Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the Outer Banks. I only own my OCs.

A/N: Here I am writing a fanfic for a show I never thought I would write about. I'll be honest I didn't get into Outer Banks the first time I watched it. I only made it to episode five and then just gave up. However I recently decided to give it a second shot and holy shit am I ever glad that I did. My OC Maribel Mendoza has become my current obsession. I'm having fun planning Maribel's story with the other Pogues and her relationship with JJ.

Believe me I have plans for this story.

Isabela Merced is the face-claim for Maribel and Areliz Benel is the face-claim for Estefanía.

I hope you guys enjoy this first chapter.

Chapter 1: The beginning of summer

"Are you sure you want me to cut your hair this short?"

"I'm sure."

Maribel Mendoza gave a determined nod that was seen in the mirror by her aunt. Then as if to give the older woman extra reassurance, the teen threw a smile at her. That seemed to do it.

"Okay, here we go." Estefanía Mendoza proceeded to grab her styling scissors and carefully began cutting her niece's precious long dark brown hair. Estefanía had honestly been shocked when Maribel said she wanted short hair. Her niece always had long hair, the only exception when she'd been a child. But now she wanted a change for whatever reason Estefanía didn't know.

Maribel knew the reason for the sudden change though.

Kildare County High School let out today and the teen wanted to start off her summer with a change. A huge change. She wanted her long hair that reached her mid-back to be cut shoulder length instead.

Maribel lowered her eyes from her reflection as her aunt continued working on her hair. She would wait until the haircut was finished to see the final result. Now, what was the perk of knowing someone who's skilled at cutting hair? Never having to pay for a haircut again. Maribel never had to after moving in with her aunt at the age of five.

Her Aunt Estefanía, who was a hairstylist on the side (amongst doing other small jobs), mainly earned their income working as a waitress at The Wreck. Even now at the age of thirty-two. If her aunt had finished college like she was supposed to, Maribel knew she would have had a better job. Estefanía certainly wouldn't still be living at the Cut either.

The sixteen year old carried around so much guilt for ruining her aunt's chance at a better life. Estefanía only dropped out of college at the age of twenty-one to become her legal guardian.

And why did she become her legal guardian? Well, it was because Maribel's parents sadly were no longer alive.

Maribel's father, Isaac, was the first to die at the age of twenty-five. Isaac was a Pogue through and through. From what Maribel knew her father worked odd jobs and one of them was in construction. Isaac had an unfortunate accident resulting in a fall that he never recovered from.

Maribel's mother, Mary, was not a Pogue. She'd been a Kook. Her family's last name was Fox. The Fox family was one of the most prominent families on the Outer Banks. They came from old money and were very well known. So for obvious reasons it caused a major reaction from both Kooks and Pogues when prim and proper Mary Fox decided to run off and marry rebellious Isaac Mendoza. They both had been nineteen at the time.

According to what Maribel's been told (by her aunt) about her parents, they didn't just marry on a whim. They really did love each other. So much that Mary was willing to be with Isaac despite her family's disapproval that eventually got her disowned. Mary didn't care as long as she got to be with Isaac. She loved him so much.

But Mary also loved Isaac so much that supposedly she couldn't live without her husband and died not that long after his passing. Not even a month passed before she went while she slept. Her death over the years had become a local legend. One Maribel could never escape from hearing.

"Your mom didn't die from a broken heart." Her Aunt Estefanía told her when she was twelve years old during Estefanía's lunch break at The Wreck. This was seven years after the passing of both her parents. By then Maribel was starting to hear more and more about the local legend of her mother being so heartbroken over her father that she died because of it. Her aunt, unlike a lot of people, disagreed.

"She had a weak heart from a heart condition she was diagnosed with." The older Mendoza family member said to her with a scoff. "People have a need to romanticize everything nowadays. Don't listen to them."

And so Maribel didn't listen. Or she at least tried not to. It was a difficult thing to ignore when people would stare and whisper in her presence.

What her aunt told her was the truth though. Her mother did have a weak heart but it was Maribel who had weak lungs. Figures that the only thing that she would inherit from her mother was something medical, even if it wasn't the same medical thing she had. The teen supposed she should be thankful her heart wasn't the issue. Having asthma still sucked. She'd even been hospitalized before because of it. The main trigger for her was stress, so that's why she tried being as mellow as possible.

