{request for: remniscent <33}
y/n l/n has not meant to live a life of naivety.
she is but a compassionate girl whose tender heart yearns to help those who will simply ask.
this, like every tale of a beautiful heroine who breaches the boarders of malice, means she has gathered quite the collection of foes.
even through their blatant disregard of y/n's quiet existence,
she welcomes them with gentle palms made for malleable loving.
y/n doesn't know this,
but her empathetic precociousness and soft living has made the boys with sharp canines drool with the possibility of sinking their sinful teeth into her flesh and draining her of her greatest quality:
her kindness.
this has proven to be a challenge of great difficulty because for every grotesque monster of a boy who dreams of sickeningly sweet y/n's demise,
there to defend her are the friends y/n has made throughout her life.
all willing to fight to the end for her,
all willing to protect her from threats she cannot fathom.
"you really think so?"
y/n asks sarah cameron now as she sits against the bed,
watching her friend pick away at the clothes in her closet.
"yes, y/n,"
sarah repeats for what feels like the hundredth time today,
smiling under her friends disbelief.
"i'm telling you! show a little leg and show him what he's missing."
the idea of wearing something as racy as the skin tight clothing sarah purchased to a party where many eyes will be on her forces up a vicious blush.
y/n isn't ignorant to the kinds of comments and stares her body in it's entirety will warrant,
but is she daring enough?
is it worth catching the attention of the boy who palmed her tender heart?
"okay. hand it here."
sarah cameron tosses the clothing with an excited grin.
the moment y/n slips it on,
she showcases it with a twirl and a laugh.
sarah spills over with compliments,
telling her how hot she looks.
the compliment paired with y/n's name makes her heart hammer in her chest.
this is only a taste of the intoxicating attention waiting to follow and she's suddenly become a glutton.
the moment they leave the house and pile into the car,
where music spills from the speakers and is left to revel in the night wind,
y/n feels a rush of endorphins make themselves at home in her system;
the animation is clear in her shimmering eyes.
it seems time stops beneath this young woman's arrival to the hottest party of the summer.
the presence of someone as tender, yet alluring, as
y/n demands this kind of anticipation.
will she bless you tonight with her words of cloying gratification?
will she lighten your burdens with a gentle caress?
will she choose you to stand beneath her gaze of understanding innocence?
if what they say about angels walking the earth is true,
all the proof necessary lies in y/n l/n's existence.
the anticipation shatters the moment y/n breaks into a smile and waves to her friends.
though eyes never quite leave her for the rest of the night,
especially hungry ones,
to let curious stares infringe on her time of fun would be a shame.
besides,
it's not like she's surprised.
what does surprise her though,
is that amidst a conversation between herself and kie,
a hand finds the small gap of her back and makes itself at home there.
rafe cameron smiles down at the always so shockingly beautiful woman and greets her with,
"should have known you'd show up with my little sister in tow."
"why waste a good friday night?"
y/n banters with a nearly blinding smile.
rafe finds himself blossoming beneath it,
like a flower finding it's lifeline of the sun above.
"all that matters is you're having a good time."
"always,"
y/n replies with the tilt of her head.
rafe cameron always feels himself soften beneath such a gaze of purity.
it's as if nothing in y/n's existence has turned sweet with rot,
when everyone else seems filled to the brim on their discontent.
"you can go now."
rafe looks up from the haven of y/n's eyes to meet with his little sisters sharp glare.
there was a time in his life,
the time before y/n,
that rafe might've barked back an insult.
instead,
he nods and throws his hands up in pretend surrender.
before he makes his exit,
he leans towards y/n to speak lowly for her ears only.
"let me know if you need anything."
y/n shows an appreciative smile and nods in understanding.
"i will. thank you."
he winks in welcoming then disappears amongst the sea of people who have come to celebrate the weekend.
the night slips by the young kids between the music that thrums through their limbs and the mixed drinks that settle in their livers.
when y/n has one arm thrown around kie and the other thrown around sarah cameron,
she feels a swell of appreciation for her friends and the life they've created together.
where would she be without them?
y/n doesn't even want to wonder.
her life here is perfect.
what could possibly make this night better?
y/n thinks this is the peak,
until a husky voice makes itself known.
