CHAPTER ONE
LOVE AT BLURRED SIGHT

THEO USED TO SEE the good in people from the richer side of the island, led into a false sense of security by fictitious lies of his mother throughout his childhood.

He'd believed every lie she'd thrown together about her friends, family and even just about herself. Theo loved his mother so much that he would've taken anything she'd said and ran with it, not even bothering to check if what she said was true. It took him some time to see passed her words, formulate his own opinions, and it had all started when she broke her promise.

"I would never leave you, Theo"

Lie. The blonde woman had spoken the same quote to him over and over again as he grew up, ruffling his hair softly as she did so. He should've seen it coming in the end, Sapphire Silver becoming more of a party goer and less of a mother towards the end of her life with them - she got offered a new job, saw a way out and bailed on the two people who needed her the most.

That morning when he had woke up to find all her things gone, was the morning he stopped believing the things she'd told him. Sapphire was merely a liar, the woman who may have taken care of him for a while but that wasn't his mother. That day, as the rain splashed against the window of his bedroom, the happiness within him faded behind its own clouds, a star drained of all of its life and left out to die.

There is that little inkling of gratefulness within him though, because without her leaving him he never would have grown so close with his father. Eric Silver was just like him in a way, Theo remembers the way he'd wallowed around the house for a few days with a glass of alcohol in his right hand and a cigar in the left. His hair grew out scruffily, beard overgrown and messy as he lost all ability to care for himself in that timespan. It was the saddest he'd ever seen the man, desperate even, as he tried to move on from his heart disintegrating into dust.

For a while there, Theo thought maybe he would lose his father to a broken heart, his ten year old mind not able to comprehend the way the man was acting. He wishes he could go back to that day and do the one thing he didn't do and that was hug him so tightly that he knew he was loved, because apparently his mother didn't tell him that enough.

Sometimes on birthdays, Theo would find his eyes straying towards the door and awaiting her arrival with an extravagant cake in her arms with bright colours splashed across its surface. His eleventh, twelfth and so on, all of them spent waiting for her to come home.

But at sixteen, he finally learnt his lesson. She wasn't coming back, so he just stopped hoping.

"Something on your mind, T?"

The brunette looks up from the sandwich on his plate, his gaze connected with the woman as she stands behind the counter. Emmy has always been an observant woman, her eyes holding that inquisitive look at all times but especially with him, she always knows when something is wrong with him.

The funny part is that it's a skill his birth mother had never had, and yet this woman he's only known for about four years can get an extremely good read on him. His father had met Emmy at some fancy party for his company, the two of them seemingly drawn to each other rather quickly. A couple of years down the track, and they're married.

Theo has been extremely grateful for her ability to make his father happy, and even happier with the fact that she seemed to genuinely care about the two of them. Emmy wasn't one to shy away from parental responsibility even though she wasn't the boy's mother - cooking him meals or helping with his homework.

"I'm okay, Em. Just uh not looking forward to this stupid party that Maisie wants to drag me to tonight," Theo replies with a shake of his head, already greatly dreading the fact he'll be hanging around a bunch of intoxicated teenagers for hours.

Maisie Gardner was the complete opposite to her best friend Theo, bright as the sun and so easily approachable. He isn't stupid, he hears the whispers around Figure Eight as the why this beautiful, smiley girl would hang out with a total downer like himself - sometimes he even questions it himself. Yet, he always found himself thinking that they are woven together by the strings of fate, so closely connected that nothing could pull them apart.

Theo doesn't know what he'd do if he lost Maisie, the one person who he feels as if he can be his true self in front of without the fear of judgement.

"A party? You?" Emmy questions with raised eyebrows, causing a small smile to flicker up onto Theo's face.

"Yep, that's what I said as well. She thinks it'll be good to go out and mingle. Something about her wanting to spend some time with Sarah as well," Theo replies, lifting the sandwich and taking a bite out of it.

"Sarah Cameron? I didn't know they were friends,"

"It's a new thing apparently. When I told her she could go with Sarah and leave me here, she actually threatened to burn my book collection so you know, I better go,"

Emmy laughs lightly, rinsing off the chopping board she'd been using before hand. The both of them know there's a serious threat there, Maisie can be a total whirlwind when she's upset - something he'd learnt watching her pour a drink over Rafe Cameron at some kook party earlier in the year.

"Your dad know you're going?" Emmy asks the boy as he finishes off his food, sipping on the can of cola that he'd gotten from the fridge.

