Slater had never been in a men's restroom before, and she hoped she'd never have to go inside one again. Despite it being in one of the most prestigious country clubs in the state of North Carolina, the smell of pee and urinal cakes hit Slater's nose like a truck.
She slowly pushed open the door, her ear pressed to the crack as she tried to hear what was going on. Concerned club-goers passed her with confused expressions on her face, but she simply offered them a polite smile and a shrug, as if she had no explanation for what she was doing, either.
"What are you doing here, pogue?" She heard Rafe sneer in the bathroom. There was the sound of a fist connecting with a face, and then a grunt that had most definitely come from JJ.
Slater pushed open the door, letting it slam against the wall. The boys looked up in surprise, Rafe's eyes narrowing on Slater in anger, and JJ's in surprise.
"Slater, get out of here," JJ hissed as he swiped a fist at Rafe.
"Yeah, Slater. Listen to your little pogue friend," Rafe said, pushing JJ to the ground as one of his friends kicked the boy in the stomach.
"Rafe, stop it," Slater said, taking a step forward as she grabbed onto the Cameron boy's arm.
"You're defending him? When he's trespassing on our territory?" Rafe said.
"It's not your territory. And JJ was just leaving," Slater said, moving to help JJ up.
Rafe grabbed Slater's arm, pulling her backward. "Not so fast, Cambry."
"Rafe, let me go," Slater said, her heart lurching to her throat as she nervously looked down at JJ, who was holding a hand to his bloodied nose.
"Hands off of her, Cameron," JJ said, his blue eyes a storm cloud as he glared at Rafe.
Rafe smirked down at him, and he tightened his grip on Slater. He looked to his friends, not saying a word as he nodded at them.
Topper, having understood Rafe's non-verbal instruction, pulled JJ to his feet and punched him again, splitting his lip. JJ's wounds from his father still hadn't healed, and here he was, being beat up again.
"Topper, stop it," Slater protested as she attempted to wriggle free from Rafe's grasp, but he was too strong.
"He knows he's not supposed to be here, Slater. We're just teaching him a lesson," Rafe replied.
"He was just leaving," Slater said between gritted teeth. "As was I." She turned to look at Rafe, her eyes wide and pleading in an attempt to appeal to whatever affection he'd had for her last summer. "Please, Rafe."
Rafe rolled his eyes and dropped his grip on her arms and she pulled away. Topper landed one last kick into JJ's abdomen before the boys backed off and vacated the bathroom.
"Have fun with the pogues, Cambry," Rafe said, smirking as he shut the door behind him.
"Oh my god, JJ," Slater said, kneeling next to the Maybank boy. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine," he replied, wiping at the blood on his lip as he glared towards the doorway. He turned to Slater, his eyes softening. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she insisted. "Rafe Cameron doesn't scare me."
She got him some paper towel for his cuts, and he looked her up and down, smiling. "Blue looks good on you."
Slater rolled her eyes, a smile teasing on her lips. "Thanks. Now come on, let's get you out of here before someone else notices," she said, helping him up from the floor.
She peeked out of the bathroom door, and when the coast was clear, Slater and JJ hurried down the hallway and back into the packed ballroom.
"Slater!"
Slater spun around, coming face-to-face with her sister.
"Maeve, not now. I have to go," Slater said.
"Did you forget that you're grounded?" Maeve asked before taking a look at JJ. "Whoa, what the hell happened to you? Wait, why are you here? Do you work here?"
"Never mind that," Slater said, pushing JJ behind her. "I have to go, okay? It's important."
"Mom and Dad are going to kill you," Maeve said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"They can do whatever they want. Just tell them I wasn't feeling well and caught a ride home with Kiara," Slater said.
"Slater, I don't want to get in trouble if they find out I covered for you," Maeve said.
"Please, Maeve? I promise, if they find out you lied, I'll take all the blame," Slater pleaded.
Maeve groaned. "Fine! But you better not be doing anything illegal."
Slater and JJ shared a nervous glance, and Maeve let out another groan.
"Whatever. Be safe," she said before turning around and heading back into the crowd.
"She's a really great sister," JJ said, to which Slater nodded in agreement.
"The best."
"Okay, let's go," JJ said, reaching for Slater's hand as he led her through the crowd.
They snuck outside, finding JJ's bike where he'd hidden it near the dumpsters.
"Oh hell no," Slater groaned. "J, I can't ride your bike wearing this!" She gestured wildly to her gown.
He smirked, clearly enjoying her stress. "You'll be fine. Just get on the bike. I won't make you drive this time."
Slater opened her mouth, ready to protest again, when the back door swung open, revealing a very angry Victor Shoupe.
"Slater Althea Cambry!"
"Shit," JJ muttered under his breath, pushing Slater behind the dumpster in an attempt to hide her. It was too late.
"Just where the hell do you think you're going?" Vic was already marching down the steps, making a beeline for his daughter.
"Nowhere," Slater replied coolly, taking a few steps towards her father. "I was just taking a breather, and I stumbled upon JJ out here. He was just leaving," she said, shooting the blond boy a phony glare. "In fact, I'm not even really sure why he's here."
Vic let out a loud snort. "You expect me to believe that? You do realize that I deal with lying people for a living, right?"
Slater shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "Do you really expect me to lie to you, Dad? You've already got me under lock and key like a prisoner. I'm not going to do anything to further extend my jail time."
One thing Slater had learned about being the daughter of a cop was that it was actually quite easy to lie to them. Purposely get yourself caught in smaller lies so they think they know when you're lying -- then you can sneak the big ones past them much easier.
"This place is stuffy and the people are obnoxious," she continued, furthering her charade. "I just wanted some alone time."
Vic's eyes shifted to JJ, not completely convinced yet. "Maybank, what are you doing here?"
"Running an errand for the Heywards, sir. Pope asked me to bring something his father forgot," JJ lied.
Slater knew Vic respected Heyward and thought he was a good man, so hopefully JJ's inclusion of him in his lie would be enough for Vic to let it rest. The older man glanced between Slater and JJ one last time before nodding.
"Alright, well, you've had enough of a break, Slater. Come inside. Your mother has some people she wants you to meet," Vic said.
Slater sighed and nodded, disheartened to miss taking part in whatever shenanigans John B had planned for them all this evening. "Right." She glanced back at JJ, giving him a sad smile before following her father inside.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ author's note ✫・゜・。.
i know it's been a while, but somehow i found inspiration for this story once again. this is a choppy chapter and i apologize -- i started writing it a while ago and just finished it today, so ... anyways. the next chapters will be better, i promise.
xx,
madi