Four months after John B and Sarah disappear, everything in Outer Banks is strange. JJ and Kiara are hardly talking. Pope is hardly around. And storms keep coming. That is until Kiara decides to visit the chateau after work one day and finds a puppy stuck in the destruction of the night outside. Being the animal-lover that Kiara is, Kiara knows that she can't just leave him, even if he's damaged. A work of fiction working on snippets on how a puppy can change lives for the better and show two idiots in love what they could be.

This is my first story on a show that I have been obsessed with. This work is also available on AO3 but I keep finding technical issues on that. I hope you guys enjoy. I have also changed them to being 18 in this story to help my story move.

They can't be gone.

It's not fucking fair.

That's all Kiara can think of. Ever since she saw the boat go into the distance, Kiara couldn't stop crying. She can't stop wondering why they didn't just hide them for a week to avoid the bad weather. They then could have made it.

Here she was, sat in the middle of JJ and Pope, waiting for Shoupe to come back with the news that cannot be good. She reaches out to both Pope and JJ, taking their hands as a way of support. Support? No. They're her only life lines left.

John B was the glue. It's hard to think about what will happen without John B being there to calm the group down when something happened. Even harder to think about how the three leftover Pogues are directionless without their moral compass. Kiara's life is undetermined. She cannot even think of a future without the good ol' leader John B.

She can read her boys like a book. She always has been able to. Back when she originally met the boys from the bad side of Outer Banks, she immediately read their personalities. John B the leader. The other two would follow him anywhere; that was extremely clear to Kiara. Pope was the brains of the bunch. As soon as Kiara met Pope, Pope rambled on about what happens to a corpse in the first twenty-four hours after death. Interesting? Sure. Creepy? Hell yes. But that is what made Pope, Pope. JJ was slightly harder to read at first. He was all over the place the first time Kiara met JJ- calling her Kie and ignoring any attempts of her real name. Kiara thought he must be the hyperactive kid in the group. Then, Kiara saw how many times JJ would show up to the chateau with bruises. Kiara then believed him to be the reckless one. Always looking for a fight. It wasn't until that night in the hot tub that Kiara understood that JJ's bruises were not always from fights with Kooks- they were fights (read: beatings) from his father. That night changed how Ciara read JJ. JJ was broken.

Kiara being able to read the boys meant that she could make a pretty good guess about what was going on in their heads at this very moment in time.

Pope keeps nodding and murmuring every time someone walks through the tent entrance. Pope is the optimist. He's thinking of all the possible ways in which John B and Sarah may have made it to safety. Because... hey! Pope doesn't believe in death until there is a body to see. There has been no sign of John B nor Sarah's bodies meaning that they can't be dead.

Whilst Kiara is crying, and Pax is whispering, JJ makes no noise. He keeps his jaw clenched and his eyebrows furrowed. Kiara knows this look. He's holding it all back to make sure that he doesn't break a strong persona that he has created. It's a look that often shows up at the chateau after JJ has been at work at the garage or has been home to make sure that his dad hasn't drowned in his own self-loathing.

Time seems to be standing still, yet everything seems to be happening at once. It feels like hours later even though it's only been thirty minutes by the time that Shoupe returns to the left behind Pogues. Shoupe seems to be having a hard time holding it together.

Like he knows how this feels.

"We've lost the boat." It's such a simple sentence that is loaded with too much meaning. Kiara doesn't hear anything after that statement, even when Shoupe keeps trying to talk to her. It's a sentence that Kiara had been expecting, but she didn't want to believe.

They can't be gone.

John B is strong.

Sarah is stubborn.

Pope keeps shaking his head, denying the truth behind Shoupe's words. JJ keeps still, completely contradicting his normal hyperactive self. Kiara cannot sit still. Kiara cannot fight the tears that keep falling. Kiara cannot think straight.

Everything after those words goes by in flashes for Kiara. Shoupe trying to soothe the issue at hand. JJ finally moving. Only moving to hit Shoupe. But still moving. Pope finally letting a tear fall down his shaking body. Their parents arriving and seeing them in a mess. It's too much to handle, even with her mom's arms wrapped tightly around her and the soft whispers from her dad "you're going to be okay".

None of this is okay.

...

The emotion is high, so high that it takes all of their parents' power to pull the three Pogues away from each other. Well, Pope's parents and Kiara's parents. It is times like these that really make a show that JJ's only family is the Pogues. His only safe place is the chateau. And now, his whole family dynamic is changing. JJ's best friend- no. JJ's brother John B was gone and JJ is not very hopeful that he'll ever come home.

