THE BONEYARD HAD THE SOFTEST sand of the Outerbanks, it was the perfect beach with the most perfect waves. It was an overall perfect place to throw such a big event like a Kegger. It's good qualities attracted Pogues, Kooks, and tourist alike. People could argue on which parts of the island belonged to who all day long, but the Boneyard belonged to everyone.

  Word gets out rapidly, it's a small island. The mention of a party will spread like a wild fire, and so the fun begins. The Pogues started off by using whatever little money lingered in their pockets to by red solo cups and a large metal keg. Only the pelicans joined for the first hour, teenage giggles of joy and the hiss as the beer was sprayed into a plastic cup filled the air. Of course, Kiara had a thing or two to say each time JJ chugged down a drink, crumbling up the cup and throwing it into the sand carelessly.

"No, go ahead and stab a dolphin while your at it." She would say, bending down for the hundredth time and disposing of the cup properly.

That didn't stop the fun, it hardly ever did. Within a few moments they were back to laughing, John B kneeling into the sand with his tongue out only to be met with a face full of fizzy beer. Pope steered away from any alcoholic drinks, instead staying hydrated by pouring a Gatorade into one of the solo cups and sipping on it.

"Cheers, Pirate." JJ lifted his beverage, bowing his head in Sierra's direction as she mimicked his actions. "To getting blacked out drunk!"

"Okay, slow down, cowboy." The girl giggled, chugging down half of her cup. She should really learn to take her own advice, knowing she'd regret the headache tomorrow. I'll never drink again, she would say, very aware of its consequence and yet she'd be the first on the scene of a Kegger every weekend.

"Got room for more!" A fellow Pogue shouted from afar, "I'll bring s'more beer!"

"And bring all your friends." John B replied, lifting his cup proudly. Those friends would then turn into groups, groups into crowds, and so on so forth. By the next hour, extra booze was provided, people piled in, and somebody had even brought a large speaker and blasted music.

The group had began to slowly drift from each other. John B chased after a touron he'd spoken to for literally a second before claiming that 'she will be mine.' Pope had also went to go sit next to a pretty girl and impress her with whatever anatomy facts he knew. Kiara was lost in conversation about zodiac signs. JJ and Sierra, like always, remained stuck together in their tipsy states.

"Yo, I swear there's like three of you right now." JJ slurred out, his expression wide with distress. "Who do I pick? They're all so hot."

"I don't remember having sisters, much less twin sisters." Sierra furrowed her brows, "Quick, ask for their names."

"What's your name!"

"Sierra."

"Oh, shit." The blonde mumbled, placing his hands on his head. "They even have the same name as you!"

"Then they aren't my sisters, Jay, they're imposters!" Sierra gasped dramatically, her body full of too much alcohol to even process the nonsense she was spewing out. But she was already taking JJ's hand, running in the exact of opposite of a straight line and collapsing into the sand only seconds later. They couldn't care for embarrassment when all they felt was the pain that began to sprout in their stomachs from the laughter.

JJ had toppled with her, fall cushioned by the sand below. His crooked smile so pretty in Sierra's drunken gaze, the most perfect thing she'd ever seen. The taste of alcohol only seemed to make things harder between the two. Their flirty behavior only enhanced, growing more physical then verbal. By the end of the night, if you wanted to find either of them then you'd always find the other.

"This is a comfortable place to sleep." JJ said, letting his limbs sink into the sand. "I wish I lived by the beach."

"Jay, you literally live right by the beach." Sierra informed, giggling like a little girl as she began to sit up.

"Oh, yeah." The blonde replied, staring up into the slowly darkening sky. "Sierra, you're so smart sometimes."

The girl smiled, leaning down to press a kiss on his cheek and exclaiming a loud mwah as she did so. "You're just stupid all the time."

"I do it on purpose, so you can always talk to to me." JJ confessed, feeling himself be tugged up into a sitting position. "I like talking to you."

"And I like talking to you." Sierra's wobbly legs began to slowly rise up, "That's why I always correct you."

"We have a lot in common." JJ stood up with the help of Sierra's weak grip. "We should make out."

"We should." The Ray girl agreed, but instead of taking action, she walked away. JJ followed close behind, not knowing where her destination was but simply not caring. Sierra ended up finding a cooler, luckily someone had brought backups like soda, water, and more Gatorades for Pope to sip on.

