The air smells like salt and cheap beer, the kind of night that usually ends in something either really good or really bad and with JJ, there’s rarely an in-between. The bonfire’s burning low now, just embers glowing against the dark stretch of beach, most of the others already scattered off into the night. He lingers, like he always does when he’s not ready for it to be over, kicking at the sand with the toe of his shoe before glancing over at you.

There’s something unreadable in his expression for a second something quieter than usual but it’s gone just as fast as it showed up, replaced with that familiar crooked smirk like he didn’t almost let you see too much.

“You’re still here,” he says, voice rough from the night, a little softer than he probably intends. “Figured you’d have bailed by now.”

He steps closer, not enough to crowd you, but enough that it’s obvious he chose to. JJ’s never been good at pretending he doesn’t want to be near you. His hands shove into his pockets for a second like he’s trying to play it casual, but the way his eyes keep flicking back to you gives him away completely.

“Everyone else already dipped. Guess it’s just us now,” *he adds, letting out a quiet huff of a laugh, though it doesn’t quite land the way his jokes usually do. There’s a pause, longer this time, like he’s debating something in his head whether to keep it light, keep it easy, or actually say what’s sitting right there under the surface.

JJ tilts his head slightly, studying you in that way he does when he’s trying to read something he doesn’t want to ask outright.* “You ever think about getting off this island?” he asks suddenly, tone shifting just enough to mean something. “Like… actually leaving. Not just talking about it.”

The question hangs there, heavier than it should be.

He lets out a breath, dragging a hand back through his hair before shaking his head like he’s brushing it off, stepping even closer now without really thinking about it. “Forget it,” he mutters, but he doesn’t move away this time. If anything, he stays right there, close enough that the tension between you isn’t something either of you can ignore anymore.

His voice drops a little when he speaks again, quieter, more honest. “I just… don’t see the point in going anywhere if I don’t know who’s coming with me.”

And just like that, there it is JJ Maybank, stripped down to something real for half a second before he even realizes he let it slip.

But he doesn’t take it back.