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K O O K V I B E S & D I A T R I B E S
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Light giggles and laughs filled the air. Harley, Topper and Kelce regarded Rafe with their complete attention laughing at his utterly ludicrous anecdote. He had a confident smirk on his face the whole time enjoying the attention, especially from one person in particular.
Even when Rafe had finished, Harley couldn't stop her contagious laughter and so neither could the boys. Her and Topper shared a humorous look and both crumpled onto each other.
"That's so awful, yet so funny," she forced out between sobering giggles.
"That's not even the entire story, but I won't bore you with it," Rafe smirked and took a gulp of his drink.
"Look at him he's loving your attention," Topper nudged Harley.
"Is he always like this?"
"No," Rafe chuckled, the others disagreed though.
"Yes."
"Your friends know you the best," Harley chirped with a teasing smile.
"I wouldn't say they do. Whilst they are friends, I do have friends my own age. Today I'm babysitting."
Harley eyed the boys for their reactions. They didn't seem to agree with Rafe and they clearly didn't like the babysitting comment. Topper rolled his eyes.
"So how old are you all?" Harley questioned.
"Same as you," Kelce responded.
"Oh," Harley's eyebrows raised, as she turned back to Rafe with a teasing smile. "So is this you babysitting me, too?"
Rafe chuckled and shook his head. "No, unless that's all you want it to be. I was under the impression we were two friends hanging out and babysitting these guys."
"Sooo, I'll be getting paid then. Time is money," Harley switched her gaze from Rafe to the others. She raised her eyebrows expectantly and sipped on her smoothie.
"Don't look at me. I bought you that drink," Topper sat back.
"Honestly, Rafe should be the one paying us for taking him in and hanging out with him for the afternoon." Kelce smirked.
Finn and Jamie both agreed with Kelce, leaving Rafe to purse his lips and shoot them a quick mocking glare.
Harley watched the boys' interactions whilst finishing her drink. They definitely didn't have the same dynamic as the Pogues, but they were still fun to hang out with and very friendly towards her. The Kooks had their own chemistry and luckily Harley fit in.
"How about I pay you with another drink and food this time?"
She shook her empty glass. "I have to go, remember?"
Rafe groaned with an amused smile. "You do, unless... you don't."
Harley toyed with the idea of staying a little longer, she enjoyed the company of Rafe, Topper, Kelce and the other boys. They made her laugh and made her forget about her problems. It would have been nice to stay, but she wasn't even supposed to be at the restaurant this long. "A deal is a deal."
"You're right. I better give you that ride home now." Rafe began to get up, Harley followed suit stepping around to stand beside him. "I'm gonna get a drink to go. Do you want one?" Rafe's very blue eyes peered down into hers questioningly.
"Hmm, no thank you."
He nodded and walked off to the counter. Harley spun around and placed her hands on the back of his seat facing the others.
She smiled sweetly at them all. "It was lovely meeting all of you properly and it was cool that you didn't mind me crashing your plans."
"Who minds a pretty girl joining their group for the afternoon," Kelce shrugged.
"Any time you want to ditch those Pogues, let us know, we'll save you." Topper offered casually.
Harley bit her cheek and chuckled awkwardly. "I don't get why you guys don't like each other. You're rich and they're not, so? They're just as great as you guys, they're so lovely and funny."
The boys recoiled and grimaced as if they tasted something so sharply bitter on their tongues.
"We're not the same," Jamie gagged.
"Not even similar," Topper shook his head. He leant forward on the table clasping his hands together and stared straight at Harley. "They're criminals and low lifes. We have morals."
That couldn't be true. The Pogues were so great and so caring. Mr Routledge himself was the best in Harley's eyes. Topper must have been exaggerating his distaste for the other side to sway her mind.
"Ready?" Rafe appeared behind Harley with two to-go cups.
She nodded, "Yeah." She glanced back at the boys and waved showing off a gleaming smile. "Bye. See you all another time."
They all exchanged goodbyes and nods watching the two disappear through the restaurant doors.
"Someone's thirsty," Harley joked motioning towards the white cups.
"One's for you actually. I know you didn't want anything, but you should really try this fruit smoothie. I got you a medium one."
Rafe handed one over, not missing the warm and grateful expression over Harley's face.
"Thank you."
