HOPELESSLY DEVOTED

an outer banks story

by -spacecadet

CHAPTER SIX: PARTY GAMES

Campbell loved walking through the Cut at night. She knew it wasn't, by any means, the desirable part of the island, but it was her home, and it was beautiful. Cicadas buzzed in the tall, marshy grass, humming alongside the other insects, birds, and animals that called the Outer Banks home. Spanish moss hung from every tree crevasse it could latch onto, moonlight shining through it.

Campbell had been obsessed with the Spanish moss when she first moved from Nashville, unable to take her eyes off the trees every time she drove down the road for weeks upon her arrival. The novelty had somewhat worn off, she supposed, but she still adored it.

The homes in the Cut had more character, not the cookie-cutter creations of the subdivisions or the eyesore monstrosities that were the new kook developments. They were in significantly worse states of despair, of course, but to Campbell, it was all familiar and comforting.

She'd changed back into the orange sundress, and JJ into his t-shirt and shorts, and they were walking down the road to Finn's house, which was actually pretty close to the Sheridans. They were passing a can of beer back and forth, one that she'd taken from her grandfather's stash in the garage, and she appreciated the alcohol, because she was starting to feel nervous.

She had absolutely no reason to feel nervous, because it didn't matter that Wyatt had invited her -- them -- to the party, because she didn't like him, and she didn't care if he had a crush on her. She was, however, worried about how JJ would act, because much to her dismay, he seemed to like the idea of Campbell and Wyatt together.

She tried not to let that thought break her heart too much.

Campbell couldn't remember the last party she'd been to that had actually been inside someone's home -- it was usually cooler outside in the summertime, and most kids' parents weren't about to let a bunch of random drunk kids stumble around the inside of their homes.

Finn's family, however, was one of the wealthier ones in the Cut (still not kook rich, but better off than Campbell's grandparents or JJ's dad) and his parents had a massive, unattached garage at the back of their property. Campbell supposed it was typically used for housing equipment for Finn's father's plumbing business, but it was empty as she and JJ approached, aside from a flock of drunk pogues.

True to Finn's word, there was a wooden bar at the far edge of the garage, complete with a kegerator. Coolers of other canned beverages lined the bar, and people were playing beer pong and other drinking games on tables set up across from the bar.

Finn found them immediately, detaching himself from a blonde girl Campbell recognized from school to greet them. "Hey guys, welcome," he said, clapping JJ on the back. "Help yourself to everything." He looked to Campbell, a knowing smirk crossing his face. "Wyatt will be happy you're here."

Campbell internally groaned, but she plastered a polite smile on her face before walking towards the keg and pouring herself a cup of beer. JJ followed behind her, and the smirk on his face was almost audible.

"JJ, I swear to God..." she mumbled, shoving a cup of beer into his hands.

"I didn't even say anything!" he protested. "But if I were to say something, it would be, 'I told you that Wyatt has a massive thing for you.'"

"And if I were going to say something, it would be, 'and I told you I don't care about Wyatt,'" Campbell hissed before taking a large swig of her beer.

"Well, maybe Wyatt will dance with you later," JJ teased.

"I don't want to dance with Wyatt," Campbell groaned, running a hand through her hair. The unsaid words hung heavily on her tongue: I want to dance with you.

"I'm gonna do a lap," JJ said, walking away before Campbell could even respond, or offer to go with.

She leaned against the bar, taking a sip from her beer with a frown on her face. Usually, Campbell was always down for a party, but she'd been planning to spend the evening with JJ, and she'd been looking forward to the one-on-one time with him. She knew she was foolish to think he'd feel the same. She knew her feelings for JJ were unrequited, but that didn't make it any easier. She craved his attention. She always wanted to be around him, and when he wasn't there, she missed him. She was knee deep in JJ Maybank, and there was no escaping.

"Campbell. Hey."

She turned around to find Wyatt walking towards her, a smile on his face and a drink in his hand.

"Hey."

"You look like you're having the time of your life," he said with a sly smile.

"Is it that obvious?" Campbell laughed, taking a sip of her drink.

"Just a little," he teased, dipping his head as a smile filled his face. "Where's your partner in crime?"

Campbell looked up, seeking out JJ amongst the crowd. He was talking to a group of girls that she knew from school, and she recognized the classic JJ Maybank flirt stance.

