ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Little Freak - Harry Styles
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻
0:21 ———|———— -3:22
𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀𝒾𝓃' 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒
𝒴𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒹𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝓅𝑜𝒾𝓃𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌,
𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀𝒾𝓃' 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
"The Outer Banks, paradise on Earth." That's what the city limit sign read at least. Beneath the tropical surface of sprawling beaches, endless creamsicle skies and palm trees, there was something hidden. A riptide, with it's hands pulling you into an abyss, it's grip unrelenting and unforgiving...
But on the first night of Summer, the sun blazed overhead, casting a warm glow over the crowded beach. Ocean Crest Academy's students gathered to celebrate the start of vacation and their victorious end to the year.
Among the crowd, sat on the trunk of a white Jeep Wrangler, decorated in the school's blue streamers and bunting. A girl with golden hair reaching her hips swung her tanned legs back and forth, chewing her straw. Isla Blackwell, was foreign to the party scene, preferring to watch old movies where she could imagine James Dean or Marlon Brando confessing their love to her.
In the movies, love was safe to risk everything for. In reality, Isla had never been kissed.
It wasn't for her lack of beauty, more for her lack of trying. A crush, that had consumed her mind since she was six years old, a crush, that in reality was only a daydream. And with a best friend like Sarah Cameron, it was practically impossible to expect to be noticed.
Instead, she focussed her time and efforts into her studies leaving romance to her fantasies.
Often spotted walking the halls with an armful of books, a ponytail swaying behind her, and clad in a pristine uniform, always accompanied by Sarah and Dean Sinclair.
The three of them had been best friends since kindergarten, when Isla had been crying in the bathroom.
Sarah's brother, had pulled called her a goody-goody and pulled Isla's ponytail on the playground. Sarah had found her in the stall, rescuing her and braiding her ponytail, 'so they could match.' And Dean Sinclair, usually a quiet boy who liked to finger-paint, had suddenly started a fist-fight in revenge. Ever since, they had been inseparable.
But tonight, instead of the usual sanctuary of her bedroom, she sat in her pleated skirt sipping coca cola out of a straw from the bottle, a smile playing on her strawberry-lipgloss lips as she watched Dean and Sarah dance back to back, shaking their pom pom's in the air.
Sarah, the leader of their group, had been coaxing Isla for months to come to the bonfire.
After all, school was out and their football team, the Crest View Panthers had just won against Kildare County High School. With the winning touchdown from none other than the King of the Kooks and Ocean Crest's star quarterback. Her best friends brother, Rafe Cameron.
Isla glanced towards Kelce's Land Rover, Rafe was surrounded by teammates and admirers, she could hear his laugh bellowing from the other side of the beach where the rest of the Junior class hung out.
The forbidden crush of Isla's childhood, made even more complicated by the fact that he was Sarah's older brother. The worst part? Every girl seemed to drool over him, and didn't he know it.
With a series of different girls sneaking out of his window after every party. Their group sleepover ritual was to laugh and watch from Isla's window, two houses over to the Camerons', at the sight of the most popular girls in school failed to shimmy down the drain pipe.
"So... Topper, huh?" Isla grinned mischievously, her eyes sparkling with teasing.
Sarah shushed her. "Shut up." She blushed, her laughter always as light and airy as the salty breeze.
"I saw you two making out under the bleachers." Isla raised an eyebrow, holding her pleated skirt down as she stood up, taking Dean's hand.
Dean turned to her betrayed. "You have to tell me everything."
"Later." Sarah promised, their new interest shifting towards Isla's love life - or lack thereof.
"What about you? How come you never have a crush?" Sarah shimmied over to her, watching Isla hiding her face in her hands.
"Yeah, c'mon Isla. You must like someone?" Dean interrogated, as she continued to bite on her straw.
"Why?" Isla rolled her eyes at them both, "the boys at this school are awful." It was unfortunately true, lord knows she had tried to replace her crush on Rafe with any other boy.
But no one had been able to take his place, subsequently she was left collecting every detail that made up the mystery of him she could find. Keeping her intel stored in the jewellery box that was her mind.
"How would you know, you don't date any of them!" Sarah pointed out the obvious, nudging her.
"You two are boy crazy." She shot them down, biting her lip.
