Royals - Rafe Cameron

Chapter One - Sunset Pogue

First Outer Banks fic! And I know, its a Rafe one. Id just like to say that I'm not a fan of the murdering, addicted to cocaine Rafe, but I feel like his character, if steered in the right direction, has a lot of potential.

This follows the same basic plot kind of, with the whole treasure thing, but there is some noticeable changes. So far: no gun and Sarah Cameron and John B are already a thing, and there are a lot more to come.

It's more of an AU of the first season, to be completely honest

Anyway, enjoy 1.7k of my bullshit!

Having John B steering the boat wasn't always the most comforting thing. Sure, he knew how to handle the HMS Pogue, but with JJ by his side, it was a recipe for disaster. At least, that was all Eleanor 'El' Maybank could think as she sat on the boat.

El Maybank was the oldest of the two. Pogue royalty, if you will. She shared the same blonde hair as her brother, but had inherited her mothers green eyes. JJ, on the other hand, was the spitting image of their father when he was young. Sometimes it scared El, how much he looked like him. Especially when he was angry.

Since each Pogue had a day off from work, they had to decide between chilling at John Bs place, where there were no adults (aside from El), no rules, no nothing, or taking the HMS Pogue out for a spin. Almost everyone voted for the latter. The one that opted to stay on land? Well, he was beside El, staring at the girl across from them with the pink earbuds pushed into her ears.

"You should go for it," El said, her face close to his. Over the noise of the water and the probably deafening music Kie was listening to, she wouldn't have been able to hear them. But their close proximity was pissing JJ off, making it all worthwhile.

While Eleanor protected JJ while he was young, the moment he got bigger than her, he became the protective sibling. Protecting her from anybody that might've been interested, from the big bad Kooks and, most recently, from their father. It sometimes hurt, to think about how quickly the roles had reversed. How she was no longer able to keep her little brother safe and he was the one protecting her. Well, he wasn't so little anymore.

"I have," Pope reminded her, poking her side.

El squeeled and shuffled away from him, batting his hand away. For most of her life, she had been like a mother to these boys. The parent to fill in when their real parents weren't there. And suddenly, they all got big.

The boat slowed to a stop and JJ moved towards his sister. "Come in the water, El!" He pleaded, already knowing her answer.

She shook her head. "No way," she said, pushing him away from her. "JJ, somebody has to be responsible for all of you! What if I inhaled the water and died?"

"First off, Popes here to be responsible. Relax, big sis! Its your day off!" Hs grinned, pulling her to her feet. "Second of all, you're not going to inhale the water and die."

"What if I do?"

"You won't."

"JJ, the waters brown. I'm not getting in there."

"The water isn't brown."

"The water bloody well is brown."

JJ huffed, seemingly giving up. "Fine," he muttered and placed his beer down.

Two seconds later and El was in the water. Down, down, down she went, into the murky depths. Looking up, she was sure she'd see the Pogues staring down at her, each more worried than the last. El could swim. She wasn't as good as her brother or John B, swimming skills honed from all those years surfing the waves, but she wasn't about to let herself drown.