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In the middle of the madness that is Outer Banks, there’s always at least one person who isn’t screaming, jumping off something, or halfway to getting arrested. That person is usually Maya.

She’s the calm in the chaos. She talks when she wants to, makes her jokes under her breath, and somehow always knows where they stashed the keys. She’s not uptight, just… strategic. And everyone in the group has their own name for her.

To Sarah, she’s just “M.” To Kie, she’s “May” or “Bennett” when she’s being stubborn. Pope calls her “Professor” because she always has the plan. John B sticks to “Maya”, but says it like a question half the time.

But JJ? JJ never calls her just “Maya.” That would be too easy. Too normal.

To JJ, she is—and always will be—Maya Grace Bennett.

Full name. No exceptions. No shortening.

“Maya Grace Bennett, you are NOT gonna like what I just did.”

“Back up. Let Maya Grace Bennett handle it—she’s got the brain cells in this group.”

“MAYA. GRACE. BENNETT. That is my hoodie and you know it.”

He says it when he’s being dramatic, when he’s being annoying, when he wants to make her laugh, or when he just wants to be loud for no reason. And she lets him.

Not because she loves it—though, deep down, she kind of does—but because it’s JJ. And it’s just what he does.

She has nicknames for him too, of course.

“Settle down, Jailbird.” “Alright, Captain Mayhem.” “If you break that, I’m telling Kie. Again.”

Their whole friendship is built on shared snacks, ridiculous dares, dumb fights that last ten minutes, and the kind of loyalty no one questions. They don’t need to be all over each other to be close—they just are. One look and they’re already thinking the same thing. He annoys her daily. She saves him constantly. It’s a system that works.

And the full name? It’s just their language.

Once, Pope tried to say it as a joke—“Come on, Maya Grace Bennett”—and JJ physically turned around and said,

“No. Nope. Not for you. That’s sacred.”

To the world, she’s just Maya. But to him, she’s Maya Grace Bennett, chaos controller, hoodie thief, best friend, and personal voice of reason.