The short ride to the front of the salvage yard was bathed in an awkward silence. Kie wasn't going to say a word, so you had to take it upon yourself to. You cleared your throat, "So, how are we going to play this?

Her eyes left the road and cut to you sharply before paying attention to driving again, "We're just going to distract him. Were you even listening to them when they explained the plan?"

You sighed, "Of course I was listening. I mean, how are we going to keep their attention on us? Are we going to be overly flirty? The dumb blonde types who can't even open the hood of our cars without a man's help?"

"Both? Neither? I don't know, we'll see how it goes."

"Whatever, I'll just follow your lead."

"Good."

You held back a roll of your eyes. She was really starting to piss you off but you knew now wasn't the time to start a fight. Still, you were going to lose your patience soon. She parked the car and then went around to the side, letting some air out of the tire. Once that was done, you two made your way to the front office of the salvage yard, waving your hand in the air so the person could see you through the window. The security guard put down his magazine and quickly got up to meet you out front of the gate.

"Can I help you?" He asked, you stayed quiet, letting her take the lead.

"Hi, uhm, we actually have a flat tire, I was wondering if you could maybe help us out?"

"What are you two doing all the way out here? There's nothing but swamp for miles."

"Oh… uh… well…" You could see she was floundering, not coming up with a believable lie.

Without thinking, you wrap your arm around her and pull her close, kissing her cheek without taking your eyes off of the man, "We were just looking for some privacy. My parents are still stuck in the fifties and don't understand I can find girls just as hot as guys."

She laughs awkwardly before wrapping her arms around your waist, "Yup, just trying to finally get some alone time with my girl, and look what happens."

You see the moment the guy's eyes glaze over, imagining what you two were planning on doing with the 'alone time' and he nods absently, "Yeah, sure, no problem, I can help."

You smiled brightly, "Yeah?"

"Yeah!" He smiled flirtatiously. He ran back into the office to grab the necessary tools and quickly made his way back to you, opening the gate just enough to slip through.

The boys were about a hundred feet back, watching the interaction, waiting for their moment. JJ watched intently. "Woah. Hot."

Both Pope and John B nodded but JJ spoke up again, "I'm definitely going to be moving this memory into the save file, pulling it out on those long lonely nights."

John B reached over and slapped the back of his best friend's head because it felt like the right thing to do, but he couldn't help but agree. JJ smacked his hand away but changed the subject all the same, "So, how's it going with the newest member of our little tribe? Are you making any headway with her?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. She's a friend, one of us."

"Don't bullshit a bullshitter, bro, it's clear you're into her, so into her."

"You're definitely into her." Pope agreed.

"It doesn't matter, she uhh, well, she turned me down."

"What? When?"

"A while ago. Said she didn't want to get into anything right now."

"So she like totally gave you the Heisman?"

"Kinda, yeah."

"I really thought she was into you. Ask Pope, he'd agree."

Pope nodded, "Yeah, it's not often I completely agree with JJ but yeah, I thought she was into you."

"Hey, she didn't say she wasn't into me! Just that she didn't want a relationship, or whatever."

"So, she's not into you. She was letting you down easy, bro."

"No. I know that's not true." John B argued."

"You know? How do you know?" Pope asked intrigued.

"Never mind. It doesn't matter. We have to focus on the mission right now."

"No, no you can't leave us hanging like that!" JJ was going to keep arguing but you and Kiara just got the man over to the other side of her car, leaving the coast clear for them to make a run for it. So JB pushed JJ in the right direction, leaving him no choice but to save the rest of that conversation for later.

You and Kiara stood to the side of where the man was looking at the tire, blocking the view of your friends making a run for it. "It must have been a slow leak or something."

"Probably just sitting in the yard too long or something?" The security guard asked.

"Uh, yeah, probably."

He started adding air to the tire when he looked at you, "So, you're into guys and girls, huh?"

You hold back a scowl and instead smile sweetly, "Yup, I'm more into the person, not whatever equipment they come attached with."