"Oh, you didn't think she'd ask me to go without getting back-up first," Theo rolls his eyes as he speaks.

"Uh, yeah, I forgot the two of them like to conspire against you. It's alright kid, I'm sure you'll have a good time. Besides, I'm always a phone call away if you need a ride home,"

"Thanks Em,"

Theo pushes himself up off the stool and takes his plate over to the sink to wash it, putting it in the drying rack and heading upstairs to his room. Maisie will be here relatively soon, he knows that, because she'll be determined to get him ready for this dumb party - just like always.

Having already had a shower, he simply throws himself on his bed and stares up at the painted ceiling. The crashing of the waves can be heard, the sound somewhat of a lullaby to him at this point, an almost surreal staple in his life at this point. Theo knows people would kill to live where he does, a fancy home just off the water, the views are immaculate.

A small sigh falls from his lips as he looks over at the clock, his hand reaching out to grab the laptop from his bedside table. Eric had insisted on buying it for him, hoping to push him towards finding some sort of hobby, and he can safely say it worked. The system is full of different pieces of writing, some real, some fiction, but all incredibly dear to his heart.

The most recent sits open, pages and pages of concise notes about the island he lives on. The names of all the rich folks that live around him, the things he'd heard and seen all compacted into one file so that he could write the one thing he's always wanted to - a expose on the 'kook' side of the island and their forever dwindling ideals. Perhaps it's a little silly, a dumb idea to go after people so much more powerful then him, but Theo has never been one to take a step back from controversy.

The boy bites his lip softly and scrolls down to where he'd begun to finally form some coherent sentences. It's only been a few weeks of work, he knows that there is still so much more to come if he wants to do this right, but it's a start at least.

"Kildare Island is often advertised as some sort of 'Paradise on Earth', an endless stream of sunlight and lavish parties, but behind closed doors it isn't so lovely. An island built on propelling the wealthy and shunning the poor, a place where the rich get richer whilst everybody suffers underneath the thumb of oppression,"

Theo's fingers ghost over the keyboard but come up short as he hears a car pull into his driveway. Peeking out the window, he can see Maisie getting out of the car with a bag in her hand and groans lightly, slamming the laptop shut and getting to his feet. The sound of the girl's voice flows through the home as Emmy welcomes her inside, the brunette smiling as she sees Theo walking down the stairs.

Maisie moves over to him, hugging him tightly before shoving the bag into his hands. "I bought you a new outfit for tonight, I didn't have much time because I only heard about it earlier so I did the best I could,"

"Mais, I have enough clothes in my closet," Theo responds, not looking forward to having to find somewhere to fit this in after. "Did you buy me some new storage too?"

"Go get changed! We don't have much time. I promised Sarah we'd pick up her and Topper on the way there,"

Theo has to stop himself from openly cringing, forcing a fake smile on his face before turning around and walking back up the stairs. Once he's in his room, he pulls the clothes out and changes into them rather quickly. Surprisingly, it's nothing too extravagant which is odd for her, normally she'd have him wearing fancy dress pants and a button up shirt. Today, she's gone with jeans and a plain black polo type shirt, along with a dark leather jacket as well.

"Theo! Come on! We don't have time for you to take forever," Maisie calls from downstairs.

The boy slips his shoes on and grabs his phone before heading back to her. She somehow had time to change into a float summer dress in the time he was gone, her hair styled into an almost perfect braid down her back. Maisie smiles and lifts her hand, touching his hair and moving it about.

"May, this is ridiculous," Theo comments somewhat dramatically as the girl runs her fingers through his hair to style it. Maisie doesn't listen to him, rolling her eyes and fixing it up to her own liking. "I doubt anybody is going to give a fuck about what my hair looks like,"

"I beg to differ, you look hot T. Totally going to make all those rich jerks jealous," Maisie compliments, hoping to boost that ever dwindling self esteem of his.

"Let's just go, sooner we get there, the sooner I can leave,"

"That's the spirit! Bye Emmy!"

Emmy bids the teenagers goodbye as Theo slides into the passenger seat of his friend's car, leaning his head back against the seat and closing his eyes. As Maisie turns the vehicle on, the music of Taylor Swift blasts throughout the car and he simply allows it to bring him some sort of peace.

"Look, if you're feeling too uncomfortable at any point you tell me yeah? I don't care if we have to leave early," Maisie speaks suddenly, the boy turning his head and opening his eyes to look at her.

