Chapter Text
xx.
It was a long year, well ten months.
It was a long ten months of being away from his people. Sure, they wrote or spoke over the phone when he had service but to see them and hug them and just being with them, was different.
Pope was finishing his semester for the next two weeks.
JB had about another week of finals and reports before he would be home with Sarah in tow.
Kie had written saying she would be home within a few days of him returning, how her volunteer trip to the Galapagos was to end soon and that it would take some time to travel back home.
It was not the homecoming he had hoped for, but they would be all reunited soon enough.
JJ exited the uber bringing him home from the airport and slung his duffel over his shoulder, staring at his childhood home. His ears honed in on listening for his dad being home and less of the Uber car's tires leaving down the driveway of rocks.
It seemed silent, like no one was home... like his dad wasn’t home.
JJ threw his duffel onto the porch, unzippering it and digging in until she found an old t-shirt and pair of cargo shorts of his and a baseball cap was sitting on a table on the porch.
Fate
Changing into his clothes he threw his uniform back into the back before zippering it, throwing the cap lazily onto his head. Backward of course.
He didn’t want his dad to be the first person he saw after being away for ten months. So, JJ walked, he walked into town, after his few miles he suddenly was reminded how hot it would get in the OBX even right before summer hit.
“Jesus” He grumbled wiping the sweat from his forehead, turning another corner.
He passed a few locals along the way, nodding a hello until he reached his destination. Not even realizing that this is where he had even wanted to go.
Opening the door he steps into a familiar smell of sweet corn, saltwater, and seafood, The Wreck was a piece of home he didn’t know he missed so much.
He stepped in a little further, a server smiled at him while passing with a tray of steamed shrimp sizzling in his ear. Tourons fighting with their children as they throw fries back and forth to one another's faces. A local man named Ron, one of Luke’s old friends is already torn up at one end of the bar, cackling over probably what was his own joke.
JJ decided to take the other end of the bar, away from Ron. Safe to say that he likely couldn’t see anything three feet in front of him, let alone JJ at the other end of the bar.
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Mike Carrera dropped a crate down on the counter acknowledging the boy's presence.
“How are you doing, Mr. Carrera?” JJ held out his hand, standing up waiting for the man to shake it.
If Mike was thinking anything, he didn’t say it though his raised eyebrow was loud enough. Mike took JJ’s hand and shook it though, reaching over to pat JJ’s shoulder.
“I’ve been pretty slammed but not too shabby, how about you?” Mike lets go allowing JJ to sit back on the stool. “Does Kiara know you’re home?”
“Yeah, I talked to her not too long ago and told her when I’d be back.”
“How long are you in town for?”
“I’m not too sure, to be honest, could be a year and some change. I just got back today.”
“Well welcome home, first meal back’s on us.” Mike reaches over to grab and menu, placing it in front of him.
“Oh, you don’t...” JJ starts to say, wiping his sweaty hands on his shorts.
“I insist.... I’ll be back once I put this in the fridge.” Mike picks the crate up again, slowly starting to walk away. “Better start looking.”
JJ lets out of shaky sigh once Mike’s out of sight and reaches for his phone sending a quick text to Kie, unsure if she’d even have cell service. He takes of picture of the menu, captioning it real fast before sending it to her.
So apparently your dad likes me now... free meal
There was an almost immediate response to his message.
God, I hope this doesn’t replace our friendship
JJ chuckles a bit before typing out
I f the man serves me the platter... game over
Again, with the immediate response.
Fair enough Maybank
“So, what’s it going to be?” Mike comes back placing a Mountain Dew in front of him, his favorite. It had thrown him off for just a second to realize that Kie’s dad had remembered what his favorite drink was. “Let me guess, the Captain's Platter?”
And his favorite meal.
“Yes sir.” JJ cleared his throat, “Please.”
“One Captain coming right up.” Mike pats the counter before going back to the kitchen.
“Well damn...” JJ mumbles, that was odd.
JJ finished up his meal and surprisingly had a few conversations throughout with Mike, Anna walking by saying a quick hello before disappearing again. JJ waved goodbye after leaving a solid tip on the counter for his best friend's dad and walked into the town again.
He found himself walking home afterward, unwillingly but still, nonetheless. He hadn’t heard from JB or Pope since texting them that he was home, while he had been waiting for his uber at the airport. He almost kind of wishes he had hung around the base until his friends returned home, but the idea of surfing and being at least closer to the idea of his friends seemed better.
