Strawberry Sunscreen - JJ Maybank - Outer Banks

Chapter 8 : Pilot || Part 8

The next morning, Elizabeth was the first to wake up to see the destruction from the hurricane. She had been able to sleep through the majority of the storm in the Camerons comfortable storm cellar. Quietly sneaking past the sleeping Sarah next to her, Elizabeth ran out to the dock, noticing that her boat was filled with sticks and debris. The girl quickly pulled everything off of her small boat, hoping that the propeller or motor did not sustain any damage. She turned her key in the ignition, praying that her boat hadn't been broken during the storm. Elizabeth raised her hands into the air in celebration as her boat roared to life in front of her.

"Here we go baby!" She laughed as she jumped into her boat and untied it from the dock. The girl facepalmed as she remembered that cell service would be out, so she wouldn't be able to tell Sarah where she was. Not wanting to dock up again, Elizabeth took the risk and continued her way around the water, heading towards the cut. Elizabeth wasn't naive, she knew that the cut would have sustained significantly more damage than her side of Kildare. And boy, was she correct. Powerlines draped themselves over trees and houses, boats were half sunken or beached, and trees had toppled to the ground. It was a rough site to see, as the cut wouldn't receive power for weeks-- and that's if they are lucky.

Elizabeth knew her way around the island waters pretty well. She had befriended a girl named Olivia who had lived in the cut before she met Kiara. Olivia was lucky enough to get out of Kildare when her dad was transferred to a different station. Until then, Olivia and Elizabeth would go out on Elizabeth's boat and cause trouble throughout the island. Olivia and Elizabeth had been friends since fifth grade, where both kooks and pogues were able to be schooled together. That was until high school where the two districts were separated into a public school versus the kook academy. Right as the two were supposed to be entering their first year of high school, Olivia was forced to move. Unfortunately, the distance caused the girls to drift apart as they hadn't spoken in months.

It only took a moment before Elizabeth noticed a familiar blonde boy walking on the dock of a small home nearing the end of the bay. He sat on the edge of the dock, taking in the damage surrounding the home. Unsure of their acquaintance status, the girl continued on as if she hadn't seen him.

JJ's head spun as he overheard the sputtering engine coming from nearby. He watched closely as the girl from the other day drove past, it being obvious that she was trying not to make eye contact with him. However, JJ was quickly able to notice her as she was the only moving boat on the lake.

"Elizabeth," the boy called out to her. "You stalkin' us or what?" The boy crossed his arms as he spoke, leaning against one of the dock poles.

Elizabeth turned her attention to him, steering her boat alongside the dock. "Yeah, cause you're special enough to stalk."

"What are you doing out in the cut by yourself? Isn't it cozier in kook paradise?" JJ asked her with a smirk.

"Real funny, Maybank. No way, I hate kooklandia. My friend used to live down the way so I come down here sometimes to see it. Wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to the house I guess," replied Elizabeth. "What are you guys up to today?"

JJ sighed, "John B said something about catching crabs in the marsh maze. Probably going to head up north."

Elizabeth sighed, "Yeah, I'm going to have to listen to Rose and Ward complain all day about this stupid hurricane while they don't do any of the work to fix it."

"Rough rich life," replied JJ.

The girl rolled her eyes but nodded. He wasn't wrong. "Those people are embarrassing. I can't believe I've been stuck with them." JJ grimaced at his feet, tucking his hands inside his pockets awkwardly as the conversation seemed to end. "Well, I'm gonna head back. I'll see you around?"