Ughshs first of all I just want to say I'm so sorry for the lack of updates, I just got caught up with other things but I'll be posting more often. Thanks for being patient with me :)
Evelyn Banks
"Rafe-- stop!" I exclaim, my laughter belting out as his hands grab at my waist, squeezing and tickling them. I try to catch my breath, swatting his hands away from me as I push away from him in the sand.
"Fine-- I'll stop, sorry" He says, a smile etching on his face as he watches me stand. I dust the sand off the back of my shorts before offering my hand out to Rafe to help hoist him up.
"This is nice-- being on a beach far away from home" I hum, my hand entwined with Rafe's as we walk along the beach. He leans into me, pressing a kiss against my temple as his thumb strokes over the skin on my hand.
"One day I'll take you to a beach further than this one-- somewhere in Italy or Hawaii" Rafe says, and I glance up at him.
"That sounds like a dream" I sigh, my mind wandering as I imagine the both of us flying to another country alone.
I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket, so I stop momentarily-- pulling my hand away from Rafe to answer it. JJ's contact flashes on the screen, causing me to exhale heavily before I answer it.
"Hey, J"
"Where the hell are you? We're leaving in an hour" JJ exclaims in the phone, he sounds out of breath so I'm assuming he's running errands.
"What do you mean we're leaving in an hour-- to where?" I give Rafe a small smile as I create some distance between us so that I can have some privacy.
"Seriously Evie, it's Pope's birthday-- we're going to drive out to that lookout we found a few months ago"
I curse under my breath, kicking my shoe at some pebbles in the sand as I remember what the plan was today. Not to mention the fact that it's Pope's birthday, I just sent him a text in the morning but I haven't seen him once today because I've been with Rafe.
"Yeah I'll be at the chateau in thirty-- just wait for me" I say, waiting for JJ to huff out an alright before I hang up the phone.
"Everything alright?" Rafe questions me, his hand reaching out for mine when I'm closer to him.
"Yeah but I uh-- have to go home now. We have this birthday thing for Pope that I totally forgot about and I can't be a bad friend and miss it" I say, giving him an apologetic smile. He nods, flashing me a smile before he tugs me toward him gently.
"Let's get you home"
The music plays quietly in the background as we drive home, the sound of Rafe humming to the song causing a smile to spread on my face.
"You're a good hummer" I comment as my hand moves to rest on his thigh-- he looks down at my hand briefly before he glances over at me, a smile on his face.
"A good hummer?" He scoffs, letting out a chuckle as he moves one hand to rest on top of mine, he squeezes it-- causing me to hesitate as I retrieve my hand.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have put my hand there. It was rude of me to assume--" I apologize but he quickly grasps ahold of my hand, repositioning it back onto his thigh.
"No-- I like it, it's fine" He reassures me. I nod silently, singing softly to the song playing. I sigh heavily as I remember what I had been itching to ask Rafe for a few weeks now-- I didn't want to go behind his back to get intel so I decided hearing it from him myself would be better.
"Hey uh-- I've been meaning to ask you something" I question him, causing him to hum as he waits for me to elaborate.
"You haven't been buying supply from Barry right? You promised you'd stop and get clean -- I just wanna make sure you're sticking to your word, Rafe" I state, earning me an exhale from Rafe who turns to look at me.
"I'm clean baby, haven't seen or spoken to Barry in weeks-- I promise" He reassures me, giving me a small smile as his eyes scan my face.
"Okay, uh-- great, that's great. I've been looking at methods and maybe some programs you can do that'll help with the urges--"
"Hey, I'm fine! You don't have to worry about me Evie, I have everything under control-- don't worry" Rafe says, his sentence followed by a chuckle as his hand moves to grab mine-- giving it a squeeze.
I noticed he did this often, when we would hold hands or even just be anywhere close to each other, he would grab ahold of my hand and squeeze it.
"I trust you Rafe-- I just see what it's done to my dad and you know-- I just wanna help you out before it gets out of control" I say, feeling his hand loosen from mine instantly at the sound of my words.
"I'm not some coked up addict Evie, I'm fine, I only use it-- I used to use it strictly at parties, nowhere else. I promise you, I'm fine. I should be the one looking after you" Rafe says, his words warming my heart as I exhale heavily.
"We'll look after each other" I hum, deciding to drop the topic and enjoy the rest of our time together before we get back to the Cut.
As per usual, Rafe parks further down from John B's driveway-- letting the car sit aside on the road as we say our goodbyes briefly.
"Call me later, let me know how Pope's birthday goes" Rafe says, grasping my chin to pull my face closer to his before he presses his lips against mine.
"Okay, call you later" I hum, giving him one last kiss before I get out of the car-- trudging towards the driveway of the chateau.
