blessing in disguise - rafe cameron

13

Just as I closed my eyes I heard JJ yelling from a distance, making me immediately sit up. The blond guy approached with a grin, and I effortlessly threw my arms around him, drawing amused looks from the Pogues.

"U alright?" JJ whispered, sending shivers down my spine with a smile.

"Mhm!" I nodded, planting a soft kiss on his cheek before standing on my own.

"So what are the plans for tonight?" I glanced around, and Sarah shot a a death glare right at me.

"Tonight's the annual bonfire, remember?" She reminded me, making Pope sigh.

"Do we really have to go? I promised my dad to help him out tomorrow morning." he complained, earning another death stare from Sarah.

"Cmon, it's always been fun!" JohnB chimed in before everyone joined in to convince Pope.

"Alright, fine!" Pope gave in after the Pogues wouldn't stop persuading him, making me chuckle. They could be a real pain in the ass, but I adored them for that.

Later the girls and I decided to head home again to change and refresh ourselves a little.

For my outfit, I went for a short pair of denim shorts and a long-sleeved black crop top with light trumpet sleeves. Of course, I added plenty of jewelry and applied light makeup, leaving my hair down, creating beach waves and a few small braided strands.

I quickly picked up the girls with my car, while we planned to meet the guys at the location as they were driving from the Chateau directly with the Twinkie.

Once we arrived, I immediately spotted JJ leaning against the van with crossed arms. When he recognized my car, he grinned, and a warm feeling spread within me.

The three of us got out and walked towards the blonde guy. I headed straight for him, and his hands effortlessly landed on my hips as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Wow, you look absolutely gorgeous." the Pogue boy smiled down at me, slightly licking his lips.

"We'll see you guys later..." Kie yelled as both her and Sarah passed by us, mentioning they would go and find the others.

I playfully rolled my eyes at them before returning my gaze towards JJ, who started to gently caress my waist. His back was pressed against the side of the Twinkie as I leaned in, connecting our lips to a sweet and slow kiss, accompanied by distant music.

If I were completely honest, I didn't want to go to the bonfire; I wanted to sneak away with JJ instead.

However, I couldn't betray my friends like that.

His grip on my waist tightened as I was already on my tiptoes, caressing the nape of his neck while our tongues were entangled.

Soon, we let go of each other, unable to stop grinning, mirroring JJ. Together, we walked the last stretch to the bonfire, where we met the other Pogues and many more teenagers from Killdare Island.

"M'lady." JJ suddenly blurted out behind me as he had opened a beer for me which I thankfully grabbed out of his hand and took a big sip.

We celebrated, danced and enjoyed our time together with a lot of other teenagers from obx, either laughing our asses off or screaming along to our favorite songs.

After a while I decided to get us new drinks, making my way up to the corner where the beers were stored, grabbing a few cans.

I was about return, when I suddenly made eye contact with the dark blonde kook boy.

I looked down in embarrassment, trying my best to give him the cold shoulder but that didn't stop Rafe. Nervously biting down on my bottom lip as he approached me.

"How's it going?" He smirked down at me, leaning down and grabbing a beer himself while he was very close to me.

"Didn't I tell you that I still hate you?" I raised a brow at him. I had to keep my distance, for the sake of all of us.

"I could care less." He shrugged, his lips twitching for a second before he took a sip.

"Well, you obviously do." I replied, implying that he must've been interested in my well-being, cause it was him coming to me, not the other way round.

He didn't bother to respond, just staring me down as a slight smirk creeped it's way back onto the boys lips.

"Rafe, I- what happened at Barrys was just.." I started but couldn't find the right words to describe what I was feeling.

"It was what?" His gaze suddenly got more serious, licking his lips in annoyance.

"You know-" I began to speak up again but was interrupted by a hand that sneak itself around my waist, making me jolt a little.

"Don't think you were invited." JJ laughed into Rafe's face, of course earning a reaction from the kook.

"So you own this place now?" He chuckled, turning around and letting his gaze sweep over the crowd.

"Get the hell out of here." The blonde one bit back, his grip on me intensifying.

"JJ, it's fine.." I mumbled, trying to release the tension between the two boys.

"Yeah, JJ. It's fine, you should listen to her like a good dog does." Rafe chuckled, obviously finding amusement in treating him badly.

I noticed how JJ was gradually getting more tense, clenching his fists, and I was afraid of a possible fight that could occur between them. That's why I anxiously looked around for the Pogues, trying to get them to notice me.

"Get off our side of the Island." JJ gritted through his teeth to which the kook boy just laughed.

"Or what? You're gonna threaten me with your gun like you did with Topper the last time?"

"Maybe I should so you stay away from her." The Pogue replied, not knowing what he had just done.

In this exact moment Rafe swung his full fist into JJ's face, forcing the blonde boy to crash to the ground.

All I could do was watch as Rafe hovered over him, grabbing JJ by the collar to throw another punch. I tried grabbing his arm, screaming over and over again for him to stop, but he didn't...

I was helpless, and now all I could do was scream for Pope and JohnB, who arrived not even a second later, managing to pull Rafe off JJ.

But JJ wasn't easily subdued either, and he threw a few punches himself. "Stop, please stop!" I yelled, at this point even Topper and Kelce sprinted over to us, and with their help, we finally managed to pull the two boys apart.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I cried out to Rafe, tears streaming down my face as I kneeled down to JJ, grabbing his face. But everything Rafe could do was just stare at me with empty eyes, making me shake my head in disbelief.

He didn't change, and he would never change either.

"Are you okay?" I brushed back the boys hair, looking down at him. I couldn't help but feel bad as I saw JJ's busted open lip. After all I was the reason why Rafe started all this and hurt him.

"Don't worry cupcake, that was nothing compared to my dads upper cut." He laughed it off but I could see in his eyes how much pain he was probably having.

"Cmon let's get out of here." I heard JohnB saying before he pulled JJ to his feet and dragged him towards the twinkie.

"I can't believe he did this.." Kie murmured, still in shock.

"My brother is just brutal." Sarah replied, biting her lip. I knew she felt embarrassed but it wasn't her fault, Rafe couldn't be bothered anyways.

"What was he even trying to do? Like what did he say to you, Jen?"

I didn't know what to say so I just shrugged. I mean it was more than obvious that I couldn't just tell her that I slept with her brother just a few days prior to this.

"Did something happen between the two of you?" She raised an eyebrow at me to which I quickly shook my head. "No, never!"

And with that, I knew that this was only the beginning of everything.