Rogue | outer banks

021 - Locker Room

Rafe's POV:

My smirk widened as I caught JJ off guard in the locker room. "Hey, JJ, what are you doing in the locker room?" I taunted, raising a brow. The way his eyes widened, the stumble back into Kelce – it was all too amusing. A laugh bubbled up from deep within me, fueled by the satisfaction of catching him off balance.

JJ grunted as one of the boys grabbed him from behind, and the locker room echoed with the chuckles of our comrades as they dragged him further into the empty space. His hands were locked behind his back, and the marks of our recent brawl adorned his face. It was a familiar sight – the aftermath of the skirmishes that had become a routine part of our lives in the Outer Banks.

It had become a habit, picking fights with Amelia's friends. To be honest, I wouldn't have given a damn if it were Pope or John B that I stumbled across. But it was JJ, and something about it felt different. Irritation mixed with a twinge of jealousy gnawed at me. I couldn't quite pinpoint why JJ's presence irked me more than the others.

Perhaps it was because I had seen how Amelia gravitated towards him. How she went to him, the genuine smile that lit up her face in his presence. I couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something more between them, something I wasn't a part of.

The realization struck me like a sucker punch – it was petty, a childish reaction that I wouldn't admit to anyone, especially not to Amelia. If she found out, she would likely hate me for stooping to such levels. Yet, as I watched them, the thought lingered in my mind. The way Amelia looked at JJ, the boy she claimed she'd start a war for... it wasn't that different from the way she used to look at me.

The intimacy in that stupid hug, the connection they shared – it mirrored a chapter from our own tangled history.

It was a bitter pill to swallow, a reminder that the dynamics were shifting, and I wasn't the only one who held a place in Amelia's heart.

"Hold him still," I grinned, adjusting my shirt and positioning my hands for the hit that was about to come. "What— what do you reckon? A four iron, right?"

Kelce chuckled, giving his agreement as JJ squirmed and fought against the hold, but the Pogue didn't stand a chance.

"Very Rafe of you," JJ growled, teeth bared in defiance.

The laughter echoed in the locker room, mingling with the lingering adrenaline from my earlier scuffle with Leon. But beneath the bravado, there was a nagging thought, an unspoken truth that refused to be silenced. Maybe if Amelia hadn't walked away from me, things would be different. Perhaps the tension between us wouldn't be so unbearable, like a live wire crackling in the air every time our eyes met or we found ourselves in close proximity.

I couldn't shake the desire for Amelia to acknowledge what I felt, to hear her say the words that mirrored the storm inside me. As messed up as it was, I needed her to admit that the magnetic pull between us wasn't one-sided, that she, too, felt the turbulence of emotions whenever we collided.

The fight with Leon, the taunts thrown at JJ – they were outlets for the turmoil raging inside me. Each punch, each confrontation, was a desperate attempt to make sense of the chaos that had become my reality. If only Amelia would confess, if only she would acknowledge the tangled emotions we both shared, perhaps the tension would dissipate.

"Five against one," JJ's words lingered in the air, a stark reminder of the odds stacked against him. Yet, in the midst of the laughter and bravado, a part of me yearned for something more. It wasn't just about the fights or the camaraderie; it was about breaking through the barriers that kept me from the one person who seemed to stir my emotions like no other.