#wanted to get it done in time for Midsummer

[memoirofasparklemuff1n]

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER | PART 3

AN OBX SMAU & IRL

synopsis: the summer after graduating highschool was the dream. after years of tedious hours at school and of nonsensical drama, you are finally an adult, but most importantly? free. or so you thought. after a tragic incident the night of midsummers, the four of you decided to never, ever speak of it again. everything was going to be okay because only those present that night knew the truth, right?

pairing: exbf!jj x kook!reader; rafe x kook!reader

cw: guys, it’s a slasher story so gore & angst (troubled family relationships, violence, breakups, etc.) comes without saying. if you’re not comfortable with that then don’t read, i totally understand.

a/n: I KNOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE AN SMAU but i might've gotten a little carried away with the written parts 🧍🏻‍♀️ THIS ONE IS LONG (6.3 k words...) DEAR GOD I AM SORRY

also english isn't my first language and i didn't proofread, but maybe later. i just want to post this lol

ANYWAYYYY i hope you guys appreciate my handwriting; i had originally done it on my ipad but i thought a notebook would make it feel more real🫥 i don't know why writing that was so embarassing, i need to chill tf out.

oh, and there's an extra at the end hehehe

i hope you guys like this one, i had so much fun <333

*ps this one starts immediately after part 2 sooo yeah

poor girl can't catch a break

friday, may 23, 2025

you stared at your ceiling as you lay on the floor with your cheeks tight from your previous crying session.

more like a mental breakdown but ok. whatever makes you sleep at night.

you didn’t know whether to say something to sarah about the messages or if it was best to keep them to yourself. part of you couldn’t believe that they were only targeted to you because why would they? if whoever was sending those messages knew of your involvement, they were bound to know about the other three. unless it was one of them but why?

you sat up abruptly and crawled to your desk, finding an old notebook. scribbling down everything you could in a rush as if everything would vanish the moment you took a break.

so that was fruitful, you thought as you looked at your "insightful" notes.

you took a picture just in case, because knowing you, it could very possibly disappear from sight.

you ponder at the possibility of it being one of the them. topper being the one doesn’t make much sense, sarah, well.

ugh. she did seem happy when you saw her, compared to how you were.

is that a crime now? jesus, get a grip.

besides, it wouldn’t make much sense if she were to act like you in front of her family, especially her dad. for one, ward was a wonderful father, to her anyway. his favoritism towards sarah was not exactly a secret. he did treat wheezie kindly but rafe on the other hand… yeah, that reminded you too much of your own parents. poor guy was the oldest but seemed more like the middle child. you frowned to yourself.

why the fuck am i thinking about them? oh, right.

you dispelled any thoughts of the camerons and racked your brain for any suspects but there was one you couldn’t bring yourself to think about. writing his name on your list had been painful enough.

so that left zero suspects. well, one suspect, if you counted the security guard but something about him being the one seemed too easy.

sure, topper was an asshole, but you didn’t believe he would be capable of harassing you, especially when you hadn’t seen nor talked to one another since that night. if anything, it would have begun shortly after, not a year later. sarah, seeming unbothered came to mind once again, but that was just how she was, her way of coping was by pretending everything was fine and that her life couldn’t be more perfect.

you remember when you learned that rose wasn’t her mother; you would never have thought her mother was gone if it were by the way she acted. the first time you had been to her house, you had seen a picture of a beautiful blonde woman on her nightstand, and, for a moment, you thought it was an aunt or another family member, but you were shocked when she told you it was her mother. that was the first time you had seen her so incredibly distressed, and you realized that her whole regina george persona was nothing but that. yeah, sarah cameron was a lot of things but being cruel – to you, at least – wasn’t one of them. why would she do that anyway? it wasn’t like it had been something you had done alone, the four of you were just as guilty. with a sigh, you lay back on the floor, holding the notebook to your chest.

great.

back to square one.

nice job, nancy drew.

after racking your brain for what seemed like an eternity you decided to just give up and go downstairs to spend some time with your parents. you mentally prepared for what would surely be a tense evening and decided to just get it over with, but not without a final read to the article you had received.

a name now stood out as you read the redfield piece written by none other than pope heyward. smiling softly to yourself, you realized that if there was anybody you wished you hadn’t left behind it was pope. he had always been a good friend to you, even when you’d fallen out with kiara. but it wasn’t his or her name that jumped out, but your ex-boyfriend’s. jj maybank. if there was something you would never have expected it was for him to be protesting, especially when the owner of the project’s son was a close friend to him. as far as you know, at least.

you remembered when you and he first got together, everyone in figure 8 was not so secretly against the relationship – especially your parents – sarah became a buffer between you and everybody else. after all, she was the kook princess and what she said was okay, well, everyone else be damned. nobody wanted to get on her bad side, so, naturally, topper had – reluctantly – come to terms with the pogue.

rafe, on the other hand, had been a bit harder to win over, especially when he wanted to be against anything his sister was involved in, no matter how small of an influence she’d had. he came around eventually though, especially when jj saved his ass regarding a coke deal that could’ve made him end up either severely injured, in jail or both.

so, seeing jj speaking against the redfield project struck you a bit as odd, but then again, he had been diplomatic with his answer. although you knew that if it came between kiara and the camerons, kiara would always come first. it didn’t matter how important you were in his life, when it came to her, pope, or john b, it was best to step aside or risk getting burned. you’d learned that the hard way.

you’re the love of my life.

you shook your head to dispel the memory of his words before clicking out of the article and throwing your phone on the bed. you didn’t need another reason to have a meltdown when it was barely your first day back.

you stayed on the floor for another ten minutes before getting up and taking a shower because those always made you feel better. afterwards, you put on the comfiest clothes you can find and to, once again, mentally prepare yourself for dinner with your family.

the hallway was cool from the air conditioning, a stark contrast from the sweltering heat of the outer banks. the staircase was located right in front of the entrance, like any other fancy house in a movie, the dining room to the left of the stairs. to your surprise the table was bare, the room void of any human presence aside from yours. you frowned at the sight, making your way into the kitchen, only to find it empty as well. the clock on the far wall was set at 6:00 pm. dinner time.

so why on earth was there no food getting prepared or anybody at the table?

something was off, clearly, but you concluded that maybe your mother had said something you hadn’t understood. or tuned out.

 “there isn’t a chef anymore.”

you yelped at the voice behind you, turning to see your mother with a burgundy robe and a glass of red wine in her right hand.

your heart sank at the sight but decided it was best not to comment on it.

“since when?” your voice came out with a crack, like that of an unsure child, making you to grimace internally.

“since august.” your mother made her way closer to you before sitting down on the service table.

“your father eats at work most days and i figured that because it was just me then i might as well save us the money.” her eyes avoided your gaze, and you knew she was hiding something.

jesus, get a grip. not everyone has a secret.

horror flooded you as you realized that you were beginning to sound like your mother. although maybe it was entirely unwarranted because she was never one to be money conscious, particularly when it came to the one being used for herself.

“are we in financial trouble?” your words came out before you could stop them, causing your mother to turn to you sharply.

“no. i just found it unnecessary.” she turned her attention to her glass of wine, avoiding your piercing gaze.

alright. i am my mother’s daughter and despite hating every time she accused me of hiding something she was always right. not that i would tell her that.

so, you knew she was, indeed, hiding something but you decided not to push it. after all, you had the whole summer to antagonize her, you could let her be for one evening. and yourself by default.

therefore, you simply hummed as if in understanding before turning towards the fridge and came up with absolutely nothing to eat. not because you didn’t like anything or were overwhelmed with the infinite number of choices but because there were none.

yup. no food, just an empty fridge.

ok, so maybe a peaceful evening was off the menu.

you turned to your mother with a bewildered expression, “why is the refrigerator empty? something is clearly going on.”

your tone had absolutely no effect on her, which was even more perplexing. normally, she would’ve begun scolding you for being rude or some shit but no. she simply sat there staring at her glass of wine.

oh, this is bad.

pulling the few feelings of affection you held towards your birth giver, you sat down by her side.

“mom. what is going on?” now that you were close enough to touch, you could see her eyes were red rimmed and puffy, her mouth turned down in a frown.

that explained the sunglasses this morning and her overly pushy attitude the last few days. you realized that you hadn’t seen any of your father’s belongings when you had arrived and the coldness that went beyond air conditioning now made more sense. he was gone.

her eyes were trained on you, seeing your whole thought process take place. she nodded, resigned, before tilting her head back, downing the remnants of her drink.

you were unsure what to say, especially when it came to your parents’ relationship. the thing was, they had never been overly affectionate in front of you, but you figured they loved each other. in their own way, at least. they seemed more like best friends than lovers your whole life, every aspect of romance had come from books and cinema, so you never knew what love was supposed to look like in reality. your relationship was hardly the best example of one.

and now you were starting to wonder if love was even real.

you had never been good with words, at least when it came to something pertaining to you, hence why you simply pulled your mother into a hug that felt forced but was the best you could do in the current situation.

she stiffened but relaxed and held your arm in an awkward hug.

“i’m so sorry, mom. im just confused. you don’t have to tell me what happened now, but i am here if you want to talk,” you surprised yourself with the warm caring but mostly understanding tone.

the irony of your current situation made you clench your jaw. your heart suddenly filled with bitterness when you remembered the way your parents, particularly your mother, had scolded you for being sad over your breakup with jj.

especially when she should’ve shown you a little support over your situation, and yet here you were. consoling her when she would never do the same for you.

yes, but this is different. they were married for years and they’re your parents.

“thank you, darling.” she pulls away and gestures for you to sit again. she wipes her tears with a manicured hand before clasping them before her in a serious manner.

“things are going to be different around here from now on. your father requested you to visit him at ocean manor as soon as you can. despite our problems as a married couple, i still hope that you have a good relationship with him and me. i know that i am not an easy mother, but i only want what is best for you and because of that i am setting some ground rules for this summer.

“first, i need you to have dinner with me at least once a week, we can choose the day later. second, if you are going to sleep over at one of your friends’ houses, i need to know who it is, and you must come home in the morning or at least let me know that you are alright either through a phone call or text message. and third, you will apply for a job, whichever one you choose but i do not want you to lay around as if this were a hotel. you are an adult and as such i expect you to behave like one in this household. apart from those rules, you are free to do as you please. any questions?”

you blinked at your mother, taken aback. your mother had never set rules for you, not even in high school, not even when you were dating a pogue. her requests weren’t unreasonable, but you felt like a child, which completely contradicted her final statements.

you’d never worked a day in your life so that was the most shocking of all, but you decided that maybe it was best. that way you would have your own money for school and to spend this summer. not that you would be hanging out much. you wanted nothing more than to hole up in your room and only come out when necessary. but now that you thought about it, being in the same house as your mother the entire summer would be excruciating, especially now that she had no one to control.

so, you found yourself shaking your head, “no questions.”

her expression flickered to one of surprise, but she then dissimulated it with a tight smile.

“perfect. we will decide on our dinner days as soon as you get your work schedule. that way we can organize ourselves better.”

you nodded, “fine by me. anyway, are you hungry? i was thinking of ordering food, and i could stop by the grocery store tomorrow?”

she looked up at you, “i ate earlier so don’t worry about me. and as for our groceries i will call heyward in the morning so he can bring them.”

pope. your heart skipped a beat at the thought of him bringing your groceries. as far as you knew, he was still the one that made the deliveries. you missed your friend and the thought of seeing him brought you joy but also made you uneasy. would he even be happy to see you or would he ignore you? or worse. what if he hated you for how things ended with his friends?

“is everything alright?” your mothers voice interrupting your train of thought.

you focused on her again and nodded, “yeah, i’m fine. just hungry and tired from the trip.”

she made a sound in understanding before getting up and kissing your forehead, wishing you goodnight.

you sat in the kitchen for what seemed like hours, and you decided that it was too late to order food plus your stomach was still a bit upset, so you made your way up the stairs.

finding your phone on the bed, you decide to just shut it off and deal with it in the morning. after showering and doing your nighttime routine, you went to bed early and leave this complicated day behind.

saturday, may 24, 2025

once you heard the honk ten minutes after sarah’s message you hurried down the stairs to avoid your mother and any questions she might have.

after locking the door quietly behind you, you turn to see a pastel blue mini cooper in the driveway. you couldn’t hold back your smile when you saw it. you ran to the passenger side of the car and once you were inside, you were hit with that new car scent and a hint of tropical fruits in the air.

sarah had a huge grin on her face and wrapped her arms around you, squeezing you so hard that you could barely breathe. you didn’t mind, though. it felt as if every broken part of you was pieced together by her sheer force and for a moment you felt whole.

she let go and kissed your cheek before wiping her eyes. you frowned when you realized she was crying, “hey, what is it? what happened?”

she let out a choked laugh before shaking her head, “i’m just so happy to see your smile again. i didn’t think you would ever smile again after last summer.” your vision got blurry and soon both of you were two crying messes hugging and trying to say words you knew could never express the amount of pain in your hearts.

after calming down a little, sarah looked down at her hands. “i know we already talked about this, but i wanted to say again that i am truly sorry for everything. i wish things were different but we both know that’s not how it works.”

you sighed, “sar, i know, ok? we all made mistakes, and i wasn’t exactly great last summer, and i was a horrible friend. but i also know that we are as close as sisters and sisters have fights and they hurt each other but at the end of the day, they know that they can count on one another.”

sarah chuckled, her sobs now merely hiccups. “remember when my dad locked us in a room so we could talk it out? i don’t even remember what the fight was about, but from that day on i knew that i could never be someone else’s best friend.”

you laughed at the vague memory, “yeah, i remember we made a plan to fool him into believing we were fine so he would let us go, but we ended up believing it ourselves.”

a mischievous expression colored sarahs face, “i have a confession to make. i am still pretending to be ok with you.”

you snort out a laugh, “ward wont be very happy to hear that.”

she shook her head, “he’ll say we betrayed his trust or something.”

you pretended to be frightened, “what if he locks us up again?”

she matched your expression and added trembling hands as she held your wrists, “he will kill us and he’ll then turn us into wax figures to exhibit it when people enter his office.”

you couldn’t contain your laughter anymore, “sarah, stop. i could totally see him doing that, though.”

she nodded seriously, “oh, definitely. guess we’ll have to keep up the farce in order to save our lives.”

you shrugged and sighed with resignation, “unfortunately.”

“hey!”

you chuckled and reached for her hand. “sar, i’m so glad we can be friends again. ive missed you terribly. this past year has been an absolute hell for me.”

her brows furrowed with concern, “im glad too, and youre not the only one that’s had a shitty year. although these past couple of months haven’t been so bad. ok, but we’ll talk about it at brunch because if not we’ll be here the entire day.”

she pressed her foot on the accelerator and the car jolted forward smoothly.

“by the way, when did you get this car? i know its been your dream car for years.” it couldn’t be older than a year because you hadn’t seen it before.

“i got it about five months ago. my dad bought it for me and rafe got so pissed because he’s been wanting a bike since forever and dad kept saying he would buy it for him but, you know.” she shrugged, doing nothing to hide the smugness in her voice.

you chuckled, “when is rafe going to learn you’re the favorite?”

she snorted, “the day i learn how to fly.”

the island club’s parking lot wasn’t full but not exactly empty either. too late for breakfast but too early for lunch so those that were still inside were probably just talking as if they could solve the world with a flick of their hand.

as soon as sarah was parked, you both got out with your sunglasses on and you saw a few people glance your way, realizing who you were.

oh, you could already hear the gossip: she’s back! and it looks like college life has not treated her too well. the kook princesses together again.

you rolled your eyes at the thought, and despite how cringe those words sounded, they weren’t even close to how they spoke in real life.

i mean, c’mon. who comes up with the terms kooks and pogues? fucking weirdos.

“you okay?” sarah’s concerned voice brought you out of your thoughts.

you managed a smile, “yeah, i’m just thinking how the gossip is already spreading.”

she rolled her eyes, “trust me, nothing beats what they’re saying about me.”

confused you asked, “what do you mean?”

she laughed awkwardly before going up to the host, a young man that seemed a little younger than you but not by much.

after he took you to your table you repeated your earlier question. sarah just told you to wait for the food because she didn’t want to be interrupted by a server but you had a feeling, she was building suspense to make you anxious.

trying to distract yourself you look around the club, seeing few familiar faces and a new one behind the bar cleaning up.

the girl put on an apron, took a small notebook before making her way to you. she grinned when she saw sarah, her cheeks adorned with dimples and you swore that was the brightest smile you had ever seen. once she was up close, you realized she was pretty.

and not pretty in like a cute way, but absolutely gorgeous and you couldn’t help but get a little self-conscious around such a pretty girl.

a part of you wanted to hate on her but it wasn’t her fault and besides, that was ridiculous and childish. her beauty didn’t take away from yours.

“hi, sarah!” she hugged sarah and then turned to you. “hello, i’m sofia. nice to meet you.”

you shook her extended hand with a polite smile before introducing yourself. her eyes widened a bit, but she quickly recovered, causing you to internally groan.

“well, i will be your server today. here are the menus, i will come back and see if you’re ready to order.” sofia left once you nodded, her short hair flowing with her.

you turned to sarah, “i’ve never seen her before. is she new to kildare?”

“no, she grew up on the cut. she’s rafe’s age so that’s probably why we never saw her. im surprised she’s our server because she’s the bartender here,” sarah shrugged while eyeing the menu. “maybe they’re short staffed today or she needs the money.”

you hummed but dropped the subject. after choosing something you liked from the menu, sofia came by again and was especially sweet to you which struck you as odd. it felt almost like… pity.

but why? she didn’t know the first thing about you, apart from being sarah’s friend, right? you clenched your jaw at the thought of people talking behind your back. no matter how usual it was for people to gossip, you never got used to it.

“do you mind if i post a pic for instagram?” sarah’s question interrupted your train of thought.

you sighed, uncomfortable but you knew that maybe if people saw you were eating together then the rumors would die down. so you nodded and posed.

“i deactivated my account so i don’t think it will come up if you try to tag me.”

she pouted, “oh cmon then activate it again! i want to tag you. pleaseeee.”

you threw your head back with a groan but agreed reluctance. it was best to just get it over with.

“fine. but don’t expect me to be super active, ok?”

she nodded excitedly and waited until you logged back in to tag you.

“can you post me too?” her grin could practically blinded you, and even though you didn’t want to, you decided to just humor her.

“fine, princess.”

“hey! but thanks, hehe,” she giggled while squeezing your hand.

a couple of minutes after sarah posted her story, her phone began buzzing but she looked at her phone with a frown before typing away quickly. when you asked what was wrong, she said it was her dad before getting up to go somewhere private.

huh. that’s weird. what if–

“y/n?” your body tensed at the sound of the voice behind you. you shut your eyes as if you could will them away from you but you knew it wouldn’t. a hand landed on your shoulder, and you jerked away before turning to them.

topper. he looked older and almost wore down.

“mind if i sit down?” he didn’t wait for an answer before lowering himself to sarah’s seat.

you stayed silent while he scrutinized your appearance.

“you don’t look so good,” his smile was bitter. “feels nice to know that someone feels the same.”

your gaze was unwavering, voice cold but every nerve in your body was screaming at you to run. “did you come here to berate me or–”

“topper!” a deep booming voice interrupted you, a tall, broad-shouldered man coming your way. the sun was shining behind him so you couldn’t quite make out who it was until he was right in front of you.

bright blue eyes flashed with recognition before a polite smile slid into place, “y/n, i didn’t know you were back. it’s nice to see you again.”

your smile was a bit tense from your encounter with topper, dropping it as soon as rafe looked away from you.

“top, grayson is outside waiting for us. you coming?” topper clenched his jaw before nodding with a sigh, getting up and turning away from you, but not without a hostile glance in your direction.

rafe rolled his eyes before saying goodbye, grabbing topper by the shoulder and steering him away from the table, towards the entrance that led to the golf course.

your gaze followed their figures, adrenaline pumping through your veins as you saw topper continue towards the golf course and rafe stop to hug sofia before kissing her cheek.

the screech of the chair across the table tore your eyes away from them, turning back to sarah who looked a little upset.

“is everything okay?” you asked.

she looked at you in silence, “yes. fine.”

you frowned in confusion at her clipped tone but decided not to push it. you wanted to bring up the weird text messages you had been receiving, yet something held you back.

distrust settled in your chest, followed by guilt.

maybe she is thinking the same thing about you.

after all, if she was also receiving those messages from around the time yours also began, she could think it had something to do with your return.

she ate in silence, contrasting how bubbly she had been earlier and that only confirmed your suspicions.

“topper came by when you left.”

sarah’s head jolted upwards before looking around as if he were standing behind her.

“what did he want?”

“what do you mean? aren’t you still together?” confusion colored your tone.

she laughed in disbelief, “god, no. i broke up with him last summer. he was starting to get really paranoid, and i couldn’t stand it anymore.”

“oh. i didn’t know.” you looked down at your plate, realizing you had barely eaten half of it but you knew that if you took one more bite it would come right back up.

“yeah, sorry. i’m with someone else now.” you lifted your gaze at that.

“yeah? with who?” you questioned, intrigued.

sarah took a deep breath, “john b.”

“what?!” you shrieked. a few of the other people eating at the club looked at you with annoyance but you couldn’t care less. sarah cameron was dating john b. routledge?!

WHAT THE FUCK???

out of all the people from kildare, the last person you expected her to date was john b. who was also a pogue.

she had given you so much shit for dating jj back in high school and now?

with an apologetic smile she said, “yeah. i know, but things are very different for me now.”

“no shit, sherlock.” you were pretty sure your mouth was hanging wide open so you tried your best to calm yourself down.

“wait, if you’re with john b., then that means you are friends with the rest of his group?” you were very careful to not mention his name but there was another one that also didn’t add up.

