Of Storms & Surfing Accidents

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/53368237.

Rating: Not Rated

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: Gen
Fandom: Outer Banks (TV)
Relationship: JJ Maybank & John B. Routledge
Characters: JJ Maybank, John B. Routledge, Luke Maybank
Additional Tags: Drowning, Near Death Experiences, Near Death, Temporary Character
Death, JJ Maybank-centric, JJ Maybank Needs a Hug, Good Friend JJ
Maybank, Hurt JJ Maybank, Whump, JJ Maybank & John B. Routledge
are Best Friends, JJ Maybank Is Bad At Feelings, Luke Maybank Being
an Asshole, Bad Parent Luke Maybank, Mentioned Luke Maybank,
Good Friend John B. Routledge, Protective John B. Routledge, John B.
Routledge Needs a Hug, Surfing, Accidents, Injury, Medical
Inaccuracies, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional
Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Hurt,
Emotional Hurt, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Brotherly Angst, Brotherhood,
Protective Older Brothers, Little Brothers, John B Thinks Of JJ Like A
Brother, Older Brother John B, Younger Brother JJ Maybank
Language: English
Series: Part 5 of JJ Centric One-Shots
Stats: Published: 2024-01-28 Words: 3,429 Chapters: 1/1
 Of Storms & Surfing Accidents
by Jason_Todds_Thigh_Holster

Summary

His best friend, brother even, isn't breathing. Unsure of what to make out of the anguishing
thought, his eyes widen, pupils enlarging in fright. No.

''Fuck, JJ don't leave me, come on Jayj don't do this,'' He says, using the most gentle tone he
can master in his slightly panicked and incredibly worried state. JJ doesn’t seem to be roused
by his voice, ''Not to me,''

Notes
See the end of the work for notes
John B knows his best friend, better than he's ever thought to know anyone in his life. He for
sure isn't blind to the fact that JJ is a great surfer, after all, you pick up on noticing that sort of
thing after years of being around someone. And he has those, he's acquired years between
him and the charismatic blonde. He and JJ have been inseparable since the first grade.

That inseperableness never faded, never diminished any. If anything they only grew closer as
they grew older. So yeah, John Booker Routledge knows JJ. And he knows the younger to be
the best surfer that he knows, maybe even the best in all of Outer Banks.

Generally, he wouldn't worry about JJ being out surfing, he knows JJ can hold his own. That
JJ is more than capable of surfing. But today is different. Because while JJ's talent and
capability go without question – anyone who knows JJ Maybank also knows that JJ is
careless. God, is Jayj careless.

Careless and reckless enough to go out surfing in the middle of a damned storm. And you
know, John B is apparently just the right amount of reckless, and stupid enough to follow.
Whatever word one may decide to call it.

Almost as if it's in agreement to his thoughts, and all too knowing of his current predicament,
the wind swirls angrily around him, from where he stands. His feet planted in the damp sand,
briskly the breeze whips his hair about as John B continues squinting out into the murky
water. The waft of air picks up and thick brunette strands obscure his vision momentarily.
Only for him to angrily brush it away. Scrutinizing out into the distance once more for
something, or rather someone he has yet to catch sight of.

It's of course JJ he's looking for, his first and only priority at the moment is finding the idiot.

Unluckily enough there's no sight of anything that's promising as he looks out at the water.
His friend's familiar form doesn't skim above the waves the way it should, in fact, he doesn't
see any sight of the blonde. There's no JJ, no showing off, and none of the others complex
surfing gimmicks.

There's none of that. What there is though leaves him being gripped within the thick vines of
panic. It's then that he sees it. Halfway throughout the water JJ’s disregarded board is
floating, lofting above the water slowly, it's almost eerie. In shock, he watches the object as it
constantly gets passed around by the ongoing waves. Alright, he'd found the abandoned
board but yet there was still no sign of JJ anywhere, great.

Instinctively, John B clutches his surfboard and surges forward. Instantly he heads into the
water. It's chilly, that much is undeniable. The waves rippling and roaring around him in
response to the storm.

A flash of lightning flashes within the sky as John B makes his way deeper into the water.
The coruscation lights up the sky, in turn illuminating his features in brightness. He really
should get the fuck out of the water.
But he won't, not without JJ.

''JJ! Where are you?'' John Booker calls, voice hoarse as the pungent water burns at his eyes.
As unpleasant as the feeling is It's not enough to deter him from the water. Not even the
lightning will. He finds himself not even bothering to wait for a response either. For he's
already paddling throughout the deep waters in search of the blonde, as murky as they may
be. However, his panicked voice is nearly drowned out against the thrum of the waves
crashing about. ''Come on man, I'm going to actually kill you if this is a prank,''

He thinks he could too. John B could stand to rip JJ a new one for running out in the middle
of a storm like this. I mean, fuck, the blonde had to of known he would follow.