"Off flirting, apparently," she said, forcing a smile as she looked back at Wyatt.

Wyatt glanced at JJ before turning back to Campbell. "Well, we were about to start up a game of flip cup, if you're interested."

Flip cup was better than standing alone at the bar watching JJ flirt with other girls, so Campbell quickly nodded. "Sure. Sounds fun."

Wyatt grinned and said, "Cool," before leading her to the game table. She recognized Tyler, Finn, and a pair of girls from school.

"Three versus three?" Tyler suggested. "Unless you want to find two more to play."

"Three works," Wyatt replied. "How do we want to divide teams?"

"Girls versus guys, obviously," Campbell said, downing the rest of her beer from the keg.

"Good idea, Campbell," one of the girls said. Campbell was fairly certain she was a junior. Emma or Emily or something. She was fairly certain Emma-Emily was dating Wyatt's friend Tyler.

The two girls joined her at one side of the table, while Wyatt joined Finn and Tyler on the other side.

"Are you any good at this game, Campbell? Nicole and I suck," Emma-Emily said, sticking out her bottom lip in an exaggerated sigh.

"Yeah, the boys are so going to beat us," the other girl, Nicole, replied.

"Not if I can help it," Campbell said, meeting Wyatt's eye across the table.

Nicole and Emma-Emily were much better at flip cup than they let on. Campbell guessed their self-deprecating comments were just a sad attempt to goad the boys' egos.

They quickly downed and successfully flipped their cups, leaving Campbell to decide if they would win or lose.

She chugged her beer as Wyatt, across from her, did the same. They locked eyes as she placed her cup down on the table. Using her pointer finger, she gave the cup a quick flip, narrowly missing the perfect flip. It rolled across the table, and she lunged for it, quickly setting it back on the edge of the table and attempting a flip.

"Is that what you call a flip, Campbell?" Wyatt teased from the boys' side of the table.

"Like you could do any better," she replied.

"Well, at least you're good at surfing, because you certainly aren't good at this."

"You're right, I do at least still have surfing. What, exactly, do you have?"

Wyatt was having just as much trouble, and the boys were loudly cheering him on and slapping him on the back. The slaps did little to help his flip game, and Campbell couldn't stop laughing long enough to get a good flip out of her cup, either. Wyatt's eyes were more focused on Campbell than the cup, and Campbell... well, Campbell just wasn't very good at flip cup.

"Eyes on the prize, Turner! Stop looking at the girls!" Finn yelled loudly from beside Wyatt.

She didn't notice the small group that had amassed behind them, egging both herself and Wyatt on. She didn't notice that the other pogues had arrived, or that JJ stood behind her, watching her interaction with Wyatt.

She didn't notice until she finally flipped the cup, and the people behind her erupted into a cheer and JJ patted his hands on her back.

She spun around, coming face to face with the blond, seeing that he'd ditched his efforts to flirt with the group of girls to support her in her flip cup endeavors.

"That's my fucking best friend!" he cheered, pulling her into a rare, JJ-initiated hug. If Campbell's cheeks could possibly turn a deeper shade of red, they did, and she hoped she could choke it up to all of the beer she'd just chugged.

JJ released her, and she realized that Wyatt stood in front of her, his hand outstretched.

"Good game," Wyatt said with a smirk. "Didn't realize you were such a fierce competitor."

She shook his head and grinned. "One thing about me is, even if I'm bad at something, if it's a competition, I play to win."

"An honorable virtue. Can I get you another drink?" he asked, nodding towards her empty cup.

"I can get one myself," she replied. Now that JJ was back, she didn't feel the need to hang around Wyatt anymore. He was a nice boy, but he wasn't JJ. No one would ever compare to JJ.

Wyatt nodded and watched her go, JJ trailing behind her. What Campbell didn't see was the way Wyatt's friends clapped him on the back as she walked away, or the looks the other pogues exchanged as she and JJ walked away. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ author's note ✫・゜・。.

i love writing party chapters, they're seriously so much fun. and, i love writing for this book! campbell and jj might just be my favorite couple i've written thus far (don't tell the others). 

anyways, i don't really have much to say here, but thank you for reading!

xx,

madi