There were two things in life that had never happened to Katherine, when it came to boys.

The first, she was never the dumpee and always the dumper. No guy in the OBX was dumb enough to even think about breaking up with Katherine Scott. Relationships grew stale, of course, but Katherine was always the first to break it off.

The second was being stood up. Katherine had backed out on numerous dates, simply because of cold feet, or even if she'd just gotten the ick.

You know what they say, though, karma is a bitch and today Katherine got a taste of her own medicine from none other than JJ fucking Maybank.

Katherine stood at the edge of the water, glaring out at the ocean with her surfboard in hand. She was pissed, plainly put. Who did he think he was? That's what Katherine wanted to know and what she was about to find out.

She strapped her board to the top of her car and did her best to recall the route JJ had taken her on on his motorcycle. After a few wrong turns and circles back, she finally recognized the dirt driveway that led to the 'chateau'.

Katherine had no plan, of what she wanted to say to JJ, nor did she know how the others would react to her even being there, if anyone else was even there.

When she reached the end of the drive, she spotted Sarah's car parked not too far from the Chateau. She figured Sarah was there to make peace with John B, while she was there to rip JJ a new one.

In true Katherine fashion, she stomped in her nude Valentino Garavani sandals across the overgrown yard in search for any signs of life. "JJ!" She called out, the frustration evident in her voice.

It shouldn't bother her so much that JJ left her hanging, and she really couldn't explain why it was. She could try to spin it that he was a Pogue and she was a Kook and he should be honored that she would even want to breath the same air as him, but that was more bullshit than she was willing to lie about.

Katherine's call for JJ missed their target by a long shot, falling on John B and Sarah's ears instead.

Sarah quickly rounded a corner to find her best friend scanning the clearing. "Kat?"

Katherine's blazing gaze met her confused one, before simmering down slightly. "Is JJ here?" She didn't wait for an answer, instead stomping towards where she was standing.

"I thought he was with..." she trailed off, flicking her eyes towards John B, who Katherine made eye contact with at the same moment.

Sarah was, understandably, protecting her best friend's discretion, but Katherine didn't really care. She turned to Sarah. "Oh, with me?" She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah, no, he didn't show up." Her head snapped back to John B, who looked between the pair, confused. "Where is he?"

"I-uh..." he started, unsure of what exactly JJ had gotten himself into. "He's helping Pope...?"

"Right, yeah, well tell him it's common courtesy to call someone before backing out of plans," she scoffed. "Oh, and tell him to go fuck himself for me, if you don't mind."

John B adjusted the had on his head, trying to piece together what was happening, but he was more confused than ever. "I feel like I'm missing something here, but I'll relay the message."

Katherine let out her frustrations in the best way she knew how—returning to the beach to surf. The irony wasn't lost on her, that she'd gotten stood up trying to do this very thing, but there was nothing that could make her hate surfing.

Katherine taught herself to surf when she was twelve years old. She'd watched others do it for years before, seeing as she always wanted to be at the beach anyway, so it was a relatively easy feat.

Surfing was Katherine's favorite way to relax. She was able to pour her heart out as she rode the waves like a pen flowed against a notebook. Her movements sharp when she expressed her anger, and slow when showing her sadness. She felt this was a far better way to release her emotions than to keep some silly diary.

When she was finished letting out every ounce of frustration she could possibly hold, she waded out of the water with her board in tow.

She felt more relaxed; lighter, even. That was, until his voice made her stop in her tracks. "I was hoping I'd find you here."

Slowly, she turned to face him, arms crossed over her chest. "Why are you here, Todd?"

He took a step closer, and she took a step back. His jaw ticked at this, but he just closed his eyes and took a breath. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "F-for the last three months—for everything." He stepped closer to her. She hesitated, considering stepping backwards, but she stayed put. "I know I've hurt you, I-I know. I just...I got mixed up with some shit I shouldn't have, and I know that's no excuse, but—. In a few days, I'm going away for the rest of the summer. My mom thinks it'll be good for me to get off the island for a bit, and I kind of think she's right." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the ground for a moment, before looking back at her. "I just wanted to say goodbye, and I'm sorry. But just know, when I come home, I'm going to win you back—whatever it takes, because I love you, Kat."

He started to lean in to kiss her, but Katherine put her hands up and moved her face away. "Todd, I-I can't," she said softly.

"Right," he muttered, looking away. "I'll see you soon, Kat." Without another word, he turned and walked off towards his truck, and Katherine was forced to swallow the golfball sized lump in her throat while she walked to her car.

With shaky hands, she strapped her board to the top of the car. She had been doing fairly well for herself since the breakup with Todd, but that was because she was keeping herself distracted. He caught her in her most vulnerable state, and tore open the hole that had formed in her chest.

