'Safe with Rafe' Y/N x Rafe Cameron

Chapter CIV

Hiccuping through tears, a soft voice could be heard.
"Are you alright, honey?"
You look up from your knees to see a frail old lady with a green headscarf and the kindest of eyes. She held herself up by a wooden cane and seemed shaky in her legs. She lives in the apartment building you lean against by the looks of it, a trash bag in her other hand to be put in the dumpster beside you.
"Ah, yes...sorry ma'am" You say as you wipe at your tears, "Here."
You stand up, relieving her of the garbage and tossing it into the bin for her.
"You're such a sweetheart, dear." She smiles, "Whichever boy caused you to cry, surely does not deserve you."
You smile back at her but her words couldn't be any more spot on than they were. To be fair, it was typical old lady mannerisms to offer unwarranted boy advice to a random young girl but it made you think. Perhaps, taking her advice a little too seriously because you actually started to believe it.

The old lady flashes you a toothless smile before turning away again, slow like a turtle but she made her way back to her apartment. As you're left standing alone, you feel your chest begin to sink again to its saddest depths but strangely, you couldn't cry. Your heart felt like it was the darkest of greys, stormy with the most miserable feeling in the world but you were too tired to cry anymore.
Your brain was too busy trying process everything and you tired yourself out from running.

You carefully peer out from the wall, making sure Rafe was nowhere in sight before walking back out again. You couldn't go home, not puffy eyed and tragic looking as you were. So, you go where every free spirited person goes to find peace in their solitude, the ocean.

The journey to the beach was a lot less adventurous as it usually would be in the company of your friends or even Rafe. It was painfully quiet.

You sit alone in its sand, staring off into the horizon that seemed endless. It left a lot to the imagination so it helped in keeping your mind off of things. Although the hurt was hard to escape, the beaches scenery was too beautiful to go over looked.
When you'd start to think back to Rafe, you simply cast your eyes upon the horizon, when Heathers smile plays back in your mind, the seashells in the sand were enough to keep your thoughts occupied.
Orange, pink, red, brown.
You listed the many colours of shells you could see to protect yourself from any intruding thoughts that may cause you to finally breakdown again.
White, yellow...

You begin to stare off at nothing, spacing off until the sand behind you could be heard shifting under something heavy, treading down the mounds and closer towards you. You don't look back, scared of who you might see but there was no need to anyways because the person sits right beside you and in silence.
You keep your head low, avoiding to look at them directly but you subtly let your eyes wonder to their hand that rests in the gap between you and them.

Tan skin and a set of beaded bracelets.

Considering bracelets were never Rafes thing, you look up at last.
"Jj?"
"Hey."

The lump in your throat finally emerges again, you feel like you could cry out of happiness to finally have a friend beside you.
"I know I'm probably the last person you wanna see right now..." He mutters with a downward gaze.
"Second last." You say back, feeling tears form.
He stares down at you with sorrowful eyes as he realises how much he missed being somebody you could lean on.
"...I saw you on the street." He says, "you looked like you just finished crying..."
"You wouldn't be wrong." You laugh ingeniously, sniffling quickly after.
"...What did he do." Jj asks, his gentle tone of voice suddenly changes to a stern and demanding one which made you observe his face, sharp and rigid but his aggression wasn't the only thing you noticed.
"Hey, what happened to your face?" You ask with worry as you place a hand on his chin, turning his face towards you more directly. He quietly adores you as his eyes look into yours while your own only trace the cut across his cheek. Fresh and bloodied.
"Just my dad." He shrugs.
"Jj..." Your eyes glisten with tears but Jj was quick to wipe them away.
"It's nothing that hasn't happened before."
"Is that why you're here all alone?" You ask.
"I guess...When it feels like the world is against me, I come here." He says, "That's why I plan on living outcasted and on a beach one day, just...surfing into the sunset."
"Got room for one more?" You huff a small laugh, making him smile too.
"What about you? What're you doing here anyways?"
"I don't think I'm ready for a relationship...maybe my purpose has been and always will be adventuring with my favourite pogues." You respond with a smile, but the realisation of it made you sad and Jj could tell that there wasn't any truth behind your words. "We're two of a kind." You add.
"Not really."
"Hm?"
"The first part...I've been ready for a relationship for a long time." He says, glancing down at you again, "Since I met you."
"Jj-"
"I know." He smiles sadly, "Your heart belongs to someone else."

You sit silently with your knees against your chest, sinking lower into your own body like a hermit crab and Jj almost does the same.

"Y/N."
"Yeah?"
"How about I throw one of my famous boneyard parties?" He asks, "Sounds like we both could use it."
"Hmmm..."
"Plus, you didn't get the chance to have fun last night."
"That's true..."
"So you're in?"
"I'm in."