"WE'RE JUST TWO GHOSTS
SWIMMING IN A GLASS HALF EMPTY."
- harry styles, two ghosts

All the Pogues went to the Chateau that night, John B oddly quiet the entire car ride there. Avery had no doubt that it was due to the conversation between her and JJ about all the time the duo had spent with Big John, but she tried not to relish it in for too long.

"That bread had mold on it three days ago." Pope told JJ bluntly as the Maybank spread peanut butter across a piece of bread that was marbled with green all across.

"So I'll just pull off the bad parts." JJ said as though this was common knowledge. "Plus, mold is good for you, it's just a... natural organism."

"Mold breaks down dead or rotten organisms." Avery explained. "So your sandwich isn't just green, it's actually rotting as we speak."

"Ave, you have no idea the things I ate as a kid and survived, I think I can handle a little mold." JJ retorted to the Decker, who tossed her hands up in surrender as she returned to the round table in John B's dining room.

"JJ!" Pope called into the kitchen as Avery emerged, tucking the shorter layers of her hair behind her ears as the Maybank jogged into the kitchen and stood next to the brunette girl.

"Yep! Hot damn!" He exclaimed, shoving the mold and peanut butter sandwich into his mouth, almost immediately gagging as the bread passed his lips, choking the moldy food back up into his hand.

"Told you so." Avery whispered as JJ threw the bread away. "I'll make you ramen or something tonight, don't worry."

"You'd better." JJ mumbled, still attempting to get the rotting taste off his tongue as John B ripped the top of the envelope open, reaching his hand in and retrieving a map, which he almost immediately spread out across the table in front of him.

"Is that us?" Avery asked, looking across the markings on the paper.

"That's us." JJ confirmed.

"X marks the spot." Pope added, pointing at a black 'X' that had been drawn not too far offshore of the Outer Banks, Avery sucking in a breath at the sight of the messy Sharpie scrawl on the paper.

John B dumped the rest of the envelope onto the table, a small, gray, handheld device falling out.

"What's that?" JJ questioned.

"It's a tape recorder." Kiara chimed in. "Dumbass."

John B wasn't paying attention to anything going on around him, he just picked up the tape recorder and clicked the button on the side, everyone immediately quieting at the faint sound.

"Dear Bird." a deep voice Avery had heard only a handful of times before John B's father had disappeared at sea almost a year ago- he wasn't around much when Avery first moved- practically echoing through the small house. The air in the room suddenly felt thicker, everyone was just a little too close to each other, and the straps tying the back of Avery's top closed now felt like they were digging into her back with every breath.

"Who's 'Bird'?" JJ asked.

"It's what my dad called me." John B answered feebly, voice barely above a whisper and sounding on the verge of cracking.

"I hate to say 'I told you so', but I told you so, and you doubted your old man." The voice of Big John Routledge continued on as though he was having an over-the-phone conversation with John B rather than leaving him a message on a tape recorder. "I suspect at this moment you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either."

Avery stepped back from the table about half a pace before swaying forward again, manicured fingertips wrapping around the back of John B's chair as the Pogues took in that none other than Big John Routledge had been the one to find the Royal Merchant shipwreck after hundreds of years.

He was always holed up in his office researching it when Avery would come over, the door locked at all times. She had slept over about a hundred times that first summer, the most she had seen of the office was once when he left the door cracked on his way out to make a sandwich, only to immediately shut it when he saw the Decker girl attempting to peer in from where she had been standing at the fridge.

"You and that Decker kid were probably right to call me out, I wasn't exactly father of the decade. If Avery's with you listening to this, everything you said about me was dead-on, girlie." Big John continued. Avery remembered every time where she and John B had sat in the living room while Big John was focused on his shipwrecks and ocean currents, the Routledge boy never holding back at how frustrated he felt over his dad prioritizing the treasure over his only son, Avery always agreeing with him that his dad was a horrible person for doing so.

"But what can I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully we're listening to this in our brand new sugar shack down in Costa Rica livin' off passive investments and pulling on permits." Big John continued. "But if we're not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If something happens to me, finish what I started- go for the gold, kid."

