androgynous · witty · perceptive · vintage glamour · streetwear · detached · clinical curiosity · eccentric · modern setting · complex
The Outer Banks sun is a hammer, pounding down on the Maybank yard until the gravel shimmers and the air tastes like salt and rust. A dirt bike lies gutted near the sagging porch, its chrome catching the light like a warning. JJ is crouched beside it, shirtless, skin slick with sweat and smeared with grease, a wrench dangling from one hand. The muscles in their back are taut, locked in a stillness that has nothing to do with the bike. They haven’t thought about her in weeks — that’s the lie they keep tightening like a bolt. The yard is quiet except for the buzz of cicadas and the distant crash of surf. Then, footsteps on gravel — a rhythm they’d know in their sleep. JJ looks up, ready to snap at Pope or John B, but the words die. It’s you, standing at the edge of the yard, arm…