She shrank down in her car and sat there, staring out at the ocean and trying to slow her brain down. However, that was proving to be more difficult that she'd though it would be. Her chest was aching and her lungs felt like they were on fire. It was like every breath she was breathing was just liquid flooding her lungs. She felt like she was drowning.

A year ago, she swore she was going to marry Todd Winters, one day. He was the first boy she ever loved. The scariest part of all of this wasn't the fact that she still loved him and watching him walk away broke her. No, it was because that wasn't the case.

Instead of feeling beaten down and broken, she felt free.

The last three months had been hell with Todd. The physical and emotional abuse he put her through had completely taken a toll on her. She was constantly walking on eggshells trying not to upset him, and now she was free.

The entire drive home, she was distracted. She was trying to calm herself down and clean up her face a bit, but it was hopeless. So instead, when she pulled into the driveway, she entered the house as quietly as possible and made a beeline for her bedroom.

With a sigh of relief, she closed her door softly and turned the lock, not feeling like explaining to her parents why she looked such a mess.

However, her cover was nearly blown when she almost screamed out of fear, from colliding into someone's chest. A hand quickly covered her mouth to conceal any noise, and her arms started thrashing until she looked up and saw the familiar cerulean eyes through the pale moonlight. She relaxed slightly, though shoved his hand off of her. "What are you doing in my room, creep," she hissed. "As a matter of fact, why the fuck are you here to begin with? Did John B not get my message to you?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

JJ frowned at her attitude. "Yeah, no, I got the message loud and clear," he muttered, taking a step back. "Kat I didn't mean to leave you hangin', I just got caught up with somethin',—."

"Save it, JJ," she snorted, shoving past him. She flipped on her lamp, starting to move towards her dresser, but JJ quickly pulled her back towards him.

He looked between her eyes, frowning. "Wha-have you been crying?" His voice was small, filled with guilt.

Katherine snatched from his grip. "Not about you," she spat, returning to walk to her dresser.

JJ could feel himself beginning to grow annoyed at her anger towards him. "Did you know?" His voice was low, unassuming, but his expression said otherwise.

Katherine turned towards him with narrowed eyes. "Know what?"

"That your boyfriend and his buddy were gonna jump Pope while he was running deliveries for his pops at the Country Club?"

Katherine's eyes widened, then narrowed in confusion. "My boyf—Todd?"

"Rafe!" He countered abruptly. "Him and Topper. Rafe beat him with a golf club, Kat! Did you know?"

"No!" She insisted, taking a step towards him.

JJ found himself doing to same. His face softened as she was now an arms length away. "That's where I was," he murmured. "Pope was pretty beat up, a-and I just lost track of time. I'd never do it on purpose. I should've called."

Katherine's head nodded her agreement. "You should've," she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "But honestly, I had gotten over that. At the end of the day, you can do what you want. You don't owe me anything." She moved away from him and grabbed a set of her pajamas and retreated to the closet to close the door and change.

JJ narrowed his eyes, frowning. "Then why were you crying?"

The question made her flinch, but she didn't answer until she was back in the room with him. "Todd showed up at the beach," she muttered, looking at her hands as she messed with her nails.

Automatically assuming the worst, his eyes widened and he took two long strides towards her until he was right in front of her. "Did he touch you?" He ground out, immediately looking her over.

She shook her head, finally looking back up to meet his gaze. "No," she replied softly. She could tell quite easily that even the mere thought had JJ tensed, but he visibly relaxed at her answer. "No, he said he came to say goodbye. He's leaving for the summer."

"Good riddance," he muttered.

"JJ."

"C'mon, Kat, the guys a grade-A dick," he insisted, voice raising slightly. "He hurt you. That's bullshit!" His gaze shifted quickly between her doe eyes, immediately softening. He didn't understand how someone could hurt someone like Kat, in any way.

Katherine could feel herself getting lost in his eyes by the way her mind was growing fuzzy. She quickly dropped her gaze to the ground, shaking her head. "That doesn't mean I don't care about him," she muttered.

"What, like you care about Rafe?" He scoffed. "Why did you even ask me to go surf, Kat? Todd and Rafe both busy?"

She glared at him, anger bubbling in her stomach. "Fuck you," she whispered, trying to keep her voice from breaking. "Calling you was a mistake. Not that it matters because you don't have the decency to call when you can't make it. But don't worry, it won't happen again."

JJ stared down at her for a minute, swallowing thickly. "Right, yeah." His voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. "Of course. I-I mean, how crazy of me to think that you might actually want to be friends." He laughed humorlessly. Without another word, he turned on his heels and started for the window.

Part of her wanted to reach out to stop him from leaving. Part of her wanted to tell him that she didn't mean that, and that calling him wasn't a mistake. She was just too angry and conflicted. So she just watched him leave.

Calling JJ wasn't a mistake. At least, not in her mind. Letting him leave, though? She was feeling like that definitely was.