SMOKE SIGNALS     /     OUTERBANKS
ੈ✩‧₊˚ written by catie . . . © vqnillascented
chapter forty one  ━━ ' happy anniversary '

ONCE SHE HAD CONVINCED JJ THAT they should not attempt to make breakfast in fear that they might set the Chateau on fire, Alex made her way down the boardwalk, looking for somewhere to pick up something to eat.

Even as she walked, her mind kept replaying memories from the previous night, and she couldn't keep the cheesy smile and flustered blush off her face for a second.

That is, until the sight of a familiar blonde sitting outside at a table startled the hot flush right off of her face.

"Sarah?" Alex glanced between her...and Topper. "What are you doing here? With him?" She whispered the last part, as if he wasn't sitting right there and could still hear her.

"Good morning, Alex." Topper flashed her an oblivious or sarcastic ━ she could never tell with him ━ smile.

"Morning." Alex couldn't keep her disdain out of her expression.

Sarah was already rising to her feet. "Come on." She grabbed Alex's wrist, roughly, and dragged her away from the table. They ducked around a nearby shop, putting a wall between them and Topper.

"What the hell is going on here?" Alex yanked her hand free from Sarah's, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sarah let out a heavy sigh. "I had nowhere to go last night. Cleo's at Pope's. You and JJ were off doing God knows what. John B and I got into a thing. Topper found me and took me to Mase with a group of people last night."

Alex shook her head. "Fine, but what are you still doing with him this morning?"

"We slept on the beach."

"Slept?"

"Jesus, Alex." Sarah scoffed, stepping back. "Yes, we just slept. You really think I would do something like that to John B?"

Alex blinked. "Defensive much?"

Sarah clamped her mouth shut, before trying and failing to come up with something else to say.

"Sarah, what did you do?" Alex lowered her voice, leaning closer. "You can talk to me. No judgement. I mean, a little judgement, because...Topper, but you can still tell me anything."

The blonde dropped her chin to her chest. "I kissed him."

It took a lot of effort to keep her jaw from going slack. "What?" Alex hissed. "What happened to 'I wouldn't do that to John B'?"

"It was a mistake!" Sarah whisper-yelled back. "He made me feel safe and...normal, I guess? I shouldn't have done it, but I can't take it back now! Don't act like you've never done anything you shouldn't have because feelings are clouding your judgement!"

It was Alex's turn to fall silent, only one name in her mind.

Confusion took over Sarah's anger. "Alex?"

Sucking down a deep breath, Alex braced herself. Sarah would understand, or at least, she'd still be her friend after she came clean. She hadn't technically done anything wrong. Right?

Here goes nothing.

Alex looked her dead in the eye. "I slept with Rafe."

Sarah didn't do as good a job at hiding her horror as Alex had. She reached out a hand to steady herself on the brick beside them. "W-when?"

"Last summer." Alex answered. "And it was only once. We kissed a few more times than that, but it was just a stupid fling."

"I can't believe this." Sarah turned her face away, so Alex couldn't see the blaze in her eyes.

"Wait, you're mad?" Alex tried to get a glimpse of her expression, but Sarah was planted firm. "Sarah, it happened almost a a year ago! Before he did any of that messed up shit! I saw him shoot Peterkin, and obviously all feelings were gone after that! I despise him now, just like everyone else!"

"A year ago..." Sarah shook her head at the ground. "And you didn't even think to mention it to me, your best friend, that you had feelings for my brother? That you were acting on those feelings? Oh my God, while I cried to you about being scared to have sex with Topper, you were fucking Rafe the whole time? You ━ "

Alex didn't even realize she had slapped Sarah until the sound echoed around them.

Sarah held her cheek in her hand as her skin turned pink, her mouth hanging open with shock.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't, I don't━ " Alex stammered, trying to come up with a good enough excuse, but she came up blank.

Narrowing her eyes, Sarah let go of her face and lowered her hand, only to bring her palm down hard against Alex's cheek as well.

Alex stumbled back from the surprising force. "Shit." Her face stung from the contact, eyes welling with tears, both from pain and the twist of anger and embarrassment in her gut.

Sarah inhaled sharply, her own eyes damp. "I can't believe that you kept that a secret from me for a whole year. I'm supposed to be your best friend. You're supposed to tell me everything."

Any remaining sympathy that she might have had was zapped from Alex now. "I can't believe you cheated on John B. He's perfect for you, Sarah, but of course, you had to sabotage your own happiness. Like always."

Sarah winced. "Screw you."