“kiara, you mean.” you were grateful she still knew you enough to not say his name out loud.

so you both pretended when you agreed.

“well, she wasn’t thrilled at first but, um, we sorted out our differences and she’s been a great friend to me this past year.” you knew that she was telling you the truth because the fondness for kiara in her voice could not be faked. a weird feeling caused your chest to ache.

“oh, well i am glad.” your attempt at sounding chill about it fell flat. your voice only came out strained and you were sure your poker face was gone.

you thought of how things went down when the three of you were friends. it all started about two months after you had begun school and had been partnered with kiara for the rest of the school year. on an otherwise normal tuesday, you had asked for permission to go to the bathroom–which was actually an excuse to just get out of class– and when you walked inside to check if there was something in your eye, a sob tore through the quiet bathroom. you turned around with worry and checked each one of the stalls until the last door didn’t budge. so you knocked and after minutes of convincing, the door opened.

sarah cameron. to any other person she would’ve looked normal and would’ve also fooled you with her calm expression, but her eyes were red-rimmed and, of course, you had heard her crying.

she wasn’t exactly rude to you at school, but she certainly didn’t go out of her way to make you feel included. honestly, she was indifferent towards your presence, or at least that was what you thought. it turned out that she knew your name and where you were from and that, of course, you were kiara’s friend.

when you’d asked her why she was crying, she said she was just having very bad period cramps and boy had you been there. luckily, she was also in your class period so you offered to give her pain killers once you were back and she had agreed.

obviously, it wasn’t like from that day on you were best friends but you saw each other and smile in the hallways and she would come up to you and say hi every once in a while, always leaving kiara with a confused expression.

about a month after the bathroom encounter, you stood by your locker, putting away your books, when kiara asked, “why are you so friendly with sarah cameron all of a sudden?”

you froze at the question but you were surprised she hadn’t brought it up sooner. “she’s nice and we talked in the bathroom once so i guess we decided to acknowledge one another.”

kiara frowned, “so? i’ve talked to people in the bathroom and i haven’t become besties with them.”

“she’s not my bestie, ok? we’re just classmates that don’t hate each other.”

your friend opened her mouth to respond but another voice beat her to it.

“hey, y/n. hi, kiara. i’m going to have a small get together at my place tonight if you guys want to come.” you hoped that she hadn’t listened to your conversation but something in her eyes told you she did.

you could see that kiara was going to tell her off but you held her back with a stern gaze before returning it back to sarah, “yeah, sure. we’d love to.”

sarah grinned, “cool. i’ll text you the details later. chao.” she wiggled her fingers goodbye causing kiara to mock her farewell with a higher pitched voice.

“why did you tell her yes?” by the way she was looking at you, you would’ve thought you had killed her dog or something.

“because, she’s being nice to us. she even invited you. i mean we can go and check it out but if we decide that it’s boring then we get up and leave. no harm done.”

kie sighed, “fine. but that doesn’t mean im going to be all smiles and laughter around her.”

you chuckled and booped her nose,  “didn’t ask for anything else.”

so that night you had gone to sarah’s house only for kiara to call you to tell you that she had thrown up her dinner and felt like shit.

naturally, you turned around to leave because no matter how nice sarah was to you, the other kooks weren’t guaranteed to feel the same. once you were almost out tannyhill’s entrance, a girl called your name.

“hey, wait up! where are you going?” sarah had come running after you and was breathing fast when she stopped in front of you with a cautious smile.

“oh, it’s just that kiara is sick so i figured it wouldn’t be fun without her.”

“oh." hurt flickered through sarah’s features, immediately causing your heart to clench with guilt.

you quickly tried to think of something so you wouldn’t make her feel worse. “no, i mean i’m sure it will be fun but you’ll be with your friends, and i don’t want to make you feel obligated to stay with me the entire time.”

oh my god, shut up. you sound like a fucking pick me, jesus fucking christ.

she laughed, “don’t be ridiculous. if i invited you, it’s because we are friends. if you want to be, of course.”

no one had ever said expressed their desire for your friendship so candidly before, which took you by surprise. warmth filled your chest, thinking that she was actually a very nice girl, so you decided to just give her a chance.

you better not regret this.

you mentally shooed the kiara conscience voice away and took sarah’s hand when she offered, holding it all the way back to her house.

maybe that was the day everything went wrong. if you had just left, you wouldn’t have become friends with sarah and then you wouldn’t have gotten on that car the night of midsummers and you wouldn’t be a murderer.

your world began to shake and you suddenly became increasingly aware of your surroundings.

sarah was shaking you and calling your name out, yelling at someone to call a doctor or something. you tried to open your mouth but you couldn’t and the edges of your vision were becoming blurry but you somehow didn’t faint.

you heard someone giving out instructions on what to do with you, and the words panic attack were being thrown around.

aquamarine colored eyes locked with yours, willing you to take deep breaths. you slowly began to do what they said.

breathe in for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, do not breathe for 4 seconds.

eventually your heart beat settled down, and your vision became clearer, your hearing once again back to normal.

“are you ok?” the concerned tone in his voice almost made you cry. under any other circumstances you would’ve slapped yourself into oblivion for being so emotional. you heard a choked sound along with your body beginning to shake again before you realized it was you sobbing.

oh brother.

rafe’s arms wrapped around you as he shushed you, telling you that everything was okay and that you were okay and safe.

after what felt like an hour he let you go, only to be engulfed by another pair of arms, this time smaller and more delicate.

“i’m so sorry, i’m so sorry,” sarah’s guilt ridden voice sounded in your ear and you somehow became the one consoling her.

rafe noticed, “sarah c’mon. let her go, she’s fine but you shouldn’t push it.”

she apologized but let go.

“you should take her home,” someone said behind you but you were too far gone inside your own mind to recognize who it was.

next thing you know, you’re in sarah’s mini cooper, on your way to your house. she keeps glancing in your direction every two minutes but otherwise left you alone. the windows are down, the ocean air wrapping itself around you like a hug.

the gravel underneath the car’s tires made a satisfying crunch, grounding you to the present.

“i’m so sorry about today,” sarah apologized for the hundredth time and you assured her once again that it was fine and to not fret.

she reluctantly accepted, leaving once you shut the door behind you. leaning your head back against the door you concentrated in breathing in and out, in and out.

a bang sounded down the hallway. “mom?”

no answer. you went to see where you thought you had heard it the sound from, but the house was empty as far as you could tell.

what if? no. it was probably the wind or my imagination.

you made your way up the stairs, groggily and plopped on top of your bed once you were secure in your bedroom.

you sighed, “finally.”

taking your phone out of your bag, you saw five missed calls and 3 messages from sarah in the past five minutes.

a chill ran down your spine when another poem arrived.

you stared at your screen in horror.

it was you from last night.

extra:

sarah's phone: saturday, may 24, 2025.

so... what do we think? i lwk think i've ruined the story but LEMME KNOW

ALSO i was gonna make rafe be an asshole but @inthelibrarybtw said no so.... BLAME HER

no, im joking i asked for her help cuz esta que está aqui no puede tomar una decisión ni para salvar su vida.

also the way rafe had the sun behind him

get it? hahahah

HE'S OUR SUN ASDFHAJSHDFJ i fear i would faint a thousand times more just so he can help me breathe.

mouth to mouth should be included cuz wtf

no but in case the part where he helps is confusing, it's because the reader was out of it and panic came in because miss girl does not have one nonchalant bone in her body and spirals over anything.

she wasn't responding and sarah was screaming and he has known reader for years so of course he would be worried.

let's not forget he was/is friends with jj and topper *check their ig profiles (:

do we smell drama??? I DO

psa this was not the way i had outlined this story, they're taking a life of their own and it's lwk scary cuz now i don't know who to kill off...

dead bodies might start appearing soon, but not before more ANGST

what? who said that?

no but why do i want to spoil my own story?? IT'S SO HARD TO KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT i just want to put it out there already

but patience is key

also: i make it mandatory to listen to memoir of a sparklemuffin (deluxe) thank you.

it is the official soundtrack of this story and here is my face reveal as a reward:

i'm so cool y'all

sparklemuffins are peak feminism, seriously

look it up.

favorite album ngl and nonchalant represents me in every level LISTEN TO IT!!!

BTW memoir of a sparklemuffin is lwk canon cuz i saw that my fun was playing in s4 episode 8 of obx

dedicated to my sparklemuffins (i feel like it fits): @countryclubwhore @onlyangel-444 @papercranesandinkstains @inthelibrarybtw @cokewithcameron @jaes-last-words @rafesbabygirlx @ethanthequeefqueen @7-deadly-cats @ewwwitsel @rockkybbys @luvvly-lydia @jenna0rtegaswife

[caraecethrae]

A fair man illuminating level places, Rowan Kal, 2025, digital painting

ᚐᚏ ᚋᚐᚅᚐᚅᚅᚐᚅ ᚋᚐᚉ ᚂᚔᚏ

[futureofthemasses]

Ohoho I remembered a website that does fancy fabric and I have one friend who is pregnant whose older son didn't get a classic tied fleece baby blanket from me and another who I just didn't have time to make one so I may have gone hog wild buying supplies

[shrimpybbq]

season 1 rafe with his gf & son

i have to be sooo truthful here in that rafe is like 90% the actual worst during the events of season 1 to high school gf!

he's still doing drugs and going to parties, never coming home until the early morning if at all

maybe he was on better terms with his gf for a while, but everyone on the island knows that the pair are always on-and-off

when they are good, rafe is surprisingly sweet to her. he's always opening doors and looking after their son so she can rest. rafe is so much more physically affectionate too during these times, with his hands always on her, stroking her hip or playing with her hair

and then when they fight, it's like all that goes away and he's back to ignoring her

she lives in the main house now as that's where their son's nursery is, but most of the time she's sleeping in the guest room after they argue

rafe's idea of family bonding is going to the country club, drinking his expensive whiskey and eating overpriced food. he likes seeing his son look around wide-eyed at the new sights and new people, and he enjoys having his son sit in his lap while he drinks, mumbling nonsense to see his little smile

he tries to take his son out golfing once only to realise that he couldn't be away from his mother for so long, much to his annoyance. it's fine though bc he's insisting they all go together next time - problem solved in his mind

rafe and high school gf! go to midsummer's together as each others dates. rafe wouldn't have let her go with anyone else anyway, but he likes the display of having her on his arm. he matches his suit to the floral design of her gown to make the statement even clearer (they have a child together and he's worried about people knowing she's his???)

he manages to hide a lot of the events that go on from his gf, but some of them still reach her ears courtesy of sarah, and he can't stand the disappointed look she gives him. sometimes though, he makes her sit down and listen to his explanation, trying to get her to see his side. he's so relieved when she nods and no longer looks at him in that way (but she still doesn't tell him he was right, he always notes)

when barry burns rafe, he's knocking on the door of the guest room with tears in his eyes, clutching his badly burnt arm to his chest. gf just looks at him wide-eyed, telling him to sit on her bed while she grabs the first aid kit. rafe can't help but let the tears stream down his face as she cleans, his head coming to rest on her shoulder as he sobs. that night is the first time he sleeps with her in the guest room, his head nuzzled into her chest as she cradles him

ok but if barry ever threatens his girl and kid rafe won't let it go. he's landing a punch on the drug dealer's face immediately, his rage spiking instantaneously. barry learns not to threaten them again after the second time he wore purple bruises on his chin

oh, sweet pretty gf has no idea what rafe has done to the sheriff, and he plans to keep it that way. he wanted to protect his dad, but he absolutely refuses to let anything happen to his own family. she's so shocked when he tells her of john b's actions, the boy having lived down the hall from them, and rafe plays into the role of protector again. he's got her in his arms as she cries about how he was around their son, and rafe just hums and tells her "i would never let someone hurt either of you, you know that right?". it warms his heart to see her nod into his chest.

sometimes his gf walks into the nursery only to see her son not in his crib, but she knows exactly where he is. pushing open rafe's door she sees the two of them in bed, her sweet baby cuddled up on rafe's bare chest as they both sleep. he needs to be with his son when he has a bad day, which seems to be more often than not nowadays

rafe is rapidly growing more mentally unwell and the only thing that seems to soothe him is his gf and son, and he spends as much time as he can with them. the little baby is always in his arms as he coos down at him, watching his kid's eyes brighten at the sight of his dada. rafe reasons with himself that everything he does is to protect his family and that he couldn't be wrong then, could he?

Click here for pre-season 1 rafe, gf & their unborn son

Click here for season 2 rafe, gf & their son

Click here for season 3 rafe, gf & their son

Click here for season 4 part 1 rafe, gf & their son

Click here for the 18 month gap before season 4 rafe, gf & their son

Oh this was a bit of a novel, but rafe truly has so many facets to explore, let alone once you give him a big motivator like a kid!

[rafesbabygirlx]

SHERIFF’S DAUGHTER

✧ 𝚁𝚊𝚏𝚎 𝚡 𝚂𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚙𝚎𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛!𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

✧ 𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢: 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚗𝚘 𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚘𝚢𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍. 𝙳𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚋𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚋𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝚄𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚏𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎, 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢, 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚘𝚢𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚍.

✧ 𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: 𝙼𝙳𝙽𝙸 - 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑, 𝚜𝚖𝚞𝚝 (𝚌𝚊𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚡, 𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐)

✧ 𝚊𝚗: 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝙸'𝚖 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔, 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗𝚎 <3

✧ 3.3𝚔 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜

✧ 𝙼𝙰𝚂𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙻𝙸𝚂𝚃 | 𝚃𝙰𝙶𝙻𝙸𝚂𝚃

You sat at the table with your father. His first meal home in 6 nights, the same night when you just so happened to be home too. You honestly thought you’d be alone. You know he’s angry at you. He didn’t look at you once since he’s entered the house. In his defense, you haven't been around for months. You’re 18 after all you could do as you please. You had a life, others that depended on you, he couldn’t fault you for that.

But could he blame you? You had your boyfriend and your friends. Then, everything turned to shit. Complete and utter shit. Your friends needed you now more than ever. And unbeknownst to your father, yet, despite all of the mess he caused you couldn’t keep away from the man you loved. You could feel the resentment seeping out of his pores, that you chose them over him.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Six months ago was your first real encounter with Rafe. You were tucked away sitting by the shore, clearing your head of the bonfire that was going on. Your friends had dragged you out but you didn’t want to be there. You gave in but once they were distracted, you took the chance to get away. Rafe had done the same. Wanting to get away of being the center of attention, away from all the expectations that come with being a Cameron. You spent the entire night together, just the two of you. To your surprise, he opened up a lot, you as well. You went home with him, waking up the next morning, naked and wrapped around him. After that you spent almost every night at his.

Five months ago you began dating officially. The only people who knew were his friends and yours. You had told him the reservations your father had about her being involved with him and his family, but you ensured him that didn’t matter to you. Your friends were reluctant but trusted your judgment, meanwhile his friends too every opportunity to make fun of Rafe for wanting someone who slums it with the pogues like you do. But nothing stopped either of you from carrying on in the relationship. You continued splitting your time between him and your friends. Coming home every once in a while to reset and leave again.

Four months ago you and Rafe were having the times of your lives sneaking around. It was a thrill that never seemed to get old. He had bought you a matching blue dress for the night of Midsummers and despite you not being able to go with him. He had worn the same tux and took you out to the mainland the night after. He was a dream when you were together. What did get old was trying to pull him out of his old ways. The ways that constantly got him into fights with your friends. They'd keep the interactions from you, and of course, he'd never bother to tell you. The day on the golf course with Pope, and the night of Midsummers. You didn't speak to him for a week after fight at the summer night movie. He still couldn't take the hint. But you loved him nonetheless.

Three months ago Rafe began to feel the weight of his father’s relentless demands of him being a better son and prodigy of the Cameron legacy. The drugs sucked him in and his father kicked him out. He spent a few nights sneaking into your bedroom before finding a place to crash. One morning, when you had stayed over, you woke up to an empty house. You spent the entire day waiting for him to return but he never did. You were snapped out of any thought running rampant in your mind, when a dozen frantic texts came through from Kie and JJ. You rushed out of the pristine Figure 8 mansion to find your friends bunkered in Kie's car at an abandoned shack. Desperate for answers, you don't stop until they tell you John B was wrongfully accused of killing Peterkin. In that moment you felt key details were left out but no one seemed to want to give them to you.

Two months ago it had been a whole month since you've pieced everything together. You had learned that Rafe was the one who pulled the trigger. When he and Barry cornered you and your friends while trying to retrieve John B and Sarah's getaway. It was a day that everything you knew about him was shattered. He was a murderer, for the sake of his father, the one he told you over and over that he hated. The same day you cried out for Pope to stop choking him out because despite everything you still loved him. The same day, John B and Sarah were sent out into the storm and presumed dead. The same day that in a time of need, you had wished it was Rafe's arms around you and not your father's as you sobbed over your friends.

One month ago you and the Pogues discovered John B and Sarah were alive. This was all you needed to jump into action and clear your friend's name. Spying on Ward, jumping into sewers, getting flushed out of sewers, bringing the murder weapon to your father, who seemed more interested in the fact that Kie smelled than the fact that you were brining him cold hard evidence. No matter how hard you tried, it always seemed to fail. All the while, you were still sneaking around with Rafe. You couldn't stop the temptations of wanting to be with. Other than the week of initail shock that two of your best friends were gone. You were back in his bed, naked and tangled up in the sweat covered sheets, just like your first night together.

Two weeks ago John B and Sarah had made it back to OBX. You confided to Sarah and only Sarah that you couldn't keep away from Rafe. She was understanding, she understood love and the way that if something was real it couldn't be stopped. Her telling you that Rafe knew she was alive and shot her in the Bahamas, made you sick. Literally, you couldn't stop the bile from coming up if you wanted to. She promised you that your secret was safe and things seemed ok for now. Boy was she wrong. John B was caught and a death sentence was on the table. You pleaded with your father to see the truth but it seemed that it only fell on deaf ears. He seemed confident this was justice for his friend and colleague.

One week after that was when your world was spun upside down yet again.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

The only sounds that echoed through the kitchen was the silverware clanking against the dishes. You were honestly afraid that any little movement you made would set him off. You ate as fast as you could before getting up and placing your things in the dishwasher.

You kept your head down as you made your way towards the living room before your father’s voice breaks through the silence. “Leaving so soon?”

“I was gonna head out. It doesn’t seem like you want me here.”

“Sit down." Shoupe's voice was low but demanding. It was an octave that he used throughout your whole life and one that you knew something bad was coming.

You do as your told. Taking back the seat across the table from your father. His eyes never leave yours. His demeanor is tough and shut off. Almost as if he was sitting on the opposite side of an interrogation table and you were a suspect.

"I know I didn't take you and your friends seriously at first and I know these past two months have been hard on you and I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you more. I'm sorry that I let work get in the way. I'm sorry you didn't think I believed in you."

You look down at the table, feeling the weight of his words. It has been hard. You felt as if your own father was against you the entire time. Just because of who was suspected. No one cares about a Pogues life on this island. You were convinced that no matter what was given to him that it wouldn't matter. Even if that meant turning in your Rafe.

His eyes soften just a bit as he continues, "and although I do not like who you surround yourself with, please know that I am very sorry to them as well. None of you, especially John B deserved it."

In the blink of an eye, his face hardened again once he began to speak about the next part. You still haven't said a word. You know where this is going and even though it's what you wanted for the sake of your friends. It doesn't hurt any less.

"It may not have seemed like it at the time, but I took what you said seriously. That's how the SBI found the Cameron's fingerprints on the gun. You and your friends were how we took them down. You should be proud, I'm proud to see your dedication to your friend."

You let go of a breath you've been holding in. Your dad was proud. You haven't felt that feeling from him in a long time. This wasn't the way you expected for this conversation to go. "Thank you, dad. Seriously. I know I give you a hard time for wanting to be with them all the time. But I love them and I don't regret anything I did."

"I'm glad you didn't because we got the right person. The Cameron's are snakes. Ward is a conniving son of bitch who's buys his way out of everything, but he couldn't this time. We got Rafe this morning and the only way he was able to get him out was to blow himself up. A man with such arrogance, turned out to be such a pussy. His son is a drug addicted brat and he's a poor excuse for a man."

You were locked in place. Frozen by your father's words. You wanted to agree but the words were stuck.

"But you already knew everything that happened this morning, right sweetheart?"

Before you could say anything, your father reached into his pocket and slid over something to you. It was like everything was happening in slow motion. You watched as it made its way over to you, stopping right at the edge of the table. It was your hair clip. The one your mother gave to you before she passed, the one she wore every day, the one you now wore every day in memory of her.

You felt as if the walls were closing in. You hear your father chuckle to himself. But the ringing in your ears made it seem like he was miles away. You felt hot, suffocatingly hot. The skin around your nails began to bleed from how deep you were picking at them. You felt sick, and you swore you were about to pass out. Your trembling hands reached out and picked up the floral hair clip.

"You want to tell me why we found that in Rafe Cameron's car this morning when we searched it?" Your father shouted as he slammed his hand on the table. It made you flinch and you closed your eyes. "I'd really like to understand why my daughter's, who was told to stay the fuck away from that kid, hairclip that she never goes anywhere without, was in his vehicle!"

The memory of today flashed through your mind in an instant.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

You had woken up at the Chateau, on top of Kie crammed on the couch, to a slamming of the front door. John B stood there a free man. Everyone surrounded him questioning him about his release.

"They just let me go, but you should know, they're going after Rafe."

Everyone looked over to Sarah, but Sarah looked at you. Your stomach turned. On one hand you were happy John B's name was cleared, but this meant you may never see Rafe again. Just in the nick of time, your phone buzzed on the cluttered coffee table.

Rafe: Baby, please come see me. I don't have a lot of time.

