written in the stars - a topper thornton fanfic (outer banks)

f o u r

song: 'pumped up kicks' by foster the people

- one year ago -

"Where were you last night?" Genevieve exclaimed as she saw Kie walking towards her. Kie raised an eyebrow. "I missed a kegger. Jeez, Gen. It's not like it hasn't happened before," she said, sitting down next to Genevieve, who was sat on the dock. Her feet hung over the side, dipping into the cold water.

"True. But I was left to deal with a barfing John B, an immobilised Pope and a neurotic drunk JJ. All by myself!" Genevieve said, looking at Kie who just laughed. "Oh well. At least you made it out alive," she said, lightly punching Genevieve on the shoulder. "Barely," Genevieve muttered looking out over the ocean. It was easy enough to make out some of the Figure Eight houses from here. She wondered which one was Topper's.

"Where is everyone?" Kie asked, interrupting Genevieve's train of thought. Genevieve shrugged. "JJ's trying to get Heyward to let him work, Pope's actually working, and John B.... I don't know where John B is actually." "John B is too busy being John B." Kie said. Genevieve nodded. "Ain't that the truth. What does he even do with his days? I know that he helps his dad with that boat thing, but is that really all he does?" She asked Kie, who sighed and nodded. "Apparently so." "We need new friends."

A little while later, Kie and Genevieve were walking along the beach on their way back from their lunch at Kie's house. "You know, I don't believe in this Kook / Pogue stuff, but if I were a Kook like you, it's safe to say I would not be hanging out with the boys." Genevieve said, absentmindedly kicking a stone into the water. Kie glared at her. "I'm not a Kook." Genevieve rolled her eyes. "Oh, I beg your pardon, you're just an extremely wealthy girl who lives in Figure Eight. You're right. My mistake." Genevieve said with a smirk as she ducked to avoid Kie's hand as she went to swat the back of Genevieve's head.

Genevieve waved goodbye to Kiara as they parted ways, reminding them once again of the social and economic divide of the Outer Banks. Genevieve held her shoes in her hand as she walked along the shoreline, letting the waves crash over her feet. The sun was setting and bouncing off of the water. It really was a beautiful sight.

Not as beautiful as Genevieve was though, at least not in Topper's eyes. He was sat on some rocks with Rafe and Kelce, two Kooks who he had become friendly with. Friendly, but not friends. There was something about Rafe that Topper couldn't quite put his finger on. Maybe it was the dangerous look that flickered across Rafe's eyes whenever he spotted a Pogue, or his constant need to impress his father. Whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"Who does she think she is, walking on our side of the island?" Rafe muttered, his voice dripping with venom. Topper tore his eyes away from Genevieve to look at Rafe, spotting the dangerous glint in his eyes once again. "Those Pogues think that they run this place." Kelce chimed in, always the sheep, never the shepherd. Anywhere Rafe went, Kelce would follow.

Topper sat there in silence, not wanting to say anything to get on Rafe's bad side. Rafe cracked his knuckles as his eyes followed Genevieve as she walked down the beach. "We should show those Pogues what happens when they walk on our side of the island," Rafe said, standing up.

Topper swallowed nervously as he stood up as well. "She's just a girl, Rafe." Lies. She wasn't just a girl, she was the girl. The girl who had kept him up all night because whenever he thought of her, electricity would flow through his veins. And whenever he heard the waves crashing, he would think of her. It was a vicious cycle that ended up leaving Topper completely sleep-deprived.

"She's a Pogue. Girl or boy, a Pogue is a Pogue," Rafe said, beginning to walk down the rocks towards her. "Rafe!" Topper called after him, running down the rocks to catch up to him.

"Rafe!" Genevieve's head whipped around. "Fuck," she muttered to herself as she saw Rafe Cameron walking towards her, a smug grin on his face. She tried to see who was behind him, but she didn't have time. She had to leave before Rafe would beat her to a pulp. She sighed and broke into a jog, running through the waves towards the Cut, home of the Pogues.

"Look at her, running away." Rafe muttered as Topper and Kelce caught up with him. "Run away back to the Cut, you dirty Pogue!" Rafe yelled. Genevieve rolled her eyes and turned around, flipping Rafe off. Rafe clenched his jaw but there was no point in running after her; she was too far gone.

Topper held back a smirk as he watched Genevieve stick up her middle finger to Rafe. It was the least he deserved, but it probably would only make matters worse the next time she would run into him. Topper didn't know how to feel. In a way, he was relieved that Genevieve had got away unscathed, but he also wanted her to stay so he could speak to her again.

However, she was a Pogue and he was a Kook. He couldn't be seen with her, and she couldn't be seen with him. The already large target on Genevieve's back, which she had acquired solely because she was of the lower class, would grow even larger if she was seen on Figure Eight with Topper. And he couldn't bring himself to think about what would happen to her if Rafe managed to get his hands on her. Even the thought of it sent shivers down his spine.

He was being irrational. He had only had one conversation with the girl, and it had barely lasted longer than 5 minutes. But yet, he couldn't get her out of his mind. Her eyes captivated him and he felt trapped in them, unable to escape even when he was nowhere near her. Mind you, it wasn't a bad place to be trapped, but couldn't he be trapped in some other Kook girl's eyes?