FIVE
Romantic Leftovers
🥀
❪ tw: strong language, smoking, mentions of guns, and mentions of death ❫

OUTER BANKS
(Season 1, Episode 2 & 3)
Part two

Cory couldn't help but think that she had gotten herself into something that she would never be able to escape. She had known these people since childhood and she wanted to help but almost dying twice in the span of twenty-four hours was making her stomach turn. But a small part of her almost felt like she was maybe having fun? In the back of her mind, she wondered what she'd be doing if she wasn't here. And that life sounded even more miserable.

She understood how John B was feeling. She was in his position once but she was hoping that maybe he'd finally come to his senses and face reality. But now they're in the car so that wasn't the case. She sat to the left of Pope and JJ was across from her as they listened to John B. "I mean, it's obvious, right?" Pope dangled the compass from its chain, staring at it. "A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to me, right?" Everybody felt like this was just his way of coping so, they didn't say much.

Kiara smiled at him. "Yeah. It's possible." She nodded even though she felt like he was being a little delusional.

Pope didn't hesitate to state his opinion. "It could also be possible that you're concocting wild theories to help, you know..." Cory's head snapped over to him. She tried to give him a look that would hopefully tell him to shut up. He didn't take the hint.

"Pope?" John B looked at him through the mirror.

"...deal with your sad feels." Pope finished.

Cory leaned back into her seat, crossing her arms. "Bro, you know how I process my sad feels. Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies, that's how I do it." JJ looked at Cory (who rolled her eyes at him) even though he was talking to John B.

"I don't think that's gonna help him." Cory shook her head.

Cory glanced at John B through the mirror and she saw his jaw clenching. "I'm not concocting, okay? My dad's trying to give me a message." And Cory thought Rafe was stubborn.

"If it helps you believe, John B." Kiara said sympathetically.

"Look, I-I don't need a therapy session, okay?" He looked back at Pope. "Look, I'm not trippin' out."

JJ's lips rolled into a straight line. "It's okay to trip, bro, but..."

John B fully turned around to look at the three teens in the backseat. "Look, my...my dad is missing, okay?" He raised his voice. "Missing. You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish and then have no idea what happened. Just wake up every morning wondering."

Cory stared blankly at him as she listened to his rant. When Cory was five she'd wake up and ask her mother, "When's Papi coming home?" Her mother would have to lie and tell her that he'd be there soon but he never did come through the front door. "I get it, John B." She spoke lowly, rolling her ring around her finger.

Kiara looked over at her with a sad look in her eyes. "Right. I forgot, I'm sorry." John B apologized.

Cory felt bad because she felt like she ruined the mood even more but she silently thanked Kiara for bringing the conversation back to John B. "It's been almost a year."

"Hey, he could have been kidnapped. That's definitely a possibility." JJ said eagerly as the idea popped into his head.

Pope nodded at him. "Yeah, could be in a Soviet sub getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere."

"Absolutely. Uh... or Atlantis."

"Really?" Cory chuckled.

Kiara shook her head at the boys and turned back to John B. "Look, what do you think the message is?

"Redfield. Redfield Lighthouse. That's my dad's favorite place." The car passed by the Redfield lighthouse sign that had another sign plastered on top of it. Closed due to hurricane.

Pope held out his hand for Cory to take as she jumped out of the van and he kept the door open when JJ jumped out after her. Once he shut the door, they all walked up next to each other, staring up at the lighthouse. The lighthouse itself looked pretty old and was falling apart and the ground was still a little trashed after the hurricane. "Here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna post up and look out for bogeys with Cory, okay?" John B walked towards JJ whose face immediately dropped at the job he was given. He assumed he was going inside with him.

"Wait...Why me?" JJ pointed to himself. Cory took a step away from him when he said that. He didn't mean any offense to her he just wanted to go with John B.

"Because you're not coming," Pope explained in an obvious tone.

"Why?" JJ asked again.

"Look JJ, there are independent and dependent variables. And you're an independent variable. We don't know what you're gonna do." Pope's reason made JJ angry he started to talk over him.

