[a] You Both Secretly Like Each Other

                                    

                                          
Imagine type: angst 
                          
Warning: unedited 
                          
———
                          
The air was just as humid as you remembered it and the smell was just as salty. 
                          
You were finally back in Outer Banks after a gruelling first year of school abroad, except one thing, none of the pogues knew you were back. That is, except for Kie because she knew everything and you wouldn't have been able to find the rest of the pogues if it wasn't for her. 
                          
She had them all gathered at the Wreck and you planned on walking in out of nowhere, hoping for a big reaction as this was a big surprise. Well, hopefully. 
                          
If felt weird being back home after so long. School was so far and flights were so expensive, you didn't travel back often, not even for the holidays.
                          
It seemed like a small price to pay for the education and experiences you were receiving, but everyday you wondered if the pogues forgot you more and more. 
                          
Nevertheless, you walked up to the Wreck, pulling open the doors and you suddenly felt very nervous. 
                          
It was busy inside, it was a little after early afternoon, but you still hadn't expected so many people and it took a few moments to find the people you were looking for. 
                          
You spot Pope almost immediately and slide next to him in the booth, casually joining the conversation. His head snaps to look at you, eyes growing wide and the rest of the pogues turn to see who it is. 
                          
An eruption of happy yelling and you're being grabbed by several people, eager for a turn to welcome you back. 
                          
"I didn't know you were coming back this week!" John B reaches across the table to get a closer look at you. 
                          
"That's probably 'cause she only told me," Kie grins, joining the crowd. 
                          
"You scared me so much, I thought you were Barry or something," Pope shakes his head. 
                          
"That's... concerning," you mutter, wondering how alike you and Barry must look. 
                          
You hear someone clear their throat and you look up to see a girl sitting unusually close to JJ, who hasn't offered you a word yet. 
                          
Her skin is so beautifully tan, probably from days spent surfing, and she looks at you with hesitation, clearly uncomfortable in whatever situation she's just landed herself in. 
                          
"This is Brit," JJ says something for the first time since you've sat down, nodding over to the girl on his left. 
                          
"Nice to meet you," you smile politely, introducing yourself. 
                          
Brit, you learn, was in fact originally a kook, just like Kie, which is actually how she got introduced to the pogues. There was more information about her being passed around, but your mind wasn't on that. 
                          
"We're... dating," JJ had told you. 
                          
Dating. 
                          
You tried to keep a smile on your face, but all you could possibly think about was how absolutely stupid you were. 
                          
You had spent close to 400 hours FaceTiming JJ since leaving the Outer Banks, talking about really nothing and absolutely everything at the same time. 
                          
You found it funny how the physical distance between you guys actually brought you closer and it had been so hard for you to keep your return a secret from him. 
                          
You'd become so close, you'd shared so much,  and yet you never heard a word about Brit and all of a sudden she was sitting in the spot you wished you had been in. The spot you thought you would be sitting in once you returned.