Except Maribel certainly didn't want to go out the way her mother did. She did go while she slept but dying while in mourning? To lose the person you love after giving up everything for them? Now that's tragic. When Maribel's time came (hopefully way later in her life) she wanted to be at peace.

Maribel Mendoza did not want to personally experience a tragic love story like that. Ever.

The teen tended to get sad when thinking about her deceased parents. And having her aunt doing her hair added to that. Maribel kept thinking that her mother would never again be able to offer this sort of comfort to her. She cleared her throat, putting aside those thoughts.

If Maribel continued down this path with these thoughts she would start to cry and today was too good of a day for crying. She had just let out today and summer was now here. Not only did that mean no more homework, but also more time on her hands. Time not only for her friends, but also to be more helpful.

"So listen, now that I'm on summer break I was thinking I can get a job." Maribel casually brought up. As expected, that caught her aunt's attention.

There was a brief pause in Estefanía's movements. "A job?"

"Yeah, like helping make deliveries with Pope and JJ. Maybe even working at a store in Figure Eight." Maribel added the last part rather quickly.

"Figure Eight?" Maribel didn't need to look up at the mirror to see Estefanía's puzzled frown. "Where there's a bunch of Kooks?"

Maribel knew her aunt also meant where she could run into her mother's side of the family. Like her grandparents. Arthur and Rowena Fox made it abundantly clear that they wanted nothing to do with Maribel. They weren't the only ones who thought this way about her. Maribel had other family members on her mother's side who thought of her as trash.

The only one who she didn't get completely bad vibes from was her mother's younger sister. Her Aunt Andrea. But Maribel supposed that could be because she'd only spoken to the blonde a few times.

And really the most positive thing Maribel could say about Andrea was that she didn't stare at her with hatred. Although she could be hiding her disdain. If that were true then Maribel would rather she'd be honest about it like her grandparents and the rest of the Fox family. At least they weren't faking.

"Figure Eight where they pay good money." Maribel corrected earnestly. She looked at her old converse, her voice softening. "I just want to help."

The snip snip from the scissors was loud this time. "Where would you even work?"

Her aunt pushed some hair from her shoulders, tickling her neck. "Um, I heard that this fancy shmancy vegan ice-cream shop is hiring."

Estefanía was taken aback. She knew what ice-cream shop her niece was talking about. There'd been advertisements even in the Cut about the new shop. "You want to work there? Don't they wear those ridiculous uniforms?"

"If I apply and get hired, sure." Maribel replied before groaning. "And yeah the uniform is super ridiculous with its pink colored shirt and matching hat but it pays well."

Normally Estefanía would be against Maribel getting a job. However that was because she'd be in school, and passing with good grades was what her niece needed to focus on. But now Maribel was out of school, and had more time on her hands.

Estefanía doubted she'd be able to tell her no this time with her listening. Her niece was stubborn. A lot like her and how Isaac had been. But she also knew she got that trait from her mother. After all, Mary had been stubborn enough to go against her own family to marry Isaac.

"Fine but just for the summer and you're only working part time." Estefanía let her know right away. Once school began in August her niece's main priority would be studies again.

Although Maribel liked to say that she wasn't as smart as her friend Pope, Estefanía still believed she was smart enough to at least get out of the Cut and earn an honest living. It's all Estefanía wanted for her niece.

Maribel smiled. Coming from her aunt she knew that was better than nothing. "Sounds great to me."

The two of them remained quiet after that. The only noise being the sound of Estefanía's scissors as it gave the finishing touches on Maribel's hair. Snip snip.

Finally the haircut was complete.

Estefanía brushed away loose hair from Maribel's shoulder. She gently ran her finger through her niece's hair, pleased with how it turned out. Even though she liked the haircut, it was Maribel's opinion that mattered.

"There. All done." Estefanía backed away from where her niece sat in front of the bathroom mirror. "What do you think?"

Maribel eagerly looked up from her shoes to stare at her reflection. Her big brown eyes widened not only by what she saw but also what she felt.

The sixteen year old's head felt so light. Her hair hadn't been this short since she was a little girl. And the most major thing she did to her hair before now was get bangs. Maribel learned that lesson the hard way when she got bangs in the sixth grade. Never again.

But this short haired look? Amazing. She chastised herself for not cutting her hair short sooner. It was still her in the reflection, just different. A good different, in Maribel's opinion.