Sierra took a cold water bottle, chugging it down like she'd been deprived of the liquid for days. Even in her drunken state, she was wise enough to know that sobering up would benefit her much more than continuing to drink.

Despite JJ's whining that he wanted to explore more of the beach, Sierra remained seated on a beach towel that definitely didn't belong to her. Her dizziness had subdued, vision much more clear, and her eyes just watched as the distant sun had finally disappeared into the horizon. The classic hue of orange over the island was erased, now indigo with the dark night. The moon lit up the beach, allowing for some more illumination other then the small bonfires being lit up.

  She'd gotten lost in a day dream that it gave JJ enough time to leave and come back with a brand new drink. "Call me an inventor or what?" He swirled the dark liquid in his cup with an giggle, offering it to Sierra.

  She feigned a sip, knowing that the blonde boy wouldn't let up until he got her approval. "Amazing!" Sierra caught sight of a tall figure and his backwards hat covering the messy mop of hair under it. "Go and give to JB to try."

  JJ swirled around drunkenly, letting out a loud whistle to catch his attention. "John B!"

  "What're you doing?" John B couldn't help but chuckle as JJ stumbled with his steps before reaching him. Trailing just a few steps behind was Sierra. "Yo, what's up?"

  "Hey, man I got this for you." The Maybank boy stuck out the cup, some of its contents spilling out the sand. "Do you want it?"

  "For me? Yeah, I'll take a sip." John B's hand reached out, "Has Sierra tried it."

  "Oh, yeah, she loved it!" JJ proudly stated, looking to the girl who stood next to him. "Ain't that right, princess?"

  "Yup!" Sierra threw John B a thumbs up and a tight smile. "Lovely."

  "Yeah, see it's so goo—oh, hey, wait." JJ eyes suddenly drifted over to a blonde in a pretty floral dress. "Sarah! Sarah! Can I interest you in a tasty Milwaukee beverage."

  "No, thanks." Sarah politely refused, giving him an amused smile before tugging at her boyfriends hand as she began to leave. Sarah Cameron, the richest girl in the Outerbanks, and surprisingly, not all that much of a stuck up bitch. The Kook princess, as they said, her beauty and position in the county giving her that reputation. Sierra would've loved her, except for the fact that her and Kiara had a huge falling out in the summer of last year.

  Now, Sierra could only awkwardly stand there, looking anywhere but at Sarah. She knew that if Kiara even got a whiff of the Kook's presence near the Pogues, she'd be in a fit.

  "C'mon, is it not fancy enough for you?" JJ egged on, causing the girl to pause in her steps and give another kind smile.

  "No, we were just leaving and—"

  "Hey, you know what? I'll take it." Topper Thornton, Sarah's boyfriend and the worst of Kook's on the island. He was the typical, snobby, privilege boy that you would think only existed in fiction. But, there was one word that could describe the type of person Topper was, douchebag. "I'll—thank you, man. I appreciate it."

  JJ pulled back from Topper's extended arm, "That's nice of you to suggest that, Topper, but I didn't ask you." The blonde snapped back quickly, smiling but not in joyous way. "If you said pretty please, maybe, but you didn't."

  The look on Topper's face held disguised anger, a sarcastic smirk hiding his annoyance. "Ohh, pretty please? Pretty please?"

  "So Sarah," JJ began once more, ignoring Topper's words, "if you want it—"

  Topper's hand flew up, hitting the cup and splashing all of the liquid into JJ's face "She doesn't want it, you—"

  Sierra knew how the next chain of events would occur, with JJ's recklessness and the fact that Topper was a Kook, her hands were already lifting to hold the blonde back. It's not like she'd do much to prevent the fight, if it was up to her, she'd allow the them to throw all the punches they want. But, it wasn't, actions had consequence, and this action would see harsh consequence.

  JJ's grip on Topper's collar left as quick as it came, John B also joining in on pushing the Maybank boy away before he started something. "Nah, nah, nah, man."

  Pope was quick to step in too, seemingly out of nowhere, but he glanced between the two in worry.

  Sierra let out a sigh, getting between JJ and John B, hand gripping both of their arms. "Let's just go now, before shit gets worse."

  And shit did get worse, much worse, and within a blink of an eye. It wasn't an over exaggeration when calling Topper a douchebag, an asshole, a dickhead, any name in the book. He truly did live up to the insulting nicknames that were constantly thrown his way. "Dirty Pogues!"