You gave Sarah a knowing look and she nodded, giving you an ok to through on your sneakers and rush out the door with out any answers.

You made your way to Rafe's location. Barry's house, of course. You entered without knocking to see Rafe with his head in his hands. You rushed over to him immediately and pulled him in for a hug. Barry, being who he is, couldn't help but mock the sight. Rafe gave him a look before pulling you, outside and into the back seat of his truck.

“My dad was just here. I’m leaving, but I needed to see my girl one last time.”

“Where are you going?” Your voice broke slightly. He was no good but he was your Rafe. You didn’t want him to leave you.

“Wilmington for now. Then I don’t know. I needed you now though.”

You knew what he was asking of you and held back tears as he pulled you in for a kiss. Much to his luck you showed up in a mini skirt. It was already bunched up at your waist. You were pulled into his lap as he kissed down your neck. Your hands roamed tugging at his shirt and pulling it off. His belt and pants were next. He was rock hard for you. It didn’t take much.

He held your panties to the side as you sunk down onto him. He every inch of him stretched you out. You halted once you met his thighs. You leaned in and pressed your lips to his as you slowly rolled your rolled your hips. Rafe met your movements, jutting his up into you.

The passion of the moment sent him into overdrive. He had wrapped his arms around your waist, locking you in place as he firmly planted his feet on the floor of the truck. He lifted you slightly giving him enough room to hammer into you. Moans, heavy pants and the wet sound of your soaked cunt filled the cabin. Most likely Barry’s living room too, because there was no way he couldn’t hear the sounds that came out of you.

Rafe’s moves never faltered. You cried out in his ear and it was pure pleasure for him, “fff-fuck, gonna miss you baby.”

“Don’t stop, I don’t want it to end.” You let out a powerful moan and tucked your face into the crook of his neck. How long was it going to be until you could hold him again?

You came unexpectedly. Gripping tightly onto Rafe’s hair as your legs shook from the orgasm. This didn’t stop Rafe though, he continued his brutal pace. Taking one of arms from around you, his thumb found its way to your swollen clit, rubbing in time with his thrusts. Just like he did, you matched his thrusts in a perfect rhythm. Each drop, each swirl of his thumb sent you into a frenzy.

You braced yourself, one arm on the ceiling, one in the drivers side headrest. Rafe’s other hand snaked up your shirt and played with your nipple, back and forth between each breast.

“Gimme one more baby, you said you didn’t want it to end.”

His command was all it took. You soaked his entire lap, Rafe meeting his peak right after. He had never been so vocal before but every twitch of his cock was matched with a throaty moan. Once he came down, he pulled you back into him and he rested his head on your chest. He didn’t want to let go but he knew he had no time left.

You swore you’d never seen Rafe Cameron again when Barry whisked him away on that shitty little boat. You held back tears as you watched him go, it was only until you were certain he was out of sight that that you fell to the ground sobbing.

You had composed yourself on the way back to the Chateau, only to be dragged back out to the Twinkie as they were going to see Ward get arrested. You were met with your dad at the dock trying to get him back in. The eruption, the flames, the debris, you could only picture the shambles that Rafe’s life had become. He was consumed by his father, wanting to be the perfect son, even though he knew he’d never be in the eyes of Ward.

You told your friends that you were just going to head home after what just happened. No one questioned you. After your friends dispersed, you snuck back into Tannyhill and sat on the edge of Rafe’s bed for a few hours before hearing the turn of the doorknob. He was back, he was safe, and his cruel, piece of shit father was gone. You held him for hours before actually heading home, leaving him to deal with family matters.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

“Hello?! I asked you a god damn question!” Your father’s voice rang out bringing you back into the moment. Back to the present after all that has happened today.

Reliving all that happened today, you realized now how the hair clip had gotten lost. The heat of the moment in the car, the emotional turmoil the rest of the day entailed was almost too much to bear. It must've slipped out when you and Rafe were together in there. You didn’t even know, it wasn’t with you anymore. This could not be more humiliating.

“I saw Rafe before he was arrested.”

Your father raised an eyebrow. “And why would you do that?”

“Because,” your throat suddenly got dry, but you forced the words out regardless, “because he’s my boyfriend and he has been for months.”

You didn’t know if your father wanted to cry or slam his chair into the ground repeatedly. He didn’t say a single word. He didn’t need to. You knew what was going on inside his mind. If he wasn’t angry before, he certainly is now.

“He was gonna skip town, which I know you already know, and he wanted to see me before he left. I wanted to see him. I couldn’t not see him. I love him.”

Your head dipped at those last three words you said to him. Not out of embarrassment, but because of how immorally wrong you felt, telling your father how much you loved the murderer of his friend. It was worse now, because his dad took the fall for what he did and you both knew that. There is no real justice for Susan.

“I know you hate that family, but you don’t understand. Rafe did bad things but he is not a bad person. Ward is the scum of the empire he created. Rafe now has a second chance to prove himself without him here. And I won’t leave him.”

Still your father hadn’t said a single word. He was seething.

“I’m sorry I’m such a disappointment. I’m sorry I’m torn in the middle of Pogues and Kooks. I’m sorry you think my friends are worthless and I’m sorry my boyfriend is who he is. But I can’t help who becomes apart of my family.”

Finally after all this time. After all your rambling. After every betraying word that came out of your mouth. Your father could only muster up one.

“Leave.”

Dividers by @cafekitsune thank you @rafesteddy for showing me where to find them. 🫶🏼

Tags + some moots <3 @rafestoothbrush @weluvwbb @itsforeverandalwayz @butterfly-ibuki @megiiite @siredbtches @bigenergy777 @aupernatural-teenwolflover @rafegf-real @skywalker0809 @snowtargaryen @kieeslove @leather-n-velvet @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @diasnohibng @slurpdew @alphabetically-deranged @runawayrafetrain @currentresidentinhell @slut-4-rafey @akobx @laniirackssss @jjmaybankmylovee @slut4you @larema121 @sc05 @k4yr14 @chromeheartsbaby @jennieonline @maybejj @inthelibrarybtw @cherrywriterrr @memoirofasparklemuff1n @idk-tbh127 @moondustbaby @writingroom21 @maybankslover @papercranesandinkstains @rcwhore @nemesyaaa

[fee224]

When loosing feels like winning

Rafe Cameron x overlooked!reader

“Cmon” you giggled, leading rafe away from midsummers and through the long sand path parted in between long grass that lead to the cove.

Rafe was chuckling behind you, holding onto your hand out of fear of losing you. The air getting colder and darker with each step as rafe helped you climb up the sand dune. “Be careful baby.” He was still chuckling at your rash movements, pulling him from the balcony with his friends and hauling him away from the country club.

You were far past tipsy, this might be the drunkest you’ve ever been. You couldn’t tell if rafe was drunk. His smile was more messy and his cheeks were a little tinted.

You kicked your heels off, leaving you in your pretty midsummers dress, it was pale and matched your nails. Your feet met the sand as rafe picked up your shoes behind you.

The feeling of the soft sand, summer evening air and rafes hands on your hips, you felt dizzy. There was a faint echo of music from the club, you tried listening but the sound of your heart was beating faster and stronger.

“Where are you taking us princess” his arms enveloped your stomach pulling you against his chest and stopping you in your tracks. Kissing your neck, you turned around, standing stiff in front of him, giggling as his lips worked all the way up to your lips.

Your hands intertwined with the collar of his shirt pulling him further into you and towards the sand floor. He was groaning in your mouth, only confirming your strong feelings towards your boyfriend.

You fell onto your knees, facing each other as he gripped the fleshy part of your hips pulling you into his growing groin.

Your right leg reached higher, pushing him to the sand by his back as you straddled his hips, legs wrapping around his thighs. Trying to focus hard on kissing him instead of any other part of this whole thing.

As his arms surrounded your waist and placed you gently onto your back and nipped at the neck line of your dress. Pulling it down with his soft lips as your back arched and head engraved into the ground, trying to repress a moan and save the embarrassment.

His head lowered, kissing your chest, seeing it all for the first time as you played with his hair, the stars fuzzy above you.

“Baby you’re so… pretty and..” his face came back above you, talking to you directly as his hands stroked on your hips “I just- you’re so sweet and I need you to know that okay?” He kissed your lips, confirming his words as you smiled up at him, embracing his kind words as he cupped your face and kissed you hard.

“Rafe?”

“Yeah?”

“I want to” you’re eyes shifted, to a more pleading look, you’re eyebrows raised slightly as he chuckled, kissing your lips again.

“Yeah me too” his lips wandered further again, sitting on his knees in between your legs as he slowly undressed you to your underwear, whispering sweet words as he did so. Complimenting everything in-front of him.

As you watched, lying on the sand, he took his dress jacket off and then the buttons on his shirt, you leaned up. Helping him starting from the bottom, your fingers met after the third button you undid, you’re eyes meeting too as you smiled shyly when he brung you back to the ground.

Nobody else around, the dark night and the sandy grass a few steps away, enclosing you and rafe in this moment.

You made a conscious effort to remember every feeling, every word. You hadn’t done this before, been this close to someone, emotionally or physically, platonically or romantically, you made sure to savour it because you weren’t sure how many moments like this you would get again in your life. With rafe. With a boy. With a boy like rafe who acted a lot like a man. More like a man then a lot of men.

Your underwear were being pulled gently down your legs as you attempted to stop shifting underneath him. You were physically trembling with nerves. You wanted it to happen, you just could hardly move with nerves.

His fingers traced your entrance, gently and slowly as you gasped. “Sorry” you giggled quietly, looking back up at the stars as rafes eyes remained staring at the beauty in front of him. “S’okay baby, don’t need to apologise”he whispered, chuckling again in an attempt to comfort you.

After warning you it might hurt, and holding your hand, he entered reluctantly slow. His body went lax as yours coiled and squeezed hard on his palm. You didn’t have to complain for rafe to pause for a moment and kiss your mouth gently.

“Tell me what to do sweetheart”

“Mmm please just keep kissing me” you inched your face up, bringing your lips to his as he kissed you back lovingly, smiling at your connection as he dropped into you lower.

Until it felt good, till you asked him to move. He was still slow and gentle, going at your pace forever if you asked him to. Little moans and mewls were coming from your mouth as you clawed at his neck.

“Rafe i- somethings happenin-” every thrust was leaving your insides closer to something that felt like maybe death.

Every deep thrust making you shiver until you were spasming to the brink of extinction, he slowed down as you came around his cock. You’re eyes shutting, as he pulled out, quickly wrapping you in his suit jacket as you laid quietly and sleeping on the sand. His hand moved to your heart to check your pulse.

He took a minute to look at you, and the situation he was so deep in. He had waited for this moment, and it was so much better than any past ride or wet dream.

He fucked you with real love and that was all he was ever going to do. Love you with his all real love. The way you peacefully lay, unconscious from the exhausting day.

He changed in a rush, trying to drag his eyes off you until he was done, picking you up like you were nothing and bringing you back to midsummers. A cigarettes after sex song playing and couples slow dancing on the floor, drinking on the balcony with womens head leaning on mans shoulder. He ignored it all but you, swiping your sandy hair out of your face as he slipped past the beach house and into the car park where he tucked you into passenger, next to your dress and heels, underneath all the blankets he could find in his truck.

“M’gonna take care of you” he kissed your forehead, shutting the truck door and getting in alongside you.

- fee xxx

[erwinsvow]

i want rafe and reader at midsummers 😩😩

i did with shy reader being nervous before! hope this is okay ♡

a big public event—and that too on rafe's arm for the first time in front of his family and all of his friends, along with everyone you seemed to know too. it was enough to have you in hysterics, but you kept all the turmoil in your brain inside, not wanting rafe to think you couldn't handle this.

rafe had invited you for a reason. the last thing you wanted to do was disappoint him, but your own nerves were taking over.

what if you did something wrong? like embarrassing yourself and rafe in front of everyone. or worse, if you said the wrong thing or froze up in an important moment? the thoughts clouded your mind, made everything seem hazy in the days leading up to the party.

you'd been to midsummers only once before—forgoing the other years since going out to a big party with the entire town didn't seem appealing at all, only going if your parents dragged you.

but this year was special—your first with rafe, and he had cared enough to ask you along, as his date. you'd gone to the shops and picked out a pretty white dress and blue shoes to match him, nails painted and hair done.

even now, all dressed up and waiting in your bedroom for rafe to come get you, you debated if you could really do this. so lost in your thoughts, applying layers of lip gloss and staring in the mirror to catch any last minute imperfection, you don't even hear rafe come in.

"c'mon, kid. ready? car's runnin'."

you turn to look—like always, rafe looks so handsome your heart hurts. he gets closer, and you want to shy away, maybe crawl under the sheets with him and wake up tomorrow morning after this whole thing is over, but you refrain. rafe kneels down next to where you're seated on the vanity, a hand on your knee.

"you look beautiful."

the way he says it, you believe him.

"thanks," you breathe out, still staring down at him.

"c'mon. don't wanna be late, right?" nodding, you follow him downstairs. when the two of you arrive at the party, your heart is thudding in your chest. you grip his arm tight before he can lead you in, moving to the side of the entrance.

"i-i just need a minute, please. i-"

"s'okay. something wrong?" rafe leans in to ask, and you feel flushed all over again. he cares, and all you want is to please him, make him feel like he doesn't have to worry about you tonight. you swallow uncomfortabtly.

"yes. i just-i'm.. being me. sorry."

"don't say sorry." rafe does the thing, the thing that always makes you melt, taking your chin into his hand and tilting your head up so he can look at you. "you wanna leave?"

"no, no, i- we just got here. i can do it. this is important to you."

"you're important to me. not this crap. you wanna go home? i'll take you now."

when he says it, you feel like you're floating. you shake your head, following rafe in, and though for the last week you'd been scared about this very moment, it doesn't feel so bad now that rafe's reassured you. he's good like that, good for you, calming you down instantly.

you sip on a drink and stay attached to rafe's arm—briefly wondering if he wants you to go mingle alone. but when you try to pull away, he doesn't let you go, hand wandering to your waist and holding you there firmly.

you smile up at him while he's in conversation with someone, and though he's still talking, rafe takes the minute to look down and smile at you.

[cherienymphe]

Teenage Dirtbag XV

JJ Maybank x Reader x Rafe Cameron

Warnings: NON-CON, DUB-CON, abusive relationship, domestic violence, mentions of violence (+ gun violence), gun kink, dacryphilia, attempted murder, blood, semi public sex,  jealousy, manipulation, infidelity, underage drinking, drug use, canon ages, kook!reader

➥ banner by @vase-of-lilies | ➥ divider by @firefly-graphics

➥ series masterlist

summary: You’re charmingly spoiled. You’re too kind for your own good. You’re the princess of Figure 8 …and you’re way out of JJ Maybank’s league, but when he realizes that Rafe Cameron’s pride and joy is actually a bruised and battered damsel, he’s determined to save you.

Your rescue just comes with a price.

⭑

“Mother, please…”

Your parents and Rafe found your exasperation amusing, your back vibrating from the feel of his soft chuckle as you leaned against him. The blond wrapped his arms around you as your mother quietly pleaded for ‘just one more’. Your father wasn’t on your side on today of all days, and you resisted the urge to roll your eyes.

“You know how she gets,” he told you. “Let her have this.”

“It’s just Midsummers,” you said to them. “We do this every year.”

You tried not to let your unenthusiastic thoughts slip through too much, but where there was once a time you loved Midsummers, you mostly just wanted to get the night over with now. It still brought you joy—this you wouldn’t deny—but it wasn’t the same as it used to be. You used to look forward to it, and while you enjoyed getting dolled up and seeing your parents’ friends as they asked about you, you didn’t enjoy smiling in everyone’s faces and gushing over how happy you were with Rafe.

You looked forward to the food and drinks and floating around in a beautiful dress, but you didn’t look forward to Rafe’s hand on your waist all night. You didn’t look forward to laughing along as countless people wondered when Rafe planned on popping the question. You didn’t look forward to posing for countless pictures.

…as you were currently doing.

“Mother,” you sighed.

“You should be used to this by now,” she softly laughed. “…and grateful because I’m going to be far worse than you could ever imagine on your wedding day.”

Your stomach twisted at that, and you swallowed down bile just as Rafe tightened his arms around you.

“Stop being such a brat and just let your mom take the picture.”

His voice was quiet as his lips grazed your ear, and you kept a smile on your face as he straightened again. The older woman made a noise of approval, and you felt no relief when she was finally done. You glanced at Rafe just as your mother turned to your father to discuss the best ones, face even as your boyfriend adjusted your necklace.

He’d just bought it.

“Just stop smiling,” he murmured. “You look like you’re being tortured.”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

Rafe paused, staring you down for a moment before a small smirk made its way onto his lips. Dropping one arm, the other hand moved towards your face, touching your red lips.

“Cute…”

“We’ll meet you both there,” your father said over his shoulder as he walked your mother to his car. “…and please don’t forget to set the alarm. I think someone broke into our pool house.”

His words made your heart drop, and you whipped your head around to stare at the older man with wide eyes.

“What?” you said, voice uneven.

Your father made a gesture with his hand like he was scolding himself for forgetting to tell you that.

“Yeah, I went in there the other day looking for my golf clubs, and it just looked…off. Lived in,” he said, opening the car door. “I might install a camera or two, I don’t know.”

They bid you both goodbye, none the wiser to the internal turmoil he’d just caused, and you swallowed just as Rafe started to pull you back inside. You heard him scoff.

“Probably some Pogue looking to mooch,” he snidely commented, making his way to your father’s bar. “Typical.”

Clearing your throat, you grabbed your purse.

“It’s probably nothing,” you found yourself murmuring. “Besides, it’s a pool house, not exactly The Hilton.”

“Babe, your fucking basement would be like The Ritz to those people,” Rafe said with a shake of his head as he downed a quick drink. “You think too highly of them and their lack of standards.”

You really didn’t want Rafe of all people to preach to you about standards, and you huffed.

“Do you plan on driving there drunk or…?”

Rafe was in a lighter mood today, and so that actually brought a chuckle out of him. Pouring one more drink out of your father’s bottle, he made his way to you. When he kissed you, you could taste the alcohol on his lips, and you watched him pull away to empty the glass.

“I need something in my system if I’m going to be around my family and their friends all night. Especially Rose’s book club women,” he said with a shudder, guiding you out after setting the alarm.

You were almost to his truck when he stopped you, forcing you to face him. You felt nervous as you looked at the blond because you had no idea what he was thinking nor what was about to come out of his mouth. You rested your hands on his arms as he pulled you closer, his own hands comfortable at the small of your back. His blue gaze flitted between your own.

“Try to lose the pout, alright?” he said to you. “Your knee is much better, your nose is practically like new, and you look good enough to eat.”

Rafe leaned in, gently pressing his lips to your cheek.

“Things could always be worse,” was what he said to you when he pulled away, a hint of a threat in his voice as he stared into your eyes.

Yes, you supposed that was true, and you allowed him to walk you to the passenger door.

You didn’t know what Ward had said to him exactly, but you couldn’t ignore the restraint Rafe had practiced for weeks, now. You didn’t know if Ward had legitimately found something to scare him with or if it was a conversation that went more along the lines of ‘at least wait for her to fully recover’. You realized that your thoughts were bordering along something much worse than praising a fish for swimming, but it was relieving to not have to deal with Rafe’s violence and especially for this length of time.

The reprieve was almost enough to make you feel bad for seeing JJ behind his back.

Almost.

“I almost didn’t recognize you.”

The dark-haired girl turned to look at you, her confusion dying down as she placed the face to the voice. Kie weighed your words over in her mind, head slightly tilting from side to side before a small smile adorned her face.

“I know that’s meant as a compliment, so I’ll take it as one,” she said, taking her drink from the bartender. “I look like an uppity Kook princess…no offense.”

You didn’t take any offense to it.

“I know you wouldn’t dare be caught dead here willingly,” you commented, and Kie rolled her eyes over to her mom.

The woman was talking to your mom, a third woman with them that you didn’t recognize.

“It’s amazing how you know me so much better than my own mom,” she snidely replied, taking a sip of her punch. “She keeps waiting for me to ‘grow up’ as she puts it…”

You felt her eyes on you as the bartender finally gave you your own drink. You discreetly shook your head when he asked if you wanted anything else in it, the man no doubt familiar with how underage attendants got their way around here. At Kie’s surprised look, you spoke.

“I still take painkillers, so…”

The tan girl nodded at that, and a look passed over her features that looked a lot like concern.

“Sarah told me that your leg is much better.”

“It is, yeah,” you confirmed. “I can walk without a splint for the most part, but Rafe and my parents still want me to stay off of it if I can.”

She nodded, a soft ‘that’s good’ reaching your ears. Kie looked like she wanted to say more, and despite you two being friendly—with her eventually coming around to you—it was very clear in this moment that you were not friends. You blamed Rafe for that and was just about to go find him when she spoke again.

“It’s not my place…it’s really JJ’s to tell you the truth, but… He was really out of line that day in the hospital.”

Her words took you by surprise, her expression even more so because she looked genuinely embarrassed by what had occurred.

“Yeah, Rafe’s an asshole, and sure, sometimes he’s an asshole to you, and we’re probably the only ones who ever see that, but… JJ accusing him of that was really gross and uncalled for,” she continued.

You looked down at her words, unable to defend JJ in the way you wanted. Everyone thought he was just being a dick who hated Rafe, but in actuality he was right, and you took a sip of your drink.

“His feelings aren’t any excuse to accuse someone of something like that…”

You looked at her again at her words, expression inquiring.

“You know, about Rafe…and you,” she eventually added, albeit reluctantly.

She shrugged at the look on your face, her own expression softer than what you were used to.

