Outer Banks, the Chateau
July 13th, 2020
11:37 am
"No effing way!" Kiara screamed at John B's face just the way I predicted. "You brought her here so what? she's in on this now?"
As JJ, Pope and I witnessed the argument going on between Sarah, John B and Kiara, my lips were sealed. Dealing with this situation was much harder than we thought it would be, back when Sarah and I thought of it. Of course, Kie hated Sarah with her entire heart, but we thought she'd do some efforts for John B, which she obviously didn't plan on doing at all.
"All I care about is her cut, comes out of your share," JJ broke in, pointing at them with his index.
I chuckled at his words, but as Kiara
went ahead, I noticed I was the only one laughing. "You know, I don't remember taking a vote! This is our thing! A Pogue thing!" she slyly snapped.
The girl paced back and forth on the terrace, throwing us desperate looks, but she knew I wouldn't have taken her side on that one, especially not in this moment, since I was dating Rafe, but no one knew it besides Sarah anyways. "I got to say I'm a tad uncomfortable with all this," Pope intertwined.
"When are you not?" John B responded, upset, obviously, and I could understand why.
"I don't know, I rode here on the back of JJ's bike pretty comfortably!" Pope said.
"True, most relaxed I've ever seen him," JJ mumbled.
I threw both of them a dark glance, not so sure adding more tension was a great idea, before Kiara left out an exasperated sigh and brought her arms to her chest. "You know we were all extremely comfortable until you brought her!" Kie kept going.
Sarah rolled eyes. "Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" she yelled.
"Then leave!" Kiara yelled louder.
I glanced at Sarah as our eyes connected and I read in them that she felt lonely in this battle, with no one to take her side. I wasn't going to pick a side since they were both my best friends, but I was going to defend who I thought had all rights to love our friend, and be loved in return. "See Tess? I told you," Sarah voiced.
"Told her what? Exactly? That you're a liar? Kiara snapped.
"No that you're a shit talking bitch!" Sarah spoke in return.
I had to admit I was a little proud of her and as JJ and Pope exchanged money, everyone started to talk simultaneously. The two screaming girls kept arguing, and if they could have, I'm sure they'd have hit each other or thrown objects at each other's face. Their screams started to give me a headache and as I read despair in John B's eyes, I felt the need to speak up for the first time.
"Everybody shut up!" I screamed and they did as I told them. "Jeez' are we being four year olds or are we mature?"
"Look, I just want to make it clear," John B voiced. "Kie, you're my best friend"
Kiara nodded softly, not fully convinced, we saw it, but grateful he had said those words and reminded her she was important to him, which was necessary since in my opinion it wasn't about Sarah but about him. "And Sarah, you... you're-"
"Say it," she softly demanded.
"You're my girlfriend," he concluded.
Pope and JJ mumbled things, as Kiara's jaw dropped and if it could, it would have crashed on the ground. I tried to reassure Sarah, throwing her calm and confident glances but it felt like she didn't belong, and as everyone kept arguing, saying whether John B had used Sarah for or not, I had only one thing in mind. How worse it could get if only a few words escaped my mouth. How different our relationships could become.
"Cut the bullshit John B," Kiara's voice took me out of my thoughts. "If she's in I'm out"
"I'm not choosing," John B declined.
"No, I'm very interested actually, me or her?" Kiara yelled at him with a gaze full of reproaches and it was my last straw.
If she was going to break a friendship that had lasted years just because she was not ready to forgive Sarah for one single birthday party she had not be invited in, then maybe John B should have chosen Sarah. Maybe he should have picked the girl who never asked him to choose and put up with hanging out with who she didn't particularly liked, but it was fine since it was for who she loved and cared about.
"How dare you?" I got up, walking to her, before facing everyone else. "How can you ask John B to pick a side when you can't either? So what? you've been a Kook, slammed with her, but the next day you claimed to be a Pogue and it gives you the right to ruin us? That's not fair and I'm going to tell you why. You can't decide who you fall in love with, you can't decide it because it just happens even when you don't think it ever will. Even when you hate so much that person you want them to die but on the next day all you want is them to kiss you and it hurts you but you can't fight it, it's just love"
My eyes filled up with tears as they met Sarah's and everyone remained silent around me. I didn't want to cry since it would have made me look like a desperate emotional person instead of a girl trying to prove her point and announce them the biggest news for now. "Tell them," Sarah mumbled.
"Tell us what, now?" JJ asked.
A tear fell and rolled down my cheek as I nodded and bit my lower lip to give me more strength. Maybe it would be easier for them to hear my announce after learning about John B and Sarah, since it was quite similar, right? Besides the fact that Rafe had beaten them up a few times already and embodied what we all hated the most.
