CHAPTER ONE: COLD TOWELS ARE A NO NO!

______________________________

"that's what, a three-story fall to the deck? i give you about a one-in-three chance of survival," pope looked up at john b, who was balancing on the roof like an utter idiot.

"oh my god john b, you look like a total badass right now," i ran my hands through my hair and bit on my lower lip, acting like i was turned on by the boy's reckless actions. jj, my best friend who was sitting next to me, chuckled and snatched my beer right out of my hand. he chugged the rest of it before i got the chance to object.

"you asshole," i whispered, smiling slightly and shaking my head. his bright blue eyes met mine for a split second before he threw the can at pope below us.

"should i do it?" john b called out in response to pope's remark.

"yeah, you should jump. i'll shoot you on the way down."

"you're gonna shoot me?" john b inquired.

"yep, pew!"

"they're gonna have japanese toilets with towel warmers," the brunette girl rolled her eyes, emerging from the unfinished home.

"of course, why wouldn't they?" jj asked.

"this used to be a turtle habitat, but who cares about the turtles i guess?" kie looked up.

"i can't have cold towels," jj admitted.

"i second that," i replied.

"can you please not kill yourself?" kie said to john b.

"don't spill that beer. i'm not giving you another one," jj added. as if on cue, john b dropped the beer can, it splattering all over the deck.

"of course you did," jj commented.

"smooth," kie murmured.

"hey pope, can you grab me another? this douche stole mine," i tilted my head towards jj, referring to him.

"that's gonna have to wait, elsie. hey uh, securities here. let's wrap it up. boys are early today," pope raised his voice.

"humpty dumpty, let's roll."

"let's go boys."

"gary is that you?" jj looked out at him, his smile full of mischief.

"gary, good to see you man!" i cheered, following my best friends lead. we climbed down the ladder and he grabbed my hand.

"c'mon gorgeous, we gotta roll," he winked jokingly, leading me through the house as we all laughed at the adrenaline rush.

"hey stop!" the man shouted, catching jj and i off-guard. "get em, they're comin' your way!" he tried shouting to his coworker.

"i got him!" the second man yelled, even though jj got out of his grasp.

"not much of a hugger, man!" jj reached for my hand that he lost the hold of, and we traveled out of the incomplete home.

"they're goin out front!"

"go pope! go, go, go, go, go, go!" jj shouted.

a fence came up, and i was going to try my best to clear it, despite the fact that i'm a whopping 5'3.

"i'm gonna get it this time!" i assured jj. needless to say, i didn't get it. don't get me wrong, my kind-looking exterior is not a good representation of my wild nature. if i have the fire in me, putting up a decent fight isn't difficult. but clearing a six-foot fence was an entirely different story. i heaved myself over and landed on the ground in a jumbled mess.

"get up, elsie, fatso's coming," he helped me up speedily while we both laughed our asses off.

"hey, come here you little pricks!" the man who was visibly struggling to hop over screamed at us, almost as if we'd listen to him. what a joke.

"bus is leaving!"

"come on guys!"

just as my troublemaking friend and i reached the van, john b zoomed off. but our good old pal gary wasn't giving up.

"hey! hey! hey! hey!" gary called to us. i couldn't control my fit of laughter as my head laid on jj's chest.

"check out gary, gunnin' for a raise."

"come on gary!" jj cheered him on enthusiastically.

"guys slow down!"

"you're-you're gonna give him a heart attack!" i somehow managed to say, practically pissing myself because of the absurdity of the situation.

"princess, lemme move your head for a sec," jj gently repositioned himself, grabbed a beer, and stuck his head out the window so we could share with the poor man. "you're so close! you can do it, there you go! they don't pay you enough bro," jj exclaimed, returning back to his original position in the back of the van.

"jj, stop, stop," kie's expression hardened as she lightly punched the blonde.

"oh come onnnn," jj sighed, "that sort of initiative is just begging to be punished. we all laughed, proud to say we got again, yet again.

i suppose i should introduce you to everyone, starting with me.

my name's elizabeth waters, elsie for short because well, that's what my mother called me. oh, my mother. this shit's gonna get dark fast. when i was 9, i was living in some state up north. new york? something like that. i watched my mother get murdered in front of my own eyes by, you guessed it, my father. i doubt you actually guessed that. and to put it simply, he had it out for me too. but then, the cops shot my father- in front of me. thank god for them i guess. i loved my mom; she was my best friend. my dad, not so much. for years upon years, he sexually abused me, hurt me, and every other horrible thing that you could possibly think of. but at the time, i didn't realize the reality of the situation. that wasn't until my aunt took me in. my aunt is quite possibly my favorite person ever: we get along great, she provides for me, but she lets me do what i want. now that's what you call ideal. she lives in... the outer banks. which is how i ended up here years ago.

in all honesty, i think that trauma is what makes me so tough. i wouldn't hesitate to beat someone up if they do as much as lay a finger on one of my friends. i guess i should introduce you to the pogues. 

first, we have jj. he's about as local as they come. latest in a long line of smoking, drinking, smuggling, vendetta-holding salt-lifers who made their living off the water. great surfer too. mild kleptomaniac and a future tax-cheat. jj and i are very alike; cynical smokers who can't shut their goddamn mouths ever. maybe it's the daddy issues? sorry. but anyway, it's undeniable that we click like no other two pogues do, but there's this rule; no pogue on pogue macking.

next, we have kiara, or kie as we call her. and when she's not saving turtles, or listening to marley, or getting a dolphin tattoo, she hangs out with us. it's a bit strange honestly. so, she's a rich kid actually, unlike the other four of us. foot in both worlds you could say. her family owns the wreck, this outer banks institution. total cash cow with the tourists. her parents aren't the biggest fans of us. they don't seem to mind me though; weird right?

then, there's pope. he's the brains of the operation. finalist for the lucas t. vanderhorst merit scholarship. couldn't tell you about it if you begged me, i have no clue. it's fair to say he's the smartest person i know. he's a little bit of a weirdo, interested in all of this forensic pathology shit. but they do say follow your dreams, and if his dream is macking on dead corpses, then i won't judge him. is that what they do?

lastly, there's john b. a pretty cool dude. but here's the catch; his father went missing about a year back at sea. he believes that the guy's still out there, but in all honesty, i don't believe it for a second. i wouldn't tell john b though. that'd be completely heartless. the foster care people are out to get him, i think. he'll get out of it though, he always does.

and that's us.

---------------------------------

{1367 words}

y'all, i have this story SOOO fucking prewritten. this ending is reallyyyy goddamn interesting, i've got it planned already. i get emotional just thinking about it; it's not the path i originally planned on taking, but it'll end well. i'm really excited for fellow obx fans to read this fic, i hope y'all like it :))

-ally