Avery's hands had found their way to John B's shoulders, trying to comfort her friend in any possible way. Truth be told, JJ and John B were the Pogues she first had felt befriended by. John B had waited outside her house for hours in the last year for the girl to get ready, jokes constantly being made about how it wasn't Avery's dad who had the affair and in fact her mother, than John B and Avery were actually siblings. The Pogues had made a whole storyline one night at a bonfire, the joke sticking almost a year later.

"I love you, Bird, even if I didn't always act like it. I'll see you on the other side." The older Routledge man finished, static echoing through the tape recorder. Avery stepped away from John B's chair to give him space- if there was one thing she had learned about him and JJ in the last year, it was that the two of them wanted to be alone until proven otherwise.

"Holy shit, he did it!" JJ exclaimed happily as John B stood up, attempting to escape the room so he could cry, but Avery had moved in front of the doorway when she backed away from him. The Routledge boy's bottom lip trembled, stepping forward as the Decker girl outstretched her arms for him, his body weight falling against her weakly as he crumbled in her arms, anguished sobs escaping his lips as he buried his face in her neck.

"Big John- he found the Merchant-" JJ continued, clearly unaware of what was happening only a couple feet away from him.

"Can you... can you please?" Kiara whispered, nodding towards where Avery was running a hand up and down John B's back, whispering reassurances in his ear as he continued to break down in sobs and cries.

"Sorry." JJ mumbled flatly, Avery glancing up at the blonde boy for a moment before directing her attention back to John B, who was currently attempting to hide in the crook of the Decker's neck.

Avery heard the screen door of the front porch swing open, followed by the shuffling footsteps of the Pogues outside. After a few minutes, John B calmed down. He and Avery navigated to the couch in the living room, his head resting on her shoulder.

"Do you think he's dead?" John B asked, voice pained as he glanced up at Avery. The hope in his eyes that had been there for nine months every time he mentioned his dad's return had dulled. There was no glimmer in the boy's irises anymore as he looked at Avery for any reassurance that there was still a possibility his father wasn't dead, but he knew Avery didn't believe that he was still out there, or that he deserved to be.

"Honest?" Avery asked, the Routledge boy nodding. "I do. I really do."

"No you don't." John B mumbled, slumping his body into Avery's side and resting his head on her chest. "You're a terrible liar."

"To be a terrible liar I would have to lie, and I'm not." The brunette girl told her friend bluntly. "I really think that your dad is out there somewhere."

"Really?" John B asked, the faint glimmer of hope in his eyes sparking once more at the Decker's confidence that there was a chance his dad was still out there.

"I think," Avery started, turning her head to glance out the window where JJ could be seen laying sprawled out in the hammock, still fully-clothed and with his boots on, but passed out none the less, "that he's on a fishing trip. He took his boat and went to one of those big fishing holes he told us about, and he's just living out there, anchored in the water. That's why he hasn't written, because you can't write letters to people in the ocean." The Decker added, glancing down to see John B was now smiling. "He's gonna come back, JB."

"I know." John B whispered. "Just... wish it could be sooner."

"I'll be here until he does." Avery reminded her friend, the same reminder she had used to help the boy get through the last year.

JJ and John B were both raised to believe that showing emotion made them appear weak. Maybe it was because they were boys in the Outer Banks, but everything that happened to them was meant to be sucked up and moved on from. But when the boys met Avery, the dark haired girl had showed them that they weren't weak for feeling things, they were human.

Everyone felt things, and despite her Texas upbringing, Avery didn't believe that boys of any age should be required to keep their feelings to themselves. It was odd for the Routledge and Maybank boys to have someone asking about their feelings, if they wanted to talk about things, and above all, show that they actually cared.

"RiRi?" John B mumbled tiredly, the brunette girl humming in response and glancing down at her friend's tired eyes.

"What's up?" She asked, John B laughing quietly.

"I know you wanna go be with JJ." The Routledge boy slurred quietly. "I'll be fine, I promise, go be with your future husband."

"I hate you." Avery told the boy, but she was laughing as she did, slowly sliding off the couch.

"Yeah, you're also not denying anything." John B retorted as Avery slid out the front door, jogging down the porch steps as the screen door slammed shut behind her, strolling across the yard to the hammock where the Maybank had his cap laid across his face as he sprawled across the faded blue fabric, one leg hanging lazily off the right side.