"i don't think you've stopped moving this entire night."
though y/n's hands still vibrate with the pulse of the beat by her side,
she stops dancing alongside her friends to give her attention to barry.
"well, i hope you're not coming to parties just to stand still."
barry exhales a chuckle that brings a smile to y/n's lips,
while also inviting weary eyes toward the pair.
"y/n,"
kie begins in a warning.
her hand comes in contact with y/n's arm and gives it a gentle squeeze;
a warning,
y/n realizes.
but for what?
about this man before her?
sure,
the words that follow his name are ones of notable mention,
but isn't there more to what meets the eye?
if she listened to every rumor to follow the people of this island,
she'd be lonely.
why not offer him a chance to clear his name?
"i'll see you around, yeah?"
y/n offers,
to which barry cannot refuse.
"see you around, sunshine."
the moment he's out of earshot and he's faded from y/n's view,
sarah cameron and kie hound her,
"don't you know who that is?"
"don't you know what he's done?"
"why would you waste your breath on that bastard?"
"do you have a death wish?"
but all y/n do is stand there with a smile of disbelief.
"he's not that bad, is he?"
"he thinks the sun comes up just to hear him crow,"
kie states.
y/n is sure she's heard that phrase slip from their southern mothers lips,
but she says none of this.
instead,
she widens her smile and proclaims,
"he's not that bad."
sarah cameron rolls her eyes.
she loves her friend,
but when she has her mind made up,
there's no changing it.
better to let her live her life than waste a good friday night worrying over nothing.
so,
sarah cameron raises her cup and cheers,
"to y/n and her kindness that does not discriminate!"
red cups clink to celebrate before friends collapse into their laughter,
where y/n's lively chime will make its travel to rafe cameron.
the boy who has devoted his entire self to her since the beginning.
***
"well, what god do i have to thank for bringing you here?"
y/n looks up from the book propped against her knees to find barry standing just mere inches away,
smiling wide in her presence.
she eagerly returns the smile accompanied with a wave,
then calls,
"wanna join me?"
so, he does.
barry takes his seat beside y/n,
who's spent the better half of her morning on the edge of the lake,
surrounded by high grass and bees who hum in her ear.
if barry didn't know any better,
he might think y/n was a doe reincarnated.
"what are you doing out here so early?"
barry asks.
y/n shrugs and toys with the pages of her book.
"i come out here to read before starting my day. helps to restart my mind, you know?"
barry doesn't know,
but he nods his head anyways.
"you?"
barry hasn't been to sleep since the night before and it's clear in his eyes,
but y/n doesn't ask.
"just getting a head start,"
he fibs.
there's a glimmer in y/n's eyes that awakens this insatiable hunger in barry.
he cannot explain it nor put words to it,
but it's there all the same.
of course if he'd said this aloud,
y/n would have the answer.
she's seen it plenty of times to know:
"it's a man's will. all of you see something bright and innocent and want to watch it die beneath your foot."
so the silence stretches between them.
the girl who sits patiently,
unknowingly a new victim to his games.
and the boy,
who wants to know how far he can take this.
"hey, y/n...would you mind doing something for me?"
could she say no to eyes as sharp as his?
of course not.
watch how his blinks are calculated in anticipation,
watch as he gazes over her and drinks her in,
watch as she comes alive beneath his praise.
"sure. anything."
a wide grin grows on barry's lips.
he couldn't have imagined a more perfect response to encourage these sick desires.
"i have a friend who's waiting for me to give him something soon. i'd like you to come with."
corruption lingers in the air and y/n sucks it into her lungs with a head held high.
"yeah. let's go."
wouldn't this be the funniest thing to rub into loverboy,
rafe cameron's,
face?
the only person in the outerbanks who is ignorant to rafe's love for y/n is the girl herself.
she sits comfortably in barry's passenger seat,
dancing her fingers to the sound of the music playing.
all he can do is watch.
she is beautiful,
there's no denying that.
but there's something about those cheeks bright with the possibility of life that are begging for a poisoned kiss.
so what does barry do?
the moment they're sitting at a red light,
he leans over the console and lays his undeserving, yet hungry, lips to her cheek.
y/n becomes undone the moment he parts from her,
leaving a trail of heat in his wake.