JJ pushed him, his blood boiling and he started to yell in his face. "Shut up! Just shut up!" He pointed in Pope's face.

"Oh my god, stop!" Cory grabbed JJ's shoulder and pushed him away from Pope.

John B put his head down, rubbing his scalp through his cap. "Listen to me for a second." John B yelled which made both of the boys' heads snap. "After what happened yesterday someone needs to be with Cory. I don't want anything even worse to happen to her. Pope, you stand lookout with JJ. Okay?" He instructed. "If we get split up, we meet back at JJ's house."

"Great." Kiara agreed as she started to walk toward the fence.

JJ just shook his head in annoyance. "I'm gonna work on my merit scholarship essay, and I'm trying to keep felonies to a minimum." JJ picked up a small ball he found on the ground and started throwing it around as Pope spoke.

"All right, would you just shut up already?" He mumbled.

Cory was silently walking away from the boys and when JJ noticed her he fumbled with the ball in his hand, trying to get it to stop bouncing before he clutched it in his hands and walked over to her. "Hey!" He called out, making Cory turn around. Her hair whipped in the breeze sending the sweet vanilla scent over to the JJ's nose. "You okay?"

"Fantastic," Cory spoke in a sarcastic tone with a fake smile.

JJ chuckled. "Look, I know a lot of shit's been going on so if you want out you can go." Ever since yesterday, JJ has been regretting asking Cory to help them and he couldn't stop thinking about it. He didn't think they'd end up here.

"Even if I wanted to I couldn't. They basically shot me. If we split up things will get even worse because they probably know what we look like I mean they knew where John B lived."

JJ fidgeted with the ball in his hand, tossing it from side to side. "I just feel like I dragged you into this."

"Honestly, the past 24 hours have been more eventful than most of my life." Cory gave him a reassuring smile.

"So, you're okay?"

She nodded. "I'm okay."

It fell quiet for a few seconds and JJ continued to fidget with his hands. "So..." JJ trailed off.

"So...?"

"How's Rafe?" JJ was obviously upset that Cory was with Rafe and he always wondered where she'd be if he wasn't in the picture. Or maybe even what would happen if she knew how he felt.

Cory shrugged and brought her hand up to fix her tube top. "I'm kind of ignoring him right now."

"Really?"
"Yeah."

JJ snickered at the thought. "And how's he takin' that?"

"Wanna see?" Cory reached for her phone that was tucked away into the pocket of her jean shorts.

Even though there was no service on the cut Cory having data on her phone didn't really make much of a difference. She couldn't make calls but she could still see her old notifications. She handed her phone to JJ and he stared down at what looked like hundreds of missed calls and texts from Rafe. "Holy shit." He swiped his thumb over the screen seeing even more with the occasional texts she got from her friends. "This is..."

"Excessive?"

"Mhm." JJ handed her the phone back. "Can I ask you something else?"

"What?" Cory asked, switching her phone screen off.

"Why are you with Rafe?"

People always asked her that question and at this point, she didn't think she could ever really give a clear answer. "Um...we've known each other since we were little because of our families and he always flirted but I never really gave him a chance. About a year ago he came to my soccer game with flowers and asked me to go on a date with him and I thought it was sweet. Then after a few weeks of going out, he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes because he was being really nice and I thought he was cute and we were a great couple for a while. Then everything went left." She explained. "I feel like deep down I feel like I can help him but I don't think that's ever gonna happen."

"You can't always help people. Sometimes they need to help themselves." JJ bounced the ball off a tree to the right of him. "And not all relationships are gonna work out but there's always gonna be better out there for you."

Cory chuckled. "And where am I supposed to find better?" Cory knew that she could be in a happier situation with someone who would treat her better. She just didn't think that she would ever be blessed with it.

"Uh—" He wished he said with me. But he couldn't.