"J?" Avery whispered, gently nudging the boy's shoulder. The only reaction she got was JJ's arm slinking around her waist, pulling her towards him and into the hammock. Avery readjusted herself so she was laying more next to JJ than on top of him, her head resting on his bicep.

"Comfortable?" JJ mumbled sleepily, Avery nodding.

"More than ever."

All the Pogues got into the Twinkie the next morning to go to the country club on Figure Eight due to it being the only place with a computer. Despite Avery having millions of dollars, one of the only things she didn't own was a laptop.

"Alright, keep an eye out." JJ reminded the group as John B parked the van. "We're behind enemy lines." The Maybank continued his dramatics when he removed his gun from the glovebox, Avery unable to hide the rolling of her eyes from the backseat.

"Bringing the gun you put to Topper Thornton's head into this place won't get you in any trouble at all." She told the boy sarcastically, shoving him on the shoulder as she climbed out of the side door of the van, which Pope had opened for her.

"I predict that bringing a weapon into a four-star resort will likely cause more problems than it solves." The Heyward boy told his friend bluntly.

"I swear to God I'm gonna throw that thing in the ocean, JJ, put it back!" Kiara scolded, John B taking it upon himself to reach over and grab the black handgun by the barrel, tossing it back into the glovebox as Avery reached through the window and slammed the compartment shut.

"You can't grab a gun like that-" JJ started, reaching onto the dash and grabbing a small laminated piece of paper on a clip and attaching it to the belt loop of his shorts as he climbed out of the van with John B. "Can't forget my badge. Professional busboy!"

Avery giggled, but she understood the pride in his statement- he had worked his ass off for that job. He and Avery stayed up well into the night working on his resume and the Decker did her best to make him appear qualified.

"I am a member, y'know?" Avery asked, the Pogues all following JJ to the back entrance of the country club, JJ pushing the door open to a smokey room, which Avery figured out due to both the scent and the sound of sizzling pans was the kitchen.

"It's more fun this way, Moneybags." JJ told the girl simply, turning his head towards the opposite side of the room. "Andrew! What's up, bro?"

"What'd the boss tell you about bringing your girlfriends back here, man?" The boy called back, Avery smirking at him. "How are ya', Avery?"

"I'm good- nice to see you!" Avery called as JJ grabbed the girl by the arm to pull her out of the way of a server carrying several plates of food.

"You know Andrew?" JJ asked as the Pogues continued the follow the boy who was weaving around tables and stoves. "Mama L..." he proceeded to drag out, reaching for a piece of shrimp, at which the woman slapped his hand away.

"He sat next to me in geography last year." Avery explained as JJ shoved the kitchen door open so the Pogues could step out into the entryway of the country club. "He was also in my biology class, we got partnered for the family tree project."

"I don't remember that." JJ told the girl with furrowed brows.

"That's because you never came to school." The Decker girl replied shortly. "You're walking past the door- JJ, the computer room is back here!" The brunette gritted, grabbing her friend by the arm and tugging him through the white doors, locking them behind the Pogues as they all congregated around one of the computers.

"Read me the coordinates." Pope told John B after JJ arguing that he needed to check on his Instagram models, to which he was reprimanded due to the time crunch.

"You can check them on my phone later." Avery mumbled as John B read the coordinates off the map to the Heyward boy, a point appearing on the map exactly where it was marked on Big John's map.

"Boom! Continental shelf, right there!" John B exclaimed.

"Well, if it's on the low side then this isn't going to be much of a treasure hunt, is it?" Pope questioned, zooming the map in to reveal that the coordinates were just barely on the high side of the shelf.

"Shit, it's on the high side!" The Routledge boy announced as though they weren't all looking at the same map. "It's only nine hundred feet."

"Is that like, do-able or something?" Kiara questioned, clearly clueless to all the diving talk.

"That's do-able." JJ added.

"I can't scuba dive that deep." Avery told her friend bluntly.

"If we had known you could dive at all we would've had you rob Scooter's Grady-White." John B told his friend offendedly. "Also, how do you know this, Mr. Dive Master?"