"I'll be fine, Mais. Promise," Theo replies with a small, but reassuring smile.

It's one thing he's always admired about Maisie, the way she cares so deeply for those she loves. He can drag himself to a few parties a year, even though he despises the idea of being there, for her because she does things for him all the time. Theo has lost count of the amount of stage shows or book signings she's joined him at, even when she couldn't care about any of that in the slightest. It's just what they do for each other, they have since they were kids.

Theo can see Sarah Cameron's home from down the street, the blonde girl standing out the front with her taller boyfriend as they await their ride. The incoming awkwardness is going to be hard to avoid, hopefully Maisie is up to keeping this conversation flowing because quite frankly, Theo has nothing to say to either of them.

He'd met Sarah Cameron a few times and he will say that, in terms of the richer population, she is definitely one of the nicer ones - the complete opposite to her older brother who Theo dislikes strongly. Topper Thornton, well, Theo would say he's fairly indifferent to him. He follows Rafe around at times as if he doesn't have a mind of his own, which in itself makes him wary of the blonde boy.

"Hey guys!" Maisie greets as the two of them get in the back of the car.

"Hey, thanks for picking us up. Hi Theo," Sarah directs the second part towards the boy sitting in front of her, her voice almost hesitant.

"Hey,"

Topper greets them with a small wave, clearly as happy as Theo is about this whole thing. The two of them have never mixed, never even bothered trying really, probably due to the fact Theo had turned down his friendship as children. He thinks that if his mother hadn't had up and left, he and Topper would likely be close friends rather than mere acquaintances - he was everything that Sapphire had wanted Theo to be when he grew up.

Another reason he's grateful she left when she did.

Sarah and Maisie maintain conversation, the two girls happily chatting away about what they're going to get up to this Summer. Theo allows it to flow into one ear and out the other, his mind elsewhere as the familiar beach comes into view. It's already somewhat packed, people sitting in small groups and chatting whilst chugging back cups of alcohol. This is literally a thing pulled from his nightmares, way too many people about for him to properly enjoy himself.

Maisie parks the car and the four of them get out, the girl moving to Theo's side in order to hold onto his arm. He assumes it has something to do with the shoes she's wearing, needing the boy to help her manoeuvre her way onto the sand without taking a tumble.

His eyes stray over the already mingling groups of people, trying to spot somewhere that he may be able to hang out without drawing too much attention. He'd happily take a cup of alcohol and just sit by the fire for the night, watching the flames flicker around in the darkness, but it's never that easy when you come to things like this - drunk teenagers are unfortunately a lot more sociable and will speak with just about anybody.

Maisie and Theo walk down the sandy shore of the beach as the music pumps loudly around them, the two of them happy to find their own way as Sarah and Topper regroup with their friends. They find a log by the fire, the crackling noise filling their ears as they sit. People around them are already absolutely buzzed, slurring their words and struggling to actually stand upright. Classic Outer Banks party.

"You don't have to sit here with me, you know? Go hang out with Sarah, May," Theo nudges Maisie slightly, nodding over to where Sarah is laughing with some other girl he doesn't recognize.

"I'm not going to ditch you, T. Besides, how do I know you won't just up and leave?" Maisie narrows her eyes playfully.

"I promise you I won't. I don't want to damper the mood, Maisie. Go have fun,"

Maisie looks at him for a few moments before leaning over and kissing his cheek, getting to her feet. The brunette watches as his best friend slowly makes her way over to the other group, carefully walking as the slight heel on her shoe sinks into the sand.

Laughter flows around him, people dancing about to the beat of the music and enjoying themselves as if they don't have a care in the world. Parties like these are often pretty wild, bring together both the kooks and the pogues into one group doesn't always end too well. Apparently, getting drunk is a way to make them at least tolerate one another for the night. It is still easy enough to see where the two opposing sides stand though, still sectioned off from one another quite convincingly.

"You need a drink, dude?"

It takes Theo a few moments to realise he is the one being spoken to, turning his head to see a boy holding a cup of beer out to him. His face is vaguely familiar, his hair contained by the backwards cap he currently has sitting on his head, Theo is almost certain he's seen him around the Figure 8 before.

"That'd be great actually. Thanks," Theo answers taking the cup and drinking a mouthful of the bitter drink with a slight cringe. As far as alcohol goes, beer is certainly not his drink of choice but it's probably the easiest to obtain at parties like this.