"I love it." Maribel smiled showing her teeth. She slowly ran her fingers through her now short locks. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Estefanía said, setting down her styling scissors. "And I'm glad you love it because I wouldn't accept any other responses."

Maribel laughed before sobering. She stood up and walked over to her aunt to hug her. "Te quiero muncho, tía."

Estefanía hugged her back with no hesitation. "Yo también, cariño."

The good thing about being on summer break now was no longer having to worry about having enough time to finish your homework for the next school day. Maribel particularly enjoyed not having to stress over AP Spanish Four.

About an hour passed by since Maribel's haircut. Maribel had showered and changed. She was now playing her father's old acoustic guitar. She was doing a cover for Yellow by Coldplay when she was called by her aunt.

"Maribel ven aquí! Your boyfriend's here!"

The teasing in the older woman's voice made Maribel lightly laugh as she put down the guitar. The sixteen year old feigned confusion as she exited her bedroom and walked into the living room. "Oh yeah, which one?"

Maribel couldn't stop herself from smiling when she saw one of her best friends' in her small living room with her aunt.

JJ Maybank and Maribel Mendoza had been friends since they were six years old. How exactly did this beautiful friendship start? It started when Maribel accidentally stepped on the toy car JJ had been playing with and in retaliation the blond ate her PB&J and drank her grape juice. Despite the rocky start the two somehow ended up being friends.

Maribel and JJ met John B two years later in the third grade, followed by Pope and then Kiara, who was the last to join their group of misfits.

Kiara joining the friend group was something Maribel would be forever thankful for. Maribel loved her guy friends but having so much testosterone around her was a lot to handle sometimes. Kiara there with her balanced things out a little bit. It was still three guys against two girls but it was nice to have another girl around. Especially one who was cool like Kiara.

Maribel and Kiara instantly connected the moment they met. The girls now even had matching dolphin tattoos. They were the best of friends. The only time Maribel really questioned their friendship was when Kiara attended the Kook Academy for Freshman year.

Kiara's 'Kook year' as Pope tended to say. That wasn't a fun year for Maribel for various different reasons. The main one being that not only did Maribel feel like she was being abandoned by Kiara, she also suffered a severe asthma attack that had her hospitalized for three days.

It made sense why Maribel did her best to not think back on the pain she felt during that time. Kiara ended up returning to Kildare County High School after Freshman year and Maribel had been so happy that she never brought up how alone she felt during Kiara's 'Kook year.' She was just glad she had Kiara back.

So aside from JJ, Maribel was most curious to see Kiara's reaction to her new haircut.

Maribel leaned against the living room wall as she watched her blond energetic friend.

"What do you mean which one?!" JJ spluttered in dramatic fashion. He took off the hat he was wearing and put it on his chest. "I'm floored Mar. I thought I was your one and the only." Then as if just noticing there was something different about her, his blue eyes widened.

Maribel laughed again. Yup, there's the reaction I was expecting.

"Holy fuck! You cut your hair!"

JJ then became silent. Something that was not a JJ thing. It made Maribel's confidence deflate. She nervously ran her fingers through her now short hair. "What? Is it bad?"

The blond Pogue finally shook his head from the daze he'd been in. "Fuck no." He exclaimed with a grin. "You look hot." He'd just been so shocked that he literally went speechless for a moment there after his little outburst. JJ wasn't expecting Maribel's long hair to be gone when he was there to pick her up. But this new short hair look? He was so into it. He really meant what he told Maribel.

Maribel felt her cheeks warm up. She was about to say thanks when a sterner voice spoke first.

"Oe!" Estefanía called out, alerting her niece and JJ that she was still there.

JJ had the decency to look at least somewhat sheepish as he raised his hands in the air. "Sorry ma'am. What I mean to say is that she looks great." He gave Maribel a wink making her blush even harder. She was relieved the blush on her cheeks wasn't easily noticeable thanks to her skin tone.

Estefanía rolled her eyes. "What did I say about you calling me ma'am, JJ?" She was thirty-two not fifty-two. Being called ma'am made her feel way older than she was. In her mind she liked to think she was still in her twenties. God she missed being able to eat whatever she wanted without having to worry about blood pressure and all that other crap that comes with aging.

"Right." JJ nodded his head as he put his hat back on. "Well you don't look over twenty-five." He said smoothly.

"Sweet talker, huh?" Estefanía let out a scoff. She looked at her niece. "This is what you put up with everyday?"

Maribel shrugged her shoulders. "He grows on you."