Sarah scoffed. "You don't fool us, I heard Quentin Pembroke tried to kiss you last semester after football practise." She sing-songed, playing with her hair. Perfecting her appearance in Dean's wing-view mirror and shooting a wink at Topper through the reflection.
"Oh god, Quentin?" Dean recoiled, popping open another soda as Isla leaned over, changing the music to Lana Del Rey on the playlist.
"What? He's cute and he's a Sophomore too, why not make out?" Isla turned to her best friend, bewildered in embarrassment.
Isla shook her head, as Dean handed Sarah a beer, "would you keep it down?" Shooting her a look.
Squinting her eyes at her, assumiting her humiliation as admission of guilt. "You two did kiss! I knew it! You totally made out with Quentin, oh my god!" Sarah squealed, getting carried away.
Isla nearly choked on her drink. "No." She shook her head feverishly, holding up her hand to stop them. Sarah grinned, seeing Isla look like a cherry, her cheeks burning up.
"You had you first kiss, and you didn't tell us?" Dean grabbed his chest dramatically in betrayal.
Isla jabbed Sarah with her elbow, seeing Topper, Kelce and Rafe walking over from the other side of the beach, red cups in hand. Sarah covered her own mouth laughing, as Isla immediately shrank in size, her hair falling over her face.
"Let's set up beer pong." Rafe instructed Kelce. Isla noticed how he had left his letterman jacket hanging on the shoulders of Emma Lautner, the most popular girl in school.
Emma was the kind of girl who spent her afternoons practising cheer routines, and flipped her perfect bleach-blonde hair to kiss Rafe in the halls. While Isla had only been let on the team because of her mother's participation on the PTA, and she had only joined in the first place to please her.
That was why, Emma sat with the rest of the cheer squad with their silver Lexus's, bikini's and mini skirts. But, why Sarah didn't hang out with them, Isla could never understand. She fit in perfectly, Emma had practically primed Sarah to become Head Cheerleader for her graduation.
Sarah turned back to the two of them, mocking her brother. Isla trying to contain her own laughter, spotting Rafe send a stern glare to his sister as he walked to them. His hair messy and his skin tanned, glimmering with sweat, his abs and biceps outlined in his navy polo.
Isla swallowed hard, shifting away from him. "Really kids, you thought you could steal my beer and I wouldn't notice?" He chuckled at Sarah.
Sarah groaned at him. "Not like you can snitch to dad is it?" She shot back.
"Don't even think about taking another or else." Rolling his eyes at Isla as he leaned over her to turn their speaker off. "Cut this whiney shit off, this is a party ..." he paused trying to remember her name.
There was reality. He had known her since she was six and yet he still couldn't remember her two-syllable name.
"It's Isla." She straightened up.
"Have we met before?" Rafe raised an eyebrow, speaking slowly, stepping closer to her.
Sarah scoffed and shoved past him. "C'mon Isla. Let's leave the boys to it." As she ran down the beach stripping out of her uniform, shooting a look over her shoulder to Topper.
Rafe sat with the boys scoffing and turning up their music so that it could be heard from the shore. The sky melting to pink, Isla sat on her surfboard, the water too still to catch a wave, watching Sarah diving off of Dean's shoulders.
"So, Topper - spill." Isla splashed her, closing her eyes as she lay on her back.
Sarah grew quiet, chewing her cheek. "I really like him, Isla." She admitted.
Dean nudged her playfully. "Then why the hesitation?"
Sarah hesitated, chewing her lip as she glanced towards Topper, who was now playing flip-cup with the other cheerleaders and jocks. "He's worried about Rafe's opinion."
Isla tried not to look disgusted at the boys typical grossness, as Dean asked, "Rafe? Why does it matter what he thinks?"
"He's... complicated," Sarah sighed, her gaze lingering on her brother. "And overprotective, to say the least."
Isla tried to maintain indifference, feigning nonchalance. "I guess..."
Sarah continued, turning to her. "I mean, even the way he dismisses you. Last week, I mentioned you were coming over and he was like," Sarah mimicked Rafe in an exaggerated tone, "Isla? Do I know her? As if you haven't practically been my sister for thirteen years."
Dean smirked, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Well, maybe you just have to play him at his own game?"
Isla piped up, smoothing her wet hair off of her face. "Or you could just tell him straight? That he needs to get his act together and fast, because a girl like you won't be single all Summer." She shrugged.