"The salvage yard." JJ answered simply. "They have a drone that can do a thousand."

"And can your dad get his grimy little hands on that?" John B was quick to fire back, Avery biting her lip and the mention of Luke, shocked that John B could bring him up so casually.

"My dad's 'grimy little hands' got his ass fired." JJ explained. "Apparently the salvage captain frowns upon showing up shitfaced."

"I wonder why?" Avery asked sarcastically upon realizing it was a joke JJ was okay with the Pogues making.

"But the drone's there." He added.

"How much was it again?" Pope asked.

"Four hundred million." Avery reminded the Heyward.

"Four hundred million?" Kiara confirmed, the Pogues immediately gathering their belongings while Pope did his best to block the doors, only to be shoved out of the way by the Carerra girl.

"Can't we do anything legal for money?" Pope wondered out loud.

"Have you met JJ and John B?" Avery questioned. "Of course we can't."

Avery was hunched behind a trailer outside the gate to the salvage yard with JJ, John B, and Pope.

"So what's with all this Kiara shit?" Avery asked quietly, glancing at John B. "Y'all gonna get married and have kids or what?"

"First of all, you're one to talk, Mrs. Maybank." John B fired back offendedly, his tone almost immediately turning into one of sarcasm. "And it's not awkward, weird, or anything."

JJ was unable to hide his laughter at the boy's disappointed tone. "Yeah." The Maybank boy managed before regaining his composure. "Honestly, I did not think you were gonna actually listen to me."

"What?" John B whispered.

"Did you seriously take JJ's advice- what did he even tell you to do?" Avery added.

"I told him to kiss her." JJ deadpanned. "I was a hundred percent sure she was into you. Pope would agree."

"Eh." The Heyward replied, clearly not agreeing with JJ's statement.

"So what, are you on the market now?" Avery asked the Routledge further.

"She definitely gave you the Heisman?" JJ confirmed, nodding towards Avery to show his agreement with the Decker girl.

"Oh, no question." John B deadpanned, nodding as he did.

"At least you aren't holed up in your room depressed over it, you're better than JJ." Avery praised the boy.

"I do not get depressed." JJ defended himself.

"You are three gallons of ice cream by yourself in two days." Avery deadpanned. "Might I add that it's also unfair that you didn't gain a single pound from that little phase- what even was her name?"

"I don't know." JJ mumbled, furrowing his brows like he was in a deep state of thought, trying to remember the girl who put him on a cookies-n-cream binge until Avery reminded him that it was the height of the surf.

"Maybe she's just into somebody else." Pope said suddenly, everyone turning towards him, Avery with her eyebrows raised, but the dark haired boy had his eyes fixed on the Carerra girl in front of him.

"Pope Heyward, you dog!" She exclaimed quietly, gently hitting the boy on the shoulder to not bring attention to them, but still poke fun at her friend. Suddenly, the sound of the wire gate dragging across the ground snapped the group out of the trance they had been put into at the thought of Pope Heyward having a crush on Kiara Carrera.

"Go, go, go, go!" JJ urged, grabbing Avery's hand and pulling her behind him as they slid through the gate, bolting across the yard behind JJ towards a large barn in the center.

Avery held the padlock up for JJ, who removed a sticky note from the front pocket of his t-shirt and attempted to put the numbers into the combination lock.

"Are you sure you have the right numbers?" Avery asked unsurely, JJ attempting the code again before throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"Okay, I might have the wrong numbers." He admitted.

"Ah, dammit!" Pope exclaimed. Suddenly, a large German shepherd rounded the corner, barking loudly at the teens.

"Oh! Hey!" JJ exclaimed.

"That's a cougar. Nevermind." John B rushed out before bolting away from Pope, JJ, and Avery.

"Hi! No, stay there! Good boy!" JJ was attempting to coax the dog before grabbing Avery by the arm once more and pulling her away. The two turned back to see Pope, still standing there with the dog barking at him.

"Pope! Run!" JJ called, but the Heyward had picked up a piece of pipe and began swinging it at the dog, only angering it more.

"I got a toy, boy!" JJ taunted the dog, waving a red bandana he had pulled from his pocket around, the dog immediately turning its attention to him and Avery.