The can sits barely touched in my hand as I watch the others dance in front of the car-- JJ and John B are entwined in each others arms as they slow dance to the song blasting on the radio. Kie and I let out bursts of laughter as we watch them shamelessly make fools of themselves-- not caring that there were a few cars parked around us.
We arrived here just before sunset, catching it in time as the sky turned a beautiful pink and orange shade. It was a breathtaking view, I just couldn't help but fantasize about watching it with Rafe one day. I zone out as I take a sip from my can, making a mental note to toss it out soon before I watch as Pope approaches us.
"I'm gonna go break those two up, I've seen enough" Kie snorts out a laugh before she moves towards the two of them. I curse under my breath as Pope fills the spot Kie was once sitting in. I had wished him happy birthday earlier but haven't spoken a word to him since-- I hated that the air was stiff between us but it couldn't be ignored.
"Enjoying your birthday so far?" I question him, breaking the silence between us. He nods, sipping his beer before he nods his head towards the trio a few meters away from us.
"Seeing them slow dance to five songs has surprisingly been one of the highlights of today" Pope chuckles, causing a smile of disbelief to etch onto my face.
"Yeah, that is suprising" I snort and without thinking I move to take another sip of my beer, unaware that Pope has eyed out Rafe's ring that's wrapped around my finger.
"You are unbelievable" He scoffs, moving away from me as he glares at the ring on my finger before looking up at my eyes. I retrive my hand, sheepishly trying to hide it under my thigh as I tuck it under.
"Pope--"
"You're wearing his ring now? Do you realize how serious it's getting Evelyn?" He questions me, I nod silently-- a lump growing in my throat from the pressure.
"I do, it's just-- I can't help it--" I start but he cuts me off, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Before you finish your sentence, let me ask you something" Pope says, pushing off from the bonet of the car as he moves to stand in front of me.
"How does it feel wearing the same ring he wore when he busted my face in? From what I remember it was painful as shit before he started to beat with with a golf club" Pope seethes, leaving me speechless as I fail to form a response.
"Let me remind you-- that's the guy you're dating. The guy you're hiding from your bestfriends because you know it's wrong Evelyn"
"I'm sorry Pope" I mutter out, earning me a humourless chuckle from him.
"Are you? Because if you were, you would've ended things with him weeks ago-- scrap that, you wouldn't have let shit start in the first place!" He exclaims, catching the attention of others surrounding us-- including our friends.
"Look, I'm sorry Pope-- I am, but I can't help who I like or fall for. Rafe is good to me-- he cares about me and what we have feels...special" I sigh out, causing Pope to narrow his eyes at me as he gives me a disapproving look.
"Special-- you're so blind Evelyn. He has some fucked up Kook spell on you that you can't even see the truth" He scoffs before elaborating.
"Rafe is going to use you and once he gets what he wants from you, he's going to toss you out like all the others. You're not special to him Evie, you're a Pogue!"
"You don't know that Pope, and you don't know him" I say defensively.
"I know him enough to know that he hates Pogues. Why would you be an exception to him Evelyn?" Pope argues. I open my mouth to respond but when I fail to find the words I just stare up at him, blinking away the tears that try to push through.
"I'll keep your secret for now but until you break up with him, I have nothing to say to you" Pope seethes before he tosses his can off to the side after he skulls it. He silently walks off, his head down as he trudges away from the spot, his sudden exit causing the others to reel in towards the van.
"What's wrong with Pope?" JJ questions as his eyes wander off to follow Pope who walks down a dark trail that leads toward the beach.
"We got into an arguement about something stupid-- trust me it's nothing guys, we'll get over it by tomorrow" I lie, trying to reassure them about the situation. I should tell them the truth, but I had already made Pope upset-- telling the others would just guarantee me being exiled from the group. So I don't take the risk, deciding to buy me some more time to figure this whole thing out before I make any drastic decisions.
"You guys should follow him" I sigh out, letting them decide over who should go trail behind him. Kie and JJ decide to go, mutually agreeing that if anyone could calm Pope down, it would be JJ. Kie agrees to go because she wants to stretch her legs from the walk, which leaves John B and I waiting in the Twinkie.
"Whatever you guys are arguing over, it must be pretty major because it takes a lot to make Pope mad" John B says, letting out a chuckle as he sips his can.
"I know, Pope doesn't have an angry bone in him-- he's peaceful all the time. I feel like shit for ruining that" I huff, kicking my legs out onto the dashboard.
"Well whatever it is, I'm sure you two will get over it. We're Pogues, we always stick together" John B reassures me before he pushes back in the seat, his eyes shutting momentarily as we let the cool night air surround us.
I let his words sink in before I pull my phone out, opening my contacts before punching in Rafe's name.
We need to talk, I'm coming over in thirty.
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Ugshs sorry if there's any typos, this is unedited bestiezzz :p