“I think he likes you,” she said, shocking you. “Or…at the very least you surprised him. You’re just not what he expected.”

You struggled to respond to that, taking another sip.

“What makes you say that?” you wondered with a scoff.

“He brings you up sometimes. Just to me,” she added at the look on your face. “Nothing crazy. I just think he worries about you dating Rafe, and I keep telling him you’re with that guy for a reason.”

You swallowed, unsure of how to feel about JJ talking to Kie about you.

“There’s probably a whole other side to Rafe the rest of us will just never see…”

You thought to yourself if she only knew.

“That’s flattering,” you slowly said, attempting to steady your heart. “I didn’t even think JJ cared enough about me to talk about me to anyone. Especially to you.”

Sarah was always vocal about how tight-knit John B.’s friend group was before she came along. There’d been a few days where you absentmindedly listened to her talk about how she’d felt like she was intruding at first, only feeling welcomed by all after some time. You especially remembered a few comments on how protective Kie was over her boys, doubly so towards Sarah considering their history.

“I was surprised too,” the other girl agreed. “…but I guess he just wanted to talk to a girl about it.”

You only nodded at that, and you could feel her gaze on you, although it was hard to read when you looked at her.

“You know he’s here tonight…”

Even though your face didn’t move, your heart did skip a beat in your chest, and you sharply inhaled. You didn’t need her to confirm who she was talking about, but she did anyway, and you took another sip of your drink.

“He’s making some extra money,” she explained. “I didn’t get why he’d want to work Midsummers of all events, but…maybe now I do.”

Your gaze met hers at that, and before you could really study her expression, you were interrupted.

“You’re going to hang by the bar all night?” Rafe wondered, saddling up next to you as he flagged down the bartender.

He only just noticed Kie after a moment, throwing her a dismissive look before resting his blue eyes on you.

“Is she why I’ve had to entertain myself with Kelce and Topper despite coming with my beautiful girlfriend?”

You hated the way he talked about her like she wasn’t there, but before you could scold him on it, Kie made herself scarce with one last glance thrown your way. You forced it out of your mind, sighing at him.

“You three were discussing football. I figured that was your subtle way of excluding me…”

After being handed a drink he was just shy of being legal for, Rafe snaked his arm around your waist. He pressed his lips to yours, humming to himself.

“If I’d wanted you to go away, I would’ve said so,” he murmured into the kiss.

His lips made their way to your cheek, and that was the moment you took note of familiar blond hair over his shoulder. Just as Kie said, he was wearing a uniform, a serving tray in his hand, and you blinked. Was he really here just for you? It seemed like way too big of a risk to take, but you found yourself glad that he was.

You needed to tell him that he couldn’t sleep in the pool house for a while.

It was then that you heard Kelce call your boyfriend over, and you both turned to see the other guy waving him over. He and Topper and some of Rafe’s other friends were laughing down at someone’s phone, and Rafe squeezed your waist.

“Now I’m telling you to entertain yourself,” he chuckled. “I won’t be long.”

He left you to go and see what was so funny, and you tapped your finger against your glass a few times before stepping away. JJ’s blue gaze was already on you when you glanced over, and you looked back at Rafe one more time before stepping into the building. A few beats had passed before you heard footsteps mirroring yours.

Knowing this cursed place like the back of your hand, you were quick and discreet in slipping into a storage room. You swallowed down the rest of your drink as you slowly paced, telling yourself you were on a time crunch. It wasn’t too much longer before you had company, and you were quick to get your words out before JJ got the wrong idea.

“You can’t stay at the pool house tonight,” you told him, giving him pause. “Not for a while actually. Not until I can convince my father he doesn’t need to install cameras.”

You sighed.

“I might just tell him I’m the one who’s been in there.”

The blond nodded at that, and you watched him purse his lips.

“So…this isn’t what I thought it was going to be.”

You couldn’t hold back your smile at that, gently laughing to yourself.

“No, JJ,” you admonished. “Rafe is…right outside.”

You gestured towards the door.

“…and his friends will keep him occupied for a while sure, but definitely not long enough to…”

You trailed off, shrugging and dropping your arm. Your words made JJ’s eyebrows raise, and he gave you a look you were more than familiar with.

“That sounds like a challenge.”

You gave him a look.

“JJ…be serious…”

He slowly made his way to you, keeping his eyes on yours the entire time.

“I am,” he breathed, gaze finally dropping. “You look beautiful.”

Rafe had given you the same compliment, but it meant more coming from JJ’s lips, and your own lips parted. Your stomach always flipped when he said things like that to you, and you reminded yourself that you hadn’t met up with him for this. You said that, but the more you looked at him the more you thought how nice he looked in something akin to a suit.

JJ’s blond hair was just a tad neater, resembling Rafe’s almost, and you didn’t think you liked it. Too busy taking in his uncharacteristic appearance, you didn’t pay attention to how close he’d gotten until his hand was touching your necklace. It was a tennis one, the expensive piece of jewelry catching the light, and you focused in on JJ’s face just as he let out a low whistle.

“Rafe bought it,” you explained, noting how much it felt like a collar. “He insisted I wear it tonight.”

You glanced at the clock on the wall, telling yourself to leave, to tell JJ that you’d see him later. However, you couldn’t deny that you didn’t want to, hating that you were here with Rafe instead. You wanted to prolong your time with the other blond for as long as possible, and you knew that JJ was thinking the same thing by the way his hand rested on your cheek.

“JJ…”

Your voice was low as he moved closer.

“Rafe isn’t going to be distracted forever.”

He looked between your eyes at that, his teeth sinking into his lip. He seemed to be contemplating it for a few moments before dropping to his knees. Your heart thudded in your chest as he reached under your dress, dragging your underwear down, and you didn’t stop him as your stomach flipped. You didn’t miss the way he slipped them into his pocket as he stood, lips immediately finding yours.

You couldn’t resist rubbing your thighs together in anticipation, feeling heat settle in the pit of your stomach. JJ tasted the inside of your mouth, and you could tell he’d had a drink or two earlier. He took his time in kissing you, mouth slowly moving against yours, and somewhere along the way he seemed to remember where you were…what you were not supposed to be doing…and who you had to get back to.

Resting between JJ and the wall, you helped him undo his pants, hand immediately wrapping around his cock the moment it was free. He hissed against your lips, and you couldn’t hold back your smile, kissing him harder and stroking him. He groaned into the kiss when you squeezed him, and reminding yourself of Rafe, you pushed your lower half against his.

One of JJ’s hands slid behind your thigh before hooking your leg against his waist. He rested between your legs as his lips traveled down your neck, and with your underwear in his pocket, you could feel the tip of him poking at your bare skin, a shudder passing through you as you wrapped your arms around him.

Guiding the tip of him between your folds, JJ pushed himself through his fist a few times before sliding into you with one quick thrust. You threw your head back, gasping at the tight fight and thinking you liked it a little better when you weren’t as wet. The slight burn made you buck your hips, and JJ’s hands were tight on you as he started to thrust into you.

You couldn’t swallow down your moan, reaching out to press your hand against the wall as JJ fucked you. Wrapping your other arm around his shoulder and neck, you pressed your face against him, teeth sinking into the nice shirt he had on. His hands were guiding your hips to meet him thrust for thrust, his cock stretching you out. You grew wetter with every movement, and it wasn’t long before each thrust was smoother and easier than the last.

For a few moments, you forgot all about Rafe and Midsummers and the fact that you had to go back out there and smile on your boyfriend’s arm. There was even a faint thought that he might be looking for you that you pushed out of your mind. All you could focus on was the feeling of JJ inside of you, chasing both of your climaxes. You wanted to keep fucking him for hours, but you knew that wouldn’t be possible, now.

You glanced at the clock again when JJ left open mouthed kisses against your throat, groaning against your skin as you squeezed him. You kept pushing your hips forward to meet his thrusts, dripping around his cock, and pulling at his uniform. Your other hand reached between you, dipping under your dress and circling your bundle of nerves. Your toes curled at the feel, and when you came, you came hard.

You swallowed down your moan as you tightened around JJ, and when your climax triggered his own, he pressed his face into the crook of your neck. You clung to each other as you came together and getting it in your head that you needed to go, you dropped your leg. You were going to help JJ get redressed, but he deterred you with a quick kiss.

“Go, go,” he urged, ushering you out of the room, and you hurried to make sure your hair and dress were fine as you sped away from the room.

You were down the hall when you felt JJ dripping down your thighs, and with a start, you realized he still had your underwear. You were contemplating turning back when you heard your name, the sound getting closer and closer until Rafe finally rounded the corner. Your eyes were wide as they met his angry ones, and you didn’t get a word out before his hand tightened on your arm.

“Where the hell have you been?”

“The bathroom,” was your quick answer, blinking before adding to it. “…and then the kitchens. I was trying to find a ginger-ale. My stomach felt weird.”

“I’ve been looking for you forever,” he spat, pulling you in the opposite direction of the party. “Sarah and my dad are being especially irritating, right now.”

When Rafe pulled you into an empty room, your heart sank.

…because you knew what he wanted.

“Rafe…not here…”

Your words actually gave him pause, and your boyfriend looked at you like you’d lost your mind. One of his hands pressed to the very door you were leaning against, and you watched him tilt his head at you. His hair wasn’t so neat now—a sign that he’d been running his hands through it—and you swallowed at the way he looked between your eyes.

“We’ve never not fucked at Midsummers,” he told you. “It’s practically a tradition, now.”

He softly laughed to himself, finding that funny.

“Can’t we just go? Let’s just go home and shower and-.”

“I’m not ready to go,” he cut you off, eyeing you. “My sister has been annoying me, and my dad is making me want to snort four lines of coke, and instead, I choose to fuck my girlfriend.”

The determination on his face made your nerves spike, and you were all too aware in this moment of the feel of JJ’s cum drying on the inside of your thighs. You didn’t think Rafe would even notice such a thing in his haste to be inside of you, but you knew you didn’t have the capacity to not feel icky fucking Rafe after just doing so with JJ.

“…but for whatever reason, she’s fighting me on that.”

Now, he looked angrier than he did before, and you looked towards the ceiling.

“I thought we were past this…”

When you looked at him again, his face was much closer.

“I thought we were on the same page about the least you could do in this relationship.”

You looked down at that, chest clenching painfully at the memory. The silence between you was thick with tension, and when he slowly reached up to touch your face, you let your eyes close.

“Are you going to fuck me, or do I need to give you another nose job?”

At his soft words, you looked into his eyes. Rafe was entirely serious, and with a shaky sigh, you reached for his belt. He didn’t say a word as you unbuckled it, and you shuddered when he leaned in to kiss your cheek, inhaling at the feel of you slipping your hand into his pants. His hand reached up to the back of your neck as you stroked him, fingers finding that stupid necklace and tightening it around your throat.

“Fuck,” he cursed against your skin.

Rafe moved you towards an empty table, hurried in pushing you onto it, and he didn’t hesitate in covering your frame and guiding himself into you. He groaned at the smooth entry, kissing you again and pushing his hips against yours.

“So wet for me already?” he hummed into the kiss.

He reached under you to lift your hips a bit, holding you right where he wanted you as he thrust into you. So eager to fuck you, Rafe didn’t even notice your lack of underwear. Or at least not enough to comment on it if he did, too preoccupied with taking out his frustrations on your body. You held onto him and his arm as you squeezed your eyes shut, fighting to convince yourself that you weren’t as horrible as you felt.

It wasn’t even twenty minutes ago when JJ was inside of you, fucking you in some storage room and fighting to make you come before you had to get back to Rafe. Now, here you were, once again in an empty room but having sex with someone entirely different. You shuddered as you recalled Rafe’s words, knowing that it wasn’t your arousal for him but instead a combination from both you and JJ after the other blond had come inside of you.

The thought made you want to shy away from the man on top of you, but there was nowhere to go. The table shook beneath his rough thrusts, and Rafe seemed to forget that you were there as he pounded into you. You flinched and squirmed beneath your boyfriend from both the rough treatment and the overstimulation, feeling torn between wanting to come again and pushing Rafe away.

When he fisted his hand into the hair at the nape of your neck, pulling your head back, you knew that you were in for a long night.

Your chest was painfully tight as you stared at Rafe in horror. Your boyfriend looked nothing like the gentleman he pretended to be but instead like the monster he often was. Only this time, that violent gleam in his eyes wasn’t directed at you. It had set its sights on JJ.

“Rafe…come on, this is ridiculous, let’s just go,” you repeated for the umpteenth time.

It was only an hour ago that you were hanging onto him as he fucked you in some empty room, pent up and angry at both Sarah and Ward. Now—somehow—you’d found yourselves outside as his friends held JJ’s arms, your boyfriend gearing up to hit him again. It was unfair and disgusting and cruel.

“You’re being an asshole, and for what? Because he’s here?”

The party was still going on, and twenty minutes ago you’d thought you were leaving. Now, you were basically forced to watch Rafe hurt the guy you were sleeping with. He kept telling you to leave, that this wouldn’t take long and wouldn’t be much longer, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to abandon JJ so easily.

“Rafe!”

“Get in the damn truck,” he called over his shoulder.

He sounded exasperated with you, and his friends chuckled. You looked between them in disgust, most notably at Topper who clearly wasn’t enjoying this as much as the others but didn’t have the balls to actually say something. Disappointed in all of them, your eyes briefly met JJ’s, his practically pleading with you to just leave.

You huffed.

“Fuck this,” you spat, making your way back towards the building to find someone who worked here.

Your tone must have caught Rafe’s attention because he was quick to stop you, roughly grabbing you.

“Woah, woah, woah,” he chuckled, but it had an edge to it. “I thought I said to wait in the truck?”

He looked at you like you’d lost your mind.

“What, you’re-you were going to go tattle on me?”

“This is shitty, and I won’t stand by and let it happen,” you replied.

“Who gives a fuck? He’s a Pogue!”

“…and so that makes this okay? I want to go home, and you want to stand here beating on someone who can’t even fight back!”

Rafe looked between your eyes, and you hated the way he tilted his head.

“Why do you care so much about what happens to him?”

“You’re so stupid-! It could be anyone, Rafe,” you sneered. “This is childish and mean.”

Rafe stared you down for what felt like too long—too still—and your heart beat faster the longer it went on. Before you knew it, his hand had fisted into your hair, and he was dragging you over to his friends.

“See… This is why he’s always making googly eyes at you,” Rafe said, not sounding the least bit amused. “This is why he’s making comments and accusations about me and our relationship.”

Rafe maneuvered his arm around your neck, holding you close as he grinned at JJ.

“You’re too nice, baby. Too sympathetic,” he chuckled, gesturing to the other blond. “He’s got himself a little crush, I just know it.”

You attempted to move out of Rafe’s grip, but he wouldn’t budge. You hated the bruising that was already forming under JJ’s eyes and the blood on his lip too. You made a noise of protest when Rafe kissed you on the lips, sloppily and rough, before turning away.

“Hey, JJ,” your boyfriend softly said, tone mocking. “She’s just being nice…because that’s just who she is.”

“Rafe…”

“Don’t go getting any ideas.”

“You’re making a fool of yourself,” you spat at Rafe, knowing that he was doing so in more ways than one.

Rafe looked at you in mock outrage, shrugging.

“I’m just trying to help him out,” he told you. “It’s not my fault these Pogues always want what we have.”

“Rafe, stop this,” you hissed. “You’re being an asshole.”

The words had barely left your mouth when his hand roughly closed around your chin. You winced at the feel, and neither you nor Rafe missed the way JJ tried to break free. Rafe’s friends chuckled at the sight, but Rafe didn’t, merely staring at the other blond.

“Look at you,” he finally mused. “I don’t know whether I should feel flattered or offended that you feel so protective over my girlfriend.”

There wasn’t a hint of humor in his tone, and before you could quite marinate on that, you were harshly thrown to the ground. The mood seemed to shift at that, and you could tell that his friends hadn’t been expecting that. You didn’t know if Rafe was drunk or high or both, but he’d never been so public in his cavalier treatment of you.

“She’s my girlfriend, JJ, and I could do anything I want to her…”

You attempted to push yourself up when you felt the sole of his shoe on your knee…that knee.

“I could set her little healing journey back…”

You looked up at him with wide eyes, sure that he wouldn’t with so many witnesses, but also…not so sure. You glanced at JJ, but the other blond was staring at Rafe with wide eyes, and you couldn’t tell whether he was angry or scared. Probably both.

“I could rip her hair out right here…” he gestured to his friends. “…and do you think any of them would stop me?”

“Rafe,” Topper finally said, and your boyfriend’s gaze snapped to him.

“Would you?”

Topper just stared at him, but his silence spoke volumes, and you only attempted to stand again when your boyfriend finally moved his foot. He pointed around, his gaze resting on JJ again.

“None of them are going to do shit,” he said to him. “So, what makes you so special to think you have a say in how I treat my girlfriend?”

Your lips trembled as you finally stood to your feet.

“…because she was nice to you once? Because she doesn’t want me to kick your ass now?”

You looked between them, the faint sounds of the party reaching your ears.

“Truth be told, I should kick your face in for that stunt you pulled at the hospital,” your boyfriend sneered.

“Rafe, you’ve made your point!”

You hated this entire pissing contest he was doing, and at this point, you half expected Rafe to whip it out and mark his territory. He stared JJ down for what felt like too long, his friends equally uncomfortable now with the turn the night had taken. You could see it in his eyes that he wanted to slap you clear across the face—maybe even break your arm—all just to prove that he could do whatever he wanted to you, and there wasn’t a thing JJ could do about it.

Rafe, however, settled for harshly grabbing your face and spitting right into your mouth as you gasped.

Taken aback, you couldn’t hold in your coughing fit, forced to follow along as he roughly grabbed your arm.

“Like I said JJ. Anything I want,” he repeated.

Dragging you along, Rafe tossed his next words over his shoulder at his friends.

“That Pogue’s all yours.”

You felt riddled with disgust the whole way to his truck, humiliated and angry. You blinked back tears as you recalled the way his friends did nothing, didn’t even move a muscle as he threw you to the ground, and you didn’t know what you hated more—that or Topper’s cowardly attempt that he ultimately backed out of.

Once you were at his truck and away from prying eyes, the slap came harshly and swiftly.

It made your ears ring and your cheek sting, tears forming behind your eyes as Rafe leaned in. His nose grazed the burning cheek, and you could hear his labored breathing as his chest heaved against your arm. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes, and neither did you, just staring into the darkness as a few tears finally spilled over.

“That is the last time you defend that Pogue…especially around me,” he whispered. “Do you understand?”

You started to nod when his hand circled around your throat, making you sharply inhale.

“I want to hear you fucking say it.”

Pulling at his arm, you eventually gave up on that, forcing the word out.

“Yes,” you struggled to say.

Shoving you away from him, he opened the passenger door, telling you to get inside. Wiping your face, you did, settling in the seat with a newfound hatred for Midsummers.

[heich0e]

"soooo...." tenko's little voice cuts through the hum of cicadas, cuts through the static of the hot summer day, and captures your attention. "where's the baby at now?"

you look over at your nephew, and your sunglasses slip down the bridge of your nose. it's disgustingly hot out today, midsummer and scorching, but tenko and katsuki had insisted on taking a walk to the park to fill your afternoon. for fun! tenko had insisted, which was much more convincing than your husband's you need to leave the house and get some vitamin d—you look like a damn ghost.

"still in here, buddy," you tell him, pointing lazily down to your stomach. you still aren't really showing much, and your recollection of high school biology might not be the best, but you trust the situation hasn't changed drastically since the last time tenko asked (three hours ago.)

you suddenly feel queasy.

morning sickness has been ravaging you for the past few weeks. at first it wasn't so bad—it had a bit of novelty to it, a bit of unbefitting charm, to be experiencing that trademark symptom of pregnancy. katsuki holding your hair away from your face and rubbing your back as you were hunched over the toilet, then laughing about it together once the worst of it subsided. it felt like a milestone. like a special moment you'd look back on fondly.

by the fourth day of losing your breakfast, it was decidedly less tolerable. when you realized it was not a sickness exclusively reserved for mornings, you were well and truly over it.

katsuki's been circling you like a hawk lately, too, like's he's always on edge. you know he means well. you know he wants to help. but between the constant nausea, the "pregnancy tips" your husband keeps finding and sharing, and the god damn heat...

well. suffice to say, you're not at your best.

you squeeze your eyes shut and fight the sudden onslaught of disgust you feel overtaking you.

"hey brat," your husband's voice is welcome. grounding. "you pesterin' her again?"

"i was just asking where the baby's at!" tenko squeaks, proclaiming his innocence.

"same place as always," katsuki grunts, settling down beside you on the blanket you have spread out in the grass at the park near Izuku's home. the plastic bag from the convenience store across the street rustles as he sits. "it's still sleepin' in her tummy."

katsuki's shoulder bumps yours, and you open your eyes, glancing over at him with a feeble smile you're sure reads more like a grimace.

"you good?" he asks you quietly, fishing a bottle of water out from the bag looped over his wrist. you take it, tucking it down beside you for later, and nod.

"how come baby has to sleep so much?" tenko asks with a pensive little expression on his face. his perfect green curls spill out from underneath his favourite froggy sunhat and burn bright like jade in the mid-afternoon sun.

"cause it's growin'," katsuki answers, fishing out an ice pop from the bag next. he rips into it with his teeth, and then carefully peels the plastic wrapper away so he can hand it to tenko. "it's still just tiny, y'know."

tenko takes the ice pop, his eyes wide—though you can't be certain if it's the treat or the information that has him interested. he sticks the frozen lolly into his mouth. "how tiny?"

your husband fishes another ice pop out of the bag—this time for you. you know it's for you, because it's the same variety you've been craving lately. one of the only things you've managed to keep down lately. katsuki's done so many late-night runs to the convenience store to get you this specific brand and flavour that the old man who owns the convenience store in your neighbourhood started setting them aside for katsuki to buy up and bring home to you.

katsuki unwraps your treat the same way he did tenko's, then hands it right to you. you pop it happily into your mouth.

now that the temperature-sensitive goods have been doled out, the man at your side returns to the conversation at hand.