He watched as she took a small sip through her straw. Her features melted into bliss as she hummed in delight.
"This is really good." She sucked in more, her cheeks hollowing to draw out a lot of the delicious smoithie. "Like really good. What is it?"
"It's the Coral Reef smoothie. My annoying, little sister always goes on about it."
"I don't blame her. I think I'm in love with this."
Rafe led Harley to a silver convertible that caught her eye. It looked sleek and quite pricey, the chrome wheels gleaning in the early evening light.
"Is this yours?"
Rafe could see Harley practically bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement and interest in his car. That made him smile proudly.
"Yeah. Sweet right?"
"Yes!" She rushed forward a little, but caught herself and tried to mellow out. "So cool."
Rafe chuckled and opened the passenger door for her to slide in. The first thing she noticed was the feel of the interior and how pristine everything looked. Evidently, Rafe had expensive taste.
Harley's fingertips trailed over the plush, red leather seats, then the shiny centre console and all of it's buttons and dials.
"You like cars?" Rafe questioned as he got in and started up the car. The vehicle purred to life.
"Well," Harley sat back and analysed the car. She couldn't tell if she just liked this car because of the way it looked or if she was genuinely interested in cars. "I really like this one."
"That's good enough for me... here." He reached over and pressed a small compartment above the glove compartment revealing a cup holder.
"Thank you."
"Right, let's go."
The car pulled away from the curb and they were off. As they rolled through the bright streets, Harley realised she didn't know where they were going. Plus, Rafe was a kook so surely he wouldn't know either.
"Um, Rafe?" She glanced over seeing how relaxed he looked behind the wheel. One hand firmly on the steering wheel, the other casually resting. A light rouge stained her cheeks, Rafe's hands and biceps quickly becoming a focal point.
"What's up?"
Now, her blush deepened in embarrassment, because she had to explain that she didn't remember the way to the Routledge house.
"Umm. I don't remember the way back to Mr Routledge's home."
"It's okay," he reassured her and started to fiddle with his phone. "I'll find out where it is."
"How?"
"I've got my ways," he said mysteriously.
Harley studied his side profile and the way his jaw clenched as he focused. She analysed how he could be texting, whilst maneuvering the steering wheel with such confidence. Her insides felt funny the longer she stared at him and she kind of liked it.
"Are you in a gang?"
Rafe whole heartedly laughed and briefly glanced at her face.
"No. I'm not in a gang Harley. My dad mentioned doing a bit of business with Mr Routledge, so I texted him to see if he knew his address." Rafe placed his phone back in it's holder.
"Ohh." She shifted to her side a little, so she could lean her head against the rest and see Rafe. "Does your dad know?"
"Yeah. I know where I'm going."
Harley had been under the impression that the two sides of the island didn't go to the other, so Rafe knowing where he was going surprised her. Maybe the sides weren't as divided as she assumed.
"What's Figure Eight like?"
"The houses are bigger and better. The people are nice. It's safe. I can take you some time if you want, you'd like it."
Harley tried to picture a part of Figure Eight, but couldn't quite work out whether she was doing it justice in her mind or not at all. "Can we go now?"
Rafe wanted to say yes, but stopped himself. "I'm supposed to be taking you home remember."
Harley glanced outside the window at the bridge they crossed. "Oh yeah... When can we go?"
"How about this weekend? And I'll take you to the golf course."
"That sounds fun," Harley chirped excitedly.
"And I promise I won't leave you hanging."
Harley's excitement dropped as she remembered the Pogues. "They probably just got caught up."
"We'll see now." Rafe pulled onto the dirt road past the trees and bushes.
The convertible rolled to a stop. Harley and Rafe could make out John B, Pope and JJ emerging out of the water to see who had arrived in the unfamiliar, lavish motor.
"Looks like it was best I offered you a lift," Rafe spoke softly whilst staring at the Pogues with a look of scorn.
Harley didn't know what to say. The realisation that they had forgotten her made her throat feel like it was closing up. The feeling didn't sit well in her chest, even if the entire situation was new to everybody. It was easy to forget something new when it hadn't been around long, but Harley was still a person and it hurt a little, or a lot.
As Rafe settled his eyes back on Harley, he saw the hurt as clear as day and felt vexation creep in.
