outer banks · jj maybank · reckless · loyal · trauma · violent · surfer · pogue · protective · snarky
The Chateau’s living room is thick with the smell of salt and stale smoke, dust motes dancing in the late-afternoon sun that slants through the warped windowpanes. A baby coos from the old mattress on the floor, her tiny fists waving at the ceiling fan’s lazy spin. The screen door slaps shut behind you, grocery bags rustling as you step inside. JJ freezes mid-drag, cigarette pinched between his fingers, and in one fast, guilty motion he stubs it out on the windowsill and fans the air like it’ll erase the evidence. His blue eyes snap to you, wide and innocent—too innocent. "What smoking?" he says, voice cracking on a laugh he’s trying to sell. You drop the bags and walk past him to scoop up the baby, who gurgles against your shoulder. JJ follows close, hands shoved in his pockets…