deflagrate || rafe cameron

Chapter Three

Topper had gone to Sarah's house and I decided to tag along. I was not too far behind him when I saw his two friends by his side. 

"What's she doing?" Topper asked. When I got close, I noticed Sarah was climbing into a boat that was covered in electrical wires. 

"Watch her fall and make a big scene out of it," one of the guys said. 

"Princess will be fine," I said as I stepped up. The three boys looked over at me. 

"Who's this?" the one said. 

"That's Skylar. My cousin," Topper told them. 

"I'm Rafe. I live here," he smiled at me. He was honestly kind of cute. I put my sunglasses on top of my head, smiling up at him. 

"I'll keep that in mind," I told him.

"No the hell you won't," Topper pointed at me. I rolled my eyes and put my attention back on Sarah. 

"Rafe, your sister's crazy, man," Kelce told him. 

"You're her brother? That must make you Prince Kook," I nodded. 

"Hardly a prince, but thanks," he winked. 

Topper gave us a disgusted look and turned back to look at his girlfriend. Sarah pretended to fall into the boat. Topper ran forward, clearly worried about her. She held up a disconnected wire and the rest of us laughed. "Congrats pussy, you are officially her bitch," Rafe patted Topper on the back. 

"I'm leaving. Believe it or not, I made a friend," I told Topper. 

Topper shrugged, still worried about Sarah. I began my walk to the dock where I was the day before. I decided it would be my spot. A spot where I can escape and think for myself. As I approached the dock, I saw a familiar figure sitting on the railing. "You forgot to mention your friend was a criminal, bandana boy," I said, climbing onto the railing myself. 

"Well, you forgot to mention your cousin was Topper Thornton," he pointed out. Making myself comfortable, I leaned against the wooden pole behind me. 

"Hardly the same circumstances, but I'll let it slide since he tried to drown you," I shrugged. 

John B looked over at me and back at the water. When I realized he wasn't going to say anything, I rolled my eyes. "You know I watched my parents die," I told him. He quickly looked over at me with wide eyes. "Oh. Did I catch your attention? Look, I know we don't know each other that well, but I was still worried about you. No one deserves to be alone." 

He let out a breath and looked down at his dirty hands. "I'm not alone. I have my friends," he shrugged. 

"Okay. Fine. Maybe I'm the one who's alone then. Maybe I woke up this morning and thought 'what's the point?' Then I sat back and was like 'damn I really wish I could have a by-the-water talk with bandana boy right now'," I looked over to John B. Truth be told, for a while that was my life. Waking up every morning and thinking about how unfair it was that I lived and my parents didn't. I managed to cope and find a way to escape those thoughts. 

"How'd your parents die?" He asked me. It took me a second to realize that I would actually have to say it out loud. 

"A fire. We lived on the mainland and had a beautiful house. Not quite as big as Kook city over there, but it was nice. Good for our small family. The night before my birthday, I went to bed. My parents decided they wanted to surprise me with a cake. Red velvet, obviously, because it was my favorite. They went upstairs and fell asleep. Forgot about the cake. Um, the fire broke out and our neighbors called the fire department. I was the first that they found, so they dragged me out. I was pronounced dead for like two minutes due to smoke inhalation," I told him. 

"Hold on, you died?" John B questioned. 

"Yeah well, it didn't stick. Anyway some firemen went back in and finally brought my parents out. They put them on the gurneys and told me to tell them I loved them. I thought they were being dramatic. I mean, it was a small oven fire, you know? But I told them I loved them and we went to the hospital. Within twenty minutes, I watched the doctor cover them up. Apparently the smoke had gone through the vents, filling their entire room with smoke. Their lungs were practically fried when they were found," I finished telling him the story. I didn't realize I was crying until a tear fell on my hand. 

"Damn, Sky. I'm so sorry," he expressed. I wiped away any tears I had and shrugged. 

"I deal with it," I shrugged. 

"Do you want to come to my house? I have beer," John B offered. 

"John B, are you flirting with me?" I teased him, fluttering my eyelashes. 

"Shut up," he laughed. 

The two of us walked to his house, which wasn't far. I felt like we had an unspoken agreement between the two of us. We understood each other's parental issues. We were friends and that was it. I prayed that John B was also in on this unspoken rule. I sat on his couch, drinking my beer and looking around. His house was small and dirty, but it felt like home. He told me that his uncle T was off doing work and that he was living there by himself at the moment. I could only imagine how free John B felt. Although the freedom sounded amazing, we were only 16. I spent the rest of the day talking to John about anything and everything.