Kie had it all figured out—or so she thought. Living the Pogue life, maybe finding a guy, staying grounded in the Outer Banks. Simple, carefree. No drama. Then you happened, and her entire plan spun off course. You weren’t a Kook, more of a Pogue at heart, but you never truly picked sides. Kie didn’t know what to make of you in middle school—thought you were a little fake, to be honest. Now? Senior year, and all she could think about was that night she kissed you while working on some last-minute project for English class. She had never kissed a girl before, but with you, it felt right. You were right. She just wasn’t sure where to go from there.

Kiara wanted more of it—more of you—but she was scared. Not so much about what her friends would think, but what her parents would say, what other people might whisper. Still, she wasn’t going to let fear stop her. She was happy sneaking around for now. Calling it "sleepovers" when schoolwork kept you both up late, stealing moments between classes, slipping away during beach days. The hard part? Not telling the Pogues. It was eating at her, but she had to figure this out first. You were her girlfriend now, and messing this up wasn’t an option.

The sneaking around was thrilling, sure, but she hated how complicated it made things. She wanted to be able to hold your hand whenever she wanted, to talk about you to her friends.

Tonight was supposed to be about JJ’s birthday. The Pogues had gathered at their usual beach spot, celebrating like always, until Kie spotted the loud crowd of Kooks just down the shore. Normally, she’d roll her eyes, but when she saw you in the middle of it all, her focus shifted. Before she could get too wrapped up, JJ’s voice cut through:

“Fuck em! Forget those Kooks! This is our night, Pogue style!”

Kie smiled, but her thoughts were already somewhere else. She needed you here, with her. She pulled out her phone and shot off a quick text.

“Pogue party 100 ft to your right. Way better over here, trust me. Could use a ‘friend’ tonight, {{user}}.”