Cory heard what sounded like a siren which made her and JJ turn around. Pope had gotten up from whatever tree he was sitting up against and looked over at them. "What's that?" Cory asked him but as the car got closer and the sirens got louder, she finally realized what it was.

"Oh, shit. Cops!" JJ stumbled back.

Cory pushed on JJ's shoulder while all three of them started to run back to the car. "Go!"

"Cory!" Pope called out. She stopped for a second, noticing that he was dangling the car keys in his hand. She held both of her hands out and caught them before sprinting over to the driver's seat.

Cory looked at the boys through the window while she shoved the keys into the ignition. "Come on!" She yelled, putting the car into drive. Once they both piled in, she almost immediately sped away. "What about Kiara and John B?" She glanced up at Pope through the mirror.

"They'll be fine." Pope nodded, struggling to catch his breath.

"But someone obviously called the cops that's why they're here—"

JJ cut her off. "Let's just not think about it right now and try not to go to jail."

Cory parked the van in front of her house and handed these keys over to JJ. "Bye, guys." She waved from outside of the car.

"Bye." Pope waved back.
"Bye, Cor."

The house was quiet and Cory assumed that her parents were still busy at the restaurant. Once she opened the door to her room, something in the air felt different and she couldn't explain it. Her phone flopped down onto the bed and out of the corner of her eye, she could see something sitting on her vanity. A bouquet of roses. And there was only one person who could've gotten her those.

She walked closer to it and stared down at the white piece of paper sticking out of them.

To: Cory, Love: Rafe.

He had even drawn a little heart next to her name. She took a deep breath and moved to stand in the hallway. "Kellen!" She called out.

Kellen was outside finishing up maintenance on their boat and when Cory walked in, she could see him through the glass door. He was now inside drinking a bottle of water. "What happened?" He walked closer to where she could see him from the banister.

"Was Rafe here?" She asked.

Kellen nodded his head. "Yeah, I heard Mom talking to him before she left." The look on Cory's face wasn't something he couldn't ignore. She looked upset in every possible way. "What's wrong? Did he do something?"

"It's just after all that shit happened at the boneyard I don't want to talk to him. And he won't stop blowing my phone up."

"I'm going golfing tomorrow. Want me to talk to him?" Kellen took another sip of his water.

Cory scoffed. "Kellen, I know you. You're not gonna talk you're gonna punch."

"And!?" He laughed, earning a stern look from Cory. "My sister and her safety is important."

"It's okay, I got it." Cory looked back down at the card, running her nail over it.

"Okay, just don't fall into a trap." He turned on his heel and opened the door to go back out to the yard. "Be careful, please."

Cory walked back into her room, side-eyeing the flowers before she went straight into the bathroom. She took her time taking off her makeup and washing the day away in the shower. She walked out of the bathroom with one of her many Victoria's Secret robes on her body and her hair wrapped in a pink towel. She heard her phone going off and assumed that it was probably Rafe but was surprised to see JJ's contact.

JJ🤍: Heyy

Cor<3: How'd you get service?

JJ🤍: We're outside your house (:

Cor<3: What?

JJ🤍: Come outside, please!!
JJ🤍: We have to go like now

Cor<3: Go where?

JJ🤍: You're asking me too many questions😐

Cor<3: Fine, I'm coming🙄

JJ🤍: Hurry up!

Cor<3: I need to change, smart ass

A smile spread over Cory's face before she walked into her closet, taking out a random pair of light-washed jeans, a black tank top, and her black Converse. Her hair was still wet but she was just gonna let it air dry and she frantically put on random pieces of jewelry, slathered deodorant under her arms, and sprayed the first perfume she touched in a quick circle over her body.

She ran outside and saw John B's car parked on the street. She went up to the window, smiling at the boys in the car. "Hey, where are we going?"

"It's a...surprise." John B smiled back.

Cory's face dropped and her arms crossed over her chest. "I don't like that answer."

"Can you just get in the car?" John B scoffed.

The girl shook her head, a piece of her damp hair sticking to the side of her face. "Not if you're gonna take me to the middle of the woods to murder me."