  Two words. Two words and the peacekeeper of the situation was running at Topper and shoving him away. Pope only grew more anxious, looking around at the crowd that began to form around the two. "John B, we're supposed to be incognito, remember?"

  "We were just leaving, Topper, it's fine." Sierra held out a hand cautiously, beginning to step towards the brunette.

  It was like her words meant nothing, Topper was already raising his fist and swinging it into John B's face. Nothing anyone said was stopping him, not even Sarah as she loudly shouted at him from a few feet away. Maybe it was the chants of fight, fight, fight that fuel his already overfilled ego and made him suddenly deaf, or the fact that he truly just hated John B.

  It was a messy mix of shouts, some encouraging, some protesting, either way, the two brawled it out without second thought.

"Hey, John B, don't make me drown you like your old man, all right?"

  The comment and the way Topper turned around afterward, proudly raising a fist in the air nearly caused Sierra beat at his face herself. She was just as furious as JJ, who was shielded behind her from doing anymore damage.

John B laid on the shoreline, where the sand and water clashed together to soak his clothes. He stared up furiously at the figure in front of him, suddenly coming up to tackle Topper back down.

Sierra watched silently, her eardrum nearly bursting at JJ's chants that he shouted. On her other side, Kiara and Pope were begging to stop the fighting. Sierra was the only person in the large crowd that had formed to not utter a thing. She simply watched, each punch, kick, any hit the two got on each other and couldn't decide whether she wanted it to keep going or if she wanted to end.

It was until Topper had gotten the upper hand, John B on the floor and the Kook glaring at him from above. In a swift action, he gripped the back of John B head and shoved it into the water. Sierra's eyes widened at John B kicking and struggling against Topper's hand.

Sierra wasn't sure if she truly pushed herself to move or if her legs just did themselves, but by the time her mind cleared from the fog she was already moving her hands out to shove Topper away. Of course, the difference in build showed not even a flinch from the Kook, only a glare and shove to the ground to keep her away before continuing his actions.

"Yo, JJ come get your psycho girlfriend." Sierra heard him chuckled under his breath, she was quick to stand back up, fist balled up and ready but was suddenly pulled away.

"Let go!"

"It won't do you any good to fight, Si." Pope whispered, wrapping his arms around her arms and torso to keep her from moving.

"He's fuckin' drowning him, Pope!" Sierra stared at the scene, tugging away her arms but getting no avail.

Much like everything that lead to this fight, the next course of action came quick and was a fuzzy blur. With a faint click, a couple menacing words that slipped from JJ's mouth and suddenly the crowd began to dissolve.

Sierra wasn't sure what came after the gun shots.

—

  Surprisingly, Sierra woke up in her bed that morning. Albeit, suffering a minor head-ache and spotty vision, nonetheless, it was her own fluffy sheets she was wrapped up in. The room was warm, whoever covered her in all the blankets clearly disregarded the fact that no power meant no air conditioning as well.

  She sat up, hair messy, eyes squinted and staring into the pearly white wall that was directly in front of her bed. The window was cracked open just a bit, birds chirping like any other morning. Sierra slowly climbed off the bed, noticing suddenly that she wasn't in the clothes that she was wearing the night before. It was starting to get trippy, like it was all a very realistic nightmare. Either way, she needed to find her way to the Château and clear up whatever parts her mind erased. 

  "Good morning, Sierra." A familiar voice called out from her kitchen making the girl jump before walking out.

  "You're a police officer and break into people's homes?" Sierra questioned as she saw Officer Susan Peterkin, Sheriff of the Kildare County police department, sitting on her couch. The woman had taken over after the fatal death of the former sheriff, Sierra's dad. A robbery gone wrong they told her. Whatever it was, the woman had taken the role as Sheriff and as Sierra's parental figure. Mother gone, father dead, she was in just as bad of a position as John B.

  "I didn't break in, I have a key." Peterkin quipped by quickly, opening her arms as Sierra got closer. "Just came by to ask some questions."

  Sierra grumbled back a response, hugging the Sheriff tightly before pulling back. "It's too early for this, I haven't even ate anything."

  "I got you some eggs, bacon, and pancakes." The older woman pointed at the counter, where a styrofoam 'to-go' container rested. Sierra lit up, walking towards it before the sheriff spoke up once more. "Go brush your teeth first."