"You're Theo right? I think I mowed your lawn like once last Summer,"

John B. Theo knew he recognised him, the boy having been paid by his father to mow their lawn because he wasn't able to do it before leaving town. He'd been out at some business retreat for a couple of weeks and had told his son not to worry about the lawn - probably because Theo literally butchered their grass the last time he tried.

"Yeah," Theo tries to muster up a welcoming smile, one he hopes doesn't look too awkward. "You uh did a great job?"

It comes out as more of a question, not sure what to actually say to him in response. John B must find it amusing, a small laugh leaving him as he takes another drink of the beer. "Thanks man. I've never seen you at one of these before,"

"Not really my thing," Theo shrugs, finishing off the drink with another few gulps.

"A kook who doesn't like parties. Huh, now I've seen it all,"

It's a pretty common opinion about people with money, that they enjoy their fancy parties and drink lots of expensive wine. That is literally his mother, especially at the end of her tenure in the Outer Banks. Eric isn't like that though, he like an occasional party here and there, that's where Theo had got that from.

"Yeah, imagine that," Theo lets out a somewhat forced chuckle, eyes focusing on the cup in his hands as he fiddles with it. John B looks at him for a few moments before gently patting his shoulder in, what Theo assumes, goodbye. At least he'd survived one conversation.

As the night drags on, Theo finds himself drinking more and more. He has a fairly high tolerance to alcohol, so with each one he downs he finds himself feeling much the same - he isn't stupid enough to think they won't hit all at once though. And hit at once they did.

Theo's mind is slightly foggy as he gets out of his seat, eyes scanning the horizon as he looks for his best friend. It's hard to spot her in such a large crowd, people absolutely everywhere, and with his slowly blurring vision, he cannot make one person out from the next. The music and ocean are combining into one, the noise rolling in like waves and settling in his eardrums. He's going to regret those beers in the morning.

"T? T, are you drunk?" Maisie moves into his line of sight, hands laying on his cheeks as he tries to get him to look into her eyes. "Fuck, fuck! Eric is going to kill me. Come on, Teddy, let's get you some water or something,"

Maisie guides her best friend to sit back down again, joining him with a bottle of water she'd brought with her. He slowly sips the cool drink, leaning his head on her shoulder as things around him continue to morph into one another.

"Woah, what the fuck happened to him? I literally spoke to him like an hour ago," John B comments, eyes on the boy who doesn't even acknowledge him.

Maisie looks up at the teenager before looking away. "Had a few too many beers, he'll be okay. Just needs to sit down for a while,"

"Do you need -"

"No. We'll be fine,"

Her tone is rather short, a definitive answer to a question he didn't even get to finish. That makes Theo look at her, a questioning gaze, but not one that pushes her. John B nods and gives Maisie one final glance before leaving them to it.

The best friends continue to sit there, Theo watching the fire as if it's the most amazing thing he's ever seen in his life. The colours are vibrant, beautiful even, so incredibly eye catching to somebody who isn't currently in their right mind.

"Dirty Pogues!"

The yell startles Theo, Maisie getting to her feet and dragging the boy along with her. John B and Topper are pushing and shoving at each other, before the former tackles the blonde to the ground. The yells of the other partygoers begin to start around them, mostly Sarah Cameron who calls for her boyfriend to stop.

Theo can hardly focus on the fight, unable to really tell the difference between Topper and John B in that moment. John B has his friends calling to him now, which causes Theo's eyes to switch over, landing on a trio. Kiara he recognizes, even if it's only just, and then there is Pope - Theo has been to the boy's father's shop several times in his lifetime. The other - well it doesn't take a genius to know who that is.

Theo had never actually seen JJ Maybank in person, never really having a reason to. Maisie had mentioned him a few times, but most of the word about him came from him being associated with Kiara or John B. Rafe and Topper don't like him, that's what he's picked up from their conversations at parties, probably because he's different to them. That's the way they always are.

Even through his blurred gaze, he can tell this boy is attractive - his scruffy golden hair, his smile bright even in the darkness of the night. They'd never mentioned that about JJ, only using the words "dirty pogue" or simply just "pogue" as some sort of insult.

JJ doesn't seem to notice Theo's eyes on him, or he ignores them, because the latter can't stop looking. He'll put it down to his drunkenness, he probably won't even remember this in the morning, but he wants to see his face better.

"Hey, John B, don't make me drown you like your old man, alright?" Topper yells as he stands over the boy angrily.