"how tiny?" katsuki muses, licking away a drop of melting ice pop that had dripped onto his knuckle as he passed it over to you with a quick flick of his tongue. he makes a fist and holds it up towards tenko. "smaller than this."

"weeeeally?" tenko asks, the word garbled thanks to the dessert in his mouth. he plucks it out, and then makes a fist just like his uncle, holding his hand up towards him. "smaller than this, kaccha?"

tenko's little hand is so itty bitty compared to katsuki's. it makes something tighten in your chest when you look at it. it makes your eyes prickle if you think too long about it. you force yourself to focus on eating your ice pop, pushing your sunglasses up your nose.

katsuki bumps tenko's fist gently with his own. "yup. smaller than that."

"wow," tenko says, awestruck. there's melted ice pop all over his face. "that could fit in my bug house."

"bug house?" you ask the little boy, perplexed.

"'s where i put the bugs i catch!" tenko exclaims excitedly. "like beetles and also other stuff!"

you think you recall the little yellow bug catcher he sometimes carries around, and laugh a little bit to yourself. you didn't know it was called a bug house—you're not sure that's even the official name for it.

"don't worry though, auntie!" tenko says, his tone suddenly ardent. "i won't put your baby with the bugs."

your ice pop is melting down your fingers, the sun is beating down on you relentlessly, you haven't eaten a proper meal in three days, and your baby is currently small enough to fit inside a bug house. you lean against katsuki's shoulder, hiding your laughter in the sleeve of his t-shirt. you can feel the quiet laughter shaking his frame too.

"you done with that?" katsuki asks you softly once both of your laughter has petered out, nodding towards your half-eaten and one quarter-melted treat. you nod.

carefully, he plucks the remnants from your hand, tucking it back into the wrapper and then sticking that back in the shopping bag to dispose of later. then he fishes a wipe out from the package he keeps on hand whenever tenko's around, swiping it along your palm and between your knuckles to clean away any lingering trace of stickiness.

"you next?" katsuki asks his nephew, who agrees—and who seems to be wearing more of his iced treat than he could possibly have actually consumed. katsuki then dutifully cleans him up as best as he's able, just like he'd done for you. he's so gentle with tenko, you can't help but think as you watch them. so good with him.

you lay back on the picnic blanket and stare up at the cloudless summer sky, a little smile tugging at your ice pop flavoured lips.

miraculously, you don't feel so queasy anymore.

[angeldoll2000]

Until Death (Part 1)

Arranged Marriage AU: Dark!Husband!Rafe Cameron x Wife!Reader

Word Count: +1,524

Warning(s): +18, Non con, Non consensual photographing, Domestic Violence, Humiliation, Forced breeding, Unwanted orgasm.

Author's Note(s): I wrote this cause I really wanna get married and find someone to love me but I don’t think it’s possible so here’s a fic instead 🥲

You never would've imagined being married to the Kook king himself, Rafe Cameron. But here you were, almost a year in. From the beginning you felt like an outsider. Even in the new home that Ward had gifted you. It was decision made by both of your fathers. Ward wanted someone from a family he knew very well. Your fathers were childhood friends and trusted each other enough to make the right decision. Whether their children were willing to or not. An arranged marriage between a Kook and a Pogue. One of the first of its kind.

Ward needed an heir from his only son. It was about time Rafe learned some responsibility. Ward needed to find a family with no authority or power. So, what better decision than to contact an old friend from the cut? Ward managed to pull himself out of there, your father on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. However, by Mr. Cameron's gracious offer, your father had been given a position in his company. Ward would handle the paperwork, while your father handled construction and remodeling.

It was enough to get by, but not enough to get out of the cut. That's why your father made the brash decision. Ward didn't see a problem with the arrangement given your family had no name for themselves. In a way it benefited the Cameron family. To Ward, having a family with no name or status is better than being involved with a tarnished one. It would avoid any unwanted attention for the Cameron family.

All your father wants is to make sure his only child would be taken care of once he's gone. You've only met Rafe during family events/outings, and when you did meet, he'd always tried tormenting you. Growing up, most of your time would be spent clinging to Sarah for safety.

You hadn't known about the arrangement until a week prior. You defiantly hadn't expected Rafe to get on one knee in front of everyone. Your engagement was a nightmare, Rafe had decided to ambush you during the Kook's annual midsummer event. A few months later you married into the Cameron family. The event being of the most lavish, expensive, and largest weddings in the history of the Outer Banks.

Rafe made the decision that your honeymoon would be spent ‘setting up home’. You bid your family and friends a farewell before leaving with your husband. It was awkward enough that he'd been drinking for most of the night. What was supposed to be a beautiful ceremony quickly became a frat party. It was awkward enough when Rafe (who'd been drinking most of the night) tried carrying you across the threshold of what was your new home. He stumbles a few times, almost dropping you on the front steps. All you wanted was to go to bed after a long and eventful day.

In a fit of rage you rush up the stairs and into the master bedroom. You hadn't even changed out of your wedding dress. Deciding that it would be done tomorrow, as would everything else. It was tiring, putting on an act in front of hundreds of people. You were relieved for it to be over with. Until the harsh turning of the doorknob catches your attention. In came a very intoxicated Rafe Cameron, stumbling in with his tie already undone.

His hair was a mess from wrestling his groomsman, his expensive cologne overtaken by the stench of alcohol. All you want now is to sleep after being anxiety ridden for the past few hours. But the shuffling on the end of the bed made your stomach churn. Maybe if you pretended to be asleep he would leave.

Rafe reaches down to brush the back of his hand on your cheek. He couldn't help but chuckle at his fiancee--no, his wife. You're his wife now and he couldn't believe it. He grins from cheek to cheek, hovering over to study your features. You could hear Rafe talking to himself, "You're even prettier up close..."

Rafe was fine with the wedding day being for his wife, but it was the wedding night that belonged to the husband. 

He gets on his knees, preparing to strike. He pulls you but the ankle, dragging you across the bedsheets. He locks his arms around your thighs to pull you in. It was futile trying to fight back. Rafe rips away at the fabric, revealing what was for his eyes only. He doesn't waste time getting to work, suckling, lapping, and teasing at your sex.

When he starts to dip his tongue inside that's when you crumble beneath him. Your thighs shake when coming undone. A gush of arousal splashes his face. Rafe doesn't stop there, instead he keeps going until you're brought to tears cumming for the second time. He retreats with a triumphant look on his face.  

"Hey...." he whispers followed by a harsh grip on your jaw that turns your attention back to him, "Hey," his voice boomed. He held you in place, looking you right in the eyes when he states, "Look at me," a small pause follows, "No one is coming through that door to save you," he readjusts his grip, digging his fingers into your jaw, "No one is coming through that door, we're the only ones here," leaning in, "And if they heard they wouldn't care, they know their place," before lifting your skirt up, "It's about time you did too," Rafe held his cock in one hand, his other held your hip in place. He pumps his shaft a few times before rubbing it against your slick. He moans, "Oh fuck...can't wait to stuff you with it..." Rafe dips his head into the crook of your neck, his lips find that sweet spot. He suckles until he's certain there would be bruising.  

"You can scream all you want, no one’s gonna stop me,” he presses his leaking tip against the small opening, pushing it in without hesitation, “Not you…” he just his hips, “Not our families,” thrusting his cock inside, “No one…” fastening his pace. He’d been waiting for this moment for a long, long time. You had no idea that Rafe had willingly entered this marriage.

Can’t you see? He’s been in love with you for as long as he can remember. Yet you kept denying him repeatedly. Now Rafe has everything he’s ever wanted. He’s inherited the Cameron family fortune, gained the trust of his father as well as yours, and now he has you.  

He doesn’t stop thrusting his hips back and forth. Reveling in the feeling of you squeezing his member. It was exactly how he’d fantasized about. No more having to spend late nights wondering what you would feel like. He has you right where he wants. Rafe pulls down your top, exposing both breasts. He nips and suckles at them until they’re nice and bruised. He takes pride in being able to do so. Rafe squeezes your mouth open before pressing his lips against them. He sucks your tongue into his mouth, swirling it around his. The taste of liquor makes you nauseous. His presence is suffocating.

This wasn’t how you wanted to end the night. In the end you never had a choice. Your entire life revolving around men in power. A lamb sent to be slaughter, given only the right to live. Even if it meant living for someone else. Rafe presses his sweaty forehead against yours. He snarls, "You're my wife until I fucking die, do you hear me? Until death," his teeth sink into the flesh of your shoulder, digging hard enough to break skin.

A howl escapes your body as pain shot through it. Rafe held you close to him until he finally reached his limit and finishes inside. A deep, guttural moan is muffled into the bite mark. For a moment the two of you stay together until finally Rafe draws back. He’s a panting mess. He could practically feel how slick you became. He lets out a satisfying huff of victory. Rafe had won.  

A part of him wants to remember the day he finally got to take you. Then it hits him, “Wait…don’t move,” rummaging through a cabinet. He retreats down the hall. You could hear him searching for something in the unopened boxes. He then returns to you with a Polaroid in hand. He straddles your waist, aiming the lens at you. Rafe smiles, “Something to remember this moment...” he aims it right in your face, “...our first time as husband and wife,” before clicking it.

You could only give a startled look as you stare back at him. Like a deer caught in headlights. Rafe inspects the photo of you. He whistles at the beautifully captured moment. There you were, staring back at him with smudged lipstick and running mascara. You only blink as he stood there, snapping pictures like it was some heartfelt moment. What was supposed to be the most important day of your life, ended in the worst way imaginable.

"Smile for me Mrs. Cameron..."

Rafe was fine with the conditions of inheritance. In order to stay in his father's will, he would have to settle down first. But if there's one thing Ward taught him, it's to negotiate. Rafe remembers striking the deal in his father's office. For the first time ever, the young Cameron man put his foot down,

"No," Rafe states,

Ward looks up at his son, "I'm sorry?"

"I'm not getting married, not unless it's her," he's dead serious too. Ward sighs, he leans back in his chair, "Do you really want to marry this girl?" questioning his son's authenticity. Rafe nods, "It's always been her,"

Ward understands now, his son's mind is made up. Not even he could stop it, "Rafe...you have to understand that her father is a very important member of my company..." he starts, "...he's a bit of a... traditionalist," he pushes himself off the desk, approaching his son, "He expects a certain price for her hand, that I’m not worried about…” he held Rafe's shoulder.

Ward looks his son dead in the eyes to show how serious this situation was to both of their families, “Do not fuck this up, you only get one shot and then you're done, do you hear me? Done," he expects an answer. Rafe looks him in the eyes, there’s a spark of determination in the young Cameron man’s eyes, hope, “I won't,” sealing the deal. Ward immediately dials up your father’s number, "My friend, you're needed at the office, it's about time we discuss family matters,"

The best decision Rafe made was making you Mrs. Cameron.

[urmum-lovesme]

Angel Baby - Rafe Cameron x Kook!reader P8

pairing: Best Friend!Rafe Cameron x Kook!Best-Friend!reader

summary: Rafe and Reader have known each other since kindergarten, always side by side, the king and princess of Figure 8. So why now does he start feeling different towards her, when all she's ever been is his best friend?

a/n: Did someone say angst? I'm sorry but I had to :( Let's see, things are a little awkward cause Rafe couldn't keep it in his pants, our boy has a new competitor and well... it's a pretty nasty ending ngl. My poor poor y/n I just want to give her a hot chocolate and tuck her into bed. I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the interactions with my writing, it makes me so happy to share my thoughts with you <3

ENJOY YOUR NEW YEARS!!!! STAY SAFE I LOVE YOU ALL XOXO -Lula ♥

warnings: ANGST!!! mentions of rafe's mother who is dead, suggestive behaviour, finger sucking, mentions of giving head, mentions of slitting someones wrists.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three weeks had passed since Midsummers. Three long treacherous weeks, since Rafe let things go too far, since he’d taken a step he couldn’t undo. It made him ache with regret, the guilt gnawed at him, biting at his insides every time he thought about that moment in the car when he’d crossed a line he knew changed their friendship completely. Every time he saw her name on his phone or heard her voice, he felt the weight of that night pressing down on him all over again. It wasn’t just about the guilt of what he’d done, though that was bad enough—it was the way he'd let things spiral. He had buried himself in the family business, using it as the perfect excuse to avoid her. The demands of the Cameron legacy were endless, and it’d never been easier to lose himself in it. His father’s expectations were high, and with the constant pressure to maintain the family's image, finding a way to keep away from the girl was easy.

Avoidance had felt like the only answer, but tonight, she’d called him over to meet up. She didn’t specify only sent him a short message;

Princess  :  Get to mine at 4 please???

Princess  :  And if Ward tells you to work I’ll come over and slit his wrists :)

He knew she was fed up with his petty excuses, and he couldn't blame her. This was the longest that they’d been apart from each other, the last time being two years ago when she went to Bali for the summer, even then they’d talked every day.

He rang the doorbell as he stood on the girl's porch, hands shoved deep into his pockets fiddling with the empty gum wrapper, trying to relax, but there was no calm to be found. 

It's fine, she doesn’t know what you’ve done and she doesn’t remember the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/n shoved the container into the little wooden basket, covering it with a red gingham towel. She’d realised that Rafe had been distant with her but she assumed it was his father’s fault. Truth be told she didn’t remember much from midsummers, the last thing being Rafe carrying her to the beach. It’s not that it worried her, she knew she could trust the boy, she always has. Yet the way he was acting with her, short answers, unanswered calls, it made her feel like she’d done something wrong. However, his absence worked in her favour as she knew Rafe didn’t know what she’d planned for the day, the only thing he got from her was a message telling him to come over. Just as she placed the basket near the door, there was a knock.

He raised his hand to the front door, and rapped his knuckles against the hard wood a couple of times again, hoping that maybe she’d forgotten and he could go home. He heard her footsteps walking towards the door, the sound of it unlocking before it swung open to reveal her standing there. His breath hitched in his throat as his eyes roamed over her. Her lips drew into a smile as she saw the boy standing there on the other side of the door.

Breathe 

“Hey angel baby.” She joked as she opened the door wider for him to come in. 

Missed you

“Hey princess” he replied, smiling slightly as he stepped through the door, the sound of it closing softly behind him.

Just stay calm, she’s clueless

“I’m actually ready to go.” She spoke up as she slipped her trainers on her feet breaking the silence between them, standing up straight as she grabbed the basket off the floor and her car keys which lay on the table near the doors. Her eyes landed on the boy standing by the doorway, shoulders at unease. 

“You look a little tense, you good?” 

Rafe exhaled, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, the motion awkward, almost unsure. 

“Yeah, just... long week.” 

He shrugged it off, though the words felt false. His father’s business had been a convenient distraction, but that didn’t make the guilt any easier to ignore. He should’ve stayed away longer-  for a brief second, he wasn’t sure if he was ready for this. Y/N, still holding the car keys in her hand, tilted her head, studying him. There was an odd quietness in the air, the kind that settled between them like an unsaid word. She could tell something was off. He was too guarded, too distant, and she had learned to read him better than that over the years.

"You sure?" She pressed, taking a small step toward him, her eyes never leaving his face. 

“I mean, if you’re not feeling it today, we can always—”

“No,"

Rafe interrupted quickly, a little too fast. He cleared his throat, forcing a more genuine smile this time. "No, it’s fine. Just... a lot on my mind, you know?” He raked a hand through his hair, a motion that felt more defensive than usual. He wanted to tell her. But he couldn’t. It was easier to shut down, to lie, to pretend nothing had changed, that things were still as they were before. 

Before everything had gotten well, messy.

Y/N didn’t seem convinced. Her eyes narrowed slightly, the concern evident, but she didn’t push it any further. Instead, she offered him a soft smile, the kind that always made his chest tighten, like she was silently giving him space without making him feel like a complete asshole.

“Alright,”

she said, finally breaking the moment, her voice lighter. “-oh wait…” she spoke up as she jogged quickly to the kitchen, grabbing something in her hand and slipping it secretly Into the basket. He watched her carefully as she grabbed the basket and her keys off the table, his brows raising in slight worry. Why did she have a basket?

“Ok.. I’m guessing you’re not telling me where we’re going?” he asked, as he followed her out to her car.

This is awkward

She shrugged her shoulders as she took the steps down towards her car, opening it up and placing the basket into the back seat, slipping into the driver's seat.

He rolled his eyes at her obvious closed off behavior and opened the passenger seat, getting into the car and instantly being engulfed in the familiar smell of her. He had to swallow down the lump in his throat as he settled, clipping the seatbelt in and turning to her slightly the girl speaking up before he had a chance,

“You’re being weird right now”

“No im not. I’m completely casual right now.” He mumbled out as he raised his brows, fingers fiddling with the buttons on the car, music soon filling the car. 

“You’ve never been casual Rafe. And I can tell somethings wrong because you’ve been acting weird ever since Midsummers”

Rafe’s stomach flipped at the mention of that night. He’d tried to block it out, bury it under layers of busy work and fake nonchalance, but Y/N had a way of bringing everything to the surface, whether he liked it or not.

Well shit

“Did I… did I do something wrong?” She asked, voice softer now as she turned to look at him, hands slipping off the wheel to rest in her lap.

For a moment, Rafe didn’t speak. He couldn’t. He was too busy trying to suppress the guilt that surged up, threatening to choke him.

He cleared his throat, trying to mask the panic clawing at him, then forced a shaky smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “No,” he said, his voice hoarse, like he was trying to swallow down the words that were begging to come out. 

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Y/N didn’t look convinced. She was too perceptive and definitely too smart to fall for his half-hearted reassurance. Her silence was enough of an answer, but when he glanced back at her, he saw the crease in her forehead, the slight downturn of her lips. She asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. 

“I can’t help you if you don’t let me in, Rafe.”

He knew, deep down, that she deserved the truth, but there was something inside of him that just couldn’t let go. He closed his eyes for a moment, running a hand over his face in frustration.

“I’m fine,” he said, more firmly this time, “Really. Just... dealing with some stuff- family stuff.”

She nodded her head silently as the car hummed with the sound of the engine now, the road beneath them nothing but a blur as they drove, her eyes focused ahead, her fingers gripping the wheel again.

“Right well…” she licked her lips "well, can we stop with this awkward tension then?"

She let out a little laugh, trying to cut through the suffocating quiet. It wasn’t forced, but Rafe could hear the underlying edge of uncertainty in her tone, like she was waiting for him to meet her halfway. She was trying so hard to make this easier for him, so maybe it was time to get his act together. He leaned back in his seat, throwing his arm over her headrest,

"Sorry, I've been so moody lately. Think I’m about to get my period or something," he said to her as his hand came out to place over his stomach. Her hand left the wheel coming to swat the boy on the stomach, to which he let out a small ‘oof’.

“Don’t be a dick Cameron” she spoke out shaking her head, yet she couldn’t stop the smile from rising on her face. 

Much better.

“So where are we going anyways?” He looked away from the window to the girl as he leant back in his seat, letting his guard down now. 

“Listen. Can you just appreciate my effort Mr . ‘I need to know everything all the time’.“ She spoke back to him as her fingers tapped on the wheel along with the song playing in the background.

He rolled his eyes at her comment, a smirk pulling at his lips. He opened his mouth to throw back a snarky remark at the girl but was cut off, 

“Stop bitching Rafe”

She rolled her eyes at him as she turned off the main road, wheels grumbling against the stony road. The boy let out a huff as she scolded him, yet his heart fluttered as he looked away out the window, satisfied they were back to being themselves. As they drove Y/n’s phone buzzed in the cupholder, her eyes flickered down to the lit up screen before ignoring it and looking back up at the road, it buzzed again.

 Then again

The repeated buzzing of her phone in the cup holder caught the boy’s attention, turning the smirk on his lips into a frown.

“You gonna get that?” He asked quietly, turning to look at her, eyes taking in the way her fingers were starting to tap the wheel impatiently.

“No I don’t drive and tex-” she watched as the boy quickly snatched up the phone looking at the screen.

“Hey!” She protested. 

He chuckled slightly at her protest to his move, staring at the phone; it took him a second to register the name of the person blowing up her phone, frowning almost instantly, 

“Why is Cooper texting you?”

“It’s nothing.” She diverted the conversation. 

The truth was that her and Cooper had been talking more than she thought they would be in the past week, and Rafe’s absence, well she did miss him but it did make it easier for her to get to know the boy a bit better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the dance floor before she could protest. 

“Come on, we’re dancing now.”

Y/N laughed, stumbling slightly as he tugged her along. “I told you, I can’t dance,” she said, half protesting, half entertained. “I’m more of a ‘stay in the corner and judge the people who actually can’ kind of person.”

Cooper shot her a mischievous grin. “Oh, no way. You’re not getting out of this that easily. I’ve seen you at parties, Y/N. You’ve got moves.”

“You’ve seen me at parties?” Y/N raised an eyebrow, her voice playful. 

“That’s a little creepy, don’t you think?”

Cooper only shrugged as he pulled her along. “Creepy or not, I know what I’m talking about. You’re not fooling anyone. Let’s see you break out some of that hidden talent.”

Before she could respond, the boy spun her, his hand lightly resting on her waist as he twirled her around with more confidence than actual skill. Y/N stumbled a little, laughing as she tried to regain her balance. “I told you I can’t do this,” she teased, but her voice was light, the playful tension between them clear.

“You’re fine,” Cooper said, laughing too as he pulled her closer again. 