He laughed and leered at you, again making you work hard not to show your disgust. You always kept at least one hand on Kie, twirling her hair around your fingers and placing your hand on her hips, really selling it. His eyes kept moving from the tire to your hand and back again. You were doing a good job distracting him, even though neither you nor Kie were particularly happy about the need for such contact.

You and your partner in crime both freeze when a dog is barking on the other side of the gate, the man quickly stands and looks in the direction the noise is coming from. "You hear that?"

"…Hear what?" Kie asked.

The man stood, "Teebow's got something…"

"Who's Teebow?" You asked and felt dumb a second after, it was clear that he was talking about the dog who was barking wildly.

"Our guard dog." He said, taking a step toward the gate.

"It's probably just a raccoon or something," You said, reaching out to him, running your hand down his arm to draw his attention back to you.

It worked, he slowly bent back down, "Yeah, right."

We realized he was almost done filling the tire, so Kie walked around to the other side of the car to let air out of the other one, while you stayed at the man's side to keep him distracted. Unfortunately, the man could see under the SUV and saw what Kie was up to. He looked up at you with his eyes wide, realizing what was happening, and then stood up and ran towards the back where the dog was barking. You tried to stop him but he easily shrugged your hand off.

Kie ran around the car and got in the driver's seat, yelling at you to come on. You didn't like leaving without knowing if the guys were okay, but she was leaving, with or without you, and you realized you couldn't do anything to help them. So, with one more look back you get into the passenger seat, barely in before the car starts moving, you almost hit another car because you weren't able to shut the door before Kiara was down the driveway.

You felt relieved when the boys met up with you at the preset point, all together and seemingly uninjured. Without thinking, you run up to them wrapping one arm around JJ and one around John B in a hug, happy they were safe.

"Are you guys okay? We were worried. That dog sounded vicious." You said pulling them closer. You felt each of them slowly bring an arm up to hug you back.

JJ laughed, "Were you worried about us, Peach? You should know me better than that, no dogs gonna take me and my boys down."

You laughed, "Yeah I guess I should have known that, I've seen you go face to face against some scary ass snakes."

"And they were the ones to run scared from me." He agreed cockily.

You pulled away with a roll of your eyes. "Okay, hotshot. Let's see the goods, did you get it?"

John B puffed his chest up and scoffed, "Of course we did. Did you doubt us?"

You hold in another roll of your eyes. "Yes."

He brought his hand to his heart, "Come on, sunshine, you wound me."

"You'll survive," you laugh. You turn your head to the restaurant you're all parked in and your stomach lets out a growl, "Is this place any good? I'm starving."

The boys laughed and Kie looked offended for some reason, "It's the best place on the island, Kie's parents own it."

Ahh, now you understood why she looked pissed. Everyone started walking toward The Wreck, JB wrapping his arm around you as he passed, leading you inside. You were surprised when, a few minutes later, a bunch of free food was being brought out to your table, but you didn't complain. The next half hour was spent eating and laughing with your friends, dancing too. John B. looked surprised when you pulled him from his seat to dance with you, but he didn't complain. JJ and Kie were quick to join you in dancing and you had a moment of peace, it wasn't often that you had one of those but right then, with your friends, during summer without a care in the world was one of them.

Hours later, Kiara stayed with her family to close up the restaurant while you and the boys got into the van. Even though you had Wheezie promise to cover for you tonight, there was no reason to stay out because it seemed like everyone else was going home. Who knows, maybe Wheezie would be cool enough to cover for you another night since it was unnecessary tonight, knowing your friends, you were sure there'd be a time where something crazy happened and getting home by curfew wasn't possible. JB dropped everyone off, one by one, first Pope, then JJ, and finally it was just you two in the car with the quiet music of Bob Marley playing on the radio.

"You did good today," He said breaking the silence.

"What? I couldn't even distract the guy, he ended up finding JJ."

He reached across the center console and grabbed your hand, "Hey, we got it, so you distracted him long enough."

You shrugged and looked out of the window and realized something, "Hey, this isn't how we get to my house."

"Ahh, seems like you're finally learning your way around town."

"Where are you taking me, JB?"

"I wanna show you something," He said and wouldn't give any more information.