He knew he could just go stay at the Chateau until John B got home and decided to kick him out. Except there was this nagging feeling of guilt that JJ couldn’t let go of, he hated his old man, but he had to go see him. At least once.
He’s met with his unmoved duffel bag as he slings it over his shoulder and slowly opens the front door to enter. He questions whether or not he should call out for his old man but decides against it. He moves into the house, placing the bag onto the kitchen table careful not to hit the beer cans that had piled up for what would seem like months' worth but in reality, are probably just days, if not hours.
He steps further into the house quick to avoid the scraps of his father’s messes around the house to avoid making noise. Nearly stepping on an aluminum beer can or the crunching of a chip bag left in the middle of the living room. JJ finds his father in the same position he had left him almost a year ago, passed out on the couch.
Below at his feet is an empty medicine bottle, which he kicks sending it flying across the room. His dad was completely oblivious to the house.
“Welcome home.” JJ kicks this time take-out container out of his way while heading to his old room. He takes his old backpacks and starts packing them with clothes, deciding to take them all with him. Basically, anything and everything from his room would be going with him, whether JB liked it or not, they were now roommates. No way in fucking hell he was staying here.
Deciding that there was no way in hell he would be able to drag everything to the Chateau and took the old 1998 Jeep, it may have taken three attempts to turn her over, but she purred like a chain smoker and worked like a charm.
The drive is short, and the fresh air of the open-top is welcomed. He rides along the water, soaking in the salt waters smell and coolness and the Chateau comes into view.
Home.
Pulling in upfront he grabs his bags, going up to the turtle statue that’s sticking out like a sore thumb but was Kie’s idea to place there. The turtle stored the extra key to the place for when they were all away. Kinda ugly but also kind of genius looking on it now.
He jiggles the handle before having to push it open as it’s already begun to stick due to the heat.
Throwing his bags onto the floor he turns around to shut the door, but two hands grab his arms holding them behind his back as another body covers his eyes and a voice is low in his ears.
“You move, we shoot.” The voice is low and deep but too feminine to actually be a man.
“What the fuck.” JJ manages to get out of the grasps and raises his fist to meet the assholes who grabbed him but before the fist could reach the culprits, he hears a familiar giggle and another set of hands pulling him back from behind.
“Surprise!” Sarah yells, her hands letting go of him once he’s pulled away from cold-cocking his two best dudes, in front of him.
“Welcome home, asshole.” John B charges at him, pulling him into a hug. “I missed you, bro.”
“Holy shit.” JJ chuckles wrapping his arms around him, returning the hug. “Dude, I thought you guys weren’t going to be back for weeks.”
He steps back, their arms still reaching out for their shoulders.
Looking around the room, they’re all home.
“What the actual, fuck?” JJ couldn’t stop smiling, reaching out for Pope to bring him in for the hug next, moving to Kie and then Sarah.
“Figured we’d surprise you.” Kie smiles, happy her plan came together.
“But school?”
“We finished last week,” Pope explains.
“Dude, couldn’t wait for this semester to be done.” JB shakes his head, “Now we’ve got all summer so how about we take advantage of all of us being here together.”
“Are you telling me what I think you’re telling me?”
“Kegger?” John B smirks holding out his hand for JJ and confirms while doing their handshake. “Kegger.”
_____________________________
Not much had changed from being away for almost a year. He didn’t think it would or wasn’t sure why he thought it would. There was still the same type of people who came out to the Boneyard.
“It’s hard to believe that in less than a year of being here, the place is still functioning,” Pope comments throwing a beer in JJ’s lap.
“Good to see this hasn’t changed.” JJ holds the can up, popping the top. It takes less than seconds to down in. “Mmm... piss warm beer the taste of OBX in the summer.”
When JJ hears the sound of a twist top popping instead of a pop he stares over at Pope’s hand, judging the liquid coming from the top.
“I can see what did change... dude what the hell is that?”
“Shut up.” Pope stares at him with a less than threatening tone. “They’re popular at school, so what?”
John B gave a comical eyebrow raise before raising his can for cheers. “Happy to have us all back.”
“Ayeeee!” Kie hollered, hugging the side of Sarah while they drank for their own cans.
“I gotta go take a piss.” John B announces throwing his can into the fire.