“Yeah, right,” Y/N replied with a smirk. “I think I might need a lesson or two.” She rested her hands on his shoulders, a hint of flirtation in her tone.

“I guess I could be convinced to teach you... for a price.”

Cooper looked down at her, raising an eyebrow hopefully to her as she spoke up,

“Oh yeah? And what’s the price?”

“Maybe your number…?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He raised his brows, now feeling an emotion other than guilt which seemed to disappear the instant he saw the boy’s name, .... anger, …jealousy? They’d been talking and he had no idea about it? 

He didn’t like it. At all.

His grip on the phone grew tighter as he looked at her, his eyes almost glaring,

“Bullshit”

“Jesus Rafe, I’m just talking to the guy. It’s not like I’m sucking his dick.” She rolled her eyes at him scoffing. His attitude from the moment they met this morning had been off and now it was just getting worse and it was starting to irritate her.

His eyes widened at her words, clenching his jaw to stop himself from saying anything stupid. The image popped into his mind again, of her on her knees, yet this time it was different because he hated it. 

“Well, it wouldn’t surprise me”

He said, his voice low, almost a growl, but heavy with sarcasm and bitterness. Y/N froze. Her mouth parted in disbelief, eyes wide.

“Excuse me?” she said, her voice sharp with confusion.

“You heard me.”

The words left his mouth with an edge that made his insides twist, but he couldn’t stop himself. He knew what he was saying was childish and irrational. But he couldn’t care less. If there was one thing he couldn’t do, it was accept the fact Cooper of all people was getting her attention and she wasn’t telling him about it.

She finally shook her head, the frustration clear in her voice. “What the hell is wrong with you, Rafe?” Her words hit him like a cold slap, cutting through the fog of his jealousy for a moment. 

“You’ve been acting weird all day, but now this? I’m just talking to him. He’s my fucking friend, okay? I didn’t know I needed your approval”

He wanted to apologize, to backpedal, but his pride kept him rooted to the spot. Instead, his thoughts simply spiralled, and before he could even make sense of what he was feeling, he blurted out,

“I don’t care if he’s your friend,” his voice tight, his frustration seeping through. 

“You didn’t tell me about him. That’s what I care about.”

“You haven’t spoken to me for three weeks!?” 

Her voice broke slightly on the last word, a mix of disbelief and frustration lacing it as she brought the car to a stop, shifting it into park, stopping just outside an opening of trees. She undid her seat belt. He got out of the car after her, irritation still thrumming through his body. He slammed the door shut with probably a little more force than necessary and followed her out into the trees. Basket in her hand she whipped around to look at him after she heard the car door slam. His jaw was clenched tight, his arms crossed across his chest as he stared down at her. Every bone in his body was thrumming with anger and annoyance, every cell in his brain screaming at him to say the stupid, irrational things he was thinking but instead he settled for shooting her a glare,

“And now you bring me out to the middle of nowhere. What are we doing out here?” He all but spat out.

“Can you not?” 

She spoke softer now, no longer angered by his fury but more upset, she’d gone out of her way for him and he was being cruel, incredibly cruel.

“I’ve tried to organise this for you because I've missed you. And you’re treating me like some shitty ex you don’t want to see.”

He was about to say something stupid again, but he bit it back before the words could leave. The disappointment in her eyes made his chest tighten painfully, but the jealousy and anger was burning through his chest, and he couldn’t get it to stop. 

“I’m sorry I just-” 

“-talk to me please?” 

“I’ve just been-” he looked at the girl, he knew he had to admit to her so he might as well tell her what’s been going on, there’s nothing else he could say.

“-struggling with my counselling” 

You’re a fucking liar 

“Oh...” she placed the basket on the floor, arms wrapped around the boy as she noticed him avoiding her. She rubbed his back slowly as she spoke,

“It’s okay i’m sure that there som-” 

You’re sick 

Her words faded, dissolving into a quiet hum in his ears. All he could focus on was the softness of her, her warmth, the way her body seemed to melt against his, trying to soothe him, to reassure him that everything would be okay; but the more she held him, the worse it got. 

“Right?” She looked to him head tilted slightly

What?

“Uh yeah.” He nodded back as he watched her take a step back from him, his hand came up to scratch the back of his neck, his skin having gotten hot under his touch. Although, however much he tried to push away the burning question he couldn’t stop himself and the words tumbled past his lips,

“Why are you talking to him?” 

He asked gruffly, slowly rubbing a hand across his face before looking down at the ground.

“Why can’t I talk to him Rafe.” She spoke with a gentle voice. 

What is going on right now 

“I just-“ 

“Can we drop this please?” She looked up to him “-it’s just going to ruin our day…”

Y/n was starting to think that the day was already ruined, maybe this whole outing was a bad idea, maybe she should’ve just taken him to the country club..? That would’ve been easier. The usual routine- drinking, mingling with people, keeping the conversation light and predictable. At least that way, she wouldn’t have to deal with this awkwardness, with his brooding silence and the strange, almost hostile energy he was radiating.

He’s being so… bizarre?

“Let's drop it..” He muttered out clearing his throat, breaking the silence which lingered between them. If he was going to be with her for the next few hours he guessed it was time he started being a little less, irrational. She nodded as she leant over to pick up the basket, head turning back to look at him.

“You coming?”

“I’m coming.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets, his muscles starting to relax a little as they walked deeper into the trees together. The rustling of leaves beneath their feet was the only sound between them now, the sharp crack of twigs beneath his boots grounding him in the moment. It was quiet, and for the first time in a long while, the air between them wasn’t thick with tension. Maybe it was the isolation of the forest or the way the sunlight filtered softly through the trees, but something felt less suffocating. Y/n occasionally bumped her shoulder into the boy’s as they walked, easing the tension between them. They walked a while out before she stopped him turning around and facing him.

“Okay so…”  She looked down to the basket in her hands before up to him rocking back and forth on her heels slightly.

“I kinda sorta need to like…. Blindfold you…?” 

She said, her voice trailing off. His brows shot up in surprise at the request. 

Blindfold? 

His mouth opened slightly as he tried to process what she was asking. The moment was so unexpected, so out of nowhere that his mind had to catch up with the words. His gaze flicked from her face to the basket she was still holding. 

“You wanna blindfold me?” He asked, an amused tone in his voice.

“Yeah…” She spoke out hand reaching into the basket and pulling out a silky scarf of hers which she held up. She had to purse her lips to stop herself from smiling. He chuckled as he watched her hold up a scarf, his eyes flickering from the item in her hands back to her face.

“Why exactly do you need to blindfold me princess?” He asked, eyes narrowed curiously.

“It’s a… surprise?” She spoke out as she placed the basket down onto the floor.

His eyes flickered from the basket on the ground, to the scarf in her hands and he took a step closer to her.

“A surprise” he repeated back to her, his eyes trained on the scarf she held up.

“So..?” She spoke out as she rounded to stand behind him placing the silk material in front of the boy.

He shook his head humorously as she stood behind him, hands gently touching his shoulders. He couldn’t help a slight shiver run through his body at her proximity, he leaned back slightly, his head tilting back to look at her,

“Alright, whatever you say..” He said quietly, more than a little bemused by the situation.She lifted the scarf to his eyes covering them and tying it gently.

“S’this okay?” 

He closed his eyes as the soft material of her scarf was placed over them. The sudden loss of sight made his other senses kick into overdrive, and he shifted in his spot slightly as every brush of her fingers felt heightened. 

“It's fine princess”

She let out a hum in response as she picked up the basket taking his hand and leading him forward. He felt the subtle pressure of her hand in his, her palm fitting so perfectly against his, his large calloused fingers intertwined with her smooth ones. He let her guide him forward, his eyes covered by the scarf meaning he had to trust her completely.

"Careful," she mumbled, her voice a soft and breathy as she guided him through the dense forest. He felt her fingers tighten around his for a moment, pulling him a little to the left, avoiding an unseen obstacle. They came to a stop and she dropped his hand slowly and turned to him, 

“M’kay you can take it off…” She said, her voice quiet, laced with an unspoken anxiety that she couldn’t quite shake. 

Rafe reached up and pulled the blindfold from his eyes. The cool air hit his skin, and briefly he blinked against the light, his vision adjusting slowly to the shift in brightness.

It took him a moment, but when his eyes finally cleared, he looked ahead—and then froze.

His gaze swept over the sight before him, as though he were unsure if he was hallucinating. They were standing in a small clearing in the middle of the trees, but the thing that really caught his attention was the small, weathered wooden structure standing in front of them, tucked away amongst the trees. It leant just slightly to one side, the paint faded the colors dulled by time. It wasn’t much with only a small set of steps leading up to its door, but there was something undeniably nostalgic about it. Fairy lights were strung lazily by the door, which was cracked open just a bit, inviting, like it had been waiting for them to return.

"Surprise," 

she whispered, and the boy heard the smile in her voice before he even looked at her.

This wasn’t just a hut. This was their hut.

No way

The one they had found together when they were kids, hidden away in the woods. The memories came rushing back with startling clarity, those summer afternoons when they would sneak away from everything, from the adults, to build their own little secret place to get away.

"How did you… " He stuttered out in amazement, his eyes flickering from the building back to her face.

“Took me a while.” 

She spoke as she took a step towards the door encouraging him to push it open. 

“Go on,” she said, a small, nervous smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “It’s just like we left it.”

He gently pushed the old door open, creaking loudly as the hinges moved, and stepped through the doorway. He let out a sound of disbelief as he stepped further into the hut, his head swiveling, eyes wide, scanning every familiar corner. She followed after him a few steps behind to give him space. The shelves were still filled with their old toys and colouring pencils in old faded tins, football and kite stacked all atop each other, old baby dolls sitting side by side, frilly lace dresses covered in layers of dust. Everything was scattered across the shelves, jumbled together as if time had forgotten to organize them. She walked over to the small table in front of an old rickety couch, its fabric faded and worn from years of use. She placed the basket she held on top of it as she watched the boy admire their childhood playground.

He was still in a daze, his eyes flickering across the familiar surroundings of the old hut, his mind awash with memories he hadn’t thought about in years.

“This is…” 

He paused, searching for the right words, though none seemed to quite capture the enormity of what he was feeling. 

“Wow,” He finally said, his voice tinged with amazement. He ran a hand through his hair, still a little shaken by how much this place had stirred inside him.

“I can’t believe you brought me here.”

She watched him as he stopped near the wall, his gaze settling on an old picture that hung there, slightly crooked, the frame worn with time. It was when they were all much much younger; Rafe, Y/n, Topper and Kelce all standing and staring at the camera striking silly poses. The girl had her hands up behind Rafe’s head, making bunny ears as she flashed a mischievous grin at the camera. The boy, in turn, had his tongue sticking out, eyes wide with that gleam of carefree innocence. Rafe’s breath caught in his chest as he took in the photo, a soft chuckle escaping his lips, he couldn’t help it. It was a sound of genuine amusement, a laugh that felt like a brief, joyful release from the weight he’d been carrying. He stepped closer to the picture, his eyes lingering on the faces of his friends, all of them so young, before life had gotten so complicated. He reached up, running a hand along the picture frame, looking at the dusty picture, his finger coming out to whip across the glass to see it clearer.

“We were so dumb.” 

He laughed again, but this time there was something bittersweet in the sound. Y/n watched his reaction, the tenderness in her gaze softening as she joined him by the picture. She could see the way his expression shifted, how the laughter had faded just slightly as he took in the nostalgia, the way his eyes lingered on the frame.

Y/n walked up standing closely to the boy as she looked at the picture above, her, Rafe and his mother. All three together, the older woman’s arms wrapped around the two kids with a wide smile as she’s crouched next to them holding them close. A small smile lifts on the girl's lips before her eyes flicker back to the boy. He felt her presence next to him so close their shoulders were pressed together. His eyes were on the picture, taking in his mother, all of them smiling together. It felt like a lifetime ago.

"I remember this picture" 

His voice was quieter than he intended, a low murmur as he glanced down at the girl. The sadness that settled in Rafe’s chest was something he couldn’t escape. Even now, all these years later, his mom's absence felt like a heavy, lingering shadow over everything.

“So do I.” 

She spoke softly and reached up without thinking, her hand brushing over his arm as she spoke. It was a small gesture, but one that carried a sense of comfort.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

June’s laughter was soft, musical, and it rang in the air, soothing, like a lullaby. Her arms were wrapped around her son, pulling him close to her; Rafe, barely old enough to appreciate the moment for what it was, squirmed a little in his mother’s embrace. He’d never liked posing for photos, always too restless to stay still, but by his mother’s side he seemed to calm.

“Come on baby, just one picture,” she coaxed gently.

Y/n stood off to the side, hands gripping wildflowers she had picked earlier, the brightly coloured flowers vibrant in her grasp. The woman, sensing the silent observer, turned her attention toward the small girl, who was still standing by the door of the hut, looking at them.

"Y/n, come on," she beckoned her with a warm smile. She hesitated for a moment, then walked forward, her small feet shuffling in the dirt as she came closer to Rafe and his mother. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but there was something comforting about the way his mother reached out to her, as if she was a part of their family.

“Look at those flowers,” June said, her voice light and filled with affection as she gently cupped the flowers in the little girl’s hands. “They’re so beautiful.”

“They’re for you,” 

The girl replied softly, her eyes lifting to meet June’s after lingering on the small flowers on the woman's dress. “I thought you’d like them...”

June’s eyes widened in surprise and delight, her heart swelling with gratitude. “Well, thank you, sweet girl,” she said, a hand resting on Y/n’s shoulder for a brief moment, the touch gentle and full of warmth before her finger pops out to ‘boop’ the girl on the nose, the child giggling in response. 

“These are perfect.”

Rafe, who had been watching the exchange between the two, let out a small smile lift to his lips. Something about seeing his mom with Y/n made him feel... content. He didn’t have the words for it, he was only six years old after all. 

June adjusted the camera sitting on the wooden steps near the door of the hut, then glanced at the two of them. 

“Alright you two, ready for the shot?”

Rafe, who had been shifting from one foot to the other, suddenly stopped and looked up at his mom with big, expectant eyes.

“Do I look good mom?” he asked, holding his arms out to the sides like he was presenting himself for approval. The woman couldn’t help but laugh softly, her heart melting at how seriously he was taking this.

 “Oh, you look great my handsome boy,” she said, her tone playful.

Rafe grinned, looking pleased with himself, June turning to Y/n with a teasing eye roll gesturing back to her son, the younger girl sending her a bashful smile.

June pressed the camera button, setting the timer, “Alright, on three…” then jogged over to the two children, kneeling down behind them and pulling them closer to her in a hug. Rafe wiggled a bit, trying to stay still long enough for the picture, while Y/n leaned into June’s side, her small smile soft and content. 

“Say cheese!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"She was happy in that picture”

“She was always happy with you.” 

She spoke comfortingly before talking his hand and leading him towards the couch gesturing for him to sit down before she crouched down next to the basket pulling the towel off the top. He smiled slightly at her words before doing as she asked, the couch creaking slightly under his weight. His eyes flickered to the basket, watching as she pulled the towel off the top. 

“Close your eyes,” she spoke out as she looked up to him.

His corner of his lips twitched up her orders, he let out an amused hum before obliging, shutting his eyes tightly. The sound of a lighter clicking, once, twice filled the room before the couch dipped as she sat next to the boy.

“You can open your eyes,” she spoke ever so quietly.

Rafe’s head turned slightly towards her, his eyes flickered under her instruction, slowly opening his eyes to take in the sight in front of him. The girl sat next to him, plate in hand which held a small cake with 5 lit candles on top of it. It was lined with white icing and small cherries sat on each piped swivel of the icing around the cake. His eyes flickered to the cake in her grasp, the soft flickering of the candles making the her glisten in the dim room. 

"Is that for me?" 

He asked quietly palms feeling clammy. Y/n looked to the boy a sheepish smile on her face as she nervously spoke out,

“Um- happy 5 months clean.” 

...

She didn’t know if the boy even knew that she’d been tracking his progress. She cared about him, of course she did he’s her best friend, so when he’d told her he was stopping his relationship with the drug she observed him, although she doubted he’d noticed as she did so in silence. She’d noted each month that passed, a little star on her calendar, and now that she hadn’t seen him in a while, she thought it was a good idea to do something small to show him, that she had noticed. A wave of shock ran through him as she spoke out the words. He was stunned.

“You’ve been counting?”

He felt his heart start to thump harder in his chest, his eyes flickering from the cake to her face, slightly taken aback at the gesture.

“I-” she started to worry, overthinking that she’d overstepped a boundary, 

“I thought that I’d uh-”

His heart thumped harder against his chest, beating rapidly in his chest due to a mixture of shock, surprise and… something else, an emotion he couldn’t quite name yet. Y/n, noticing his hesitation, quickly began to pull back, her fingers fidgeting nervously around the edge of the plate.

“I shouldn’t have— I mean, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or—” 

She stammered, her voice quiet and unsure, a stark contrast to the warmth of the room. 

“I just thought it’d be... nice. You know? To mark the day.”

Rafe’s throat tightened. He hadn’t expected this, he thought, maybe foolishly, that no one cared enough to notice the small milestones he was too proud or embarrassed to admit to. But here she was. “Five months, huh?” He let out a low laugh, shaking his head.

“I didn’t even realize.”

Y/n’s eyes softened, a quiet relief settling over her features as she relaxed slightly. The tension that had gripped her melted, and she leaned back into the couch with a small exhale. 

"I’m proud of you, Rafe."

The words hung in the air between them. The phrase didn’t seem to fit him, it felt foreign, strange, like he was standing in a moment that didn’t belong to him. People didn’t say that to him. They never had. He’d spent most of his life either fighting to prove he was worthy of anything, or pretending he didn’t need anyone to tell him anything at all. His heart skipped again. It wasn’t the first time someone had said that to him, but somehow, with her, it felt different. More genuine. Less like a platitude and more like a truth. He smiled, a real smile this time, one that didn’t have to hide behind sarcasm,

 “Guess I should be proud of myself too, huh?”

Y/n's laughter was light and, like a soft wind brushing against his skin. “Yeah. You should.”

“Didn’t think I’d make it this far.”

Rafe shifted again, his chest feeling tight in a way he couldn’t quite explain. He wasn’t used to feeling like this—vulnerable, raw, with someone else’s belief in him resting so heavily in his lap.

She gave him a gentle smile, her expression tender.

“But you did.”

Now as she was sitting beside Rafe, hearing him speak those words, something inside her clicked. Her mind briefly flickered to her brother, and the wave of grief that had followed his overdose. In a strange way, she’d felt more connected with him today than she had in a long time. There had been no ‘five months clean’, no cake, no candles, they never had the chance; so being here with Rafe, celebrating his progress, somehow felt like a way of moving forward, a kind of redemption she hadn’t known she needed. Her heart tightened in her chest, and a lump rose in her throat as the weight of the moment settled over her. She had never told Rafe how much this meant to her, when he first told her he was going to quit she expressed her support, but never truly told him how much it mattered to her, not wanting to overwhelm him.

Now’s not the time for this  

She cleared her throat slightly looking down at the plate in her lap, lifting the plate up towards him passing the boy the cake, candles still flickering against the white frosting. 

“You should make a wish.”

“I’m not really the ‘wish’ type.”

 Rafe looked at the cake, his eyes rolling at the girl’s childlike antics, his lips quirking up slightly, he stared at the flickering flames for a beat, and Y/n could see him thinking.

“Maybe you should be,” she teased gently, nudging his arm with hers.

“I wish-”

“No!” 

The girl exclaimed loudly, cutting him off eye’s wide, “can’t say it out loud or it won’t come true.”

Rafe couldn’t help but raise his brows at her theatrics, “Alright, alright, relax” he said, “I’ll keep it to myself.” 

He glanced back down at the cake, the soft glow of the burning candles reflecting in his eyes. His mind wandered. He turned his gaze back to her, his lips parting slightly as if he was about to speak—but then he stopped. Instead, he let out a slow breath, his eyes tracing the outline of the cake.

I wish you knew how much you mean to me. 

Without waiting, he leaned in and blew out the candles with a quick puff of air, the small flames disappearing in a soft wisp of smoke. Y/n let out a little cheer- more of a giggle- an unexpected sound of pure joy. She clapped her hands once, as if the moment deserved a celebration.

“You made a wish and everything,” she teased, her voice light and playful now. Rafe’s chuckle was low, a smile tugging at his lips, 

“Guess I did,”

The girl next to him shuffled around in the basket on the table, 

“Don’t know if it’ll come true,” he added, “but I think it’s a pretty good one.”

Wonder what he wished for.

She pulled out two forks holding them up for the boy to see.

“Sooo.. d’you want some cake?” she spoke, Rafe chuckled again, his hand reaching out to take one of the forks, fingers brushing lightly against hers.

"I suppose we gotta try hmm?" he reached out and took one of the forks, before looking down at the cake in front of them, eyeing the little red cherries. She took the fork in her hand and digged it into the cake then held it up to the boy in an offering,

 “First bite?”

He looked at the fork in her hand, before looking up at her face, the eagerness in her eyes making his heart thump in his chest. He let out a small hum before he spoke out in a somewhat joking manner,

“Are you feeding me?”

“You got a problem?” 

She raised her brow playfully. He let out a small huff in response, his eyes flickering over her face. He let a slow smile spread across his face.

"No, I have no problem with that at all princess." 

He replied, opening his mouth waiting for the bite. She brought the fork towards him watching as his lips wrapped around it tasting the dessert piled on it. He held a gaze on her as his lips wrapped around the fork, taking a bite of the cake. He pulled the fork from his mouth, letting out a small hum as the sweetness of the treat coated his tongue. He let out a content hum, a small smile still on his face.

