SIXTEEN
❝Midsummers Part 2: Taking Charge. ❞
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"At least you're not grinding on my brother this year."
Wheezie Cameron grinned in laughter as she linked hands with Ophelia, spinning underneath her arm as the once bright sky began to be clouded with pink and orange hues. "How do you even know what that is?"
Ophelia and Sarah shared a look, one that had their eyes narrowed in on the youngest Cameron, Ophelia's face twisting into utter embarrassment. "I'm almost an adult, Ophelia." Wheezie grinned playfully, earning a soft laugh from her older sister. "And besides, did you forget?"
Ophelia simply shook her head, her eyes wandering off into the distance. "How could anyone forget?" Sarah smiled lightly. "Rose was about to kill the two of you with her own bare hands."
Ophelia Martin was caught blushing, even in the dim light as the sky clouded over, Ophelia reminiscing on the previous years Midsummers, her backside pressed against Rafe for most of the night, the two kept to themselves as much as possible, catching the eyes of the joint Cameron - Martin business, as well as Wheezie Cameron, a sight she hadn't wished to see.
"Friends don't dance like that." Wheezie laughed at her own words, Sarah's eyes growing wide as the three spun in circles, dancing carelessly to the music echoing in the distance. "Where is Rafe, anyways?"
Sarah Cameron narrowed her eyes in on the Martin girl, whom simply shrugged her shoulders as she bent forwards, tugging at the pale heels lining her already sore and tender feet, slipping them off graciously as she spun around, only to be met with a face of shaggy blonde hair.
Sarah knew Ophelia Martin inside and out, and despite the raising question amongst the crowd that Rafe and Ophelia hadn't shown up together, Sarah would continue to pry, wondering what was going on behind closed doors with her best friend and brother.
That was, until, JJ Maybank slipped through the crowd with a small smile resting on his pale face, his eyes roaming in between the two girls, his hands outstretching to meet with Ophelia's waist, catching her in time before she met with the floor.
"JJ?" Sarah spoke up softly behind Ophelia, the girl steadying her swaying body as the blonde haired boys grip tightened, a flushed look washing over his concerned features. "Shit." He mumbled softly. "I'm sorry, Ophelia."
The dark haired girl starred at the boy before her with wide eyes, her hand reaching up to her face to brush away the dark curls. "It's okay." She hushed quietly, barely noticing his hands still wrapped around her waist, that and Rafe making way behind the boy rather quickly.
"What the hell was that, Pogue?" Rafe Cameron hissed as he placed his hand on the boys shoulder, Sarah slipping the piece of paper from the blonde's fingertips and stepping away, giving her best friend a pleading look. "What the hell, Sarah?" Ophelia cooed quietly, knowing well enough Rafe had been more than occupied.
"What's going on?"
The small, crumbled paper formed back into a ball as it sunk beneath Sarah's fist, her eyes wandering up to meet with Ophelia, who couldn't help but glance back over her shoulder every so often.
"I need to go." Sarah admitted quietly, Ophelia shaking her head in confusion as the soft chatter behind her picked up its tone, Rafe's words laced with anger flooding her ears. Ophelia didn't take long before nodding off in the other direction, a small smile curling on her lips as she anticipated Sarah's exit after the girl gave her a pleading look. "Go."
Sarah smiled softly, her chest falling as she exhaled, bouncing on her feet as she wrapped her arms around Ophelia's neck, as fast as they wound around her, falling effortlessly to Sarah's sides. "Get Rafe back on his leash, would you?"
Sarah gave the dark haired girl one last smile before she slipped off into the busy crowd, wherever she had been going, Ophelia hadn't had a clue.
"Look, I didn't mean to bump into her." Ophelia had snapped back into reality at the sound of JJ Maybank's pleading voice, clear annoyance hidden in the background as Ophelia spin on her heels, JJ careful with each word he spoke - careful as many knew the boy's temper hadn't gone unnoticed.
Rafe Cameron kept his eyes on the Martin girl all night. Despite their circumstances, his eyes followed her around the room, and lunged for the blonde hair boy without a second thought when his hands wrapped around Ophelia's waist, his blood boiling and his neck flaring red.
"It's fine, Rafe." Ophelia spoke lightly, her eyes dancing between Rafe and the Pogue, who looked to Ophelia with a helpless glance. "It's not fine." Green eyes rolling into the back of her head, Ophelia was at a standstill, and wasn't sure how to diffuse the scene, especially when the pair weren't on the best of terms.
"I held back the first time you were with a Pogue tonight."
Rafe Cameron felt his temperature rising, his heart thumping in his chest at the mere thought of the blonde haired boys hands touching Ophelia's hips, his body visibly shaking as the girl took a cautious step towards the angered boy.
"Rafe." Ophelia cooed softly. "Please, don't."
Before Ophelia's fingertips met Rafe's, JJ Mayabnk began to sprint through the crowd, Rafe almost instantly following suit. It was safe to say Ophelia sucked in a breath of air before gripping her heels tightly in her hand, taking off in attempts to be somewhat close behind the trail of boys pushing their way through the crowd.
"Ophelia Martin."
Richard Martin's voice echoed softly, his words dry as a look of panic spray across Ophelia's flushed face, scooping the shoes she had just dropped to the floor back into her hands, stopped by the hand of her father. "What do you think you're doing?"
A client had stood with her father, his arms folded over his chest as she chewed on her bottom lip anxiously, her eyes fluttering over the scene. Table's had been knocked over, people had been hurdled to the side, and Ophelia just so happened to run into her parents, stopped dead in her tracks in a blind side.