"You couldn't have thrown a stick?" Avery asked as the dog starting running towards the pair, JJ's eyes widening.

"Wait, no. I was just kidding. Shit! Okay, sit!" JJ demanded, but the dog was stilling running towards him and Avery. "Shit- Ave, come on!" He pressed, grabbing Avery's hand and pulling her behind him. The pair ran across the yard until they approached a large ship with a ladder perched on the side of it, JJ ushering Avery up the ladder before him, the two barely gaining enough distance between themselves and the dog to have time to climb.

The dog immediately jumped up on the foot of the ladder, barking up at the two teens. JJ pulled Avery to the ground with him, the two of them leaning against the sidewall of the ship.

"Shit." JJ whispered as footsteps approached the side of the boat on the ground, the voice of a man heard from the ground, attempting to coax the dog before yelling at the two.

"Whoever's up there better come on out before I shoot your ass! Don't make me come up there!" He yelled.

"I know this guy, just don't say anything, okay?" JJ whispered to a wide-eyed Avery, who nodded back it him. "Wait, Bobby! Don't shoot!"

JJ and Avery put their hands above their heads, slowly standing up and looking at the guard.

"Avery?" The man asked quietly. "What're you doing here?"

"We didn't want to." JJ told him shakily, the guard turning his gaze over to the Maybank boy. "It's me, JJ, Luke's kid?"

"What're you two doing?" Bobby asked in amusement. "If you need a place to take your hookups, just ask next time."

"We didn't want to be here, okay?" JJ told the man quietly, 'Bobby', as JJ had called him, silencing his dog. "My dad made us."

"Don't you lie." Bobby demanded sharply, pointing at him accusingly.

"He told me Captain Leo kept his cutting torch. When he got fired? Avery offered to help me get it, 'cause he said if I didn't... he was gonna hit me again." JJ told the security guard, tears welling in his eyes as his breathing became shaky. Avery had to applaud his acting, and it appeared to be working. Bobby's demeanor towards the two had softened considerably.

"Son of a bitch!" Bobby exclaimed quietly. "Come on down, both of you. I almost killed you kids!"

"I know, I know." JJ told the man shakily, letting Avery down the ladder first while Bobby held the dog back.

"I'll just come up with somethin'. Tell him I couldn't find it." JJ assured the man, Avery nodding in agreement with the Maybank, which she wouldn't do at all if they had actually been sent there to retrieve his abusive father's torch.

"Alright." Bobby told the two.

"Sorry." JJ apologized quietly, grabbing Avery's hand and pulling her away again, his face breaking out into a wide grin as soon as his back was to the security guard, wiping the tears from under his eyes with the back of his hand.

"That was the best one yet." Avery whispered so Bobby wouldn't hear, JJ nodding happily. The two's fingers were still intertwined, the duo not even realizing until they got back to the Twinkie, where John B, Pope, and Kiara were waiting for them.

"Real subtle." John B praised, nodding towards the duo's intertwined hands.

"I think it's Kiara's night for dinner." Avery said immediately, the boys all nodding in agreement, seemingly forgetting about JJ and Avery's hand holding.

Avery climbed out of the van with JJ right behind her.

"Stealing drones makes you hungry." The Carrera girl in the front seat commented, referring to the drone John B had managed to get out of the barn and back to the Twinkie during their time at the salvage yard.

"What I would do to a beer and shrimp and grits right now." JJ mumbled, Avery nodding.

"I'm down for some shrimp and grits." She agreed.

The Pogues strolled into The Wreck, Kiara and Avery greeting Mike Carrera, whose face fell when he saw the three boys behind the girls.

"If her dad doesn't let us eat I think I have a platter of cocktail shrimp in my freezer." Avery told the boys as the four of them leaned against wall. After a moment, the four could feel eyes on them, all of them looking up to see Mike and Kie's eyes practically drilling into their souls, the four replying with awkward waves back.

"I actually hate this man." Avery whispered to JJ as soon as Mike turned back to Kiara, the two of them continuing their conversation. "Like if he hadn't bailed John B out of jail, he would be close to the bottom of my list of OBX parent rankings."

"Honestly." JJ replied with a chuckle, Kiara turning back to the group, motioning for them to find a table.