With Pope and Kiara going home in their respective cars, JJ is left outside the tent in the rain alone. Pope's parents had offered a safe place to stay for JJ, but JJ knows they're only offering because they had to. It was the right thing to say. So, that is why JJ is sitting on a soaked bench on his own. JJ is left with his own thoughts.

They're gone.

They're not coming back.

It's not entirely JJ's fault with how negative he is being about the situation. JJ has only ever had bad things happen to him. His mom runs away from him, his dad beats him- blaming him for everything, the gold being taken, the fucking Kooks taking everything from him. And now? John B and Sarah are gone. And all JJ can think about is how this is all his fault.

It was JJ that convinced John B to go for the gold. It was JJ that insisted that they needed to find the fucking gold to avenge Big John. Fuck. This all happened because of the gold. It all happened because of JJ's recklessness getting in the way of everything again.

He should cry, he should show how he is feeling. But the tears won't come. They can't. Ever since Luke first hit JJ on JJ's fifth birthday, he knew to not show his emotions. If JJ shows his emotions, it's a sign of weakness. A sign for Luke to keep hitting. Keep kicking. Keep threatening. All because, as JJ's beloved father would say, he needed to stop acting like an emotional bitch and handle it like a fucking man. And JJ needs to be a fucking man right now. He cannot break in front of the cops that chased after an innocent person and let the real Kooks get away with everything. He cannot break in front of the passerby's that already know him as a Maybank. Luke Maybank would beat JJ until he was black and blue if he heard people around the town calling the Maybanks 'wimps'.

The rain is making JJ shiver. He knows he should probably get out of here and find a dry place to stay but the only place he can think of is his shack of a home where his dad would be waiting for him after figuring out that the keys around his neck were gone and the Phantom was missing. JJ didn't want to deal with that tonight. JJ stands to his tired feet and looks down at his messy, drenched clothes. This was going to be a long night if JJ didn't find somewhere to go.

JJ takes off, aimlessly into the night, away from all the bad drama that has come from that small tent. It should come to no surprise when he ends up outside the chateau. The chateau looks the same, obviously. But JJ still feels the sudden eeriness about how quiet everything is. Normally the chateau would be filled with laughter long into the night until the Pogues were too drunk or too high to go home and then they would sleep wherever they fell to. Tonight is not that night, however. Tonight it is just JJ stood outside the small building, all alone and broken.

The cats ass is still sat in front of the chateau. JJ almost cringes at the sight of it. The stupid hot tub that he fucking bought using fucking stolen money. The same hot tub that he decided to stay in for hours and hours and try and wipe away the bruises from his torso. Unfortunately, those big purple marks on his torso were not paint that he could just wash away. Not even drunk JJ could pull at his skin enough for the bruises to look better. The cats ass is just another physical decision in which JJ decided on to present his recklessness. Fuck. There is no chance that JJ could go home. Stealing the Phantom was one thing; however, JJ hasn't been home since Luke found out that JJ had come into possession of 25k. Luke Maybank would definitely think JJ stole from him again. It is too much of a risk. So, JJ decides that the only thing he can do tonight is stay at the place that used to be a hiding place away from all his demons- the chateau.

...

It has been a couple of hours since Pope has been home. The whole journey home had been awkward to say the least. Pope's parents kept on about how happy they were that Pope didn't decide to go with John B and Sarah. The truth is, they didn't ask Pope. If they had asked Pope, he doesn't know what he would have answered.

They're not dead.

They must have made it.

Pope knows deep down that there must be a chance that John B and Sarah survived. Pope knows how death works and this is not normally how death occurs. Shipwreck seems to be a theme in Outer Banks, however. Pope must stay positive. He has to be the positive one to give some hope to the other Pogues. Pope must keep thinking of how Big John initially survived a head injury and being thrown overboard by Ward. If Big John could survive such impact, John B and Sarah could survive the storm. It all makes sense in Pope's head. John B was the one that sailed in the bad weather and made it look like child's play. And, Pope knew deep down that John B would protect Sarah with his life. John B has probably found a way to save Sarah and they will all live happily ever after.

As soon as Pope is in the house, he is asking Heyward if he can go and visit Kiara. Pope knows that Kiara was crying when Shoupe told them the news. Pope knows that he needs to be there for her. Heyward agrees and it confuses Pope for a moment before he is running out the house and on his way to Kiara.

She kissed him earlier that day. Pope remembers this clear as day. But it confuses Pope. Kiara told him that she didn't like him like that but then she kisses him. He knows how selfish it sounds, but he is very happy that it was her that initiated the kiss. Maybe he is the only Pogue that will get the girl for once. It's about time that Pope comes out on top.