“Hey!” Kie scolds but JB is too fast to hear her begin a lecture on why aluminum cans don’t burn and how it’ll lead to marine complications.
“Hey.” Sarah nudges her friend slightly whispering, “JJ saved the dolphins.”
“At least someone cares, thank you.”
JJ winks at her, throwing the burning stick he used to get the can back into the fire.
The party goes on around them and at times they join in. Chatting with some of their old classmates, exchanging stories of either college or life. They just graduated and yet it seems all so distantly in the past.
Shortly after one AM when JJ finds Kie slumped against a tree log, blunt between her fingers.
“I’m so fucking jealous.” He sighs scooting down to sit beside her. “I miss weed.”
“Oh shit, that’s right you can’t have it can you?”
“Nope.”
“Please don’t ask me to put it away, I don’t think I could actually do that right now.”
“Just take a hit for me, ok?” Kie smiles putting it to her lips before taking a long hard breath in. He rests his head against the tree and sighs. “So, you quit college, huh?”
“Yup. I didn’t make it back in time for the start of the semester, so they gave my classes up.” She shrugged as if it were no big deal.
“You seem devastated.”
Kie chuckled, “My parents were upset enough for the three of us, trust me. I just didn’t want to go, nothing about the idea of coming home to college made me want to come back.”
“So, what did?”
Kie had thought about this for weeks, probably almost months if she was being completely honest with herself. She had written letters or talked to him on the phone (when he was able to) since the start of her trip. Her first semester would have been ending by now, but she didn’t make it back in time.
Her parents had paid for her first semester and put a deposit down on her apartment but four months into the trip she didn’t want anything to do with books or classes. She found herself giving her parents excuses after excuses as to why she couldn’t return, extending her volunteer work weeks at a time until her parents put their foot down and booked her a flight home a week before when the classes were to start.
She didn’t make it.
Her parents didn’t talk to her for a week after that and another week after that when she told them that she wasn’t going to be going at all.
They told her she was making the biggest mistake of her life.
She would never amount to anything if she didn’t go to college to get a degree.
That even her low-life friend JJ had managed to scrape together his life enough to get out of this town. (Kie didn’t dare mention her parent's disgusting comment to JJ when telling him all this one night over the phone. She had already given her parents shit for their comment.... like they knew anything about her friends anyway.)
“I’ve actually been home for a few weeks.” Kie confesses, “I just told you that I was still traveling so we could surprise you. But I’ve been working on something really cool that I’m excited about.... actually, there’s a couple of us working on something together.”
J hadn’t seen her this excited about something in the longest time, probably not since their high school community service hours while watching everyone pick up trash for three hours on the side of the highway.
“Well.... what is it?” He asks popping open another can of beer.
“Well...” Kie mimicked back, “I met this guy name Arrow during my last program before I came back home. He doesn’t live far from here, so we decided that we were going to develop a group of people like him and me. You know... people who just wanna make good in the world and have others want to, too.”
“His name’s Arrow?” Kie shoved JJ lightly
“Seriously? That’s all you got from that, making fun of his name?”
It was an honest response, seriously who is this guy?
“For real JJ, this could be the beginning of something really cool. Could you imagine the awareness we could bring to the OBX? How much we could salvage here?”
She wasn’t wrong, the OBX has been a victim to tourists for decades and it seems to be only getting larger in size each year.
“I’ve got big plans.”
He was a little too drunk to be having this conversation with Kie, but he wanted to hear about her big dreams.
“Is that so Carrera?”
“You just wait and see, when we get that money released, I’ll have the biggest plans you’ve ever seen. I’m going to open up a hut and that hut will be just about the most inspirational project this island has ever seen. Volunteers will be flocking to come to join.”
The money.
One year and two months to go until the money was released to JJ. They may not have been able to convince the government that the four hundred mill should be theirs but a sold eleven was to be released to them each when they turned twenty-one.
It almost doesn’t feel real to think that in just a little over a year he’ll have millions of dollars, but it is, it will.
“A millionaire.” JJ whispers.
“May Daddy” Kie laughs at her own joke.
“Wow did you just actually makes the world's lamest joke?” JJ laughs into his beer. “And it actually be a play on Mac Daddy?”
Kie laughed even harder.
So... yeah, she was definitely drunk too and high.
“So terrible.” He started to laugh with her again.
