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Annabelle sat in the front seat of John B's car as they moved over the roads, heading to the boneyard where their party was going to take place. She slowly dragged the lipliner over her pink lips but instantly slipped as the car drove over a numb in the road.

"John B, what the hell." She sighed as she stared at herself through the mirror. The nude lip liner had made a mark on the side of her mouth making her look ridiculous.

"Sorry." He snickered, seeing her failed attempt.

She quickly wiped it off, shoving it back into the small bag in her lap knowing that there was no use that she'd attempt it again if she didn't want to show up looking like a clown. Instead, she carefully applied a layer of blush on her cheeks before dragging her hand through her black hair that framed her lightly make-uped face.

"Who are you trying to impress, anyway?" JJ asked from the back seat making her snap her head back at him, staring at him hard. She felt a strange stab in her stomach at his comment. She didn't care if it was a joke or not.

"Your mom." She muttered only loud enough for herself to hear as she turned back to look out through the front window. They parked by the boneyard. The party setting for any get-together as a teen in the Outerbanks.

Annabelle basically threw herself out of the van, letting her sandal-wearing feet meet the warm sand. She danced over the beach, in front of her friends who were struggling to carry the kegger they had stolen for Pope's dad.

JJ walked behind her, unable to tear his eyes from her figure as she danced over the sand, wearing a black dress with her hair blowing in the wind. Rings in variant sizes and shapes covered her fingers, her wrists draped in seashell bracelets along with her signature gold necklace that she had earned after her mother's passing, hanging from her neck. She looked beautiful and JJ felt a sudden rush off regret for what he had said earlier. She had played it off with a sly comment back but he could tell that it had affected her. But his mouth soon shifted into a slime at the sight of Annabelle stumbling across the beach - the shot that she and JJ shared before leaving had clearly already taken effect.

Suddenly he felt a punch to his side.

"Hey, focus, lover boy." John B, smirked making JJ return his attention to the kegger they were currently setting up. He cleared his throat before assisting him, glancing back at the girl who had made her way over to the ocean with Kiara, dipping their toes in the water as they giggled. A warm flicker sparked in his stomach but he quickly pushed it away.

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It didn't take long before the word of the party had reached every teenager in Outerbanks. Not just pouges but kooks were pouring into the beach. The kooks didn't appreciate spending any time near the working class but the rule of the two tribes didn't exist at the boneyard. While the two classes didn't speak, they still hung out in each other's presence.

Annabelle had been separated from her friends, drunkenly stumbling around the many faces, chattering and babbling to most of them. She danced her way through the crowd with a bottle of.... something? She wasn't sure at this point but didn't matter as the liquid flowed into her mouth without her paying any mind to the flavor that burned in her throat. Soon, she found herself chatting with a blonde boy she had picked up along the way. She was usually the flirt, most times without even trying. Don't get her wrong, she wasn't some kind of slut. However, people often mistake her for one but the truth was that she rarely ever got past the chattering. After all, she did have some self-respect.

The boy had gorgeous blue eyes and extreme muscles that sat tensed under his tight shirt. Freckles could be seen on his nose, but only if you were close enough and Annabelle was.

The two sat on a log as the boy rambled about his job at a dog shelter. However, Annabelle had lost interest a while back and now mainly focuses on admiring him. She supported her head with her hands, smiling back at him as she nodded every now and then pretending to still listen. Soon, the boy chuckled upon realizing that she wasn't paying much attention.

"You still with me?" He laughed snapping his hands in front of her face making her snap her head up.

"Yes, you were just telling me about your dog trainer job." She said confidently to which he chuckled once again,

"Dog shelter." He corrected her. "What was in this?" He asked lifting the now empty bottle that she had been holding onto when they met.

"Nooo idea." She dragged out the words her eyes shifting to his drunkenly. "It was good though."

The boy smiled and Annabelle watched as his gaze trailed down to her lips and she suddenly regretted not putting any makeup on them. She felt her heart beating in her ears and redness brushed over her cheeks. Before she knew it, she was slowly moving towards him with her gaze plastered on his lips before she was suddenly slapped with reality. As she realized what she was doing she quickly stood up but was almost brought back down as the drunkenness washed over her at the sudden motion. Her sight blurred slightly and the world was spinning making her fall backward but before she reached the ground she felt a hand on her back and waist.

"Woah," The boy gasped, laughing nervously as he held her up. "You okay?"

Annabelle was hit with a sudden nausea and it took her several moments to make everything around her spin slower. As she had finally caught her balance she realized that she wasn't in any state to be alone. She needed to get back to her friends.

She mumbled something short to the boy before getting out of his grip to walk away. There was nothing wrong with him but she'd much rather be with her friends in the car on their way home than lost somewhere with some stranger.

But as she placed her food in front of the other she instantly felt her body titling to the right along with her surroundings making her crash to her knees in the sand.

"Hey, hey, hey." She heard the boy say behind her and he helped her up. Vomit burned in her throat but she somehow managed to keep it down. The boy's hands were once against placed on her hips and while Annabelle didn't see him as any threat she wasn't fully comfortable with the way his hands held onto her.