Pope reaches Kiara's door and knocks, hoping that the brunette only girl Pogue is still awake. Fortunately, Kiara is the one to open the door. Kiara has tear-stained cheeks and is still wearing the damp clothes that she was in earlier that. looks at him, confused. "Pope? What are you doing here?" She says almost as a whisper.

"I needed to check if you were okay?"

"Of course I'm not ok, Pope. We just lost our friends." Kiara had tears in her eyes making Pope step forward as a way of support.

"Maybe they made it." Kiara scoffs, obviously not believing him. Pope's not surprised. "Kie..."

"I just want to be alone right now." She tries to shut the door but Pope puts his foot in the way. "Kie"

"Stop trying to protect me, Pope. I need to be alone right now and you need to go home." This made Pope nod. He understood her like no one else. Kiara is strong when she needs to be. She likes to cry alone and Pope is okay with this.

It's how she mourns.

...

It must be nearly two in the morning when Kiara shows up at the front door of the old house in which is known as the chateau. Kiara doesn't really know what drew her to the house but she knows that she couldn't sleep and she couldn't get the days events out of her head. So, here she is. Staring at the chateau that has so many memories that she cannot even count. She's scared to go in though. She knows it's empty but she still feels like she could be walking into something. She is walking into the past in which is no longer here. No longer in the now empty chateau.

Kiara takes a couple steps into the chateau before she realises that she is not alone. A sound comes from the kitchen which makes her jump. Kiara takes a small step towards the kitchen before spotting a sweater on the pull-out that looked familiar. John B. Kiara shakes her head in disbelief and keeps stalking towards the kitchen. What Kiara sees however, is not the ghost of one of her best friends but instead, sees a different friend altogether. JJ. "JJ". Kiara's voice makes the blond boy jump out of skin and drop the sandwich in which he had just made onto the floor. Kiara internally cringes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."

"It's fine, Kie." His voice sounds restless. JJ doesn't look up to Kiara's expressions. But Kiara can read him. Kiara carefully takes a step forward. "I couldn't sleep." Kiara whispers.

"So you came all the way to the cut?" A smirk begins to appear on JJ's mouth. Forced? Kiara is sure. It makes Kiara roll her eyes playfully, just like she always has done. "I thought you would be with Pope."

It is only then that Kiara remembers all the events of the day. All the events including her randomly kissing Pope. It makes sense to Kiara now- why Pope came to see her in the middle of the night. She doesn't know why she kissed Pope but she knows that it would only lead him on which was not her intention. Nothing has changed, she is still not into Pope in that way. Maybe she just wanted to feel like she wasn't losing anyone. But that kiss may have just led to her losing two of her three best friends all in one day.

"I'm not with Pope." JJ begins to move. Kiara for a second thinks he's about to pull her into a warm embrace; however, JJ just reaches behind Kiara to the fridge. JJ pulls out a pack of beers and makes his way back into the living area. Kiara follows, with a sudden need to not be alone. Kiara slouches down next to JJ, stealing the beer from his hands as he is about to drink. Kiara lifts the bottle up and drinks. "Come all the way to the cut and steal my booze? How Kook of you Kie." He smiles. It looks genuine and Kiara doesn't know how long she's been waiting for something to feel genuine.

"Just needed something, you know?" Kiara can feel his eyes on her but she can't bring herself to look at him. She needs to stay strong for once in her goddamn life.

"You don't need to hold back, Kie." God, JJ can read her just as well as she can read him "I know you're here to cry. So, you can cry if you want." It's all she needs to hear before she starts crying. She needs this.

A few moments go by with just the sounds of Kiara crying, filling the warm room in the chateau. JJ doesn't try to comfort Kiara, he knows she doesn't like to be touched, she likes to lead the touching. He just watches her cry. And then she stops. Kiara wipes away her tears before turning to JJ, who is still watching her. JJ holds out the beer in which Kiara was drinking as a way of saying 'it's okay'. Kiara smiles and takes the beer from his waiting hand. "I don't want to cry anymore" Kiara squeaks out, still trying to hold back the hiccups from the crying.

"Then we're not gonna cry." Kiara nods back at JJ and downs the rest of her drink, before reaching for another beer.

...

It turns into a game of who can down their beer the quickest. Winner- JJ. But Kiara won't give up until she has won to prove that she can be just as good as any of the guys. They down the bottle of beer, JJ only just beating Kiara this time. "I swear you're cheating." Kiara hiccups out.