"I'm sorry, dad." Ophelia admitted. "I have to go."
Ophelia's mother smiled softly as she entertained those her father had been dealing with, a smug look present on his stone cold face as his eyes wandered over the large grouping. "Handle it. Now." Her father muttered softly, pressing his lips to the top of his daughter's head, who then scurried away rather quickly, without offering another apology.
"I apologize." Richard smiled dryly towards his guests, offering the pair yet another round of drinks.
Ophelia ran as fast as her legs could take her. Her bare feet padded amongst the dark wood floor, and she found her free hand holding up the skirt of her baby blue dress, managing so she wouldn't trip and land on her face - as if what she had already been doing wasn't embarrassing enough.
The dark haired beauty scurried amongst the corridors, finding herself before the mens washroom. She wasn't hesitant, hearing the faint voices belonging to men coming from the other side, her heels dropping to the floor as she pursed her lips, bracing herself for what she was about to do.
On any normal, given day in Figure Eight, Ophelia Martin wouldn't be caught dead in the mens washroom. Today, although, was not a regular day in the Outer Banks. It was a day of wealth and power, and oddly enough, a day Ophelia would go marching through the mens washrooms to put a stop to Rafe Cameron's egotistical and jealous ways.
Only a few feet away, Rafe found his hands on the Pogue boy quicker than anticipated, throwing his skinny figure in the direction of Kelce, who wrapped his arm firmly around the boys shoulders.
"Alright, keep his head still." The Cameron boy spoke up, a gathering crowd watching in anticipation. "I'm gonna line it up."
Adjusting his own hand, Rafe seemed to be in a world of his own, admiring the hand that would soon hit the man who touched Ophelia. "Do it, Rafe." JJ Maybank growled, hands clawing at the arms that kept him still.
"Yeah, Rafe." Ophelia cooed softly, all eyes in the room adjusting to face the dark haired beauty, their eyes roaming over her figure as she stepped out into the light, her hands falling to her sides. "Do it."
The eldest Cameron looked to the girl with wide eyes, flickering between the girl and his hand, coddled in the other as he prepared to hit the boy before him. "Ophelia." He gasped dryly, inching towards the brunette who only took a step back.
"You shouldn't be in here."
Ophelia's bright green eyes fell between Rafe, a flushed look on his face, and JJ Maybank, his head within a tight hold under Kelce's arm, though a satisfied smile resting faintly on his tanned features. "You shouldn't be in here, Rafe." Ophelia shook her head. "None of you should be. Get out! All of you."
The blonde haired boy was secretly thankful for the girls arrival, Kelce throwing the already beaten boy to the side, the group beginning to disperse as the lights then flickered, Ophelia's eyes wandering over to the open doorway.
"Gentleman. Miss Martin. Is there a problem here?"
Ophelia Martin chewed on her bottom lip, her eyes falling onto Rafe who scratched at the back of his neck, a nervous habit as he held a smug look present on his face. She wasn't sure what was being said, her vision blurred and her head spinning, her eyes darting up from the floor as she heard the soft chatter of her name being called.
"Ophelia." Bright eyes met with the blonde's, waiting to be escorted out of the event as the pair stopped in their tracks, Rafe's jaw clenching at the simple sound of the Pogue reciting her name. "You look beautiful tonight."
Rafe Cameron hadn't waited for a response from Ophelia. Instead, his hands clenched into fists as his sides and he was half way across the room before his body collided with Kelce's, the boy wrapping his arms around a rather furious Rafe before throwing him back to the other side of the room.
The Martin girl was one for words, though instead pursed her lips and gave the blonde a small, thankful smile, and it was then she spun on her heels, not giving the Cameron boy an ounce of interest as she stormed off the other way.
"Ophelia! Shit." The dark haired girl could hear the loud clatter coming from the room she had left from, assuming it to be Rafe's fists colliding with the metal lockers on the wall, soon followed by Kelce's soothing voice telling the boy to calm down.
Scooping up her heels in the process of her exit, it was soon after a hand had intertwined with another, goosebumps rising up her forearm as his voice echoed through her ears. "Talk to me, O." Rafe hushed quietly, his eyes peering down at the girl who only rolled her eyes in response.
"You are something, Rafe Cameron." Ophelia admitted dryly. "Did you miss what happened outside? Or were you into it?"
Ophelia titled her head back in laughter, tucking the loose curls in behind her ears. "You're right." For a moment, a smile crept on Rafe's pink lips, his body inching closer to Ophelia's. "I was into it." She taunted, only causing the Cameron boy to grow angrier by the second.
"If I could do it all again, I would." A smug look grew on Rafe's face, his jaw clenching as his hand balled tightly into a fist, slamming into the wall behind the girl, cracking open the pale colour. "Don't you ever say that again, Ophelia."
The brunette didn't move an inch. Holding her ground, wide eyes grew thin as she pouted at the Cameron boy, whom was hovering over her with a flushed look - one that was due to pure rage and jealousy. "I was protecting you, O." The boy spoke softly, his breaths heavy as he placed his hands on either side of the girls head, trapping her in place.
"I told you I don't need you to protect me, Rafe."
With many words unspoken, the girls words cut deep for a second time, Rafe's arms falling to his sides long enough to let the Martin girl slip away once again.
For once, Ophelia was in total control, and she happened to like it more than she could bring herself to admit.
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Author's Note
hi everyone!
I apologize for such a late update - I missed writing about Rafe. I just can't seem to get enough. I want to write another Rafe fic, but not sure of the plot. So if you have any ideas, please let me know!!
enjoy xo