You weren't surprised when he pulled up to a beach, it was one of the Pogue's favorite spots to hang out, after all. You could tell it was one of the beaches on The Cut's side of town, there was a lot of driftwood and trash, there still hadn't been any cleanup from the hurricane. The sand was dirty too, half sand, half dirt, just a few yards away were trees, it was as if the area couldn't decide if it were a beach or a thicket. Still JB led you through the land and brought you to this secluded cove. From what you could see in the dark, it was beautiful.

It was clear he came here a lot, there was a fire pit made, along with a pile of old beer cans off to the side and old broken down trees turned into makeshift chairs. He led you to sit down facing the ocean and you two watched the waves in silence for a few long moments.

"This place is beautiful," You murmured.

"I found it a few years ago. I come out here whenever I need some time to myself, even time away from the Pogues."

You look at him surprised, "So you don't even bring JJ here?"

"God, no. If I did he'd take it over and trash it."

You laughed, knowing how right he was, "Then why bring me?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, "You're new to town and I figured you'd like it. Plus, you seem like the kinda person that just needs to get away from it all every once in a while and I figured I could share my spot."

You smiled, appreciating the thought and leaned back, letting yourself get comfortable. John B followed your lead and you laid like that in the sand for a long time, not saying a word to each other. You simply enjoyed the quiet moment, you hadn't gotten many of those since coming to The Outer Banks. While lying there, slowly you started moving closer to each other under the guise of getting more comfortable. By the time you were done, you were lying with your head on his chest, his arm wrapped around you, his fingers running idly up and down your shoulder while your hand did the same on his chest.

The next thing you realized was it was really bright through your eyelids. You groaned and turned into the warm, comfortable mass next to you, digging your head in to hide from the light. A low chuckle woke you up enough to realize something wasn't right. You groaned again as you sat up and realized the bright light was the sun shining right into your eyes. Shit, you must have fallen asleep, at least it was still early, you could tell that much from the angle of the sun shining into your eyes. You looked over at John B to see him already staring at you, his hand picking up its motions on your arm, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

"Mornin', Sunshine."

"We fell asleep." You said, still not really awake enough to have a conversation.

He chuckled, "Yeah, we did."

"What time is it?" Did you have to get home? Was Ward wondering where you were? No, Wheezie was going to cover for you. You just wished the stupid phone towers would start working right so you'd know if you had any text messages or missed calls. As of now, signal was spotty at best, especially over on this side of town, so you didn't know if you were in the clear or if your phone was blowing up but you weren't getting any of it.

"Time to go find some sunken treasure."

You couldn't help but laugh, "I can't believe we're in a situation where you can say that sentence with a serious face and actually mean it."

"I know, it's insane, right? Alright, come on, we gotta go pick up the others, I wouldn't be surprised if JJ is already at The Chateau."

"Right, alright, let's go." Oh well, you were just going to hope for the best, you decided. Hopefully Ward thought you just left the house early because there was no way you were missing this."

The ride to The Chateau was quick and quiet, you weren't truly awake until you had at least one cup of coffee. It turned out JB paid attention to stuff like that because without saying a word he pulled over at a gas station and got you a cup of coffee, just the way you liked it, too. You smiled at him but didn't say anything until you were 75% done with the cup, which happened to coincide with him pulling up his driveway.

"Thank you, I needed that,"

"Anything for you, Peaches."

You jump when there's a loud bang on the passenger window and turn to see JJ standing there with his brow quirked. Suggestively he asked, "And where were you two last night?"

You roll your eyes and make him move out of the way when you swing your door open. JJ didn't miss a beat, jumping out of the way as he continued pestering, "No, really. I came here last night to chill with my boy only to find the house completely empty. And I know damn well The Cameron's wouldn't let JB spend the night."

John B ignored his friend's comment and started toward the dock, "Come on, we've got a sunken boat to find."

The next hour consisted of riding around picking up the rest of the group, riding back to The Chateau, trying to figure out how to work the drone so you wouldn't mess it up when you went to the Royal Merchant, and lots of the banter you've grown used to with your new friends. Unfortunately, it was quickly decided that today could not be the day that you went to find it, since the line to the drone was so long and it had to go down so deep, it could easily drift or get pulled away by waves. Pope made it clear that you had to go on a day the water was dead calm, and you saw a storm coming in on the horizon. So, hopefully, you'd have at least a day or two of calm weather after this storm.