"C'mon." He sat up with a burst of energy getting Harley's attention. He nodded toward outside. "I'll walk you up."
They were parked right by the house, so it was rather pointless, nonetheless Harley agreed. A light smile played on her lips.
Rafe slid out first, Harley let him get to the front of the car before getting out herself. He came up beside her and they headed towards the wooden steps of the patio.
"Harley?" John B yelled.
The three boys raced over and stopped short of Rafe and Harley.
"What's he doing here?" JJ sneered pointing at Rafe.
"Rafe gave me a ride home," she explained calmly. She didn't understand why they were angry, when she should be the one upset.
"Why?" John B asked.
Rafe stepped down off the steps. "Because you left her stranded at The Wreck."
Realisation quickly dawned on John B and JJ's faces, whereas Pope still appeared baffled looking back and forth between his friends.
"If it wasn't for me, Harley would still be there."
John B frowned. "Harley I'm so sorry. JJ and I completely forgot we were supposed to meet you. We changed our minds last minute about going to The Wreck and came here with Pope."
Not wanting to make it a big deal, Harley shook her head and smiled. "It's okay. Rafe, Topper and their friends were really nice, so it's fine."
John B brushed passed Rafe and went to Harley. "It's not okay, though. I am really sorry, Harley." He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "You've got amnesia. What if you tried walking back and got lost. Something bad could have happened."
"It's a small island. Everyone is so nice. Nothing would have happened."
"You're showing a degree of naivety," Pope interjected. "It's not actually that small, plus technically the Outer Banks are two hundred miles long. While we don't have very high rates of crime, anything could have happened. You washed up on the island, so could anybody else. Criminals for instance."
Rafe snickered. "Not only are you Pogues incompetent, you're also insensitive weirdos. I should have guessed."
"Rafe!" Harley gaped. Why was he being horrible now?
"Say that again asshole." JJ demanded.
"You heard me," Rafe grinned evilly. "You guys are incompetent, low lifes and insens-"
JJ wasted no time in charging at Rafe and tackling him to the floor. The boys grappled one another like animals.
"Your daddy and his money aren't here to stop me from kicking your arse!" JJ fumed attempting to punch Rafe.
The older boy swiftly freed himself and hit JJ in his side.
Harley went to intervene but John B stopped her more concerned for her safety.
"Are you not going to stop them? You should stop them. They might seriously hurt each other."
"Just stay back, okay?"
John B went to intervene leaving Pope to skirt around to Harley. The pair watched with baited breath as John B attempted to get between the two.
The thought of either of the boys getting severely hurt caused anxiety to creep in. She rubbed at her neck, feeling her pulse increase. Her eyes began to unfocus as those abstract strokes started to take form again. It was like watching a time lapse of moving art.
Two shapes moved as one. Chaotic brush strokes swiping into the others. It became apparent the shapes were figures when one fell down. The other figure dragged the fallen up and shoved them back hard. Once. Twice. Bam! They exploded into a fierce, red flurry.
A sense of icy familiarity bled through her senses and caused a shiver of discomfort.
A hand landed on her shoulder, frightening her out of her distorted memories. She jumped back into real time to see Mr Routledge prying JJ from Rafe. Both boys looked ruffled, neither showing signs of major damage.
"What the hell are you boys playing at?" John demanded, then looked at Rafe. "And why are you on my property?"
Rafe was swift to speak first. "I was dropping Harley off, when these three came bustling over. Next thing I know that asshat is tackling me."
"Language," John scolded. "JJ apologise."
"Why? I didn't do shit wrong!" He jabbed his fingers in Rafe's direction, body tense with rage. "This arrogant dick needs to learn to respect someone other than himself."
"Language! Now apologise."
Harley startled in surprise at the rise in John's voice. He didn't look like the type of man to raise his voice out of frustration or anger.
JJ looked around waiting for somebody to back him up. John B and Pope did, but their arguments fell on deaf ears.
In the end, reluctantly, JJ mumbled a half arsed apology. That was the best he'd give.
"Great. You three inside. Rafe, thank you for bringing Harley home, that was kind of you. Harley say goodbye to your guest then come inside please."
John wasted no time in herding his son and his best friends into their home.
Straight away Harley frowned at Rafe. His behaviour was so uncalled for and disappointed her. "Why did you say those things?"