Sarah scoffed at Isla's sudden boldness. "Woah, look who's gotten feisty all of a sudden. Maybe you should talk to Rafe."
"Tell him to make his move by tomorrow at the 'Outer Banks Coastal Regatta,'" Dean chimed in with mock formality, "or it's game over."
He playfully splashed Sarah as she floated on her back, a hint of frustration colouring her features.
"I can't risk that! If Topper confronts him before the competition, it'll be a disaster," Sarah protested.
"Who cares?" Isla laughed, shaking her head. Pointing to Kelce who was crushing beer cans in his fists, and Rafe who had a cigarette hung from the side of his mouth. "Honestly, they don't care about winning."
"My lips are turning blue!" Dean exaggerated, dashing out of the water with Isla slung over his shoulder, her laughter echoing across the beach. "Are you trying to drown me?" Isla giggled as Dean set her down, tossing a towel her way as they gathered around the makeshift bonfire the boys had sparked.
"You're crashing at mine tonight, right?" Sarah nudged Isla, who nodded.
"We need more drinks!" Dean called out from the car.
"Leave it to me," Sarah winked mischievously, dropping her towel on the sand before sauntering over to Topper.
Isla and Dean turned to each other sharing a look, as Sarah tapped Topper on the shoulder. Only receiving a can for herself as Dean huffed, "want to warm up?" He slung his arm around her heading to the fire pit.
The smoke and buzz from the Kook boys rising in the air as Isla's presence in her bikini top and undone denim shorts turned more than a few heads. Not that she was aware.
"Isla, right?" Kelce greeted her with a nod, his eyes lingering a little too long on her figure.
"Hey," Isla replied as she settled down next to him.
"You're looking good tonight," Kelce winked, earning a warning look from Rafe, sitting nearby.
Rafe clenched his jaw, as he watched his best friend flirting shamelessly with Isla. "Man, don't talk like that," he interjected.
Isla glanced between them, a small hint of amusement dancing in her eyes. "Got another?" She nodded down to the can in his hand, hoping to pass it to Dean discretely.
Leaning over, closing the distance between them and handing her a beer, Kelce grinned. Before she could take it, Rafe had swiftly knocked it out of his hand, the can now fizzing into the sand.
"What is your problem?" Kelce shook his head, annoyed.
Rafe remained with his eyes fixed on the fire ahead. "She's a freshman bro." To which, Isla rolled her eyes. As if they weren't all drinking underage.
"Hey, Isla, what're you doing later?" Kelce persisted, offering his own beer to her. She gave him a small smile, opening her mouth to reply and -
"Quit it," Rafe's tone was curt, his gaze flashing with a warning as Isla shook her head and stood to walk away. "Later, Kelce," she called over her shoulder.
"Dude, what the fuck is going on with you?" Kelce squinted at Rafe, trying to decipher the sudden tension.
"Nothing, okay? She's a pain in the ass." Rafe dismissed, downing his beer and crushing the empty can in his fist, frustrated.
"But she's got an ass," Kelce remarked, earning the can thrown at his head by Rafe.
Kelce shrugged, readjusting himself. "What, she does? She looks good." He laughed.
"She's my little sister's best friend," Rafe reminded him tersely, his jaw clenched.
Kelce scoffed, a knowing smirk playing on his lips as he finished his drink. "Bro, either way, she's hot as fuck-"
Rafe's glare silenced him instantly, the air around them growing tense. "My bad, man. I didn't know you felt that way about her," Kelce offered cautiously.
"I don't feel anything for her," Rafe snapped in disbelief.
Kelce raised an eyebrow skeptically, but wisely chosing not to push too far. "Yeah, right."
"Will you just shut the fuck up, alright? You don't know what you're talking about," Rafe shot back sharply, frustrated.
Throughout the night, Isla stuck to hanging out with Dean in their little corner of the party, sipping on their sodas, turning her music back up and dancing. Laughing with him and lighting sparklers, twirling them through the air, it only took a single stolen glance from Rafe across the bonfire to send a shiver down her spine.
Even when sat in the back of his car with Sarah driving back to Tannyhill, she couldn't shake her mind free of her fantasies, stuck in her silent dance of denial.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───