"A few days ago, I started dating Rafe, and I don't know if it's love, but it's happening, and it's one of the best things that ever happened to me," I announced.
JJ's face whitened, and it felt like his entire body had broken down in the armchair he was installed in, while Pope took his face in his hands. A silence made its way and if there was someone I knew, or at least thought, could not be mad at me, it had to be John B, since after all, he had himself fallen for a Cameron.
"You've got to be kidding me," JJ left out before getting up. "You know Tessa, I really thought you were worth it"
"JJ-" my voice cracked and he shook his head not willing to listen to me.
"Don't, Tessa," he cut me off. "After all you're a Thornton, you belong to the other side of the island, not here. You never did"
After those words, I looked away and noticed Kiara and Sarah were both walking away, separate ways, which left me alone with who I really didn't want to face alone, the boys. I understood they hated Rafe, since my brother and himself made of their lives a living hell, but it didn't mean JJ could be so much of an ass to me, pretending I didn't mean anything to him when we both knew I did.
The boys walked inside and stepped in the kitchen, ignoring me, I assumed, since the screams ended. I followed them and sat up on the counter, wishing for them to at least tell me their opinions, except for JJ who had made it pretty obvious already and didn't even seem to notice me anymore. Pope stared at me for the first time since I told them who owned my heart and I read in his eyes sadness, but I wasn't so sure why.
"Tessa, you deserve so much better," he told me, handing me a beer I chugged.
"No she doesn't," JJ snapped. "We don't allow Kooks in there, go back to Figure-Eight"
I threw John B a desperate glance and jumped off the counter, knowing I couldn't win this argument if I was alone. How was dating Rafe worse than dating Sarah? I stepped towards the front door, wondering how I'd fix this situation and if I ever would. In normal times, I would have stood up for myself and argued, but this time, facing JJ's reaction was heart shattering.
"Wait," JJ spoke up. "One last thing and you're free to go"
I turned around and frowned, as Pope and John B seemed just as confused as I was. JJ got closer from me and he peered down at me, making sure I was focused on him as well.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"What does he have that I don't?" he asked me and my heart skipped a beat or two. "Is it because he's rich?"
I would have slammed the palm of my hand on his cheek if he didn't seem so hurt and wounded inside, as he spoke to me. I bit my inner lip and pulled him in a hug he didn't return, listening to his heartbeat, which relaxed me a little, but not entirely. "So this isn't about him, right? It's about you," I said.
"It's about us," JJ corrected, taking my arms off him and stepping aside. "We'll never be the same"
"Yes and we agreed on it!" I spoke. "We promised each other to stay friends because it was better not only for us two but for everyone. So I'm sorry but, I'm dating Rafe, and I won't break up with him just so that we can keep hooking up, JJ"
The boy sighed and looked away, not admitting I had a point, which led me to go ahead. "I'm not asking you to hang out with Rafe, and you know I'll never put my relationship above our friendship, but if you're going to ruin it and make me pick a side, then I'll choose the one who doesn't make me choose. So are we being Kooks and arguing over nonsense or are we being Pogues and at least try to find solutions to save our friend group from falling apart?" I concluded.
For a minute, I had forgotten Pope and John B were staring at us, and I saw my words had impacted all of them. JJ remained still and quiet, while Pope walked up to us and I grabbed my beer, taking a sip out of it. The dark-skinned boy looked convinced, and he placed an hand on JJ's back, catching his attention. "We should listen to what she has in mind, don't you think?" Pope shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess," the blonde haired boy spoke softly. "We never know what she has in store"
I took a deep breath. "If I get Rafe to lend me his boat, we can trap the girls inside for the whole night and maybe they'll make things up?" I announced.
The boys stared at each other waiting for any type of agreement or disagreement, but John B was the first one to actually show me his determination, which was pretty normal since it was his girlfriend we were talking about. "I'm in, I can get them food," John B said. "Are you guys down?"
JJ sighed and nodded, not laying his eyes on me. "Yeah, you know I'm always down"
(...)
(tw: drugs)
Outer Banks, Cameron's house
July 13th, 2020
4: 45 pm
"Where the hell were you?" Rafe asked me, as I stepped in his room.
I recognised in his voice something was wrong, but most of all, the white powder on his nose confirmed my theory. He was high, and I couldn't stand but think he was even hotter every time he inhaled cocaine. I sat on his bed and tied my hair up in a messy ponytail, to release my body from the heat. "I was with my friends," I stated.
"Tell me where you are next time," he ordered, and I nodded, not willing to talk back.
