Birdy || Outerbanks || JJ Maybank & Rafe Cameron

15. Leaving

-

A couple of days passed, and the others were ready to get the rest of the gold, but JJ wasn't, well, he didn't really care about the gold anymore as much as he cared for solving the mystery murder of Birdy's parents.

He finally went home after weeks of not being home, and his father wasn't home, JJ didn't really care if he was or not.

JJ headed to his room and pulled out a duffle bag before throwing his clothes inside, and he grabbed the photo of him and birdy.

They were both young, holding surf boards, and sticking their tongues out as they had their middle fingers raised, John B photo bomb the photo as he was behind them, falling, but it was one of JJ'S favorite photos.

He packed the photo and zipped the duffle bag before sling it over his shoulders and walking out of his room just as his father walked in.

"..JJ.." Luke Maybank started, "I'm sorry about your friend," Luke noticed the duffle bag. "Where you going?"

"I'm leaving. I need time to heal, and there's this place that Birdy went to before, and I'm going there. It's free, so don't worry about it." JJ replied, walking past him and out of the door.

Luke didn't follow him. He didn't even stop him as he got on his motorbike and sped away from the house that he never called a home. If he did, it was just bitter.

His real home was gone and buried.

JJ drove to the chateau, knowing everyone was going to be there. He wasn't usually one for sappy goodbyes, but Birdy didn't get to say goodbye to none of them, and he couldn't do that to his friends. He admits Sarah is his friend, but he'll never tell her that.

His friends came out as he parked his motorbike, and he hoped off.

"..what's with the duffle, JJ?" Kiara questioned, and JJ thought it was now or never.

"I'm leaving." He announced, watching as his friends' expressions fell, and everyone stood in silence.

"Where?" Sarah spoke up for all of them as she interlocked her hand with John B's.

"Some spiritual retreat, um..birdy went there for half a day before she broke out, but I need to heal, and I can't do that here." JJ replied

"Why not? We can help you, JJ." Kiara agrued, not wanting to lose another one of her friends.

"Because Kie, everything here reminds me of her, look, I'll be back, I don't know when,but I will be." JJ said, not really having energy to agrue.

He didn't really have enough energy to do things lately. Without his birdy, there wasn't much of a point to do things.

"You promise?" JJ looked over at John B, "You promise that you'll be back?"

JJ nodded, "Birdy's buried here, you know me, I can't stay away for so long." John b walked over to JJ and pulled him into a tight embrace,

The others soon followed, hugging JJ as tightly as they could.

"You call, okay?" Kiara told him, as tears slid down her face, "You call, and you let us know you're still alive. If you don't call, I'm gonna find you and slap you."

JJ chuckled ,"Don't cry, kie, I promise I'll call, P4L, remember?"

Sarah went over and threw her arms around JJ. He was surprised at first, but he hugged her back.

"I'll miss you even though you were such an asshole, but I understand why. Thank you for being there for her when I wasn't." Sarah whispered to him before pulling back, and JJ nodded.

"My parents are gonna be pissed." Pope told him, and JJ laughed.

"I bet your dad will be glad I won't be around anymore, hey, tell them thanks for everything." Pope nodded.

"Well, I should get going, I'll see you guys soon." JJ hoped back on his motorbike, and his friends waved goodbye to him, and he waved back before he drove away.

He didn't tell them that he wasn't actually going to some spiritual retreat. He didn't tell them that he had the letter Birdy died for.

He didn't tell them that he was gonna solve Birdy's parents murder because he couldn't lose any of them, and it was something he needed to do alone.

He knew that ward was still looking for the letter and once he realized that JJ had it, he'll come after him, and JJ wasn't gonna put any of his friends, no, family at risk.

He'll sacrifice himself instead. It wasn't like he had anything to live for anymore.

- -

Rafe knew that JJ had the letter, and he didn't care. What was the point? Everything he did to try and protect Wynonna ended up with Wynonna dead.

The letter didn't matter anymore. Pleasing his father didn't matter anymore. Seeking his father's approval didn't matter anymore because of him because of his father, Wynonna is dead.

He remembered the first time he ever met Wynonna. It was at a sleepover, and Sarah invited Wynonna over along with Kiara.

He didn't see her face at first as he only saw her curly wild hair as she talked to wheeize, inviting her to the sleepover.

He had gone to his room afterward with Topper and kelce, and he saw her face when she brought them pizza.

He couldn't really speak because he was memorized. Something about her brown eyes kept him captive, like a prisoner.

Topper pushing him to the side snapped him out of the trance, and he just watched as Wynonna left, closing the door once she was out of view.

"Oh, man, you froze." Topper told him with a grin as he opened the pizza box, and Rafe scoffed, "I did not froze."

"Yeah, you did, I saw it." Kelce spoke, sharing a grin with Topper.

"She's only two years younger." Kelce said, and Rafe threw him a glare.

"No. She's fourteen, dumbasses, plus, she already has a boyfriend, Maybank, remember?" Rafe said, irritated by the conversation

"Ooh, is someone jelly?" Topper teased, and Rafe grabbed a pillow and threw it at him, smacking him right in the face, making him fall off the bed with a thud.

"Ow!"

Wynonna had intrigued him since, and he was always looking forward to her visiting, but then she stopped because of Sarah, and rafe hated Sarah even more after that.

Rafe honestly didn't care if Wynonna was a pogue or not. She was different in his eyes, and something about her just felt familiar, and he felt that with JJ.

It was like JJ and Wynonna were like him, but at the same time different.

Rafe let out a sighed before he spotted Sarah walking into the house, her eyes puffy like she cried.

"..one less pogue to worry about." She told him, her tone was bitter and full of hate as she glared at him.

"What?" He didn't really catch what she said as he mostly tuned her out.

Sarah rolled her eyes at him, "JJ'S gone. He left, that's one less pogue you have to worry about, right?" She spat

Rafe sat up, "What do you mean, JJ is gone? Where did he go?" He questioned, standing up.

Sarah gave him a weird look, but she shrugged, "Some spiritual retreat."

Rafe stared at her. He knew JJ, and that reckless idiot wasn't going to some spiritual retreat because if he had the letter, then he was going to solve Wynonna's parents murder.

Rafe walked past Sarah and towards the front door. "Where are you going?!"

"Hell."

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Word count - 1275

Thoughts?