JJ slapped Pope's back after he managed to set everything up with the drone, "God bless geeks, Pope. Truly man. What would we do without you to control the drone?"

"Technically it's not a drone, it's a ROV…"

"Shut up, shut up, it's too early for that right now."

"Look, once we get footage of the wreck, we'll bring it to a lawyer in town and file for a formal claim," JB said.

"Dude, that's bullshit, why do we have to do that?" JJ complained.

"Well, there's Maritime salvage law. You can't just go to the ocean floor and scoop up a bunch of stuff." Pope educated.

"I know, I know, it's just lawyers aren't cheap bro."

"Well, as soon as they see the footage they'll work for a comp," John B said.

You smiled at him, "How do you know all this?"

"My dad said it like a thousand times."

You laugh, "Yeah, that makes sense."

"Alright, let's pack this thing up, we don't want to break it, or have someone see us with it before we can get out there."

"Smart," Pope agreed.

Pope and JJ had to leave soon after so they could work at his dad's shop, "Peach, you heading home anytime soon? We deliver food on your side of town, we can drop you off."

You smiled at Pope, for some reason really touched that he was thinking enough about you to offer an easy way home, "Sure, thanks."

"You're heading home already?" John B asked, almost pouting.

"Don't worry, Johnny, I'll see you later. I just gotta make sure Wheezie actually did cover for me last night and they're not sitting at the kitchen table in the dark waiting for me to get home so they can flick the lights on and ominously ask, 'And where have you been, young lady."

"Creepy," JJ said. You nodded, "But it makes sense considering the family."

You rolled your eyes, ignoring his last comment, "So you see, I have no choice but to go now. But text me and I'll see you later."

He frowned," Alright."
You held back a laugh and turned your attention to the other boys, "Ready when you are."
JB dropped you all off at Pope's place before he went back to The Chateau. When you made it there, his father was upset and waiting with bags upon bags of groceries to be delivered. You quickly helped to load them onto the boat and waved goodbye to him as you pulled away.

"This place doesn't even look like Agatha hit them."

"That's because they have generators, bro, get used to it. And then they say the juice will be out all summer at The Cut."

"Must be nice to be a Kook," Pope said a little bitterly.

"Lucky bastards," JJ agreed.

You felt acutely uncomfortable in that moment. You knew you were lucky, that as of now you lived with your rich family. So you stayed quiet, you might not consider yourself one of the Kooks, but you couldn't deny at the moment you were living like one. When they pulled onto a dock a few minutes later, you looked around and realized you had no idea where you were. You helped them unload and listened while Pope told JJ where the bags had to go.

"Uhm, can anyone tell me how to get home?"

They both looked at you confused for a second, JJ spoke first, "Oh, right, sometimes I forget you're still new to town. Feels like you've been here forever."

Pope nodded and you laughed, "It's probably because of all the crazy shit we've been through over these weeks was enough to last a lifetime. I know for sure I've been shot at more times than I wanted to over my lifetime."

Pope nodded his head, "Agreed. Right, to get to the Cameron's you have to… well, actually, just walk with me, I have to go close to there."

"Thanks, Pope."

You waved your farewells at JJ as you went your separate ways. You helped Pope hold the bags, as you slowly delivered to different houses. By the time you came across what looked like a golf course, you were dying of thirst, "Is there anywhere to get a drink around here?"

"For me? No. For you? Sure, your family is part of this club, just go over there and tell them who you are. I'll go deliver this, and we'll meet up right over there after," Pope said, pointing to a spot a few hundred yards away.

You nodded, "Okay. What do you want?"

"Huh?"

"To drink," You said as if Pope was nowhere near as smart as everyone else said he was if he didn't know what you were asking.

He laughed, "Oh, uh, water, I guess. Thanks."