He focused back on his desk and I made my way to him, placing my hands on his shoulders as he snorted a line he had just made. "Can you make me one? Please?" I asked him.
He snorted first, which led him to groan in pleasure, and then he rotated his chair, before wrapping his arms around my waist and sitting me on his lap. I giggled and kissed his lips, as he bit mine a little, adding more tension, and I knew how he wanted things to go, but I didn't have enough time for it.
"No princess, I never should have let you try it, you're not getting any," the boy said.
I knocked on his head gently with my fist, which led him to smile. "Can I speak to my boyfriend please? The fun and reckless one? Thank you," I spoke loudly.
He got up, still holding me, as I wrapped my legs around his torso and he laid us down on his mattress, before kissing me all over, maybe trying to have me forgetting I wanted drugs. But the feeling was there, and it had been triggered by the sight of white powder, so it wasn't fair I couldn't please my needs just because he was controlling and had overnight chosen not to let me do drugs. I had snorted a few lines the night before, using some of the cocaine I had stolen from him, but it wasn't like when he did it himself. I wanted cocaine right now, I needed it, and it's when I realised I had the same withdrawal symptoms as I had back when the doctors had stopped giving me the pills I used to steal and keep.
"Your boyfriend is here, and he doesn't want you to become like him," he spoke.
We laid more properly and comfortably in his bed, and I rested my head on his chest, looking up at him. "What's wrong with being like you? I like you," I voiced.
He laughed loudly and kissed the top of my head, before looking at the ceiling in an attempt to avoid my eyes, I assumed, and he took a deep sigh. I closed my eyes and focused on his smell, before wrapping my arms even more around him, almost squeezing him.
"I do this for you Tess," he explained. "And I don't even have drugs no more but it's not the perfect timing to discuss prices with Barry, is it?"
I laughed and re-opened my eyes, shaking my head. "Yeah stay away from him for God's sake," I giggled softly.
My boyfriend laughed and held me tightly in his arm, in a sort of bear hug, which had me smiling more. Never a few weeks ago I would have ever imagined being in Rafe Cameron's arms, my heart beating fast, his lips on my forehead. I moved my hands and placed them under his polo, so that the palm of my hand could caress his warm skin.
"Do you know what could make me feel better since you don't have drugs?" I voiced, approaching my face from his.
"What would please my girl?" he asked, pecking my lips gently. "I can get you anything"
I nodded and for once, I had to admit, having a Kook boyfriend was pretty useful. I was a Kook myself but since my boat had sunk a few days earlier and we were not going to leave the girls on the HMS all night, Rafe's yacht was a good option. I knew JJ and John B could pilot those huge boats, and so it would be easy getting the girls trapped if all of us followed my plan.
"Please, lend me your boat for the night. I'll take care of it, JJ can pilot it safely until we reach the marsh, we just want to enjoy one single night together on a boat. And mine's not in good shape"
The man groaned and took his face in his hands. "Everything but this," he growled.
"Come on, you can't say no to me, can you?" I teased, caressing his chest with my hands still under his polo. "I'm your girlfriend, be gentle"
"Alright and you really think I want you on that boat with all those boys who want nothing but have you in their bed?" he argued. "I'm not letting you go alone"
I laughed. "Fine then come with us. It'll be so fun!" I spoke ironically which caused him to roll eyes again.
"Call me if anything goes wrong, whether it's about you or the boat, and don't fucking ignore my calls okay?" he ordered, getting up and walking to his desk.
"I won't, Jeez' you're not my father," I complained, rolling eyes at him the way he hated.
My man grabbed the Druthers keys and went back to me, a playful smirk on his lips as he twirled the keys around his index. I sat up but he shook his head in denial, not sure why since I had not said or done anything that could need an opinion, and he pressed on my chest to lay me back down on the bed. My back slowly hit the mattress and his lips found their way to my neck, biting my skin softly.
"Hell no, I'm not your father and trust me, after what I'm about to do to you, you won't ever doubt it," he stated.
Rafe started to undress me, revealing the most private parts of my body in just a few seconds, as his lips and tongues started to lick and taste my body, not forgetting any erogenous spot. I left out a few moans, enjoying what was happening to me, but I felt the need to focus back on my main goal, which was having Sarah and Kiara locked together on the Druthers before the sun came down.
"Rafe, we don't have time for this," I breathed, effortlessly. "I told the boys I'd meet them at 6 o'clock"
He pulled away from me and checked the time on his silvery watch, before taking his polo off and devouring my lips again. "We might have to do this quickly then," he stated, before our bodies collapsed and we enjoyed every single second of it.