"I'm going back to my healthy relationship. Goodbye." Alex spun wildly on her heel to march back in the way she came, no longer hungry.

For good measure, she offered Topper her middle finger as she stormed off.

Alex was looking forward to venting about her troubles to JJ when she got back, only to find the Chateau empty.

"JJ?" She called, poking her head into each room, finding each of them dark and abandoned.

A flash of red in the kitchen caught her eye. She approached the fridge, finding crimson letter magnets spelling out ALEX had a note pinned to the front.

She all but tore the note down, opening it frantically.

I'm so so so sorry. I know you said that I need to tell you stuff and think about you before doing stupid shit, but this was an emergency. I can make up for it later, thooo ;)

Sorry. Not the time.

I'm with John B. Don't worry about us, we're fine, but it couldn't wait until you got back.

Love you,
J

PS. Go to the Carrera's party thing tonight, I'll tell you everything there.

Alex threw her head back and groaned. While it was considerate to leave her a note instead of just running of like he'd usually do, that meant she was stuck here alone for the rest of the day. No mission to channel her frustration into, and certainly no best friend to hang out with and complain to.

All she could do was sit with her thoughts. Until it was time to go to the party at the Wreck tonight. It was their 15th anniversary, and it was an open invitation event, with drinks and food to celebrate.

Alex really didn't want to go. Sarah would definitely be there, not to mention she had probably gotten to Kiara by now, told her about their fight, about how awful Alex was.

Kiara was smart, and she could form her own opinion on the situation, but with only one side to the story, Alex was pretty sure she'd be walking into a hornet's nest.

But, she wanted to know what John B and JJ were up to. Preferably, she wanted in. She needed something to distract her, to get her out of this town for a little while. She was starting to go a bit stir crazy being back with no adventures.

So, she headed back out to the porch, deciding to make a pit stop at her old house, to grab a killer dress for this party.

A live band was playing when Alex arrived, a large crowd already gathered outside the restaurant. She was able to slip into the event without seeing anybody she knew, and without anybody seeing her. Perfect. She just had to wait until JJ and John B got here, then she would go with them.

As she passed, she snagged a drink from one of the tables, taking a long swig, letting the bubbles diffuse her impatience.

She settled into a chair at the very back of the outdoor area, sitting down so there was less of a chance of anybody seeing her, or worse, talking to her. She was content to just nurse her drink, and wait.

Of course, as soon as she settled, that's when Kiara walked right up to her.

"I'm mad at you." She said, crossing her arms over her stomach.

Alex didn't stand up, didn't even rush to finish off her drink. "Okay."

Kiara sighed. "But...I know that Sarah isn't talking to you right now and there's something you should know."

This piqued her interest. Lowering her empty cup to the ground, Alex raised her brows. "What?"

"Ward is here. On the island." Kiara said, keeping her voice quiet. "He gave her the keys to their condo on the water, and some money. He wants to make amends or whatever."

Alex couldn't swallow her scoff. "Yeah, right."

"Exactly."

A horrible thought crossed Alex's thoughts. "You don't think..." She chewed on her lip. "That means my mom is...?" She couldn't even say it.

Kiara frowned. "I have no idea."

Alex released a breath. "Shit. This could be bad."

"Maybe." Kiara shrugged. "But maybe your mom isn't here, and maybe Ward doesn't want any trouble. If there's on thing he loves more than gold, it's Sarah. Maybe he's developed a conscious."

Alex looked up at her with a sarcastic smile. "You and your optimism."

The band ends their song with a loud guitar riff, then Mike Carrera is stepping up to the mic.

"Oh God." Kiara mumbled.

"I just want to say a few words, and I'm not much into giving speeches, but I do just want to say thank you for coming out and thank you for your support after a rough few months." He started, then shifted his eyes to Kiara. "I wanna say thank you to our daughter for being here. We love you."

She scrunched up her nose, feigning embarrassment, but Alex could tell that she appreciated her parents.

Suddenly, she was craving another drink.

As Mike started to go on and on about Anna, Alex slipped away, everyone's attention on the loving couple.

She quickly found another table with fresh drinks, but not even two, three, four cups could ease the heavy weight in her gut.

"Alex?"

She turned in the direction of JJ's voice, her chest blooming at the sight of him crouching behind the fence, waving her over. She wore a loopy smile as she approached, her limbs feeling a bit lighter than usual, her head a little more floaty.

"My JJ." She cooed, slipping under the fence to give him a hug.

"Hi." He said, still trying to keep out of sight. "Uh, are you drunk?"