"you're beautiful, you know?"
he wonders with a look of curiosity;
the way a scientist might look at it's greatest creation.
"thank you."
her voice is soft with the influence of flattery,
but it's soon interrupted by the stopping of barry's car.
"take this, will you?"
barry asks as he hands y/n a wrinkled brown paper bag.
she doesn't look inside it for her sake;
better to leave the unknown as it is.
"behind this house, there's a porch. sit on the step and wait for the guy to show up and buy it."
y/n nods in understanding,
but before barry completely releases the bag into her clutch,
he warns,
"you get the money before he gets this, okay?"
why is he speaking to me like a child?
y/n silently wonders,
but speaks nothing of this.
she nods her head instead.
"who is this man? he won't hurt me, will he?"
"oh, no. never."
barry's smile is something sick,
but y/n notices nothing of this.
she finds the bit of adventure rather thrilling;
something sweet to take home to her friends.
though she can already see their judging looks and words following a sigh,
nothing can hide the eyes that come alive beneath gossip.
it's a woman's favorite treat and she would never deny her friends the glory of a good story.
so, y/n waits on the porch step for the sounds of an arriving man who will trade her a good sum of money for whatever lies in this paper bag.
though never,
did she expect it to be rafe cameron.
"y/n?"
he claims incredulously upon his arrival.
his voice sounds accusing,
but y/n brings him into a hug and releases a sigh she didn't know she had been holding.
"oh, my god. i didn't know it was you!"
she informs,
buried into his neck.
where the words of y/n hum against his skin,
follows a bout of chills throughout his body.
"i thought he might've been tricking me, but he wasn't!"
it takes all the strength in rafe's arms to pull her away.
"barry? you're talking about barry?"
"yeah. i suppose he wanted me to surprise you."
rafe can't decide if that innocent smile on her lips is infuriating or breathtaking.
can it be both?
"jesus christ,"
he groans into his hands.
there begins the surge of anger.
"you shouldn't be here, y/n."
y/n furrows her eyebrows at this.
"neither should you. sarah told me you were sober."
"i am!"
he hadn't meant to yell,
but how could she doubt his sobriety when it had been her mere existence that encouraged him to find it?
"doesn't look like it."
"goddamn it, y/n."
rafe rips the bag from her hands,
where she warns that he's supposed to pay first.
but he hears none of this,
only pulls out the plastic bag holding tiny stems of a green plant.
"it's a little bit of fucking weed. anything else you want to accuse me of?"
y/n softens at this and shakes her head.
"no, that's not what i meant. i'm sorry."
she takes a step closer to him and the warming blood in his veins finds tranquility.
her scent stifles him,
but he finds silent enjoyment in the suffocation.
"i just...i mean, what am i supposed to think when you're buying from barry?"
"you're not supposed to think anything because you're not supposed to fucking be here."
y/n doesn't flinch away at his firm voice or his cursing.
she knows rafe and the tender heart caged in his chest.
how could she be scared of the boy who taught her what love was?
who encouraged her softness and never once shamed her for those tender feelings?
"you don't have to talk to me that way."
she isn't criticizing him,
but merely reminding him.
rafe could drop to his knees and kiss her godly feet for bringing him alive and pardoning his sins without so much as a second glance.
"you're right. i'm sorry. just...please...just please go home,"
rafe practically begs.
"barry isn't bad, rafe! he's actually sweet."
hearing her speak so highly of the man who is less than deserving of it sends a piercing pain throughout rafe's body.
he turns away from y/n and makes way to where he knows barry is waiting.
lo and behold,
barry rests against the hood of his car with an evil smirk plastered across his face.
"rafe! my man. good to see you."
"the hell are you playing at?"
rafe demands to know.
barry simply shrugs,
as if he doesn't know what rafe is referring to.
"the girl wanted to come. how could i say no to such a pretty face like that?"
"you're lucky she's here right now or i'd slam your head into this fuckin' road."
barry narrows his eyes at rafe's threat.
he's surprised to hear how genuine it is and to see his eyes aflame with such fury.
a man in love,
barry figures with a grin.
if he plays his cards right,
he might be able to drag this out a little while longer.
all so rafe cameron can squirm beneath his thumb.