"Mama." Sierra groaned, throwing her head back in annoyance, closing the box back up and walking to her bathroom. The water ran cold as Sierra cupped her hands and allowed the water to fill it up, sipping it and spitting it back out. In a few minutes she was in the kitchen, sitting on barstool by her chipped counter and picking at the warm food with the plastic fork provided.

  "I came in to check on you, sweetheart, heard you got into a fight yesterday." Peterkin began, a mixture of a motherly sternness in her voice and professionalism. "You know how I feel about you getting into fights."

  "Well," Sierra spoke up through a mouthful of pancakes, "It was more me trying to end the fight, but ended up blacking out so I only remember bits and pieces."

  "And why is that you blacked out?" Peterkin raised a brow, staring at the teen.

  "Uh." Sierra swallowed, "Panic? Maybe the beers that I had before didn't help all that much."

  "Sierra Ray!"

  "What? I'm a teenage girl on summer break, if you didn't think I was drinking just a little then that's your own fault."

  The Sheriff shook her head, holding back an amused smile before squinting her eyes. "What am I gonna do with you."

  "Again, it's only bits and piece anyway." Sierra shrugged, chewing on a piece of bacon.

  "Well, in those bits and pieces, do you remember anything with a gun?" Peterkin asked as she stood, placing two hands on her hips.

Sierra paused mid chew before casually continuing, "A gun, you said?"

"Mhmm." Peterkin leaned her hip against the counter, "And I heard it was one of those friends of yours, JJ Maybank." She leaned down to look at Sierra who had her eyes focused more on the food in front of her. "Know anything about that?"

"Nothing." Sierra shrugged, looking up. "JJ didn't have a gun, not that I know of, at least."

"I get it, Sierra, he's your boyfriend—"

"He's not my boyfriend, mama." Sierra interrupted, "Just a friend."

"Well this friend has a track record, and being accused of havin' a unregistered firearm ain't all that hard to believe." Peterkin sternly accused, "Do you know of him havin' a gun, Sierra."

"He's getting better." Sierra defended, "He doesn't have a gun."

"Alright, then." The sheriff pushed herself off the counter with a frown. "Have a good rest of your day, honey."

"Thank you, you too." Sierra smiled softly, leaning into the quick embrace that Peterkin initiated before she left.

"I'm gonna go pay your friend, John B, a visit." The older woman announced as she opened the door, looking back at Sierra. "See if he had anything more to say."

The Ray girl guiltily stared at the door as it closed, stabbing at the last few bits of food but not bothering to eat it. Peterkin's was the closest thing to mother Sierra had ever since her father died, it was a pain to have to lie directly to her face.

A knock came only a few minutes after Peterkin's departure, it made Sierra furrow her brows as she walked towards the front door and slowly open it. In front of her was JJ Maybank himself, hands shoved in his pockets and looking down at his shoes.

He raised his eyes, slightly wide in surprise but a hesitant smile lifted his features at the sight of her. "Morning."

Sierra didn't speak a word, rolling her eyes but keeping the door open as a silent invite as she walked back into her house. JJ frowned, walking in slowly and shutting the door behind him.

"I just lied my ass off to the police because of you."

JJ awkwardly followed behind her. It confused Sierra, usually he'd burst through the door, loudly announcing his presence and raiding her pantry. "Thank you."

"A gun, Jay, really?" Sierra sighed, sitting back down. The blonde didn't follow, like he usually did, only fiddled with the cheap rings that wrapped around his fingers. "Sit, eat."

"I'm sorry." The blonde mumbled, taking the rest of what Sierra hadn't eaten. "It was an impulse thing, y'know, heat of the moment."

"I know." Sierra softly whispered back, leaning her head on her hand and just watching as he ate. "Is John B okay?"

JJ shrugged, swallowing down the food. "Was a little out of it when we dropped him off at the Chateau, but I don't know, I wasn't there this morning, I went home."

Sierra immediately frowned, "Why didn't you come here?"

"I knew you'd be mad at me." The blonde simply replied, not looking up, far too scared to see her expression.

The Ray girl went silent, "Only for a little while, I could never stay mad at you, JJ." His blue eyes trailed up, but no words left his mouth, they just looked at each other. Call it strange, call it flirting, but to them, it was an unspoken language.

"So does this mean you're not mad?"

Sierra smiled, standing up and kissing his head. "No, Jay, I'm not mad." She made her way to her room, it was close enough that she could still speak and JJ would be able to hear. "By the way, do you know who changed me into these pajamas last night?"

"Me, do you like 'em?"