"I need- I need to get back." She blabbed drunkenly as she brushed some hair out of her face.

"I'm not gonna let you walk alone. You'll get yourself hurt." He said and Annabelle smiled knowing that his intentions were nothing but good. But before she had a chance to say anything back she watched as someone grabbed the blonde in front of him, roughly shoving him back.

"I got her, alright," Rafe growled while the boy stared at him in slight shock. He held him tightly by the collar, looking unsettlingly enraged. "Do you even know her?"

"No, but I was-" Was all he managed to say before Rafe cut him off.

"Then what are you still doing here, huh?" Rafe said and towered over to boy, looking down at him tauntingly. The boy's gaze ping ponged between Rafe and Annabelle while his jaw tensed. Rate let go of his collar harshly and the boy grabbed the rim of it to even the fabric before walking off.

Rafe instantly turned his full attention to the drunk girl behind him. "Hey, you good?." His voice sounded worried. Annabelle sighed. She was way too drunk to be handling Rafe. She wasn't even sure why he was there. The two were borderline enemies since their old relationship as well as the fact that Annabelle was friends with Rafes number one enemines- the pouges.

"What the hell, Rafe?" She roared at him. Every word brought her one step closer to throwing up and all she wanted was to find her friends and get home. She was drunk and angry which was never a good combination. She hated Rafe for treating the boy like that. She could handle herself and she didn't need his help or protection in situations that he had no business prying in.

"Don't do that, Bells." Rafe huffed. Bells. The nickname that Jj had claimed as his own but the truth was that it was Rafe who had called her it first. But she would never tell JJ that.

"I don't need your help." She spat at him through gritted teeth.

"You clearly do. I just watched you fall to the damn floor." He grunted as he stepped forward, grabbing her arm a bit too harshly to lead her away.

She was about to stop him, knowing that she had no interest in being walked back to the Cameron house. But they barely made it two feet before Rafe was pushed backward by a blone figure. Annabelle immediately recognized the tall frame. JJ. She stumbled at the loss of support, grabbing into something... or someone? She turned to see Kiara holding her up as she stared in front of her with two worried eyes.

Annabelle shifted her attention to Rafe and JJ who were now looking more like two predatory animals looking to rip each other to pieces.

"She told you, she didn't need your help." Jj roared.

"Don't touch me you dirty-" Rafe was ready to take a swing at the boy but was held back by two kook boys that Annabelle assumed were his friends.

"What did you call me?" Jj shouted at him and took a harsh step forward but Kiara immediately rushed in front of him, using all her strength to pull him away from the fight.

Everything was spinning in Annabelle's head to the point where she didn't hear most of the fight. She just watched JJ and Rafe shout something at each other before being pulled away by their friends. As JJ had calmed down he pulled Annabelle close, helping her lean on him.

"You didn't have to be so mean. He was helping me." Annabelle stumbled over her words, giving JJ a perfect understanding of how much alcohol she had consumed. Way too much.

"Okay, let's get you out of here." He said, assisting her as they traveled through the crowd to find John B. The brunette stood with a cup in his hands by the water, not far from where they had parked the van. "Wait, here I'll get John B," JJ said as he slowly placed the girl on the small step to the front seat of the car.

"Feel free to throw up anywhere away from the car or John B will kill you." He sent her a smile before he turned to get his best friend.

Annabelle rested her head against the side of the car door, closing her eyes in hopes of making the world stop spinning. Nausea and a headache throbbed through her body making her goan to herself.

Her eyes were abruptly shot open at the sound of yelling from the beach. After a moment of letting her eyes adjust to the sudden opening, she watched John B and Pope push JJ off Topper, also known as the kook prince.

Annabelle rose to her feet, holding onto the car for support. She rolled her eyes seeing that Jj had managed to get into yet another fight.

"Hey, look who decided to join!" Topper hollered as she noticed the black-haired girl from afar making every pair of eyes shift to her as she struggled to keep herself on her feet. "The pouge slut!"

JJ didn't waste a second before roughly shoving Topper backwards, his hands clutching onto his fancy shirt staring at him with eyes flaming in hatred. "The fuck did you call her!" He screamed in his face, making spit fly everywhere. JJ's jaw clenched and his muscles flexed as he held the kook boys collar so tight it could suffocate him.

Annabelle stepped away from the van that she was leaning against, taking a couple of steps forward. Pope and John B were quick to shove the blonde away from Topper, forcing him backward. "He's not worth it. Let's just go."

JJ gritted his teeth, his jaw clenching evens tighter, revealing a vein that looked like it could pop any second, as he stared at the kook boy.

"Dirty pouges," Topper muttered which didn't go unnoticed by John B who used all his strength to push him back to which he swung his fist at the brunette's face. The contact was heard all the way back to Annabelle who gasped seeing John B fall to his feet upon the impact of the punch. Several scattered gasps and shouts came from the crowd that had formed a circle around them. Annabelle tried her best to stay on her feet as she pushed through the cluster of teenagers before stopping in the front, her concerned eyes meeting JJ's

Suddenly, Topper put all his force into a kick, that connected with John B's ribs making him grunt as his body was shoved into the water. Annabelle took a sharp step forward, stepping into the formed circle that people had stepped away from. She screamed at the kook boy to stop, joining up next to Sarah Cameron who too was yelling out for the boys.