You nodded and went in opposite directions. He was right, it was really easy to get a drink, apparently word spread around town about Ward's niece living with him in the rich part of town, and everyone wanted to meet you. Plus, it seemed Ward already added you as a member of the club so you could go there whenever you wanted, you thanked the server for the two bottles of water before making your way to the meeting spot. You stood there for a full five minutes before deciding to go and find Pope, you figured you probably got mixed up and were waiting in the wrong place.

From around a corner you heard a voice you were sure was Pope's yell, "You guys are freaking crazy!"

"Just give us the beers, man!" That voice sounded familiar but you weren't sure who it was. "…. Shit. Shit, my bad, man."

Your pace quickened when you heard sounds of a fight and became scared when you heard the sound of metal hitting something hard, like a human. You froze for a moment when you heard that same voice yell, "Hey! Hey Rafe, come on, man! Calm down!"

You started running when you heard who you knew was Rafe yell, "Stay down, man!"

"The other one yelled "Come on, let's just go, let's go."

You finally made it around the bend and gasped when you saw Pope on the ground bloody, with Rafe and Topper standing above him, Rafe having a golf club held aggressively in his hands. They didn't notice you until you let out a whimper of distress at the sight. As fast as you could, you closed the distance between you and the group, standing in between Pope and the guys, making it clear if they wanted to hurt him anymore, they'd have to hurt you too.

"What the hell are you doing, Rafe!?"

His eyes widened, he was shocked, and you thought you saw regret in his eyes, but realized that might just be wishful thinking. "Daisy, what are you doing here?"

"Pope was helping me find my way home. And don't you dare call me that right now!" You snarled. In a softer, quieter voice you spoke to the boy behind you, "Pope, how are you? Can you stand?"

He groaned, "Yeah, uh, yeah, I think so."

"You could have called me, I would have picked you up," Rafe said in an admonishing tone, as if you were the one in the wrong here, as if you didn't just see him brutalizing someone.

"Why would I do that when this is how you treat people? How do I know you won't turn on me like that one day?"

"I wouldn't…"

"I don't believe you. I don't want to be around someone who could hurt another person like that. You're not the guy you used to be anymore, Rafe, what happened to you?" It was a question you didn't expect a real answer to. With one more vicious look at the two guys, you turned your back to them and helped Pope up, leading him back toward the boat.

Pope didn't say anything until you were safely away from Rafe, "Uh, thanks, I'm sure he wouldn't have stopped there if you didn't show up."

"No problem. I can't believe he was so terrible. I thought you guys just didn't like each other, and thats why both sides talked so much shit on the other. I guess now I know the truth."

"Yeah," Pope coughed, still righting himself. "He's like that a lot. Well, not that last part, I've never seen him like that before, maybe you're Rafe Kryptonite. He changed into a completely different person when you showed up."

"Yeah, he's probably just worried I'll tell his dad what he's up to, the guy is already on the verge of getting kicked out."

"Maybe…" He said unconvinced. "Hey, I got it from here, to get home just walk straight back the way we came, you'll get home in about 15 minutes."

"Are you sure? I can help you back to the boat."

"No, no, I'm fine, really, I'm feeling better already."

You didn't believe him but didn't want to push and hurt his pride either, "Okay, if you're sure."

"I'm sure. And thanks again, you really are one of us."

"What do you mean?" You asked, you thought that was already decided,

"You could have sided with them, but you helped me."

You rolled your eyes, "Of course I helped you Pope, we're friends and that was really unfair."

He nodded but didn't say anything else so you awkwardly patted his back, making sure not to hit any injured spots, "I'll see you soon, Pope."

"Bye, Peach."

You walked back the way you came, hoping that the guys moved onto the next hole by the time you got back there. Unfortunately, when you turned the corner, you saw they were still standing there talking, it looked like they were arguing. So you quickened your pace, planning on just ignoring them, and even hoping they didn't notice you. No such luck, Rafe spotted you right away and ran up to you, ignoring the fact that you quickened your pace even more to get away from him.

"Daisy, Daisy, thank god you came back. I knew you'd make the right decision." He waited for you to slow down or say something, when you didn't he continued, "What, are you ignoring me?"…." Really? That's so childish!" You noticed his anger starting to grow and for the first time, you were a little frightened. He must have noticed the tension in your body because his words softened, "I'm sorry."

