SMOKE SIGNALS / OUTERBANKS
ੈ✩‧₊˚ written by catie . . . © vqnillascented
chapter twenty two ━━  ' homecoming '

ALEX CAN'T BREATHE. She's not sure if she's ever known the sweet feeling of air in her lungs, the sensation of oxygen in her veins.

Sarah stares back at her, brown eyes wide, mouth hanging open. Her chest is also still, like she forgot how to suck down breath just like Alex had. She's sitting in the back of a bike trailer, John B in front, knuckles white against the handlebars.

The moment lasts a lifetime, everything moving around them in slow motion. Alex can't move, she can't breathe, she can't think. Her brain has completely forgotten how to work, looking into the face of her best friend, who she had thought was dead until a week ago.

Should she laugh? Should she smile and jump for joy? Should she cry? Oh God, she really does feel like crying. She should hug her, should tell her that she's happy to see her, happy that she's okay, happy ━

Kiara's hand on her arm drags her from her daze. "We gotta go!"

"Get in, get in." John B urges, waving towards the cart he's peddling.

There's no time to think, which Alex is almost grateful for, since her brain is still buffering like an old internet connection. She launches herself into the cart, sliding in next to Sarah. Kiara takes her place next to Alex, while JJ and Pope go around to the back to push, giving them some more momentum.

The gruff man's car screeches around the corner, barreling down the street towards them. In a slurry of swear words, John B starts to pedal. Everyone is yelling, begging John B to go faster, yelling at the truck to leave them alone.

Alex turns in her seat to get a look at the truck, only to see that the man has gotten out and is now chasing them on foot. Her heart is so loud in her ears, it nearly drowns out the others screaming.

It's then that she notices that Sarah has interlocked their fingers, holding hands against the seat. Alex shifts her gaze back to her, and the blonde gives her a soft smile, squeezing her hand twice.

Alex feels her brain jumpstart back into gear. All of her hesitation and uncertainty rushes out of her head. Sarah is back, everyone and everything is fine. For now. But they have to lose this man.

She does a quick sweep of the landscape, spotting a sharp turn into a downward hill. The gravity of the slope might just give them the speed that they need. "John B, turn left!"

"What?" He yells back, panting from the effort of his peddling.

She grips the back of his seat, yelling in his ear. "Left! Now!"

He yanks the handlebars towards the hill, taking the turn aggressively. Pope loses his hand on the back and tumbles on the road, but is quick to regain his footing.

As they coast town the hill, JJ jumps into the cart, standing between Sarah and Alex. They're definitely exceeding the limit of passengers, but there's no way the boys can continue to push behind and keep up.

Kiara hangs over the back edge and extends an arm to Pope, helping him into the cart with the rest of them.

Gravity pulls them down, speeding up the bike. It only takes a few moments to pull ahead of the man, and he trips from his momentum and falls.

"See you later, asshole!" Pope whoops, as the guy's curled up body gets smaller and smaller in the distance.

The cart goes up in celebratory whoops, happy to have lost him. Alex beams, the wind blowing through her hair and cooling her face. JJ reaches down and ruffles her hair. "Good call." He tells her, wearing a big grin.

Her smile grows, stomach dipping when he touches her. "Thanks." She answers quietly, her voice almost lost in the wind. But he hears her and gives a small nod, mouth twitching upwards.

She's nervous again, only this time for a different reason. They're going to have to talk about what happened in the car. She just hopes that this doesn't ruin anything.

John B steers them towards the beach, where a small boat is parked on the sand.

"Is this you?" JJ's brows are high.

John B throws him a smile over his shoulder in answer.

They all load up onto the boat, still rushing in case their attacker decides to resume the chase. They only relax once out on the water, the spray of the waves hitting their legs, the hum of the engine beneath their feet.

Alex and Sarah finally get their hug, not letting go for several moments, having lots of time to make up for.

The trip back to the Outerbanks takes hours, still shorter than if they drove, with the lack of traffic. The boys take turns steering the boat, switching shifts overnight to avoid stopping, the other sleeping while one manned the wheel.

They arrived in the familiar marshes by sunrise, their stomachs growling, begging for food. The girls go off to look for something to eat, while the boys stay in the docked boat. They find an unsuspecting person's home garden, quickly taking a couple watermelons, hoping that the homeowner won't miss a few fruits.

They collapse in a nearby field, cracking one of the melons in half on the ground. Laughter shakes their shoulders while watermelon juice drips down their fingers as they tear out chunks of the sweet fruit.

None of them can speak for a few minutes, too preoccupied stuffing their faces.

"Okay, so, you really got married?" Kiara asks, mouth full of watermelon.

Alex licks her sticky lips, throwing Sarah a glance. On the boat ride, she had mentioned that she and John B exchanged vows.

"It wasn't exactly legal, but..." Sarah shrugged, a smile overtaking her face. "Yeah."

Alex shoved her with her shoulder, reaching for another chunk of fruit. "You are in love, in love." She teases, a grin on her own face.

"I am." Sarah blushes at the ground.

Another moment passes, filled with quiet chewing. "And you," Sarah nudges Alex back. "What's going on with you and JJ?"

Alex nearly chokes on her bite of watermelon. "What?"

Kiara snorts, and Alex whips her head to look at her. The brunette raises her hands in surrender. "I wasn't gonna be the one to say it."

"There's nothing going on." Alex sighs, starting to pull blades of grass from the dirt.

"Why do you look so disappointed at that fact?" Kiara asked.

"I don't know," Alex wanted to scream. For the past few weeks her feelings have been all muddled, confusing, indecipherable. She can't figure out her own heart. "He's such a good friend. I don't want anything to happen if it's gonna be weird."