"Topper! What the fuck!?" Maisie yells, struggling to keep her best friend upright as she watches what's happening. "T, T, I need you to help me here. Okay? I need you to hold some of your own weight up,"

"Sorry," he mumbles sleepily, standing a little more upright, arm over Maisie's shoulder as he hugs her to him.

The crowd of teenagers are now yelling for a fight, changing the word 'fight' over and over again as John B punches Topper directly in the face. They tackle one another, both falling into the water below them as Topper manages to gain the upper hand. What he does next has Maisie on edge, watching on as Topper begins to hold John B's head underneath the water. The distress etches away at her, wanting nothing more than to help him, but knowing that she can't - no amount of interference by her will stop what's happening.

"Topper! Stop it!" Sarah is yelling out to him, but he's not listening. John B is floundering about, desperately trying to break free from the grip on him but failing.

Maisie can see JJ out of the corner of her eye and when she turns, she spots the gun with widened eyes. "Fuck! JJ, don't!"

Just like Topper, he doesn't listen. He presses the gun to the back of the kook's head and Topper freezes in response. "Yeah, you know what that is,"

Theo's gaze is on him again, now slightly more awake as the weapon is revealed to everybody. "Your move, broski," JJ says.

There are several shouts of the boy's name, trying to get him to stop before he doesn't something he's going to regret. Theo doesn't particularly want to say it out loud, but Topper kind of deserves it.

Topper gets the message, moving away from JJ's best friend and finally allowing him to breathe properly. Maisie let's put a shuttered breath as John B pulls his head from the water, one of relief.

JJ turns around and holds the gun up in the air, gesturing wildly. "Okay everybody, listen up! Get the hell off our side of the island,"

Maisie reacts quickly when the shot goes off, dragging Theo away from the scene as screeches fill the air. The two of them head for her car, the brunette all but shoving Theo into the passenger seat before getting in herself.

"I can't believe he fucking did that," Maisie breathes heavily, hands on the steering wheel as cars pull out all around them.

"I thought it was kind of hot," Theo shrugs, his words still slightly slurred. "Besides that dick had it coming,"

Maisie shakes her head. "I need to get you home,"

She heads back to his house as fast as she can, leaving the events of the evening behind them.

The following morning, Theo groans as the sun hits his face. His head is pulsing, a harsh thumping feeling against his forehead as his eyes open up. He knew he'd regret those beers. Looking over at the clock, his brows furrow when he notice his laptop is open on the bedside table.

Theo looks at it, frowning when he sees the first page.

"̶K̶i̶l̶d̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶I̶s̶l̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶t̶e̶n̶ ̶a̶d̶v̶e̶r̶t̶i̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶s̶o̶r̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶'̶P̶a̶r̶a̶d̶i̶s̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶E̶a̶r̶t̶h̶'̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶e̶n̶d̶l̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶s̶t̶r̶e̶a̶m̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶s̶u̶n̶l̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶l̶a̶v̶i̶s̶h̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶t̶i̶e̶s̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶h̶i̶n̶d̶ ̶c̶l̶o̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶d̶o̶o̶r̶s̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e̶l̶y̶.̶ ̶A̶n̶ ̶i̶s̶l̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶b̶u̶i̶l̶t̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶p̶e̶l̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶e̶a̶l̶t̶h̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶s̶h̶u̶n̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶o̶o̶r̶,̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶c̶e̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶g̶e̶t̶ ̶r̶i̶c̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶l̶s̶t̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶b̶o̶d̶y̶ ̶s̶u̶f̶f̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶u̶n̶d̶e̶r̶n̶e̶a̶t̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶u̶m̶b̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶o̶p̶p̶r̶e̶s̶s̶i̶o̶n̶,̶"̶

"What the fuck?"

Everything he'd written was crossed out, and with another scroll he discovers why.

"I may be slightly drunk, just a little bit, but I know beauty when I see it. His name is JJ, a boy from the other side of the island. I didn't even speak to him but I saw him - I'm calling it love at blurred sight. Get it? Because I'm drunk?"

Theo groans and practically throws himself back onto the bed with embarrassment flowing through his body, how did it get this bad last night?

All he knows is that this part of the story has to go, he's got an important piece to write, the last thing he needs is it tainted by drunk delusions.

Because that's all they are, drunk delusions.

NOTE!

Hi everybody!! Thank you for clicking on this story, I really hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I'm sorry if parts of it are a little boring but I'm hoping it'll pick up soon!

This is unedited at the moment, so please ignore any little typos!

I'll see you next time!

made by fireandbloods