"That’s real good." He mumbled out swallowing, his eyes flickering to the cake on the plate in front of them.

“I’d hope, worked my ass off on it” She rolled her eyes teasingly at him as she took some of the sweet cream onto her finger licking it off letting out a satisfied hum. He couldn’t help but watch her lick the sweet cream off her finger. The action making his brain go slightly fuzzy and making his heart thump faster. The sight in front of him was so… innocent, but it was still making his brain buzz with something else. 

Stop that

"I bet you did princess," He said, eyes glued to her still licking her finger.

“Is it up to standard?” She asked as she watched him lift another fork full to his lips. He finished eating the bite of cake as she spoke, swallowing it down and licking the lingering sweetness from his lips. He hummed out a small response as he looked at her.

“Yeah, never knew the kook princess was a little baker.” 

She shook her head at his comment hand coming out to shove his shoulder. He grabbed the other fork again, his eyes flickering back to her face,

“Come here” 

She leant forwards at his request, as  he took his fork and ran it along the edge of the cake, scooping up some of the cream it was covered in, coating the end of the fork. He lifted it and held it in front of her mouth, an expectant look on his face as he watched her. She parted her mouth as he raised the fork to her, her lips wrapping around the sweetness coating the metal. He couldn’t help the sharp inhale he took as her lips closed around the fork, his heart thumping rapidly at the action. He pulled the fork slowly from her lips, a slow smile spreading itself across his face as he stared at her.

“Taste good?”

“Mmhmm.” She hummed back, “I should probably start a bakery, what about ‘The Sweet Spot’?" She questioned tapping her fork against her lip in mock thoughtfulness. Rafe’s face immediately lit up with amusement, his eyes widening like he’d just heard the most ridiculous thing. 

“The Sweet Spot?” he repeated, his voice humoured. “Sounds like a place where people go to get more than just cake.”

Y/n threw her head back with a laugh, but there was a glimmer of challenge in her eyes. “What’s wrong with ‘The Sweet Spot’? It's catchy!”

Rafe shook his head, trying to stifle a laugh. 

“Catchy?” he teased. “You’re setting yourself up for a whole different kind of clientele with that name.”

She shook her head finger taking some of the cake frosting on her finger, 

 “Hey you’ve got a little-” She smudged the cream onto his cheek letting out a giggle. He felt the cream hit his cheek and he let out a chuckle, looking at her with raised eyebrows,

“Really princess?”

She shrugged her shoulders playfully, licking the rest of the cream off her finger and popping a cherry into her mouth with a grin. He let out a small, somewhat incredulous scoff as he shook his head slightly, the amusement clear on his face. She was acting so innocent and yet… 

Stop

"You're a brat" He stated teasingly, a small smirk still tugged at the corner of his lips.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” She raised her brow at him as she watched the boy wipe some of the cream off the cake and onto his finger moving it towards her, 

“Rafe!”

He let out a small huff of laughter, 

"Relax" 

He said in a somewhat innocent tone, but his eyes gave away his playful intentions as he held his finger up to the girl’s mouth.

Just as she moved forward to lick the cream off his finger the boy pulled his hand back at the last second, watching with a sense of satisfaction as the cream got smeared on her cheek. Her gasp made a small shiver run through his body, making his heart thump faster in his chest

“You have something on your face princess” He teased, the amused smirk back on his face.

“Rafe!” 

She exclaimed as she sat back from the boy in surprise. She suddenly moved forwards taking a large wipe of the cake onto her fingers and pushed it against his cheek, he barely had time to register her grabbing a handful of cake off the plate.

“Really Y/n?” 

He said with another huff of a laugh, his arm reaching around her waist, she squealed as he pulled her closer to her, smudging the cake all over her cheeks now, spreading it across her skin as a small grin appeared on his face.

“You look messy princess.” He said in an amused tone

“You're such a dick,” she laughed at him as she leant against the boy, his hand now covered in cake, the plate laying on the couch next to them. He could feel the cake getting smeared everywhere as she leant against him, but he couldn’t care less. 

“I’m a dick? You started this”

 He stated in a somewhat mock offended tone, his arm wrapped around her as they both sat there covered in cake. Y/n looked at the boy’s hand as he held it by her face, not wanting to get any of it on the sofa. He felt her look down at his outstretched hand, not wanting to dirty the sofa. His blue eyes met hers, his heart pounding so hard he could hear it vibrating in his ears. As he looked at her soft expression, he got a sudden idea. He mumbled out quietly,

“Open your mouth” 

She swallowed, looking from the boy's eyes, her gaze landed on his hand, long slender fingers with the white sweet cream clung to them, tempting and indulgent. As his hand lifted to her face and she parted her lips for him. He let out a small, shaky breath at her action. He slowly closed the distance, his long slender fingers pushed into her mouth, coating her lips and tongue with the sweet cream as his heart thumped in his chest. As her lips wrapped around his fingers, an inexplicable feeling of satisfaction surged through him at the feeling, her hand came up to wrap around the boy's wrist; she didn't know what was taking over her as she moved.

What am I doing 

He let out a hum as her mouth worked on his fingers, a soft sound catching in his throat as he caught her eyes looking up to him. He moved his fingers slowly in and out past her lips, feeling her tongue on his skin, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He felt a shiver of pleasure run through him, igniting something in his brain. He could barely think, his brain fuzzy and filled with sinful thoughts of her. She swirled her tongue around his fingers, licking off the cream that coated them savouring the taste, her breathing had picked up ever so slightly as she looked up to the boys eyes who were boring into hers. He groaned softly at the feel of her tongue caressing his finger, and his eyes met hers.

Fuck me 

He could feel heat begin to build within him, a mixture of desire and need. His eyes watched her intently, taking in the sight of her. Rafe swallowed slightly, his throat suddenly dry as he pulled his hand away from her, a light string of spit momentarily connecting his finger to her lips. The girl leant forwards slightly, her eyes flickering down to his lips and he was suddenly hyper-aware of her closeness to him, the way he could feel her breath on his skin. Rafe’s breathing was now ragged and uneven, and he felt himself leaning closer to her, his gaze falling to her lips, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from them. He imagined the way they would give under the pressure of a kiss, soft and inviting, making it harder to concentrate on anything but the urge to close the distance between them. He wanted to trace the line of her lips with his own, feel their warmth, and taste whatever sweetness lingered there. He could feel the tension between them, thick and electric, and he knew he should pull away, he should stop this before it went too far, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not when he wanted her so badly, not when he could almost taste her on his tongue. 

Y/n felt light headed as she pushed herself closer to the boy, her hand resting on his upper thigh as her gaze darted up to meet his eyes, inches away from his face. Rafe could feel the heat radiating off her skin.

“Y/n” 

He mumbled out barely audible as he watched the girl’s tongue dart out to wet her lips. He could feel his resolve weakening, the reason and rationality fading as the pull of desire became harder and harder to ignore.

He wanted her, needed her… in a way he never had before.

What the fuck am I doing.

What am I doing?

This is my best friend

Yet even as her conscience screamed at her she didn’t pull away, she wouldn’t, she’d wanted this for too long. 

The sight and the sound of her slightly breathless made something inside Rafe stir, the line between best friends and something more beginning to blur. The realization of what they were doing suddenly hit him, a pang of guilt mixed with desire flowing through him. She was his best friend, she was supposed to be just his best friend, nothing else. He couldn’t do this.

“We shouldn’t” 

Her heart dropped to her stomach as she heard him speak out. His words hung in the air, the space between them suddenly feeling miles wide. She felt sick, and she couldn't tell if it was because of the amount of cake she'd consumed or because her best friend, whom she'd been pinning over for years, didn't want her. Her breath caught in her throat, and she could barely move, as if the air itself had thickened, the boy sat back slightly putting distance between them.

 -what? 

The confusion crashed into her like a wave. Her mind scrambled for some explanation- anything to make sense of what had just happened. Had she misread something? Had she been too obvious? The nagging feeling that she might have let her feelings show too clearly, too soon, clawed at her, but that didn’t make sense. He’d leaned in. 

He had leaned in. 

He felt his heart sink as he’d pulled away from her. 

Fuck 

He watched as she sat motionless, her eyes searching for his, his stomach twisting and turning at the sight. He wanted her, more than anything, but he couldn’t risk ruining what they had, their friendship, the last stable thing in his life. He felt guilt coursing through him. 

She blinked, trying to focus, but her mind was in a fog. She could see him, sitting back slightly, his gaze lowered, the distance between them growing, and it was like the walls around her were closing in. She couldn’t breathe. 

Is he rejecting me?

Her throat tightened, and she almost choked on the lump that formed there. No, that wasn’t possible. Not after everything. After all the years of being close, of leaning on each other, laughing, sharing moments—this wasn’t supposed to happen. This was meant to be her moment. She had dreamt about this so many times, imagined it in a thousand ways. 

But never like this. 

He watched her expression, seeing the flash of disappointment and pain in her eyes. He didn’t want to hurt her, he didn’t want to push her away, but he couldn’t give in, he couldn’t do this to her

He didn't do relationships, he never has…

He felt his heart sink as she sat up suddenly. He watched as she shook her head, his stomach twisting and turning at the sight. He wanted her, more than anything, but he couldn’t risk ruining what they had, their friendship, the last thing connecting him to her. He felt guilt coursing through him. 

“Look at me princess”

He tried to sound firm, but there was a hint of hesitation in his words, desperate for her to look at him. 

“No. No you're right-” 

She cleared her throat, grabbing the kitchen towel off the table and wiping her hands off the sticky cake, lifting it to wipe her cheek, before passing it back to the boy without looking at him.

You’ve fucked up

He felt his heart tug at the sound of her voice, the lump in her throat making him feel guilty. He felt sick with the whole situation. Rafe let out a breath, he knew she was lying, he could hear the shakiness in her voice; he took the towel from her, watching as she purposely avoided looking at him, and began wiping his face and hands off as well.

“Y/n.” He muttered out quietly. 

She had to close her eyes momentarily to regain her composure, her back still facing him, she let out a silent breath and opened her eyes as she turned to the boy.

“Rafe, it's fine. You're right.”

He watched her for a long moment, her features composed but distant, like she had built some invisible wall between them. She didn't move, didn't say anything after that for a long time as she placed the forks and left-over cake back into the basket. The silence stretched between them uncomfortably. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, his voice broke the silence,

“You’re my best friend” 

He said it like a confession, almost like he was trying to convince himself of it, trying to hold on to the one truth he thought he could trust. Y/n froze for a second, her fingers still gripping the handle of the basket. She could feel the weight of his words sink deep into her chest, where all the other unsaid things had already gathered. She stood from where she sat next to him forcing out a smile,  

“Yeah of course- and you're mine.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The drive back was silent. Not the comfortable silence that usually lingered between them- no, this one felt different. 

Tense, discomfiting, awkward. 

Neither of them was brave enough to break it. Y/n’s hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly, her knuckles white, her posture stiff and forward-leaning, as though if she moved even slightly, she might shatter. Her eyes stayed fixed on the road ahead, her focus unwavering, as if she was trying to ignore the weight of the boy sitting beside her. Rafe sat in the passenger seat, his body turned slightly toward her, his heart twisting in his chest. He’d never felt so conflicted, so confused, so sick all at once. He wanted to reach out to her, to say something, anything, but the words wouldn’t come. And even if they did, he wasn’t sure if it would make things better or worse. 

His gaze drifted to her, taking in the tightness in her shoulders, the subtle strain in her posture as she tried so hard to hold herself together. His chest ached, and the desire to speak, to make it better, was nearly unbearable. But the words felt trapped, like a dam that was ready to break. He couldn’t bring himself to say them. 

"Do you want me to drop you home?" 

Her voice cut through the silence, monotone, cold, as she kept her gaze fixed firmly ahead, as though the road were the only thing she could handle looking at right now. The shift in her voice, in her demeanor, hit Rafe harder than he expected. It stung in a way he couldn’t describe but he knew he deserved it.

“Yeah.”

He mumbled, his voice barely audible against the low hum of the car’s engine. The word felt too small, too inadequate, but it was all he could manage.

The sound of the indicator filled the silence between them, the rhythmic clicking marking each turn on the route she knew so well. The road to Tannyhill was embedded in her memory, but tonight, the familiarity of the journey did little to ease the tension in the car. When they finally came to a stop in front of the estate gates, the silence stretched, once again- heavy and suffocating. She leaned back against the seat, her shoulders sinking as if the weight of the drive had finally caught up to her. Licking her lips, she pursed them briefly before clearing her throat. The words she wanted to say stuck, tangled in her chest. Her gaze flicked toward him before retreating, hesitant.

“Thanks for… Thanks for coming today.” 

She finally managed, her voice unsteady. He watched her carefully, his own heart tightening at her tone, she wasn’t looking at him. He swallowed down the sharp pang in his stomach and nodded.

“Course.” 

He muttered as glanced at her again, but her face gave away nothing. She shook her head suddenly, a small, sharp movement, her hands gripped the steering wheel again, her knuckles whitening. She couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes. The sound of his seat belt unbuckling cut through the silence, followed by the soft creak of the door opening. He stepped out, standing just outside the open door, the cool air hit him, but it wasn’t enough to cool the heat rising in his chest. Guilt mixed with longing clawed at him, the rawness of it almost unbearable. He glanced back into the car, his hand resting on the frame of the door. She still wasn’t looking at him, her face illuminated by the soft glow of the lights on the dashboard of the car.

“I-” 

“I-”

He started, his voice barely more than a whisper, she echoed, her voice overlapping his, pulling his gaze back to her.

The word hung awkwardly in the air.

Finally, she looked up, her eyes meeting his for the first time. The corners of her lips twitched into a small, tentative smile- a fragile thing that barely held together. He froze, caught off guard by the flicker of emotion in her face. She hesitated, her grip loosening on the wheel as she allowed herself a moment of vulnerability. There was so much she wanted to say, but the words felt too big, too heavy to voice. Still, she knew if she didn’t speak now, the distance between them might never close.

“I don’t want this to… change us.” 

She said softly, her voice breaking slightly. Her smile faltered, but she held his gaze, hoping he could see what she couldn’t quite put into words. He felt horrible for putting her in this situation and making her question their friendship.

 He wished he could tell her he didn’t want this to change them either, but he did. He was lying earlier, he wanted more than just friendship from her. He wanted to be more than just her best friend.

His breath hitched at her words, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say. 

“Yeah… yeah, you’re right,”��

He said finally, his voice stiff, he nodded slightly, more to himself than to her, as if trying to convince himself of the truth in his own words. 

Fucking say something to me 

She blinked at him, her brows furrowing just a little, unsure what to make of his response. 

“That’s all you’re gonna say?” 

“What do you want me to say?” 

He shot back, his tone sharper than he’d intended. He winced at himself and softened immediately, running a hand through his hair. 

“I mean… I don’t know what to say.”

Her lips pressed together tightly, and she exhaled through her nose, her gaze fixed on the dashboard. 

“Yeah, well… neither do I,” she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

The silence that followed was suffocating, the awkwardness palpable. He stood there, half-in and half-out of the car, shuffling his feet against the gravel. Every second stretched uncomfortably long.

“We’re friends Y/n. That’s all we’ll ever be.” 

He gestured vaguely between them as he spoke. He didn’t even believe what he was saying, but he told himself it was for the best.

What are you talking about?

Stop talking 

Y/n didn’t respond immediately. She didn’t say anything at all. Instead, she slowly glanced at him, but only for a second- just enough for him to catch the faint shimmer of tears in her eyes before she quickly looked away.

“Right…” she whispered, her voice strained and hollow.

He opened his mouth to say something else, anything to fix it, but no words came, he let out a sigh, hand rubbing down his face.

“I’ll see you later,” 

Rafe said, his voice trailing off, she didn’t speak, didn’t move to look at him, instead she let out a small hum of acknowledgement. Her head finally turned towards the sound of the car door shutting. She sat in the driver’s seat, gripping the steering wheel so tightly her hands were sore. Her eyes followed him as he walked up the path to his house, his steps slow, the porch light flickered on as he reached the door, casting a soft glow around him. He paused with his hand on the doorknob, glancing back toward her car for a moment. Her breath caught, her heart foolishly leaping in her chest, hoping- praying- he’d come back and tell her it was a mistake, that he hadn’t meant anything of what he’d said.

But he didn’t.

He turned back to the door, pushed it open, and stepped inside.

She sat frozen, staring at the now-empty porch, her mind racing and her chest tightening. Her lip trembled and her vision blurred as tears pooled in her eyes. She blinked hard, trying to push them back, but it was useless as they slid down her cheeks. A sob broke past her lips, filling the silence that had pressed down on her for the past few hours. She slammed her hand against the steering wheel, her whole body trembling as the tears came in waves. Her forehead dropped onto the wheel, the cold leather pressing against her skin as she shook with the force of her crying.

How could she have been so wrong? So embarrassingly, painfully wrong?

“We’re friends Y/n. That’s all we’ll ever be”

She thought he’d cared—really cared. She thought there had been something between them. All those moments they’d shared, the late-night conversations, the way he’d smiled at her, the way he made her feel seen when no one else did- it had to mean something. The answer was glaringly obvious now, and it made her feel sick. Of course, it hadn’t meant anything to him. Not the way it had to her. She’d let herself believe in something that was never there.

Her sobs grew quieter, but they didn’t stop. Her chest ached as she sat there, her nose blocked as she sniffled. She hated herself for thinking he could ever see her as anything more than a friend. Her tears soaked her cheeks, and she wiped at them furiously, her hands shaking. She felt stupid, exposed, and humiliated. She let her head fall back against the seat, staring up at the ceiling of the car, her breath coming in shakily. She looked back toward the house one last time, the darkened windows staring back at her like empty eyes. 

And for the first time, she wondered if holding onto him was worth it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

taglist: @evermorx89 @bellaed1t @user381953 @lovemanheim @loves0phelia @yourcrackleflame @kundaquarius @matthewswifeyy @pillowprincess4him @lilithblackkk

[princessbrunette]

Rafe x shy reader who just nods when he says things and he taps her jaw and is like hey speak when spoken to

i feel the easy option would to be to talk about how this is totally s3!rafe, because you know — it’s just prime daddy material. he would do this kind of thing, all the time infact— but what about this rafe, on a power trip from being given more responsibility lately.

𝜗𝜚₊˚⊹♡

talking midsummers rafe, in that powder blue suit dragging around his pretty little girlfriend to show off to all of his fathers business associates that he claims will one day be men he works beside and above.

you’re overwhelmed just a little, which is why you’re happy to stay pinned to his side, a large hand splayed across your back to keep you there. he does all the talking thankfully, charismatic and knowing all the right things to say to get the men laughing in that uppity jaunty manner with their drinks clutched in their fist. he was still rafe, still always a little too obscene and immature around the edges — but ward didn’t give him nearly enough credit on how good he was at being a guy, and that seemed to charm the crowd especially the more they drank.

you do as you were instructed, stand there — smile, look pretty, nod when necessary, but of course as expected some questions were often directed at you out of pure politeness. you were painfully shy, so you’d often squeak out a response with as few words as possible. it mostly didn’t seem to bother rafe in the slightest, and if he thought your answer required more words he’d give your waist a squeeze where his hand rested to force more of a response out of you.

after a while, rafe walks you to a corner where there were no eyes on the two of you— deciding now was the time to check in on you. “you good? you’re real quiet… you know that?” he leans forward a little, bending ever so slightly at the waist to be heard over the music.

“yeah, just shy.” you shrug, not meeting his eye. you were a little intimidated by him at times, but it was mainly due to how attractive you were finding him in the moment.

“would you like another drink? t’help you out with that?”

you think, staring off away from him dreamily and he doesn’t like your lack of attention on him — so he draws it back with a sudden tap to your jaw, leaning even lower to look at you. “hey, you speak when your spoken to, yeah?”

you were used to this kind of thing from rafe, and call it what you want but the messed up side to you let it continue due to the way it drenched you each time. you would have moved on from it quickly in your brain, but just as he’d done it — you’d locked eyes with ward from across the room.

“no thank you. no drink.” you instinctively bring your hand to your jaw where he’d tapped you and he lightly bats your hand away like he wanted to hide any evidence that he’d just given you a little slap in the corner of a heavily populated party. he nods, teeth sunk in his bottom lip with a wash of guilt and he looks around for a moment, double taking at the sight of his father headed straight towards the two of you with an eerily plastered on grin. all for show, the cameron way.

“ah, shit.” the oldest cameron scratches behind his ear, suddenly not feeling so big. his father approaches, clamping a hand down on his shoulder.

“the rowans are just dying to talk to you, son. over there.” ward grins, fake as he nods towards a smiling and waving couple at the other side of the room. rafe opens his mouth to speak, and wards jaw clenches, yet his smile remains. “go.”

rafe traipses off towards the pair, and as you go to sheepishly follow him— ward places a hand on your back, looking down at you with a kind smile, a tinge of something else in his icy eyes. perhaps concern? he was potentially disturbed by what he’d seen his son do just now in public, but perhaps more disturbed by the fact he reminds him so much of himself. you weren’t too sure.

“everything okay, sweetheart?” he asks, and there’s something else in his voice. you smile, unbothered because you genuinely were. it was rafe after all, you knew what he was like and sickeningly enough — you liked it.

“yes sir! just a little tired.” you shrug bashfully and he nods slowly, smile fading as he watches his son interact enthusiastically, adjusting the older gentleman infront of him’s tie charismatically, much to his amusement.

“alright… you won’t let him bully you. okay?” he stares you down with wide eyes and you freeze slightly, giving him a smaller, shyer nod. with that, he lets you go — running along back to rafe’s side where you knew you belonged.

𝜗𝜚₊˚⊹♡

[kkayyerr]

Jealous, jealous, jealous.