"You're the best!" Avery called to her friend as she sat next to JJ. "Kie, where's your dad?"

"He'll be out in a second." Kiara told her. The restaurant was technically closed, meaning it was just the Pogues inside, sitting at the long table typically reserved for big parties.

"Connect my phone to the speakers." Avery mumbled to the Carrera, who immediately connected Avery's phone to the Bluetooth speakers scattered around the restaurant. Almost immediately after, however, plates of food were brought out and filled the table. Avery chose what the Pogues all knew would be played, Taylor Swift.

"I miss the Marley you play at your house." John B complained.

"Taylor Swift is amazing." JJ defended through a mouthful of shrimp. "Don't ever insult her again."

Suddenly, the beginning beats of Dancing With Our Hands Tied began playing loudly over the speakers after what had started out as a pretty slow playlist.

"You wanna dance?" JJ asked suddenly, Avery glancing up at him in surprise- JJ didn't dance. He never had.

"You talking to me?" She asked, the Maybank nodding eagerly.

"Do you wanna dance?" He repeated, Avery nodding and grabbing a napkin to wipe her fingers with before she and JJ walked over to a somewhat empty spot in the restaurant. "Okay- how do you dance?"

"You did not just con me into giving you dance lessons." Avery confirmed through laughter, JJ shrugging.

"Guess this is the only way you're gonna get to dance with me." He mumbled.

"Okay- this hand on my waist and this one- no, other hand!" Avery exclaimed, guiding JJ's left hand to her waist and grabbing his right hand. "You wanna two-step or waltz?"

"Not the waltz." JJ said immediately, Avery beginning to direct him in a two-one-two-one pattern for a two step, attempting to get him to watch the way she was moving her feet, but his eyes were trained on hers.

"And then can I like... I dunno, spin you?" JJ asked, not waiting for an answer before twirling Avery around in a circle with ease.

"You're such a softie." Avery mumbled, smiling up at the Maybank.

"No I'm not." JJ denied, his hands immediately returning to their original places. "You're just a master manipulator."

"You asked me to dance!" Avery exclaimed, the two laughing.

"Did I really?" JJ asked, smiling like an idiot as he and Avery danced- well more went through the motions of a dance. The two didn't realize the song had changed, and they didn't care.

"Can I ask you something?" Avery questioned, JJ nodding immediately. "Do you look at every girl like this, or just me?"

"How am I looking at you?" JJ questioned, Avery shrugging.

"There's this little something different there, you seem happier than normal."

"You make me happy." JJ told the Decker firmly, pushing a stand of her hair that was in a small braid behind her ear. "You make me feel... I dunno, important."

"You are important." Avery stated bluntly. "You're important to John B, Kie, Pope- you're important to a lot of people."

"Is that why they left us here?" JJ joked. Avery glanced around, noticing the restaurant was now entirely empty, the lights in the kitchen and other seating areas off.

"Those assholes." She joked quietly, feeling JJ's hand leave hers and cupping her jaw, turning her head back to face him.

"Have I ever told you how pretty you are?" JJ asked, Avery unable to hide the smile that tugged at her lips. "Even prettier when you blush."

"I'm not blushing." Avery said, but she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks.

"Yeah, you are." JJ taunted.

"I am." Avery admitted, still smiling up at JJ. "You're pretty too."

"Am I really?" JJ asked jokingly, Avery nodding as she moved her arms around his neck.

"Very pretty." Avery told him quietly.

"I really wanna kiss you." JJ admitted as though the thought had been weighing him down for decades, Avery beaming wider at the boy.

"How long have you been living with that burden?" She joked.

"A year." JJ said quickly, immediately, pulling Avery's jaw forward, their lips meeting in the middle in a passionate kiss, which Avery immediately reciprocated. JJ's arms snaked around the Decker's waist, pulling the girl impossibly closer to him.

The two pulled apart, both beaming widely.

"I have another question." Avery asked, JJ nodding at her. "You're staying at my place tonight, right."

"Of course I am." JJ breathed, pulling Avery's lips to his once more.

Avery Decker was completely and entirely JJ Maybank's.

kens speaks 🪐

this is completely for mara btw guys.