John B sobers up from his thoughts. Holding out for a reply, he isn't vocally granted one.
Or better yet there's nothing in response to his voice.

Not a single thing, and perhaps frighteningly enough it sets the fact that this isn't a prank in
stone to John B. His friend isn't messing around, JJ's head doesn't magically bob up from
above the water, and laughter doesn't meet his ears. Because JJ is still missing, and who
knows where the waves have taken his friend.

A wave comes crashing forward, sending him sailing back a few feet. He groans in
frustration, feeling as though any progress he'd made had been in vain. Droplets of water rain
down upon him, soaking his brunette strands so heavily that they end up plastered against his
cheeks. Any of the remaining liquid rolling down his face.

''Jayj, come on man, that's enough, you got me,''

Silence pursues his exclamation.

''JJ? Please,''

The panic in his chest is rising and the horrible gut feeling is screaming at him that it’s been
too long already. That JJ should've replied by now.

''Come on, JJ. Just come on,''

No JJ. Except another gleam of lightning does alight the sky. John B tenses at it.

''Shit,'' He forces out the utterance, allowing himself a fleeting glance around once more. He
had to be missing something, JJ had to be around. Had to be okay, there couldn't just be no
sign of the other. Unless...unless JJ's no longer above water.

Okay,

That's it. He can't just wait there, uselessly swimming around when it doesn't seem to be
doing any good. Clearly, JJ isn't above water right now, he'd covered enough of the liquid to
know that by now. Either that or JJ's just that good at staying undetected by him. He's
doubting it's that right now though even if it sounds better than the first option.
Fine, If JJ doesn't want to come to him then he'll go to his friend. He takes a few steady
breaths, before making a move to dive further into the depths of water after his best friend.

As soon as he’s entirely submerged, he realizes just how frigid the water actually is. He didn’t
notice it all that much prior to now, but now it's unignorable.

Another thing he realizes is that the water burns. It burns at his tear ducts, John B’s eyes are
stinging from the salt and floating grains of sand that keeps getting thrown around by the
harsh waves. Hell, as he looks down he can barely make out his own hands in the darkness,
let alone his feet. How in the hell is he supposed to find JJ in this?

Didn't matter to him how he did it, he was going to find JJ. It wasn't debatable.

Doing the best he can, John B keeps swimming in every direction possible, hoping that he'll
somehow manage to find something that leads him to JJ. He has to find his best friend. Has
to.

His lungs are already burning from the lack of oxygen, and he’s been under way less time
than JJ.

With his ever-fading air terror evades him wholly. It stays there, plants itself even within the
pit of his gut, swirling there until it's warped into something dark and ugly like the storm
around him. John B discerns that feeling as it engulfs him. The panic at hand isn't for himself
though, not even a little bit. It's for the blonde. Distantly, he knows JJ always manages to turn
up okay. But there's always the what-if questions that prod at him. This time, there's the what
if JJ had inhaled too much water that rises in his mind. Rearing its ugly implications into his
head. Then that turns into the what if JJ hadn't been able to save himself before the waves had
crashed over the blonde? And lastly, that blurred into the what-if question that bothered him
maybe even the most - what if the other had already been hurt from a particularly nasty run-in
with Luke? Unfortunately, It wouldn't have been the first time he'd seen JJ blatantly ignore
injuries in favor of surfing.

John B pushes past the rather intrusive thought out of his mind before it can become anything
more. Admittedly, it was becoming clear that he didn't have time for the what-if questions
anymore. And he definitely didn't want to think of the scum that presented itself as JJ's father
either.

He only needs to find JJ.

And frankly, John B doesn't know what he believes in, he wouldn't deem himself as a
particularly religious guy either. But right now? Right now he is, presently he finds himself
praying that none of that's happened. That JJ's unharmed and'll be relatively okay, he hopes
it's not too good of a thing to ask for.

John Booker finds that maybe it isn't.

As if in response to his prayers something drags across his leg. The sensation is strange, John
B worries about what it is.

The last thing he'd expected it to be was somebody's limp hand. His vision directs toward the
limb. Wanting to find out just who it is, the rest of the arm swims into his line of sight. And
then his eyes trail further. Finally landing on the intruder's face.

Oh, that isn't just anyone It's - it's JJ.

Not just Jayj, but an unconscious, limp, almost lifeless-looking JJ.

Fortunately, his body does everything for him after that. It reacts for him upon seeing the kid,
taking his thoughts and turning them into motion. John B's slugging an arm tightly around JJ,
pulling the lighter teen against his chest before he can even make out why. His grip on the
other is unbelievably taut. He isn't risking letting go or losing sight of JJ. Not again.