Summary: Little!reader spending the whole Midsummers playing with JJ and Rafe is feeling neglected.

Warnings: Age regression, slight angst, fluff in the end:)

Rafe took you with him to Midsummers, hoping that both of you would have a great time together, but unfortunately things didn’t go as planned. He was staying aside with his friends, watching you play with JJ for the whole night. Of course Rafe could’ve prevented that by paying you a little bit more attention, but he couldn’t because of how much that event meant for his family and especially for his father. So now he was just standing there and hoping that you would notice him or at least come up to ask for something, but it seemed that you didn’t need him while JJ was there. Rafe didn’t want to be that much of an asshole and pull you away from him since you seemed like you were having a lot of fun. He decided that he would speak about it with you later, in private. 

When the party finally ended, Rafe had grabbed your hand, not even letting you say goodbye to JJ.

„Bye, little one!”

JJ shouted, waving his hand, causing Rafe to send him a warning glare. He’s going to have a little chat with your „friend” later. But for now he headed straight to his room, not even bothering to look at you. You could feel that he was disappointed with you or even angry, but you didn’t know what exactly you did wrong since you had been on your best behavior the whole evening. When he had closed the door, you were ready for him to tell the reason for his behavior, but instead he just silently turned around, probably not knowing what to say. 

 

„Daddy, what happen’?”

 

It was something new—the side that you had never seemed before. What could you possibly have done for him to be this upset with you? You approached him, not touching him yet, just staring, waiting for him to turn around and say at least something. And he did. 

 

„Did you have fun playing with JJ?”

 

His words weren’t harsh; he didn’t seem angry or furious, just... sad? It sounded like an actual question, so your little brain told you to come up with a sincere answer. 

 

„Yeah! He gave me sweets and played with me!“

 

Rafe nodded before you saw something that you thought you would never see him doing. His eyes became watery before he finally teared up. In that moment you knew that you would do whatever it takes to never see that again; it was hurting you worse than any of his punishments or harsh words that he had said to you before. 

 

„Baby, I know that I am not the best at taking care of you, so if you want to leave me, I would understand that and...”

 

He didn’t have a chance to finish. You immediately pulled him into your arms, giving him the biggest hug that you possibly could. You were trying to stay strong and not to start crying yourself, but you failed, letting out a few sniffles.

 

„I love you, Daddy, I don't want another Daddy, I pwomise.”

 

You said, and he finally hugged you back, pulling you closer in his embrace. Those words meant so much to him, especially after all the overthinking that he had going on in his head that night. 

While he was holding you in his arms, he felt you poking his side and let out a small laugh, quickly catching your hand. He titled your head up, gently grabbing your chin with his fingers. Your face still had a string of tears, just like his. 

Oh, you were both such a crybabies.

 

„No, bunny. That’s my method, and you don’t get to use it on me.”

 

He said, before quickly poking your tummy just to make you smile. Rafe then leaned down and kissed your cheeks, not able to hold himself back. He was so happy that you were still his. His sweet little girl. 

 

„Let’s get that fancy dress off of you, and then we’ll go to bed. It’s almost your bedtime.”

 

You nodded, feeling a little tired and overwhelmed from all those new people you had to meet at the Midsummers. Usually it was hard for Rafe to put you in bed, but today you were too sleepy to argue.

 

„Oh, and also...”

 

His gaze met yours, and the small, sly smile appeared on his face for a second before he would say something that he knew you wouldn’t like. 

 

„No sweets for a week.”

 

It wasn’t an actual punishment; he just wanted to have a little revenge on you. Your little pout was adorable to him, especially after everything you put him through tonight. But you didn’t argue with his decision. 

After all, you deserved that, right? 

Taglist: @tinylilacbun @aew-regression-cove @rafecameronsloverrrrr

[bee--28]

There is something I need so desperately to be understood. Those edits of DPS to the Piano Man verse "now Paul is a real estate novelist" etc etc, great, wonderful, excellently done. However, none of y'all are doing it right (that I've seen). So, I will be breaking it down:

"Now Paul is a real estate novelist, who never had time for a wife" is Todd. And it is important that it stays real estate novelist, Todd wants to be an author but as long as he's writing, he's okay with it, even if it's means he's not truely happy with it, at least he's still writing. I'm not explaining the never had time for a wife part, that's self explanatory

"And he's talk to Davey, who's still in the navy and probably will be for life" is Meeks. This is the part where everyone messes up. Its saying that Davey died in the navy, he is never coming home. Meeks canonically steps on a landmine and dies in Vietnam!!! Also, Davey is stuck in service. Meeks was always serving, thats why he joined the army

"And the waitress is practicing politics" is Cameron, another part which is commonly wrong (in my opinion), but I fear that's just cause some people within this fandom don't like Cameron... And see, this line is also important to stay as is, all Cameron wants is to make his parents proud, which they only will be if he's successful, but he isn't, he's just a waiter who's trying to be something bigger than himself

"Well a business man slowly gets stoned" is Charlie. The intention behind this line (to me) is that the business man hates his job and life, this bar and smoking are his only escapes because he was unable to follow his passions (it could also be alive au Neil but that gets complicated with the rest of the audio clip used for these edits)

"Yes they're sharing a drink called loneliness" is literally any scene where they're all happy, when they're running out to the cave is a good one, the scene where they carry Keating at the soccer field, those are the main ones I imagine but its flexible

"But its better than drinking alone" is Neil. Specifically, when hes turned out to the audience at the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and it fades out on his forlorn face as the song fades

I'm not hating, I'm just not good at editing and I need someone to edit this in the way I envision it, please! Lots of love and support to all the DPS edits to this song I see, I always like, favorite, and repost them on TikTok and I don't see many here but I aways like and repost them when I do

[crushpunky]

actress!reader’s obx character, caroline [SEASON 1]

masterlist | caroline masterlist

the much requested exploration of actress!reader's obx character, caroline :)

Caroline is introduced as a sort of background Kook, seen at parties and get-togethers, usually with Sarah and her friends. Her family are friends of the Camerons and the two families spend a lot of time together. Because of this, Caroline sees the way Ward treats his children, especially Rafe. She’s one of the few Kooks who sees through Ward and the Cameron’s facade and tends to be quite sympathetic to the children, particularly Wheezie and Rafe.

Personality wise, she is presented as being more shy than most, usually keeping to herself at parties. This shyness is something Rafe likes to tease her about, trying to get her out of her shell or to smile. However, she isn’t naive or especially innocent, being quite intelligent and in tune with her surroundings.

Sarah and Caroline’s relationship is presented as “friends”, but that's not entirely true. This is where we see Sarah's more stereotypically Kook side. We see her taking jabs at Caroline, teasing her about her interests or the "mysterious boy" she has a crush on and won’t tell anyone about

However, we get more insight into her character, as well as Rafe’s character and their relationship, when Rafe comes home one time to find Caroline in the kitchen of Tanneyhill. Initially he approaches her with his trademark cockiness and teasing attitude, but switches his tune when he finds her crying. Very much unlike what viewers had seen thus far, Rafe approaches her with a kindness and softness he reserves only for her.

Caroline tries to tell him it’s nothing, but eventually admits that Sarah often makes her feel worthless and like her only purpose was to make the “much prettier Sarah feel better about herself”. Rafe is mad and immediately moves to yell at Sarah, but Caroline begs him not to and he surprisingly listens. She’s the first and so far only person to really make him back down from a situation like this

There’s a brief scene at Midsummers where Caroline's parents are seen badgering her, telling her to find someone to dance with, hang out with her friends, etc. She ignores them, instead opting to drink at the bar by herself. Eventually, JJ starts flirting with the lonely girl and Rafe confronts him before the two of them get into a fight

Caroline witnesses Rafe and Topper beating up Pope, who Caroline has a soft spot for because of his kindness, and tries to help him afterward. Pope tells her he doesn't want help from a Kook before running off. Caroline scolds the boys, the two of them trying to defend themselves, calling it "payback" and making Caroline leave, frustrated.

As the season progresses, we see Caroline sort of floating around in the background until Rafe gets kicked out of Taneyhill. Unsure of where to go, Rafe finds himself on Caroline’s doorstep. In a vulnerable moment, he tells her he is sorry for hurting Pope (more so because he felt bad about how mad/hurt she was)

When Sarah finds out, she is mad and confronts Caroline for “stabbing her in the back”. Caroline, for the first time, snaps back and tells Sarah about all the mean things she’d done to her and how awful she always made her feel while simultaneously calling her her friend. Sarah apologizes, but it’s not entirely sincere, as she throws in a jab about Caroline being “obsessed and in love” with Rafe ever since they’d met. Caroline had hoped Sarah didn’t know the "mysterious boy" was in fact her brother, and runs away before she has to confront it

Following the murder of Peterkin, and Ward ignoring Rafe’s pleading for attention, Rafe sneaks out and goes to see Caroline despite his dad’s orders. He confesses to her that he killed Peterkin in self defense and didn’t have a choice. Caroline is scared, but also knows Rafe’s fragile mental state and fight for his dad’s attention, and tries to hide it. Rafe starts crying and eventually hugs her. Caroline is hesitant, but hugs him back and attempts to console him

[thechildofshadows]

PARTNERS IN WINE

Avery Grambs x Jameson Hawthorne - 2.1k

masterlist

Hello and a Happy St. Patrick's Day to all who celebrate! Here's the promised 'Jameson takes care of drunk!Avery' fic, @saythewordheiress. You did not ask me to write it, but I have done so anyway! (because I like doing fun things, especially if it means skiving off schoolwork!) Let me know if you guys want a part two, because I think I set it up pretty well to write a chapter for Grayson and Lyra. This is different from what I usually write, so the quality might be worse. This fic, as I said earlier, is one where Jameson takes care of a drunk Avery. She's drunk for about half the fic and hungover for the other half, so if you don't like reading about people being drunk, or people throwing up ... wrong place, I will see you next week! It is also partially a chat-fic ... you'll see what I mean, because it alternates between actual storytelling and texting. It sounds bad rn, just read it. If you hate the texting, there is actual writing, and if you hate the writing, there is texting. Have fun!

CONVERSATION: KEVIN, JOE, NICK AND THE BONUS JONAS

NASH: Alright you’re going to love this

JAMESON: am i

NASH: Maybe not

NASH: so you know how the girls had a night here

JAMESON: yes

JAMESON: get to the point nash

NASH: there was some rum involved

GRAYSON: Is anyone dead, bleeding, or currently in the hospital?

NASH: no

GRAYSON: Then what’s the problem?

JAMESON: you text like a karen

XANDER: Nash hesitates to tell you, so I shall!

XANDER: They got really drunk.

NASH: …

NASH: Y’all have been quiet for a while

NASH: I’m not afraid of a fight

NASH: I have Oren

GRAYSON: Oren won’t help.

JAMESON: they’re not hurt, jfc calm down loverboy

JAMESON: how much is really drunk?

NASH: like a lot.

NASH: Avery and Max kept drinking after Libby stopped

NASH: they’ve gone through a lot of bottles.

XANDER: Avery recited Shakespeare off the top of her head

JAMESON: do you know which one

XANDER: A Midsummer’s Night Dream

XANDER: The queen’s monologue

JAMESON: omg she was learning it last week for that lit course

NASH: Gotta say

NASH: if this whole inheritance thing stops working out

NASH: she has a future in theater.

GRAYSON: From one solo?

NASH: hey she and Lyra got a pretty good recital of Hamlet in

NASH: they sound better than you do when you’re sober

JAMESON: i think gray might cry lmfao

GRAYSON: I’m not.

Jameson’s favorite thing (person) in the world was Avery Kylie Grambs.

That being said, he had no idea how to handle the woman while she was drunk. And in denial.

“Look, I’ve walked in a straight line, and … and I got back home fine. I’m not thaaaaat drunk.”

Jameson looked at Avery, who has tucked herself into his side. “Oren drove you here, and that line was definitely not straight.”

“It was …” she mumbled. She tried to take a few steps by herself, and fell over against Jameson, who wrapped an arm around her torso to steady her.

“Jesus Christ, how much did you drink?” Avery had a pretty high tolerance for alcohol, and her liver probably died three times over for her to be this drunk.

“I’m not Jesus, I’m Saint Avery, remember?” Her voice slurred as they reached the stairs. Avery tried moving, but she tripped on the first stair and nearly brought Jameson down with her.

Okay, that plan is out the window. Jameson hooked an arm around her legs, and lifted her in a bridal carry, walking away from the stairs.

“Where’re we going?” her words were basically mush at this point, but Jameson was able to make them out.

“Your room is pretty high up, Heiress, and we are taking the shorter route.” He stopped at a random point in a hallway, and tapped it three times. The wall slid away, and revealed an elevator.

Jameson put Avery down, and half-pushed her into the elevator. He clicked the button for her floor, and kept her within his arms as the elevator. It was a pretty short ride, but the sudden stop (which was pretty smooth) caused Avery to lose what little balance she had, and nearly fall over.

Jameson saved her from an encounter with the floor. Again.

She was still putting her full weight on him, so he picked her up again.

As they were walking to her room, she started giggling.

“What’s so funny?”

“You!”

Jameson had no idea what she was talking about. “What?”

Avery giggled again. “Like that. You’re funny. And pretty. Like really pretty.”

Jameson nudged at the side of her head with his nose. “Just pretty?”

“Yeah. Really pretty.” She rested her head against his chest.

“I thought you’d say I’m sexy.”

“That too.”

As soon as she reached her bed, she fell asleep. She was already in pjs, and it didn’t seem worth waking her up again to get fully ready for bed.

Jameson, who had been in bed fiddling with a puzzle Xander gave him, had already been in ‘sleep mode’ for the past hour. After making sure Avery was underneath a blanket and wasn’t about to fall off the bed, throw up, choke on said throw up or all three, he got in beside her, and was surprised that Avery promptly attached herself to his side.

“You’re not really asleep, are you, Heiress?” He asked with a smirk.

She pulled him closer. “I … love you.”

Jameson gave an amused smile and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “I love you too.”

She didn’t respond, and Jameson figured she was truly asleep.

“Good night, Avery.”

Avery woke up the next morning- and ran straight to the bathroom.

Jameson was sitting on the counter next to the sink, as if he had been waiting there, but she barely acknowledged him as she bent over the toilet. He held her hair back as she threw up, and rubbed circles in her back. His touch was gentle, and Avery would've appreciated it more if she hadn't been spilling the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

“Good morning, Heiress.” he said with a smirk once she was done.

She shot him a glare, but quickly looked away as her head began pounding. “Don’t even try.”

“I didn’t say anything.” He joined her on the floor, placing a kiss on her temple, and offered her a bottle of water.

She began to drink it, and felt her headache ease somewhat. She leaned into Jameson and closed her eyes, taking a minute to relax and allow herself to slow down. With the nausea out of the way, she felt closer to sleep than ever.

She checked the clock on the wall. 9:45.

It was still too early for her.

"Woah." Jameson tapped her hand. "You're not sleeping until you've had something to eat."

"What?"

Jameson shrugged. "You're probably going to throw up again when you wake up, you might as well have something to throw up instead of pure stomach acid. You're lucky you ate before drinking last night, otherwise you would be in significantly worse shape."

She opened her mouth to respond, but she felt her stomach turn, and quickly dove for the toilet. Jameson held her hair back as she threw up bile, and kept dry heaving. She almost collapsed against the toilet and felt Jameson tie her hair and walk out of the bathroom. Avery wondered if she was in such bad shape that he couldn’t even be around her.

Avery tried to move, but her vision went temporarily black as she got up, and she wobbled for a second before catching the countertop. "Ow."

“How much did you end up drinking last night?” Jameson re-entered the bathroom and helped her sit on the countertop, giving her a bottle.

That’s why he left.

Avery noticed it was Gatorade rather than water and raised an eyebrow.

“You need the extra hydration, don’t look at me like that.”

Avery would’ve rolled her eyes. She instead decided to open the Gatorade bottle, but lacked the energy to actually open it.

“And she said she didn’t drink at all last night.” Jameson gave her a smirk -oh god, how could he be hot and helpful and unhelpful so early in the morning?- and helped her tip the bottle into her mouth.

She finally found the strength to talk. “Did I really say that last night?”

“Among other things.” He stood between her legs, and gently took the bottle from her, capping it as he moved it to the side.

Avery poked his chest. “What else did I do?”

Jameson gave her a crooked grin. “Finish the food.”

Food?

He produced a packet of crackers out of nowhere, and Avery groaned. “They’re disgusting.”

“They’re what you’re least likely to throw up.”

Avery frowned, and Jameson tore open the packet. “Take it from a Hawthorne man; we know the best ways to get drunk, and the best ways get over a hangover.”

He fed her a cracker, which was bland and flavorless, but the thought of any other food made her want to throw up.

Avery got halfway through the packet before she felt drowsy again. She didn’t realize it until she felt a series of gentle taps on her hand.

“Just one more, Heiress.” Avery was leaning almost entirely on Jameson, her head in the crook of his neck.

Avery tried to respond, but she was almost fully asleep, and Jameson took it as an answer. “Alright, you’re too sleepy for this, let’s get you to bed.”

He lifted her off the countertop almost effortlessly, and gently placed her on her bed, placing a kiss on her forehead. He might’ve said something, but sleep washed over Avery, and anything he said was long gone.

DIRECT MESSAGES TO: GRAYSON HAWTHORNE

JAMESON: how drunk did the girls get

JAMESON: even i never got hungover this bad jfc

GRAYSON: I couldn’t tell you.

GRAYSON: She’s stubborn as ever.

GRAYSON: She won’t even eat food.

GRAYSON: She also says that she’s not drunk.

JAMESON: she’s not tho????

JAMESON: she’s hungover??

JAMESON: don’t tell me you’ve been telling ur girl shes drunk.

GRAYSON: Don’t tell Xander.

GRAYSON: Or Avery.

JAMESON: lmfao i just got avery back into bed

JAMESON: try harder

GRAYSON: She just ran to the bathroom.

JAMESON: have fun

She ended up waking up about two hours later with a blinding headache-

“-And that’s what the painkillers are for.” Jameson sat on the edge of the bed and handed her two pills and a glass of water. She quickly gulped down the pills and all of the water, and she felt relief wash over her about five minutes later.

“Jesus Christ.” She moved closer to Jameson and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“How are we feeling, Heiress?” She looked up at him and he flashed her a smile.

“A lot better now. How are you so patient?”

His eyebrows rose. “I’m not.”

“You knew exactly what to do.”

“That comes from a combination of regularly having gotten hangovers, and being a Hawthorne.” He gestured wildly with his arms. “Efficiency is key.”

She bit back a laugh as Jameson talked about his ‘process’ and how many tries it took him to perfect the hangover routine.

“-so you got the better end of the deal, you hopefully will never have to experience a true, raw hangover.”

“Thank you.” Jameson looked down at her and she shrugged. “You didn’t have to help. It was pretty gross.”

“Anytime, Heiress. And I’ve seen gross. I lived with Grayson.”

Avery swallowed. “We woke you up last night as well, and I didn’t plan on getting drunk at all. You were completely unprepared.”

Jameson’s eyebrows flew into his hair. “If you ever meet an unprepared Hawthorne, please disinherit them.”

When Avery didn’t laugh, he sighed. “It’s okay, Heiress. We all drink a little too much sometimes, and no one goes out planning to get wasted. We have a whole shelf in the pantry with ‘hangover-safe food.’ It’s not a burden to help you, and it’s never a bad thing to spend more time with you.”

Avery opened her mouth to argue back and Jameson clapped a hand over her mouth. “I will always be there for you, whether you like it or not. It’s not a bad thing.”

She felt her breath catch in her throat, and she paused for a minute before she spoke. “Alright.”

He flashed her a smirk. “It is also fun not being the one drunk for once.”

She rolled her eyes and Jameson wrapped an arm around her. “Brilliant. Now do you want to see whether Lyra finally stopped arguing with Grayson?”

“Oh, she never does.”

“Today might be different.”

“How so?”

“She’s hungover for one thing …”

GRAYSON: Where did they get the alcohol again?

JAMESON: avery’s asking if Lyra’s okay.

GRAYSON: She’s sleeping.

JAMESON: gray it’s like 1pm

JAMESON: why did it take you so long to get her to rest.

GRAYSON: Apparently, Lyra has a severe distaste for all things involving alcohol.

GRAYSON: How did Avery get her drunk?

JAMESON: she says Max did it.

GRAYSON: I shouldn’t have expected anything less.

GRAYSON: I thought I was done with hangovers when you stopped drinking.

JAMESON: and then you decided to fall in love

JAMESON: this is not my fault

GRAYSON: she’s waking up.

GRAYSON: Maybe I’ll finally sleep.

JAMESON: that’s what you get for not sleeping when people do

GRAYSON: I’m not going to grace that with a response.

GRAYSON: Goodbye, Jamie.

JAMESON: you’re not going off to war jfc dont sound so dramatic

JAMESON: well, you kinda are

GRAYSON: … I’ll pass on the sentiment to Lyra

JAMESON: he didn’t mean that -Avery

JAMESON: I did

JAMESON: see you later.

fin.

ENDING NOTES This fic was kind of a rollercoaster, and it was harder for me to write ... for some reason. I specialize in angst. Thanks for reading - please like, reblog and leave feedback in the notes. Or just throw blackberries at me. Anything works. It's St. Patricks Day, and I literally live in Walmart Ireland, and I ... made this fic blue. (yaaay) This looks shit in light mode, im sorry. The taglist has a grand total of one person (thank you, Jude) and is looking for more people, so if you want to be added, lmk. (I joined the writing side during TIG's lowest point, but we are going to deal with it by throwing more fics into the pit.)

Taglist: @inmyheaddd