Finally

5

RAFE

Rafe lifts himself from his couch when a tentative knock comes at the door. He hasn't drank all day, so now he's officially dealing with a long-awaited hangover. Even the light knocking hurts.

When he opens the door, he forgets all about it.

Y/n's eyes are all red and swollen. Her cheeks are stained with old, dried tears. Her hair is a mess, thrown into a sloppy bun, and the clothes she never leaves her place in are wrinkled and covered in dark spots.

"Hi," she says, with a croaky voice.

Rafe lets her in.

Suddenly, she's here. After weeks of no contact, even at that party a week and a half ago, and all the tension between them, she's here. All of a sudden.

If she came here when she's upset, she must be really upset.

"I'm sorry," she says. "Sarah's at John B's, and Kiara isn't answering her phone."

Rafe nods. He doesn't know what to say. After all this time, he feels like the first thing he says to her should be... something.

"JJ broke up with me," she says, and she starts crying again.

The corner of Rafe's lips twitch. He knows he should hug her, console her, but he's too happy.

"I can't... I can't be by myself at my place right now," she says, hiccuping her way through. "And I know that you and I haven't talked, and I don't even know if we're friends anymore, but I really need company. Can I stay here? Please?"

Rafe nods. He steps forward and pulls her into his chest. She relaxes and sniffles, and it feels so good. Better than being drunk 24/7. He finally gets to hold her solid body, like he did with his stuffed animal as a kid, before he screwed up his life. He gets to make her feel safe and secure.

She steps back and wipes her snot and tears with her hand. Rafe rips off a paper towel and hands it to her.

"I'm sorry," she repeats. "Are you doing something?"

He shakes his head, which seems to ease her, and for the first time since she stepped inside, she looks around.

"I missed this place."

Rafe would remind her that she was here a week ago, but then again, there were at least ten other people here, and they didn't talk. Even though he saw her, it doesn't feel like she was here.

"Is it really okay if I stay here tonight?" she says, looking up at him, wide-eyed.

Rafe nods.

She cracks a wobbly smile. "I didn't bring any clothes. I wasn't sure..."

"I'll give you something," he says, softly.

He can practically see Y/n swell with excitement.

She says she's tired, so Rafe leads her down the hall to his room. She seems a little hesitant when she follows him in, running ber finger along the doorway like she's never been here before. Except, she's slept over at Rafe's plenty of times, before she started going out with JJ.

He tosses her one of his T-shirts. "I don't have any shorts you can wear."

"That's fine. This should cover me." She doesn't tell him to look away before she starts stripping. Rafe jerks his head away, but once her shirt is off, he sneaks a glance.

It's like she doesn't realize he's there, and if she knows he's looking, she doesn't call him out on it. Her bra is lacy and black. It's sexy. And even though Rafe has... imagined Y/n before, it stings now that he knows for sure what she wears underneath. She's probably worn that exact bra with JJ.