John B rolled his eyes. "Cory." He whined, earning laughter from JJ and Pope.

Cory laughed along with them and jogged over to the other side of the car and got into the backseat. "I'm going."

It was dark outside and quiet in the van. Some of the windows were open and the soft cool breeze settled nicely on Cory's tan skin. She was lying in the backseat, her back pressed up against the door. Her face free of makeup, eyes closed, and breath soft. JJ could barely count on one hand how many times he had seen Cory without makeup and he didn't think that she could get prettier. And he had never noticed her tiny beauty mark by her eye because it was always covered up with concealer. He could smell the kiwi conditioner from her freshly washed hair and her jewelry sparkled in the moonlight.

JJ's fingers lightly brushed along her bare shoulder, and he watched as her eyebrows knitted together and her body shuffled. "Cory," JJ whispered. She ignored him, turning her head the other way, leaving her neck exposed to him. He leaned closer to her ear. "Cory!"

Cory didn't move. "Shut up." She mumbled.

She felt his hand move her hair over her shoulder as if that would make her hear him better. "I'm bored." He whispered again.

Cory moved her head the other way again so JJ could see her face. Her eyes were still shut. "I don't care. I'm trying to take a nap." She let out a soft breath.

"You won't even wake up for the weed?" JJ smiled, holding the blunt he lit up to her nose so she could smell it.

Her eyes shot open, staring straight into the blue of his. "No." She smiled.

"Please."

Cory sighed at the frown he was giving her. "One hit if you'll shut up."

Her words made JJ smile and perk up. "Deal." He was going to hand her the joint but Cory's arms stayed folded in her lap and Cory leaned over the seat putting her lips closer to JJ's hand. He stared at her for a second and slowly put the blunt between her lips parted lips. She quickly inhaled it and leaned back in her seat with her head pointed to the ceiling as she breathed the smoke out and closed her eyes again.

    JJ took a few seconds to recover from what he just witnessed. "You mind if I just relax on this one? It's been a long day, and a lot of weird stuff's gone down. I'm just gonna lay low. Oh, did you want a hit of this?" JJ turned to Pope, holding out the blunt.

"I keep the signal clear." Pope pushed it away with one of his hands.

JJ stared blankly at him. "Dude, okay. Do you understand that your problem is that you don't get creative? If you got creative, then..."

John B started to talk over JJ and Cory opened her eyes again. "Look, I... I know I was wrong about the lighthouse, all right? And wrong about everything else going on. But I... I was right about one thing. Okay? My dad is trying to tell me something."

Cory gave a look of disgust once she stepped out of the car and realized that John B had taken them to a graveyard. She slowly walked next to JJ who was turning on the headlamp he put on. "Is John B insane? This graveyard is creepy as shit." She mumbled, switching on her flashlight.

"Hey, if a ghost tries to square up I'll protect you." JJ winked at her and Cory lightly pushed him over in response.

"Aw, I feel so safe." She spoke sarcastically. JJ walked next to her in the most uncoordinated line and Cory noticed how he was constantly looking behind him. "There's nothing there." She scoffed, making Pope laugh. "My knight in shining armor everybody."

Their attention turned back to John B. "So, Redfield. This whole time, I thought it was a place, right? But it's not a place." John B stopped in front of a grave, holding his light up to it. "It's a person."

"Voi-effing-là."

"See, my great-great-grandmother Olivia Redfield. That was her maiden name."

Cory exchanged a look with Kiara before they looked back at the grave. Everything about this place made Cory's skin crawl. The grave had all types of vines growing on top of it in every direction. "Help me with the door. Come on." John B looked back at the boys.

JJ was scratching his temple, contemplating if he should leave everyone and run to the car and Pope quickly stepped up. "All right."

"One, two, three..." Both girls looked over at JJ who was still standing by Cory. "Go." Kiara pointed to the door and JJ finally moved.

Cory took a step back and leaned into Kiara. "Do you have chills or is it just me?" She whispered.

"It's not just you," Kiara whispered back.