And then he's swimming, legs kicking out from underneath him. Forcing himself past the
depths of exhaustion as he propels both he and JJ upwards.

He'd do it all over again for his best friend. Even though his ribs burn in their furious desire
for air, he'd still do it again. Another thought strikes him where he wonders if this is how JJ
had felt. The sting of not getting quite enough oxygen.

Perhaps a bit anticlimactically, he surfaces. Once his head is above the water, he throws his
head back as he gasps. The much-needed air finally rushing to his lungs again might just be
the best feeling he’s ever felt. He'll never undermine how grateful he is to have that air again.
It takes him a second to catch his breath and spit out the salty water he'd swallowed. And
then he's taking a look at JJ, seeing that usually lively friend of his unconscious. Still.

It's all it takes for him to ignore his own struggles. Mustering up enough energy John B
somehow manages to maneuver JJ's unconscious form halfway onto his surfboard.

Then he's glancing off into the distance, taking a mental note of how far away land is. He
doesn't have a choice, it's either he gets them there or they stay here and drown.

It takes longer than he'd care to admit to get them back to shore, the exact moment he does
he's tugging JJ with him. Tiredly he drops next to the other in the sand, crumpling like a
puppet without strings. His eyes never divert from JJ as he catches his breath.

His friend lays there right where he'd left the younger, unmoving, eyelids closed.

''Dude?'' Apprehensively he queries, coming closer and shaking the unresponsive one.

Nothing. The blonde does nothing no matter how much he jostles the teen. What little air he'd
regained leaves him.
''JJ!'' He screams out breathlessly. ''Jayj, tell me you can hear me, JJ! Come on, please, you've
gotta' wake up, bubba!''

''JJ, come on. Get up, man,''

John B lowers his head above the other, leaning above the motionless boy. Numerous seconds
go by of him just waiting, lingering over JJ just to hear a puff of breath. Nothing comes.

His best friend, brother even, isn't breathing. Unsure of what to make out of the anguishing
thought, his eyes widen, pupils enlarging in fright. No.

''Fuck, JJ don't leave me, come on Jayj don't do this,'' He says, using the most gentle tone he
can master in his slightly panicked and incredibly worried state. JJ doesn’t seem to be roused
by his voice, ''Not to me,''

Goddamnit, he isn't equipped for this. He'd learned CPR before but never had he thought he'd
actually have to use it on somebody before. What if he did it wrong, what if it isn't enough,
what if...

John B stops. Forlornly gazing at JJ's slack features that are painted with grains of sand.
Anything's better than this. He has to try.

Right, what was it he needed to do first? Compressions he thinks it was. Afterward airway.
And then breaths. That was it, wasn't it?

Well, today it would be.

Shakily John B presses his fingers against the side of JJ’s neck.

Okay, airway’s next.

Got it, he pulls JJ’s limp head back. Only slightly to hopefully open the younger's airway. He
hopes he's going about this the right way.

''Buddy, you've gotta' breathe,''

Maintaining what shred of calmness he's clung onto, he pinches JJ’s nose, and then decides
it's time to give JJ a rescue breath.

No reaction.

Please, John B thinks, wake up, please just wake up. He needs JJ.

Should he try another time?

''Come on, you can't - don't do this to me...please JJ,'' John B pleads.

Promptly, he watches as JJ coughs, as the other props himself up, body jerking at the sudden
influx of air. And then without a moment's notice, the other leans over to the side, and then
the blonde retches. Water spews from JJ's lips as harsh coughs tear themselves from thin lips.
The younger's eyes tear up at the intensity of them.

None of it sounds pleasant by any means, he's aware of that. But as far as he's concerned the
water's better getting dispelled from JJ's body than it is being in JJ's lungs.

At the thought, John B exhales at the display in front of him. In what he thinks to be a
mixture of sympathy and relief. Genuinely he doesn't think he's ever been so grateful to see
such a sight.

''Yes, yes, that's it, Jayj!'' He encourages, running a still shaking hand along the other's back.
''There you go, cough it up,''

The small breath that follows isn't his own. It's JJ's and it sounds joyous to his ears.

''Shit, man you scared me,'' John Booker admits. ''Are you with me now, can you breathe?''

''..JB?" JJ simply wheezes at him in response. Those vocal cords seeming nothing short of
ruined. They're scratchy sounding and honestly, they don't display the blonde's normal tone at
all. But it's JJ, it's JJ that's up and talking. JJ that's alive and that's all that matters. And he
supposes the unusualness of JJ's tone to be expected given the amount of water he'd just
watched the blonde cough up.