Kiara shakes her head.

"What?" Alex watches her, trying to read her thoughts.

"Nothing, nothing." Kiara reaches out for the broken watermelon. "We just talk that's all."

"You and JJ?" Alex grabbed Kiara's hand before she can get another bite. "What does he say?"

Kiara giggles gleefully, enjoying Alex's torment. "Let go of me! You're crazy!"

"Fine, whatever." Alex drops her hold, letting out a huff. "But I've talked to Pope too, by the way."

Kiara's smile falls. "What?"

It's Alex's turn to laugh.

"Wait, wait, wait." Sarah waves her hands. "You and Pope, since when?"

"It's nothing serious," Kiara's blushing now, and Alex is grateful to be out of the hot seat. "We've kissed a few times. And I like him. He's nice."

"He is nice." Alex bumped her knee.

"Giiirl." Sarah rolled her eyes playfully at them both. "You two need to figure yourselves out."

"You think cause you're married now you can tell us what to do in our relationships?" Alex narrows her eyes, a laugh trapped in her throat.

Sarah points at her. "Exactly."

They erupt into giggles, reaching for more watermelon until they're more than full.

"Stupid things have good outcomes all the time."

This is what JJ said when Pope and Kiara expressed their concerns with going home, after ditching without a word. Kiara's parents threatened boarding school if she continued to act out, and she had left for Charleston anyways. Pope had taken his dad's truck, and then broken it and left it in the city. They were both sure to get in heaps of trouble.

This was one of the few times Alex was glad that her mom didn't care about her.

JJ suggested that they let shit hit the fan tomorrow, and party it up for the rest of the day. They had already come this far, disobeyed their parents this much, where was the harm in twelve more hours?

After stopping for beer at a convenience store, getting a pizza, and firing up The Cat's Ass, their party was a go.

The hot tub's jets felt amazing on Alex's sore muscles, the water washing away all the dirt and sweat that had accumulated over the past few days. Music played loudly from Kiara's bluetooth speaker, left on the porch away from the water.

Sarah was laughing loudly at JJ and John B doing some weird dance, beers in an hand and sunglasses covering their eyes. They had already had several beers, Pope only having one. Kiara was nursing a joint and Sarah and Alex were sharing a beer with two straws, which the boys didn't not fail to make fun of them for.

"I can't believe it." Alex murmured, feeling blissful from the combination of relief, beer and hot water.

"What?" Sarah took a sip of beer from her pink straw.

"You're here." Alex waved a hand, motioning to her sitting on the side of the tub, feet in the water.

"I'm here." Sarah giggled, clearly a bit buzzed.

"I never thought I'd see you again." Alex sighed, staring down at the rolling, bubbling water.

"Aw, Alex." Sarah wrapped an arm around her best friend's shoulder.

"It's was terrifying, you know?" Alex sniffling, embarrassed by her damp eyes when they were supposed to be having a good time. "Watching you go out in that boat, having Shoupe tell me you were..." She swallowed hard.

"It was terrifying being in the boat." Sarah nodded, also getting emotional. "I didn't know what was happening, I thought that when that wave hit, that I wouldn't wake up again."

"Well, I'm glad you did." Alex smiled sadly.

"Me too." Sarah tightened her grip on her shoulders

They stayed like that, wrapped up in a hug, relief and joy hitting them like a tidal wave. Until JJ fell against the side of the hot tub, sticking his face between them.

He held out a lit joint to Alex. "Wanna try again?" He slurred, a crooked grin on his face.

"You are so drunk." Alex laughed, reaching out to straighten his sunglasses, which he had put on crooked.

"Aw, are you crying?" He asked, titling his head to one side with a pout. He set the joint down on the lip of the hot tub, which Sarah quickly scooped up before it could roll into the water. He didn't notice her, focused on lifting his hand to Alex's face, his thumb shaky as he swiped away a tear that was hanging from her lashes.

Alex felt her cheeks grow red. Even though he was unsteady, his touch was careful, gentle, sweet. He pulled back, giving her a big toothy grin. "Feel better?"

She nodded, even though her heart was twisting behind her ribs. "Much better." She whispered.

"Good." He nodded, assuredly. He noticed that Sarah had taken his joint and whined until she gave it back. Alex watched him, her chest collapsing.

He was so good to her, only ever being gentle and caring with her, even when he was drunk. She didn't deserve the kindness. She didn't know how to be a person that somebody could love.

She had always been the one with the power, the one who liked the other person less, so she could leave at moment's notice or not get hurt when they inevitably say something mean.

But she didn't want to be one foot in with JJ. She either needed to give her all, or tell him that she'd never get there.

He deserved someone that could give their all, that could be there for him, when he had hard times, because God knows, his life was far from easy.

She wasn't sure if she could ever be that person. His reliable rock, a comforting presence. She was harsh, she was rude and she got angry. She wasn't anybody's safe place, she didn't know how to be. And that's what he deserved.

But she had never felt this way for anybody before. The thought of changing herself or putting in effort to be better for somebody else had never even crossed her mind. If it had, she would've laughed the sentiment away.

She wanted to be good for JJ, she just didn't know if she was capable. If she'd ever be capable.

She had absolutely no idea what to do.

catie speaks!

hiiii besties!!

a bit of a shorter one after the literal NOVEL of a chapter that i published last time. jjalex is heating upppp 👀 what will alex do?

any thoughts? theories? 🤔

anyways, thank you so much for reading! i hope you enjoyed it, please vote and comment if you enjoyed, follow be he notified when i update!

virtual hugs,
catie!