Pope groaned as he and John B struggled to push the door. "Come on."

"Hold on. I got it." JJ pushed himself in between them.

"This door is like 700 pounds, man. It's not gonna budge."

"We didn't come this far to get this far, all right? We got this-" JJ tried to be encouraging.

The sound of hissing cut JJ off, making everyone jump back. "Oh shit!" Cory turned away.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

JJ hovered over it, following it as it slithered by their feet. "That's a moccasin, all right. Ye olde Dr. Cottonmouth. Death in tall grass." He looked down at the snake and began barking at it.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Cory exclaimed.

"JJ, shut up. Shut up!" Kiara yelled but he didn't listen.

Pope pushed on his shoulder. "You're gonna wake the dead, man." JJ just looked at him in disbelief.

He gestured towards the snake. "They're afraid of dogs. Everyone knows that, man."

"Human barking isn't the same as dog barking," Cory commented.

John B was walking back over to the grave and JJ quickly stopped him, grabbing him by the shoulder. "Wait, hold on."

"What?" John B turned to him.

"If there's one, there's probably dozens. All around."

"Stop. You're scaring me." Kiara shrieked and JJ went back to barking at the snake once he saw it again.

Cory ran a hand through her hair and huffed in annoyance. "Can you act normal!?"

"Stop barking at the snakes." John B pushed him.

The two boys began arguing and Pope walked in front of John B. "Look, John..." JJ kept trying to talk and Pope rolled his eyes. "Shut up." He sneered at JJ. "John, look. We're not gonna get in there, all right? It's not budging." Cory looked back up at the grave and noticed that there was a small opening at the top of the door. "We should probably just go."

She continued to stare at it as she spoke. "I think I can fit through that." Everyone looked back at her as if she just confessed to a crime.

"What?" John B raised his eyebrows.

JJ rapidly shook his head. "Yeah, no."

"No, no, no, no. You think you're gonna fit through the hole?" John B asked and Cory just nodded at him. "That hole?" He pointed to it to make sure that she was serious.

"Yeah, I can." She chuckled.

JJ wasn't amused by the idea at all. "No." He spoke in an almost bitter tone.

"Why not?" Cory sighed, lowering her flashlight.

JJ obviously didn't have a reasonable explanation. At least not one that he could actually voice without ruining the relationship that they currently had. "Because I don't want you to."

"You were totally okay with me diving with practically an empty tank but this is a deal breaker?" Cory questioned with a tilt of her head. JJ just stood there, silently, not knowing what else he could say.

"Cory, you got shot yesterday. Let someone else do the life-threatening shit and take it easy." Kiara patted her shoulder and walked towards the door.

"Technically I was grazed," Cory mumbled.

"Kie you don't have to." John B grabbed her arm.

Kiara looked up at him. "Look, this is about your dad. And honestly, I really don't believe in it, but you deserve to know the truth. I'll do it."

"Come on. I'll get those..." Pope started to move all of the weeds and vines out of the way.

John B and JJ joined him while Kiara took a step back. "You got it?"

"Yeah, we got it." Pope nodded. "Give her a boost."

"I'm gonna boost you, all right. I've seen it in the movies several times. Ready?" JJ leaned his back up against the wall and locked his fingers together, holding them out.

"Remind me what we're looking for." Kiara looked up at the hole and back over to John B.

"You'll know when you see it." John B responded, staring at the wall.

"Someone hold my flashlight."

Cory leaned over wordlessly and grabbed the flashlight from Kiara's hand. "All right, so put your hands right there. Yep. Foot...Your foot. All right, on three."

Kiara jumped up on his hands, reaching for the hole. "All right..."

"Okay, never mind. Just forget about three." JJ groaned.

Kiara climbed through the hole and Cory's heart was beating rapidly in her chest. "I got it. Okay, flashlight?" Cory handed the flashlight to Pope since he was closer and he reached into the hole until he felt the tug of Kiara's hand.

She was silent for a few seconds which made John B anxious. "You alive? You got, like, a... a heartbeat and everything?" He asked through a staggered breath.