You stopped in your tracks and looked at him, "You are? For what? For getting caught? For me seeing you do something so terrible? For attacking him in the first place?"

"All of it?" He asked.

You scoffed, "Whatever, Rafe."

"Let me make it up to you, let me drive you home then I'll take you out and we can do something fun, just the two of us."

"I'm not the one you have to make it up to." You said as you started walking home again, you had no intention of taking him up on his offer.

"What? You mean the dirty Pogue?"

You wanted to stop in your tracks again and yell at him but stopped yourself, the sooner you were home, the sooner he'd have to stop talking to you, lest he let Ward know why you were so mad at him. Still, you yelled, "Of course, I mean Pope! You really hurt him, Rafe! Have you ever been hit by a big metal pole? It's not fun! You could have really hurt him, he could have a broken rib for all I know!"

"Alright, alright, I overreacted. They just get me so mad!"

"Why? They're nice, and they're good friends, they're loyal. You only look down at them because they don't have the same money you do."

"The same money we do."

You ignored the comment, not getting into another argument about that again. So you simply say, "He didn't deserve that."

"I don't hate them because they're broke, I hate them because you'd so clearly rather hang out with them instead of me!" You froze and looked at him to see him making a face that made it clear he didn't mean to say all that."

"Rafe, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing, forget it. Look, just let me drive you home, I'll find a way to make it up to him if it means that much to you."

"It does," You agreed, "And a sincere apology."

He looked like your words made him sick, still, he managed to ground out, "Fine. Now come on."

"No, I'm not getting in the car with you or hanging out with you at all until you apologize."

He got a smug look on his face, as if he just realized he had the upper hand, it made you uneasy. "Fine."

"Good," you nodded, unsure what he was thinking.

"By the way, you're going the wrong way if you're trying to get home."

"No I'm not," You disagreed immediately, but worried he was right all the same, "Pope told me where to go."

"Well he was wrong, or he lied to you, they do that." You shot him sharp eyes, he'd just agreed to be nicer to them and was still talking shit. He held his hands up in surrender, "Fine, fine, he was probably all turned around, now come on, let me get you home."

You sighed in defeat, you were just tired after this whole interaction and wanted to get home, "Fine."

The whole ride back, Rafe tried to make small talk, but your responses were short. You meant it, you wanted nothing to do with him if you didn't see a change in him soon. You hated that someone you cared about turned into such a dark person, you just wanted the old Rafe back but were scared he was gone forever. When he pulled up the driveway, you gave him a quiet thanks over your shoulder but didn't wait for him to follow you, just wanting to get away.

Unfortunately, Ward was waiting in the hallway when you walked in and he looked angry, "Where have you been, Peach? We've been looking for you. You weren't in your room this morning."

"Uh…"

"I told you, you're one of the family now, I think of you as one of my own. That means I'll love and protect you with everything I got, but that also means I've got to teach you how to grow into a good upstanding person, sometimes those lessons involve punishment when you break the rules. Now, where were you? Did you break the rules and not come in last night?"

"Well …"

"She was with me, I took her to the club for an early Tee time. Wanted to show her all the good things the island has to offer."

You jumped, not realizing Rafe followed you inside. Ward looked between you two, "Is that so?"

"Uh, yeah, it is Uncle Ward. I should have left a note or something though, sorry."

"Hmm," He pondered, "Okay, I'll let it slide this once because we only talked about keeping me updated when you'll be out late. But from now on, find some way to let me know when you're going out and I'm not here to talk to."

"Okay, that's fair."

"Good, good. Now go shower, I'm taking everyone out for dinner tonight."

You nod your head eagerly, ready to get out of this interaction. But the whole time you were showering, you were confused, unsure what to make of Rafe, he was so mean sometimes, even evil, but he still went out of his way to help you whenever he could. And then you thought of John B, ignoring the butterflies you got in your stomach every time you thought of him, and wondered how he was, how he was handling the treasure hunt and his father of it all. For the first time since you settled into the OBX, you missed your hometown, things were much simpler there.