"Hey, don't make me drown you like your old man, alright?" Topper taunted the helpless boy with a smile on his face. Pure anger took over Annabelle's senses and she bolted forward but was quickly brought to a halt as she felt Sarah's hand grip her wrist.

"Don't." The blonde told her.

"Get your kook hands off me." Annabelle attempted to get out of her grip but the Cameron girl was six shots more sober making her earn the upper hand immediately.

"You can barely stand," Sarah said.

"Well, I don't see you helping?! That's your boyfriend out there." Annabelle raised her voice.

The two were interrupted by the sound of Topper, placing another more violent kick to John B's stomach making him fall back in the water. The crowd around them cheered for the two to fight, laughing and pointing at the scene in front of them. Annabelle watched as John B rose to his feet with his eyes narrowed at Topper, who had turned his back on the boy to egg the crowd on.

Suddenly, the pouge boy rushed forward, tackling Topper to the water. But the two boys were quickly back up on their feet spriting at each other once again.

"Guys, stop!" Kiara shouted as she had just joined the group. She grabbed Annabelle's wrist, holding her as they both watched in horror as the fight got closer to them. The boys now stood face to face on the beach, walking around in a circle with their clutched fists in the air.

Annabelle felt Kiara tighten her grip on her wrist as John B's fist collided with Topper's cheek, the boy grunting loudly before they began to circle each other again. A panicked gasp escaped Annabelle's lips watching the kook boy swing back, his fist making contact with John B's eye making him lose foot grip and stumble back.

"Topper stop!" She cried out, locking eyes with the boy who grinned devilishly at her as he turned back around to swing again but John B managed to dodge it, shoving him back into the water.

"Come on Topper! Let's go!" John B kept adding comments to get him to stand back up and fight him. Topper hurried forward, connecting a few weak punches at him before earning one back in the face. John B chuckled loudly and Annabelle immediately understood what was happening. John B was getting too cocky which never was a good sign in a fight. She remembered when her father used to teach her self-defense in their backyard and he always reminded her of one thing and that was to never let her guard down. Do that and you'll be giving the upper hand to your opponent on a silver tray.

Topper saw the opportunity to grab John, shoving him over his shoulder, letting his body slam into the water with his face down. Annabelle's eyes widened in horror while Topper held his head under the wavy water. The brunette tried to fight against his grip, gasping and squirming violently under him.

"Get off him! Stop!" She cried out in panic. Several moments passed without him letting go. Annabelle sucked in a deep breath before marching forward. She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or adrenaline that took over her senses as she stormed away from Kiara and Sarah, screaming for Topper to stop as she moved closer to him. She grabbed him by the collar, desperately trying to force him off her best friend. Topper released his grip on John B for a moment allowing him to lift his head over the surface to gasp for air.

Topper placed one hand back on the pouge boy's head while using the other to fight off Annabelle. She used all her strength to dig her nails into Topper's back. He wailed out in pain before building enough force to shove the girl to the ground with a thud. The back of her head collided with the sand, sending a harsh pain through it but she quickly sat back up again to see JJ place something to Topper's head.

She blinked rapidly until she could finally see what he was holding clearly. All the air left her lungs in the form of a heavy exhale as she realized that he was pressing the black gun against the back of his head. Her lungs seemed to shrink to half their previous sizes and her body crawled backwards. The cluster around them instantly fell silent upon realizing the same thing.

Topper froze as JJ clicked the safety off. "Yeah, you know what that is. Your move broski."

The kook boy slowly placed his trembling hands in the air as a sign of surrender. In the corner of Annabelle's eye, she saw the crowd hurry away from the fight.

"Come on, dude, chill!" Pope shouted.

Annabelle wanted to say something but she was completely stuck, baffled by what she was seeing. She felt Pope help her to her feet and she was finally snapped out of her trance.

"JJ, stop!" She shouted.

"Put it down!" Sarah yelled.

"Did you say something, princess?" JJ chuckled and Annabelle frowned seeing him amused by the moment. 

"We're good." Topper repeated, his voice shaking in fear. He slowly got to his feet and JJ turned around, marching toward the frightened crowd.

"Okay, everyone listen up!" He roared as he raised his gun in the air. "Get the hell off our side of the island!"

Two shots were fired from his weapon making panicked screams erupt from the cluster of people that were heading away from the scene. Annabelle flinched at the sound that rang in her ears, throwing her face against Pope's shoulder. She noticed a slight grin on JJ's face making her march towards him. Placing two hands on his chest, she shoved him back roughly.

"What the fuck, JJ!" She growled at him. "You idiot!"

Tears had formed in her eyes. She was way too drunk for this.

𝟑𝟎𝟑𝟓 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
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𝐀/𝐍
I loved this chapter bcs the tension was so fun to write.
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