"So far," Kiara called out, her voice echoing.

"That's good. That's good."

"Uh... I need some more light."

"Yeah, yeah, here. Yeah, I gotcha." John B grabbed the lantern he had and dangled it inside the hole.

Cory looked over and now that there was light, she could see Kiara walking around. "Did you find something?" JJ asked. "Is there gold?"

"Oh, my God." Was all they heard from her.

"What is it, Kie?" Cory raised her voice, but she didn't get a response from her.

She found an envelope that she hung out of the hole. "That's not gold." Pope grabbed it with disappointment on his face.

John B grabbed it from him and Cory walked over to help Kiara get down. "Holy shit." John B mumbled, looking down at it. "This is from my dad." A smile spread across Kiara's lips and Cory could hear the sound of a car and JJ clicking his lighter.

She turned around and she saw lights and smoke (which was coming from JJ). "Code red. Code red. Square groupers! Square groupers!" JJ backed up.

"Oh shit!" Cory ran, getting ahead of everyone in seconds. She found a wall they could hide behind and waved everyone over to her.

"Lights!" Kiara spoke up, making Cory and Pope switch their flashlights off.

Cory looked over at JJ who was next to her. "JJ!" She lightly slapped his arm when she noticed that his flashlight was still on.

"Wait!" He frantically tried to put out his blunt.

"Are you serious!?" Cory went up on her knees, trying to reach his head but he was moving too much. "Hey!" She grabbed his face and moved him to face her. She quickly switched off the light and when she looked back at him, he was already staring at her. "Your life is more important than the blunt." She whispered, tapping his cheeks.

"John B? Your light!" Kiara raised her voice at him in a hushed tone.

Cory turned around, seeing John B stuffing the lantern up his shirt. "John B that won't do shit." She reached over and tried to grab it and turn it off but John B slapped her hand.

Cory slapped his hand back and everyone else was peaking behind the wall, looking at the men who were stepping off the golf cart. "Do you think it's them?" Kiara looked over Pope's shoulder.

"Homie's got a gun," JJ announced, making Cory quickly get on her feet.

"Screw this." Kiara grabbed Cory by the forearm and all five of them began running over to the fence. Cory felt JJ's hands on her waist, hoisting her over the short stone wall. Everyone had gotten to the street and started to run towards the car but Pope decided that he'd rather try and jump over the taller fence, making the material of his shorts snag on it.

"Guys! Guys!" Pope looked back at them. They could hear the golf cart approaching and Pope knew if he jumped down, he'd just be left hanging there. "Guys, I'm stuck."

Cory, John B, and Kiara ran over to him. "Pope, come on, man!" JJ reached into his pocket for the gun, clicking the safety off.

"No. Pope, don't move, okay?" JJ pointed the run towards the fence and John B quickly smacked it out of his hand.

Cory looked back at him, pulling on one of Pope's legs. "Put that away." She spoke to JJ with a clenched jaw.

"You're gonna rip me. Wait. You're gonna rip me!"

"You're fine. Come on!" Cory yanked his left leg while Kiara was pulling him off by his waist.

Pope's shorts completely ripped off once they got him loose, leaving him in his underwear and Cory wasted no time running back to the car. "It's a little Tootsie Roll." John B teased making both of the girls giggle.

Cory opened the door and jumped into the backseat, laughing. "You're an idiot." John B got into the driver's seat, JJ hopped into the passenger seat, and Kiara stayed in the back with Pope and Cory. As Kiara closed the door Cory noticed Pope looking down and covering his crotch which sent her back into a fit of laughter. "Aw, it's okay Pope." She placed a hand on his shoulder that he shrugged off in embarrassment.

KARISSA SPEAKS

—okay soo season 4 was something😀but after consideration i will do season 4 but there will be a happy ending i promise jj will be alive

—jj and cory are practically an old married couple at this point

—the next chapter is kind of a lot so prepare yourself it's VERY cory and rafe centered