"It's a old shirt and some shorts, there's not a lot to judge it on." Sierra paused, mid removal of her top. "Does this mean you saw me naked?"

"Yeah." JJ words were muffled through a mouth full of food, "But it wasn't anything I haven't seen before, just your bikini."

"Perv." The girl mumbled, slipping on her sandals and walking back out. "Did you bring your bike."

"How else would I have gotten here?" JJ quipped back, tossing the box and fork into a nearby trash. "Why?"

"Let's go visit JB, see how he's doing." Sierra replied, not waiting for a response as she walked towards the door.

—

  It seemed as though there was a memo that didn't reach JJ and Sierra as they trudge through the grass and towards the conversation nearby. Pope and Kiara already were there, sitting and making small talk in John B's messy yard.

  Speaking of the main man, the brunette was leaned up against a mini bar in deep thought.

  "What's up with him?" JJ was the first to ask, pointing at John B with furrowed brows. Pope and Kiara looked up, putting a pause on their conversation.

  "I told you they'd come together." Sierra heard Pope say quietly, making the girl in front of him roll her eyes.

  "Shut up." The Carrera girl looked at the two, "I don't know, he's just been that way since we got here."

  "Fun." Sierra huffed, taking a seat next to Kiara and grabbing the dusty ukulele that rested on the table in front of them. "What did I miss from last night?"

  "Well, after this dumbass went bang bang." Pope glared over in JJ's direction, who was seated on a old table and throwing rocks into the nearby marsh. "You went into this weird state of shock and we decided it was best to leave you at your house."

  "Okay, so..not much." Sierra nodded, strumming random cords into the instrument to create some form of distraction that came with the awkward silence.

  "Look, I'm calling it off, all right." John B suddenly said, catching everyone's surprised attention. Honestly, they weren't fully sure as to what he was referring to before he spoke again. "Peterkin said, if I stay out of the marsh, she'll help me with DCS."

  "And you believed her?" JJ shot back, looking him with disbelief.

  "Yes, I believe her, JJ."

  "An actual cop, John B. You believed a cop?"

  "All I gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a couple days, and she'll help me out." John B angrily yelled back, clearly frustrated by the whole situation. "It doesn't help that your ass was the one shooting a gun."

  "You know what I should've done?" JJ began, shaking his head in disapproval and tossing more rocks with force. "I should've just let Topper drown your ass."

  "Yeah, because Topper was going to drown me."

  "Sure looked like it." JJ retorted, standing from his position and walking towards John B.

  "Funny."

  "I mean, have you looked in the mirror."

  "Yo, chill." Sierra warned, rubbing her forehead but getting no acknowledgement of her words.

  "Tell me some more, come on." John B spat back threateningly.

  JJ took his a pause before leaning against one of the wooden pillar that held the sturdy canopy up. "They always win, don't they man?" The blonde scoffed. "Kooks versus Pogues, they always, always win."

  Kiara stared up with furrowed brows as JJ cursed and slapped away a nearby beach ball that hung from the ceiling. "It's okay!"

  "No, it's not okay!" JJ barked, "It is not! They don't want us to go down into the marsh, that means there's something valuable down there and you know it. I know you do." The blonde pointed at John B, then turning to Pope. "And I understand why you don't want to go, you're the golden boy, you got way too much to risk." His gaze shifted to Kiara, "And you...I mean, you're already rich as fuck anyway, why would you bother?" His eyes found John B's once more, "But me, you, Pirate? We got nothin' to lose! We really don't, all right?"

  "JJ."

  "And I know it didn't used to be that way for you."

  "I don't wanna talk about this."John murmured, his eyes subconsciously lowering in disparity. He began his way out from under the canopy, shoving past JJ when he attempted to open his mouth again. "I don't want to talk about it."

  "So that's it."

  "Just get out of my way, bro!"

  "John B, just listen to me." JJ stalked behind him swiftly, "I have a plan."

  "Here we go." Sierra sighed, catching both Kiara and Pope's unamused gaze.

  "You got the key to Cameron's big boat, right."

  "No."

  "There's scuba gear inside." The more JJ spoke, the worst the idea began to sound, that meant it was going in exact direction JJ wanted it to. "We borrow that, and then we go down to the wreck this afternoon, and that is what's gonna save if you man" JJ rested his hands on both of John B's shoulders, smirking softly. "You don't see rich kids going into foster care, do you?"

NATTI SPEAKS:
updated on 05-26-2024