''Yeah, surprise man it's me,'' John B replies. Tone wavering, then John B’s face burns. He
feels as it grows hot, his vision fading into red upon realization, because shit. Fucking shit,
he'd almost lost his best friend. John Booker had almost been too late as he always was.

The thought is enough to motivate him into keeping himself silent, mainly because he's afraid
of what might come out of his mouth. Wordlessly he drops beside JJ to begin his inspection.

His hand brushes along some of the lighter bruising and cuts along the blonde's body,
frowning at JJ’s frigid skin underneath his palm. His eyes narrow in on the blondes
expression waiting for the faintest change. There's barely any, it's enough for him to move
onto the heavier bruising. Finally, he applies the lightest bit of pressure, halting when JJ
sucks in a sharp gasp.

''Ah, fuck,'' JJ curses, eyes flying up to meet his for the first time. They blaze angrily. He still
detects the pain evident in JJ's stature. ''Don't touch, okay, It fucking hurts,''

''Uh huh, I'm sure it does,'' He tosses the retort back. ''Thought I might as well ask after your
whole stunt back there are you an idiot?''

''No, dude, I'm surprisingly not an idiot, we've addressed this before,''
''Apparently not enough,'' John B ignores it as JJ grumbles back, shooting him an unhappy
look. ''No, JJ I'm not joking, are you an actual fucking idiot, man? You were out here surfing
like this, with nobody else around? What the fuck,''

''Yeah, so what if I was? It was fine. I was full of adrenaline and whatnot. Figured I'd burn
through it somehow,''

''Tell me if nearly getting yourself killed burned through it, you have any adrenaline now
Jayj?''

''Oh, fuck off, man. And yes. Yes, I'm feeling just fine and dandy. Ribs don't hurt at all,''

''Fuck, I forgot about that. Your right, we need to keep an eye on those,''

''You forgot about breaking my ribs, Doctor JB?''

''JJ -'' He starts. It's not like he gets far too far until he's interrupted.

''That's gotta' be against like some kinda' protocol or something,''

''Stop,'' John B finishes, to his friend's utmost credit, JJ does. The blonde's mouth closes. So
quickly that John B would be surprised if the action hadn't hurt. ''Let's just go to the Chateau,
I need to check on your ribs. And we'll figure out what to do from there. You can warm up,
shower, or whatever you need to do, man,''

It's later once JJ's injuries have been tended to that John B decides to break what's left of his
composed silence. He does so when they're both warm and tucked in at the Chateau. Only
then is it that John B touches on what'd happened. It's evident that JJ doesn't have any plans
of doing so.

''I'm still pissed at you, you know,'' John B points out flatly. Now's not the time to be mad, he
can't physically conjure up any anger in his voice after all that'd happened anyway. He may
never be able to again after nearly losing the blonde today.

Seemingly done feigning sleep, JJ's eye cracks open a sliver at the statement. Then the other
slides open as well. Afterward, a lazy smile follows.

''What? No way,'' JJ ripostes sarcastically with that slight smile. It drops a second later. So
quick that John B marvels if it were ever real. Wonders how many smiles of JJ's are fake.
John B stops short when the blonde's voice falls in place of the expression. ''Yes, John B I
know that, dude. Even I coulda' told you that,''

But JJ doesn't get it, not the way John B wishes the other would. JJ at that juncture doesn't
have the knowledge to possess just how still the blonde had been upon being found. Has no
idea the horror he'd felt when hed realized that JJ hadn't been breathing.
His eyes closed, his head shaking at the reminder he didn't and maybe would never need.

''You don't get it, you should've called me, you should've had someone out there with you,''
He admonishes. ''You shouldn't have been surfing by yourself. And you doing it on top of
already being bruised all kinds of black and blue? It was an Idiot move on your part JJ, you're
an idiot,''

John Booker knows JJ. It's why he knows his best friend is going to play off what he'd said,
that JJ'd shy away from it before it even happens. He doesn't take offense to it. Fully aware
it's just one of those quirks that JJ had developed due to Luke.

''Woah, didn't know you cared so much JB,''

''Don't be a dumb ass, and don't make me pull you out of the water again,''

''I won't,''

''Good, I don't wanna' see you like that again Jayj,'' ''You were so still,''

''You won't have to,'' JJ murmurs. ''JB?''

''Yeah?''

''Thank you,''

''For what? You aren't making any sense here JJ,''

''For looking for me earlier and dragging my sorry ass back here - for it all I guess,''

John Booker inhales guiltily.

''You know I didn't mean it that way,''

''No, I know,''

''No, you don't. I woulda' done it anytime, you know,'' John B said. ''Might just grumble and
bitch a little first. But I still would've done it,''
End Notes

Not even going to pretend like I knew what I was doing with this one shot lmao. Don't ever
count on me for medical advice - you'll die.

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