"Just admit it Kie, you will never be able to out drink the one and only JJ Maybank." JJ laughs back.

Kiara could tell that they are both getting to their drunk stage, but she didn't care. She needed to forget about the day just as much as JJ needed to. "Rematch"

"When are you gonna give it up. You will never win."
"Oh, I will win." They banter back and forth, drinking bottle after bottle of beer. Kiara's never even been a fan of beer, but tonight it is going down extremely well.

They banter back and forth and JJ keeps winning over and over again. They don't realise how close they have gotten until Kiara reaches for the last bottle and almost falls on top of JJ. JJ stops laughing all at once and looks down at the girl. Kiara looks up at JJ, definitely feeling the affect of the alcohol. All the events from the day are forgotten as soon as Kiara leans forward and kisses JJ. It's a quick kiss, a kiss that JJ cannot even bring himself to enjoy. He doesn't kiss back, still in shock that Kiara Carrera- his best friend- was kissing him. As quickly as it happens, Kiara leans away and shakes off the awkwardness.

"I'm sorry" Kiara screams out, running her hand through her long, brunette locks.

"Kie..." Kiara looks back at JJ. It feels like hours, the two drunk teenagers looking back and forth at each other, trying to work out what is going on.

They want to forget. Forget about the pain. Forget about the gold. Forget about their parents. Forget about everything. They needed something. They needed to feel at home. Even if it is only for one night. "Fuck" JJ murmurs underneath his breath before pulling Kiara back to him, kissing her deeply. Kiara quickly reciprocated the kiss, finding herself leaning to climb to sit on JJ. His lips find her neck and Kiara lets out a slight huff of air, enjoying his movements.

Kiara pushes down on JJ until JJ breaks away from her neck and looks into her eyes, questioning "Kie..."

"Just keep going." Kiara huffs back before pulling JJ back to her. She can taste the beer mixed with the weed on his tongue and she needs more. Even just for a moment. This is a good idea. A way that they can both forget and get lost in each other rather that get lost in the sorrow of losing their friends. No. Kiara will not think of that tonight. She needs to think of anything else tonight.

So, they don't stop when Kiara begins to pull on JJ's hair. They don't stop when JJ asks if he can take off Kiara's shirt. They don't stop when they drunkenly stumble to the bedroom. They don't stop as they finally come together.

...

The next morning is a different story. Kiara wakes first, which is actually a shock to her saying how much of a heavy sleeper Kiara is and how much of a light sleeper JJ is. She feels sore as she looks over and sees a naked JJ spread out on the bed next to her.

Shit. This was a bad idea.

Yes, they were able to forget about what happened in one day. Yes, they were good together. Yes, it was fun. But, no. This was a bad idea. Kiara is frozen, sat on the bed. She doesn't know what to do. She doesn't want that awkward we just had sex chat with JJ. She doesn't want to think about how Pope is going to hate this. Shit. Pope. She only kissed Pope yesterday. It is too much. As Kiara begins to shuffle around, JJ turns over with open eyes looking up at Kiara. Kiara spots JJ and internally cringes, covering herself even though he's seen everything now. It looks like JJ cringes as well as he sits up.

"Shit." Is all that JJ mutters. It makes Kiara huff out an awkward laugh.

"Yep" Kiara replies.

"We had sex."

"Yep" Kiara repeats.

"Shit."

"JJ..."

"Don't worry, Kie. We were both drunk." Kiara looks at him, confused. "Let's just forget it happened. Grief sex. That's it." Kiara doesn't know why that statement hurts Kiara as much as it does but she feels her heart drop. This was definitely a mistake. "Is this going to be weird?" JJ asks.

Kiara shrugs "I don't know, JJ." It's the truth. Kiara is not very good at this. A one-night stand and especially with a best friend. "Everything is weird." It makes JJ nod. At least they are on the same page about that.

"I'll leave." JJ awkwardly stands up, putting on his boxers and walking to the door.

Yep. This is going to be weird.

As soon as JJ is out of the room, Kiara lays back down on the bed feeling herself go red. Shit. Kiara had sex with JJ. She's never thought about doing it before but as soon as John B is gone, she's with JJ letting him have his way with her. Kiara keeps thinking about the fact that this was all because they wanted to forget about John B presumably being dead, but deep down Kiara knows that they'll never recover from John B.

John B was their rock. The one that kept all of them sane and kept them all from breaking up. Without John B here, Kiara cannot think about how things will be anything other than weird. They're missing the person that makes them know where their home is. And Kiara fears that this is just the beginning. They need John B and he is gone. Gone forever.

This is going to be a bit of a slow burn by the way.