"do it, rafe. and watch her hate you for it."
"she doesn't give a damn about you, barry. stop overplaying your role in anyones life. you're worthless."
barry shrugs the insult off to say,
"she was willing to sell my shit to some random man. what else do you think i can get her to do?"
rafe breaks beneath the image of it and pushes barry back,
which forces y/n to intervene with a sharp yell.
"rafe cameron, have you lost your damn mind?"
"yeah, have you?"
barry questions with that same sick grin.
y/n turns her attention towards barry to demand,
"you shut your mouth, too. both of you are being childish right now."
the silence thickens until rafe interrupts it with a tender,
"come home with me, y/n. please."
barry doesn't want to let go of her so soon,
not when they are just beginning.
despite his ulterior motives of angering rafe,
he rather enjoys y/n's presence.
she is easygoing and understanding.
god knows when barry will find company like that again.
"y/n, don't let him boss you around. if you want to ride around with me, then do it."
so here she stands,
in the middle of this dispute that has no right answer.
y/n is at an impasse.
she makes no noise,
no sound of agreement,
she doesn't even look at either of them.
then rafe steps forward with eyes of heavy desperation.
like if y/n doesn't go with him,
the rejection might cause him to collapse.
and well,
y/n has to face it:
barry is practically a stranger.
sure,
the thrill of it all was nearly addicting and wringing barry of answers might have been fun,
but she couldn't ensure her safety in his presence.
he took advantage of her kindness in the mere hour he'd known her,
there's no telling what he might do using his silver-coated tongue.
besides,
how could she deny rafe anything?
especially when his palms were always wide open for her?
so with a heavy sigh that often follows y/n's deciding words,
she declares,
"come on, rafe. let's go home."
***
rafe had dropped her off at home after the debacle and she hadn't heard from either of them since.
even when she relayed the story from beginning to end to her friends,
did sarah cameron say,
"i don't know. i haven't seen him all day."
it worried y/n some,
but she knew rafe could handle his own.
if he ever needed her,
all he had to do was call.
then kie groaned and claimed,
"he's never going to get over you."
"over me?"
y/n echoed in surprise.
"you can't be serious,"
sarah began with a laugh.
"you didn't know?"
"know what?"
sarah cameron and kie exchanged knowing looks then began to spill over on their laughter,
all while y/n sat in confusion.
"tell me!"
she begged her friends,
until sarah found the breath to inform her,
"rafe has been in love with you for, like, years! i thought you knew."
y/n shook her head and dismissed the claim with,
"no way. he's like...like a good friend."
"a good friend who wants to bed you, maybe,"
kie added with raised eyebrows and a giggle.
y/n would be lying if she denied ever thinking about it,
but to reach out and make it true?
the thought was too exciting,
it made her nauseous.
"i thought you knew."
y/n shrugged at sarah's words.
"how was i supposed to know?"
"uh, maybe because he never, ever stops looking at you! he never shuts up about you either. he only goes to parties when you're there and he's never as nice to anyone like he is to you. i mean, he literally asked you to his prom, y/n!"
"as friends!"
she defended,
though the point fell flat.
rafe cameron was in love with her and y/n finally awakened to it.
if he asked her,
y/n would fall into the world of bliss awaiting them.
"i can't believe it."
"well, start believing,"
kie said.
"cause it's true."
rafe cameron finally makes himself known on y/n's doorstep the day after she found out about his true feelings for her.
and even though barry called time and time again,
having gotten her number from a mutual friend,
she didn't pick up.
nor did she reply to the many texts he sent because who else was there but rafe cameron?
she couldn't think of anyone better suited for her soft heart and gentle reserve.
"rafe,"
y/n greets with a glowing smile.
it's only ever followed her when she's found love,
so rafe finds a little ache in this.
"have you talked to barry?"
he questions.
anyone but him,
let it be anyone but him.
"hm? no, no. i...i was waiting for you."
"me?"
how could someone be more blind to love than y/n?
didn't rafe see the glimmer in her eyes,
strengthened by his arrival?
doesn't he see the glow in her skin at the revelation of her love for him?