This made her laugh. She didn't really know why. "I think so." She said, her smile unwavering. "Whoops." It was then that she stumbled, tripping over thin air, but he was quick to catch her waist.

"Did something happen?" He asked, voice laced with concern.

Alex waved off his worry, suddenly feeling like nothing in the world mattered. "I had a fight with Sarah. She hit me." She giggled.

"What?" JJ's eyes were wide. "What do you mean she hit you?"

"I hit her first." She shrugged. "She deserved it, I deserved it, whatever. We're not talking."

"You and Sarah? Not talking?"

"It's not a big deal." Alex tried to shrug again, but instead she found that the heaviness had returned behind her ribs. "I need another drink."

"No you don't." JJ stopped her from leaving by tightening his hands around her waist. "How many have you had already?"

"Two." She answered quickly, but the memories of way more than two cups being tossed aside made her second guess herself. "Four. Six? No, five."

"Jesus." JJ inhaled sharply. "Okay, here's the plan: we gotta go to South America. There's a place there called El Dorado. It's this, like, city of gold or whatever. Singh kidnapped John B's dad and is taking him there to find the gold or kill him if he can't."

Alex screwed up her nose. Her many, many questions were swallowed up by a loud crash coming from behind them.

Topper brings down one of the tables as he falls, glasses and plates clattering to the ground. John B stands over him, his gaze full of rage.

"I would walk away right now, bro." Topper stays down, trying to stay calm as people start to notice the commotion. "I'm not ruining the party."

"Do you feel good about yourself?" John B barked.

Alex felt her stomach hit her toes, the fuzzy feeling in her head instantly clearing. "Shit."

"What's going on?" JJ hissed, watching the scene with wide eyes.

Sarah runs over to the boys, grabbing John B by the shirt to pull him away. "Would you please just turn around and walk away?"

John B stares at her, trying to breathe, trying to calm down.

Topper peels himself off of the ground. "No hard feelings, bro."

To Sarah's protest, John B turns to face him, slow and calm. Then, he rears back and throws a punch right into Topper's jaw. The taller boy is back on the ground, groaning and clutching his cheek.

The music comes to a stop with a ear-piercing screech, followed by a collective gasp. Every single person at the party is watching now.

John B shakes out his hand, stretching his fingers. "You like that, Top?"

Topper rolls onto his back, a bruise already forming on his face.

"Jesus." JJ inhales sharply. Alex can't look away from the scene, no matter how much she wants to.

John B hits his knees, getting another hard punch in on Topper's jaw. And another. Then another.

JJ springs into action, hopping the fence to run over to him. Alex follows quickly after, the weight in her gut slowing her steps.

Mr. Carrera beats JJ to the commotion, grabbing John B and throwing him to the side roughly. The teen is on his feet again fast.

"Get out of here!" Mr. Carrera bellows. 

JJ reaches John B and gets in between him and Mike. John B only has eyes on on person. "You happy, Sarah?"

Alex helps JJ drag John B away, as more people start to tend to Topper, calling an ambulance for him.

Halfway down the pier, the party in the distance, John B gets a second wind. He whirls on Alex, slipping from JJ's grasp.

"Did you know?" He grits out. "Did you know what Sarah did?"

Alex couldn't say anything.

"What did Sarah do?" JJ asked, keeping his voice down, afraid to set his friend off again.

"She cheated on me!" John B yelled. "And you knew!" He threw an arm in Alex's direction. "You didn't think to tell me?!"

JJ stepped forward again, getting in between John B and his girl. Alex crossed her arms over her chest. "I just found out this morning. Besides, it wasn't my responsibility to tell you. It was Sarah's."

John B's breathing slows, and he takes a step back.

"We have to get out of here." JJ urges. "Somebody might've called the cops."

The three of them hurry the rest of the way to the boys' boat, climbing in and fleeing the scene, tension thick in the air.

catie speaks!

hey....how y'all doing? 😐

remember how last chapter i said i'd be back to regular posting? yeah. forget you ever read that.

i guess i got really busy in the new year, plus i've been dealing with some health issues. IM OKAY, just my every day has kind of been interupted.

nevertheless, i hope you enjoyed reading and haven't abandoned this fic yet, because contrary to popular belief, i haven't either. i'm still writing for this book y'all, and i'm gonna finish it, gonna give alex her happy ending, it's just taking some time.

this time i won't promise another quick update tehe, we'll just see what happens!

any thoughts? theories?

thank you so much for reading! i hope you liked it!! please vote and comment if you enjoyed, and follow to be notified when i update! love you alllll 🫶

virtual hugs,
catie!