"Yeah, like mold." Estefanía retorted. Ten years and she still had to get used to trouble-maker JJ Maybank.

It may seem like she didn't like JJ but that wasn't true. JJ in a way reminded Estefanía of her brother Isaac. The life of the party is what they were. So sometimes it was difficult for Estefanía to be around him.

But JJ did score major points from her because he was a good friend to her niece. She remembered how worried he was when her niece had been hospitalized from an asthma attack, and that he refused to leave Maribel alone for those three days. It's hard to hate someone that cares so much for a family member of yours.

Estefanía knew JJ Maybank was a good person behind his cheeky exterior. It's just too bad he could be so annoying at times.

Except if Maribel's friendship with JJ lasted this long, then Estefanía knew it was a meaningful one. Though it was obvious both teens liked each other more than just friends. One would have to be blind to not see that their feelings went beyond just being platonic. But Estefanía would let those crazy kids deal with that themselves. She'd be on the sidelines giving halfhearted warnings to JJ when it came to her niece.

"I've heard that mold is actually good for you." JJ added, sounding so sure. "Cause you know it's a natural organism or some shit."

Maribel stifled a laugh.

Estefanía immediately opened her mouth as if ready to lecture him but then closed it. "You know what? I'm not even going to argue with you on that." She let out a sigh, running a hand through her dark locks. "So where are you off to with this one?" She asked her niece.

"We're gonna join the others and just hang out." Maribel easily answered because she wasn't lying. That's exactly what they were going to do. She just left out where exactly they were hanging out. Of course the older woman already knew.

Estefanía grinned. "Oh yeah? Have fun at the Boneyard then." She wasn't that old that she didn't remember her own time spent at the Boneyard. She had a lot of fun memories that happened there. It's also where her brother Isaac met Maribel's mother Mary.

She wasn't strict with her niece about going there because she knew Maribel would be responsible enough. Maribel wasn't a heavy partier like some of the other Pogues. Sure she knew how to have fun and let loose but she also knew when to say when. Her and Pope had that in common. But between the two of them, Pope was definitely the more cautious one. Although it was difficult to remain that way when JJ Maybank's was one of your best friends.

"You have your inhaler?" Estefanía asked Maribel with a more serious tone. Her niece always confirmed that she did but that never stopped the older woman from asking.

"Yeah." Maribel patted the pocket of her shorts.

JJ whistled. "I wouldn't let her leave her house without it."

Estefanía narrowed her brown eyes at him. "Remember JJ." She pointed at him with a stern look. "Keep your hands to yourself."

"I would never do anything indecent to Mar. I'm a gentleman." JJ told her before cracking a grin. "I'd totally use protection."

"He's kidding!" Maribel forcibly laughed, pushing herself off the wall she'd been leaning on. She quickly made her way over to him. "Totally kidding."

JJ tilted his head. "Wait, so you don't want me to use protection?"

"JJ shut up." Maribel whispered, pushing him out of the front door. "Bye tía!" She shouted over her shoulder.

The teen heard Estefanía grumble something before the door shut behind them. She looked at JJ as they walked over to where John B's old VW van was parked. "You just like pushing her buttons don't you?"

"Your aunt loves me." JJ smiled, putting a hand over Maribel's shoulder.

Maribel huffed out a laugh, falling easily into his embrace. It was a natural thing to do. "I wouldn't go that far."

"Fine, maybe she doesn't love me but you love me, right?" JJ asked so nonchalantly but on the inside he was eager to hear Maribel's answer.

Maribel wrapped an arm around JJ's waist. "I wouldn't put up with half your shit if I didn't love you JJ."

JJ squeezed her shoulder. "Aw, Mar you know exactly what to say to me to make me feel all tingly inside." He glanced down at her, happy to see her nose scrunch up in that adorable way of hers.

"Shut up!" Maribel laughed again.

As they neared the old VW van Maribel got a better view of the rest of the Pogues. John B was in the driver's seat and Pope in the passenger seat. The door was open and Kiara was sitting waiting for them, so obviously she was the first to see them….and Maribel's new haircut.

Maribel smiled when she heard Kiara's excited yell at seeing her now short hair. John B's and Pope's reactions soon followed after that. JJ gave Maribel's shoulder another squeeze, whispering to her again about how great she looked.

The start of Maribel's summer break was looking good so far. She had high hopes that it was going to be a memorable one.