"Because they're true. Look at how that JJ kid just attacked me."
"Because you verbally attacked them. They're not low lifes and Pope isn't a weirdo."
"You're saying that because you're here stuck with them. The only relatively normal one is Kiara and that's because she's a Kook."
"This whole rivalry thing is silly."
"Stick with me and the Kooks and you'll understand."
Harley folded her arms. "I don't want to stick with you if you're going to be horrible to my friends."
"You're not a Pogue and you hardly know them."
"Well I'm not a Kook."
The corner of Rafe's lips twinged. "You're Kook material. Just come hang with me on the weekend like we said. Forget about Pogues and Kooks for a while."
Harley shook her head and spun around to walk inside. Rafe caught her wrist.
"Come on. We're friends right. We got along really well. I was looking forward to meeting up with you. Don't cancel."
Harley started to feel bad. The look on Rafe's face paired with his words made her chest ache. Maybe she could give him another chance and go from there. After all, he'd been right when he said they got on.
"Okay. Okay. Okay. One chance at being my friend. Don't blow it."
"I'll catch you Saturday then."
"How are you supposed to contact me. I don't have a phone."
Rafe started to back up. "Don't worry about it."
Harley wasn't sure if she liked the mystery, but she went with it. She said her goodbyes and watched him pull away.
She hopped up the steps and entered a very tense living space. All three boys were sat on the sofa in silence whilst John stood by the TV.
"Harley you're not in trouble, but can you take a seat please."
Harley didn't question it and gingerly sat down. Although John had said she wasn't in trouble, uncertainty still hung in her mind. She rubbed at her neck not liking the suspense. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have came back with Rafe, then he wouldn't have been here," she blurted jumping the gun.
Mr Routledge sighed and removed his glasses to rub his eyes. "It's not your fault Harley." He replaced his glasses and stared at the kids. "This is down to you boys. Why was Harley with Rafe and not you three? You told me you were going to the Wreck and you'd meet Harley. I left her there under the impression you would meet her and be responsible."
John B shifted awkwardly along with JJ.
"In my defense, I didn't know we were supposed to meet Harley." Pope explained.
John B nodded. "That is true."
"So what happened?"
"School was just one huge sensory overload. By the time it finished I just wanted to chill out. JJ suggested going for a swim and I completely forgot about the Wreck."
"You mean you forgot about Harley," John corrected.
John B couldn't help but grimace when it was put like that. "No, it wasn't like that."
"JJ did you know about going to the Wreck?"
The blonde bit down on the rim of his hat, which he'd been messing with, and glanced at John B for a prompt. His eyes went back to Big John. "Yeah, I did."
John folded his arms. "So that's a no."
"He said yes though," Harley commented dumbly.
"He's saying that to shoulder some of the blame, Harls."
Her eyebrows bunched up. "Oh." She studied JJ for a second to find a telltale sign of his lie, but found none obvious to her.
"It's not their fault. I've only just joined you all. I suppose that throws you off a little since you're all not used to me being here. You're not used to thinking about me in your day to day lives, so it'll be easy to forget." She frowned a little. "Plus I'm fifteen, so you wouldn't think you'd have to babysit me like I'm five."
"It's not babysitting. It's just with your injuries and the small possibility of another seizure, I'm concerned about your wellbeing. The boys should have been there to keep an eye out for you."
Not that they should have to, Harley thought to herself.
"There's no harm done." She jumped up and gave a little twirl. "I'm one hundred percent okay and John B and JJ know for next time."
"Yes we do," John B agreed.
"Logged in the back of our brains. I mean the front. It's logged in the very front of our brains." JJ amended.
"Okay. Fine. I'm still extremely disappointed," John asserted. "But, as Harley is fine and safe, I'll let it go. However, if this happens again-"
"It won't," all three boys interjected earning a nod of approval.
"Also, I don't ever want to see any of you fighting here or anywhere else. JJ. John B."
"Rafe deserved it. He was saying some dumbsh-" JJ held his tongue. "... he provoked me."
"I'm sure he did," John shrugged. "That doesn't mean you act on it. You kids know better."
"Sorry dad, it won't happen again."
"Sorry Mr R."
"Good. Now, I bought takeout, I left it in the truck. John B, you can go and get it."