“Arrow is going to be a great partner.” So, they were back on the Arrow topic now. “He’s already so attentive with the planning and trying to coordinate things back here. He should be coming to town within the next few days, I really want you to meet him. I think you’d like him.”
JJ hums, finishing the last of his drink.
“He surfs too.” Kie keeps going on about the guy from the Galapagos, telling him about how he taught her a move on the board that she can’t wait to show JJ and teach him. And about how their plans involve the sea turtles and creating a safe place for children, teens and adults could watch them hatch or even help with the process if needed.
To say he was saved when someone tripped over him would have been a word to describe how he felt until he realized that it was one guy he didn’t want to see, ever.
“Watch where you’re going bud.” The words rolled off the tip of his tongue, he really wasn’t planning on saying anything, but you know... Shit happens.
"Oh, look we've got here Kelce." Topper smirks shoving his hands into his pockets, kicking the spilled liquor bottle he just wasted closer to Kie and JJ where some of the leftovers splash onto them.
"Let's just get out of here." Kie grabs JJ's wrist to pull him up with her, but JJ had different plans.
JJ stepped forward taking the edge of Toppers shirt to wipe the vodka off his forehead, but Kelce shoved him back before it made it to JJ’s head.
“The fuck is wrong with you?” Kelce questioned watching JJ bounce off the tree, catching his balance on his two feet.
Kie kept her hand around JJ’s wrist pulling herself closer to his side, closing her hand tighter when Topper stepped forward.
“Think that’s smart, boy?”
She tugged his hand behind her back, her shoulder going in front of his slightly. She could feel him tense up as Topper got closer.
“It’s cute that you’ve got your girl playing defense for you, does she hold your balls too?”
“We’re leaving,” Kie announces pulling JJ with her
“Damn Kiara, your ass is looking fine in those shorts.” Topper whistles low, “Kelce, do you think?”
“I think Rafe is missing out on that fine piece of ass tonight.”
“You fucking asshole,” JJ calls, yanking his arm out of Kie’s grip charging at them.
He could barely hear Kie’s pleads for him to stop as he just completely throws himself on top of Topper pounding them both into the ground.
There’s a fist to his temple, a fist to his nose, fingers at his eyes, he manages to swipe at him a few times with his own fist contacting an eye, then a jaw and it just goes back and forth.
He’s pretty sure he blacks out because soon the sound of Kiara’s voice drifts away completely until he becomes lightheaded and next thing, he knew he was catching his balance against someone or something. He can’t be sure exactly who or what though.
The ringing in his ears starts to go away and his vision is blurry, but he hears talking. He’s being forced on the ground next by someone and he feels coldness on his cheek.
“Sometimes you’re an idiot.” That’s Sarah, that much he could tell.
His eye is swollen, that much he could tell by trying to open them. The left was blurrier, and his jaw was sore.
“What were you thinking dude?” Pope’s voice was heard next.
JJ blinks slowly trying to refocus on those surrounding him.
His eyes falling on someone unfamiliar.
“Who?” Was all he could get out
“He’s the one who saved you from having your ass laid out on the sand.” Kie’s voice was harsh and mad. “What were you thinking? There is one of you and two of them and newsflash JJ, you don’t have the best track record against them. You should be fucking glad Arrow was here to stop them...”
“Arrow?” JJ winces, grabbing at his throbbing head as if that would stop the throbbing. He blinks again trying to focus on the man in front of him, the unfamiliar one who now has a name. “You’re Arrow?”
“Hey man, I’m sorry to meet you like this...” JJ tries to stand up but collapses back to the ground, Arrow goes to reach for him, but JJ slaps his hand away. Making Arrow apologize, “I’m sorry, I didn’t...”
“JJ.” Kie warns
“I don’t need your fucking help.” JJ slurs his words reaching out for John B who wasn’t that far from him. “I want to go back JB.”
John B gives Kie an apologetic smile, kissing Sarah goodbye and tells her he’ll see her back at the Chateau before pulling JJ up with the help of Pope.
Most of the way home was a literal blur but hazy in the form of memory. Before he knew it, he felt the comforter under his body and the sound of footsteps and the door closing.
He passed out not much longer after that but he’s almost certain he felt softer hands tug through his hair, and it definitely wasn’t his imagination as he felt a cold pack being placed on her chin. But he couldn’t force himself to open his eyes to confirm his suspicions of who it was.
But he knew.