaring music outside was the only thing heard for everybody else.

He pulled her up so that her back was to his chest and he covered her mouth with his hand, "Sh sh sh. As much as I would like to hear your pretty voice, we can't risk getting caught now can we, princess?"

She nodded and he released his hand, cupping her jaw to turn her head toward his and press his lips against hers. He swallowed her moans that managed to escape.

He pulled away, his eyes now locked down on her chest as they moved to his movements. A quiet fuck was spewed from his lips at the sight.

His hips thrust upwards and it took everything in her to keep his word. She leaned into him and he kissed and nipped at her neck, blowing cool air on her skin once he was done leaving an additional bruise.

JJ slipped his hand underneath her skirt and started toying on the spot where she needed him most. A release was bound to occur from her and she quickly alerted him.

He told her to let go and she finally did, thankful for his hand clasping around her mouth again to minimize the noise. He followed soon after and pressed his lips on her shoulder to hide his voice.

"Holy shit," she hushed out, energy slowly vanishing from her body. "Yeah, holy shit. You're hot when you're jealous," he grinned, his hand ghosting over her stomach.

Emelina climbed off of him and grabbed her bag that was sitting on a seat and rummaged through it to collect a few wipes and clean themselves off.

JJ smiled and kissed her again, a lot softer than before, and could feel the exhaustion radiating off of him. She went to smile but stopped at an obscure sound. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what? A round two? 'Cause I'm totally up for that." he said and she shushed him, listening intensely to the noises outside.

"This night could not get any worse. I lost my fucking keys."

"That sounds a lot like John B," Emelina whispered and they both moved quickly to throw their clothes back on. The blanket was rolled up and thrown to the back. She took a mental note to bring it home and wash it herself.

Her hand was back in her bag to whip out perfume and began excessively spraying it everywhere. JJ waved his hand around and blew a raspberry as if it got in his mouth. "What the hell is that?"

"It's Chanel," she answered and shoved it back in the bag. Before he could say the word sounds a lot like channel, he was stopped at the sound of Kiara's voice.

"Maybe you left it inside—"

The sliding door opened to their three friends staring at them in shock. It was quite clear of their previous actions even if Emelina attempted to hide the evidence. Their swollen lips, marked necks, messy hair, foggy windows, JJ's shirt on backward all led to the obvious.

"Not in my van." John B whined, using his fingers to rub his eyes in disappointment. He pointed to JJ, "I thought I told you, man,"

"So, this is where you ran off to!" Pope gaped.

Emelina's hand secured around the keys that were previously thrown to the carpet floor and she held it up. "I found your keys," she smiled, hoping to rid of the embarrassment.

She felt bad, she really did, now that the desire of wanting JJ wore off. The only thing left was guilt and the knowing feeling of disrespecting her friend's wishes for her own selfish needs.

John B sighed, taking the keys from her fingertips. "How'd you even get them?"

"She stole it," JJ responded while tying the laces of his combat boots that he kicked off sometime earlier. John B looked at the brunette girl, "You stole it? JJ's bad influence is rubbing off on you, huh?"

Emelina feigned innocence, pushing her hair back and running her fingers through the strands as an attempt to comb it. JJ chuckled, "C'mon, John B, she's behaving like a true Pogue."

John B stepped forward and the light from the open van illuminated his face, showing a clear shot of the forming bruises on his face. "John B—what happened to your face?!"

"A fight broke out," Kiara answered and hesitated whether she should enter the van or not.

"A fight? It's a damn shame I missed it." JJ said. "No, you're not." Pope scoffed, leaning his arm on the side of the vehicle. JJ smirked, "No, I'm not."

Emelina ignored them and jumped out to inspect John B's face. "What happened?"

"Shit with Yvonne and—and Sarah. It was a whole fucking mess, but we gotta go, like, now," he said and twirled the keys in his hand before jogging over to the driver's side and hopping in.

Kiara called shotgun right away and Pope groaned loudly. "Thanks, Kiara," he said sarcastically, then turned to the couple. "Which seat did you guys not touch?"

"Well, we kind of did it on the floor—"

"Gah, I did not need to hear that." Pope covered his ears with his hands and stepped into the back. Emelina swatted JJ's shoulder once she got in and closed the sliding door.

John B parked somewhere safe after driving around for a bit. JJ, Pope, and Kiara all went inside a convenience store to buy some snacks. Emelina sat in the front with John B, cleaning the cut on his forehead. The first aid kit needed to be renewed.

She listened to him ramble, knowing that he likes to talk all his feelings out. "It's like everything that happened to us didn't matter."

"It did matter. A lot has happened in the past few days. She'll come around." she told him and put away the kit when she was done. He thanked her and grabbed a cool beer can to place it on his head as a temporary ice bag.

"Look, um, I'm sorry about... you know..." Emelina trailed on, not having the guts to say the words. "Hey, it's fine," he dismissed, "At least you guys are on good terms."

"Yeah," she sighed. Those three words and eight letters were still at the back of her mind, threatening to spill out of her mouth.

He seemed to notice her sigh. "Alright, enough about me. What's up?"

She looked at him, then to the three dancing Hawaiian figures on the dashboard. "Well, I've realized that I more than like him... and I don't know how to tell him."

"You love him?"

"Yes."

John B smiled softly to himself. "Did you know when you're not around, you're all he talks about? I'm serious. Like, earlier today at school, this girl at the front had a table of flowers and he just started talking about how you like them."

It was her turn to smile and she couldn't contain it. That probably sparked his interest to get her a bouquet in the middle of the day and the thought had her heart bursting.

"Look, I've basically known JJ my whole life. Since the third grade. And love isn't really his strong suit but... I see it with you guys. If you show him you love him, he'll believe you."

Their friends came back from the store and JJ leaned on the passenger side door and handed Emelina the plastic bag through the opened window. "I hope you guys weren't talking about me."

"You wish," John B replied and took out the Hershey's chocolate from the bag. Pope, now in the back, reached over and snatched it out of his hands. "Hey!"

"Those are for the s'mores!" he told him and threw it back in place.

When they reached the Chateau to set up a campfire for their s'mores and hot pockets, one of Limbrey's men came forward and demanded the key from Pope. If he didn't oblige, men hidden in the shadows were going to shoot their arrows. He had no choice but to hand it to him in defeat.

——

a/n: UMMDFNDJ that was my first (and last) s word ever so be nice omfg i was trying hard to avoid all the dirty words bye i hope i did alright but I DID IT FOR YALL (mostly for user starkeylovebot since she convinced me so praise her) anyway don't forget to vote and comment thank uuu <3