"yes, you. you disappeared after the whole...thing. i was worried about you."
rafe nervously scratches the back of his neck before he speaks.
"i'm okay. i'm sorry. i didn't mean to worry you."
"it's okay. i'm glad you're here now."
rafe takes in a deep breath,
hoping to find some confidence to ask y/n out.
"would you...would you like to go somewhere with me?"
is what he settles for.
but to his great fortunate,
y/n nods her head and agrees.
the pair climb into the car with limbs that are numb with the excitement of their love coming to a bloom.
how long had rafe spent watering this heart of his in y/n's honor?
weeding out the horrid weeds that threatened the both of them,
only to now rejoice in her presence?
rafe knows now that y/n knows.
he can tell in the way she shies away from his gaze and can't stop smiling.
if she could keep her eyes trained on him long enough,
she would see the impenetrable smile on his own lips.
when the car comes to a halt,
it's for the grand finale.
how many years has rafe spent imagining this moment?
and now here it is,
playing out scene by scene before him.
he never anticipated his heart drumming in his chest like the way it is now,
but he figures it a symphony for y/n.
"rafe,"
y/n whispers,
as though the sight has taken the breath from her.
before them lies a field.
and in that field,
flowers have grown.
each one planted by rafe's precise hand.
when they finally came to a bloom,
the flowers in all their beauty and enriching color have been created to spell y/n's name.
so here she stands with a birds eye view of the garden dedicated to her and only her.
"this...this must have taken forever."
y/n is still void of any breath.
it seems when she finds her composure,
rafe finds another way to steal it.
she doesn't much mind, if she's being honest.
"about as long as i've been in love with you, y/n."
every day y/n spent chasing an answer to her undying heroism,
rafe was kneeling in this garden until his hands grew sore with cramps and colored with blood.
what is they say about pain and love?
what has she been doing all this time,
waiting for someone to understand her as she is,
when rafe cameron sat by patiently with a flower in hand?
"i don't have words,"
y/n finally admits.
rafe turns to her with a smile and reassures,
"you don't have to say anything."
and there go the suggestive eyes.
y/n knows now that rafe is giving her the clear all,
without murmuring a word:
i'm yours if you'll have me.
just reach out and take me.
and that's exactly what y/n l/n does.
she extends her hands that will never be empty again and she fills herself up on rafe cameron.
rafe wonders how he's made it this long without the kiss of this angelic woman before him.
now that he's been blessed with it,
every broken part of him starts to come together.
he hadn't realized the void in his heart until now;
until it found it's fill in y/n.
with his hands tied in a knot around her waist,
y/n parts from his lips only to be met with the floral air tinged with the scent of rafe cameron.
she's planted against his chest and she realizes there's no other place she'd rather be.
has she ever felt as safe as she does now?
have her hands ever stilled the way they have now,
despite their slight tremble induced by the influx of adrenaline?
home,
she thinks to herself.
that's what i've been searching high and low for.
and here i am.
"you gave me my own garden,"
y/n exclaims through a giddy laugh,
accompanied by eyes full of ardor.
"i'd give you the world if you ever asked for it, y/n."
"and you? what do you want?"
rafe is solemn when he answers,
"all i've ever wanted was your kiss to my cheek."
y/n caresses his cheek with the back of her fingers and watches as he mollifies beneath such a gentle touch.
if rafe could ever reach out and shake god's hand,
he imagines it would feel a lot like this;
like y/n's tender touch.
"well...you can have every kiss of mine and more. how does that sound?"
"sounds like heaven, y/n."
the pair share another kiss that seals every promise they've made to one another,
whether spoken aloud or not.
rafe has never been so sure of his future like he is now.
he is infinite with y/n by his side.
there is nothing he can't accomplish with her hand in his.
y/n, too, feels like she's conquered the world beneath rafe's confession.
she'll never have to face another hurt alone,
she'll never have to worry about her innocence of the world being molded by cruel hands,
she's safe and sound in the arms of rafe cameron.
the two lovers stand tangled in each other's arms now,
staring down at the field of flowers that are a testament to their love.
they are sure,
without a doubt,
that there is only more to come.