𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒 𝐒𝐎 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 ➝ 𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧

𝟐. 𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐊

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐖𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐄𝐃 around the empty country club that I was still maintaining, blowing my hair away from my face as I locked up the concession stand. Less than an hour ago, everyone was alerted about Hurricane Agatha, which was supposed to drop in later tonight. The sky was already growing dark and I knew that I still needed to drop by John B's once I was done.

Shoving the keys in my pocket, I walked out of the country club and out to my car which I assumed was going to be the only one in the parking lot. I was wrong. Parked a few feet away from my car was a black truck with a boy bent over the hood.

"Hey," I called to him but the wind was already picking up and drowning out my voice. "Excuse me," I called a bit louder and this time he turned around.

It was as if the world hated me because standing a few feet away was none other than Rafe. Swallowing my pride, I walked over to him even though all of my friends, including me, despised him with a passion. "Do you need help?" I asked as I stopped next to him.

"I'm fine," He shot back as he was hunched over his car, trying to fix something. Almost like the car heard the lie, a large cloud of smoke shot out and blew over the two of us. I coughed, swatting my hand back and forth, trying to regain my composure.

"Are you sure about that?" I tried again and he sighed, "I can call a tow truck," I offered, knowing that I could've walked away, but didn't.

"I already tried, they're prepping for the hurricane," He replied as he slammed the hood of his truck angrily. Looking between him and my car, I groaned, knowing that I better get some good karma after this.

"I can give you a ride... if you want," I replied and he looked at me for what felt like an hour of staring. "It's not that big of a deal really,"

Before he could oppose the idea, the wind picked up and we both knew that the storm was getting closer. Without another word, I led him towards my jeep and we both crawled inside. The car roared to life and I backed out of the parking lot. "I'm y/n, by the way," I told him.

"Rafe," He replied as he stared out this window, watching as plants blew past the car.

"Where do you live?" I asked him as I drove down the main road.

He scoffed and asked, "How do you not know where the Cameron Mansion is?"

"Because I don't live in Figure Eight, I'd be happy to drop you off in The Cut. You wouldn't last five minutes dressed like that," I shot back quickly and he looked at me both surprised and confused. "I know you're not used to people talking to you like that, and honestly, I'm being nice, compared to my friends,"

"What would your friends do?" He asked sarcastically and I shrugged.

"Probably leave you in that parking lot without another thought," I replied as I took a right turn onto another main road. "So, where do you live?"

"Take a right up here then left on Addison," He answered without complaint, "If all your friends hate me, why are you helping me,"

Slightly taken back by the question, I stuttered, "I don't know," I licked my dry lips, "Maybe because... at the time, you didn't seem like a dick," I answered and he chuckled softly.

"I have the tendencies, don't I," He replied with a smile, and that was the first time I had seen him smile before. It was actually kind of nice. I nodded and smiled back softly.

"You're not terrible," I said after a minute of silence as we pulled into his house, rain already dripping down the windows. "Maybe a bit stuck up, but this wasn't completely unbearable,"

"Thanks," He began as we sat in the car, "Maybe I'll call you if I ever need a pep talk or a chauffeur," Trying to hide the giddy feeling, as I gave him a grin and he stepped out of the jeep. I waited until he was inside his house to drive off, butterflies fluttering around in my stomach and I couldn't get them to leave.

Meanwhile, back at the Cameron's house, Rafe walked through the door and came face-to-face with his father, Ward. The older man stared at his son, a disapproving look on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. "Where have you been? I had to do the hurricane prep by myself," Ward snapped, and Rafe just stood there.

"The truck broke down and I had... a friend... bring me home," He stammered, trying to keep his mind away from the interesting girl, who he couldn't help but smile because of.

"How are you going to pay for the repairs?" Ward asked, tone still cold. Rafe thought for a second, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse that will please his father.

"I'll figure it out," Was all that he could think of and the disappointed look on his father's face scared him.

"You're almost twenty, Rafe," He thundered, not caring if anyone could hear them, "You need to get your shit together now. I'm tired of looking after you, all the time," Rafe felt so belittled under his father's glare that if needed, Ward could step on him and end the misery.

"I'm trying--"

"Well, you're not trying hard enough," Ward interrupted, "Now get out of my sight, I'm sick of looking at you," Without a second thought, Rafe walked away from his father and up to his room, clenching and unclenching his fists. He slammed the door, already fuming with rage, pacing around his messy room.

One day he's going to be running the show and Ward would see what he was capable of. He was going to get his father's attention, and he was going to make him proud.

✮

Pulling into the small and familiar Chateau, I parked the car and sent a quick text to my mom, telling her that I'll either be home later or that I'll see her tomorrow. I hopped out of the car and rushed into the house, trying to keep myself dry from the rain. Walking through the porch, I could see JJ on the pullout, awake, and drinking a beer.

"Sup, loser," I called as the door shut behind me. He looked up and smiled before taking another sip of his drink.

"I thought you weren't going to show," JJ commented as John B and Pope walked through the back door, towels wrapped around their lower half.

"Aye, y/n," John B acknowledged as he gave you a small wave, "We missed you today,"

"Yeah, work was crazy, especially with the whole hurricane prep," I replied as I sat next to JJ on the pull-out. I was about to tell them about my encounter with Rafe, but at the last second, I decided against it and said instead, "Mind if I crash here for the night, since I'm off tomorrow,"

"Sure, why not," John B replied while Pope grabbed his bag from the table.

"I've gotta run, Pop's wants me home," Pope said and the three of us said goodbye before he walked out of the chateau. I moved to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water before returning to the pull-out. A few minutes later, John B returned and the three of us relaxed and watched the storm through one of the dusty windows.

The sound of rain pouring down on the house always gave me a calmness, just like riding a wave alone; it was comforting. Even as lightning flashed and thunder boomed above, I felt myself close my eyes and enjoy the moment with my friends, thankful to have them in my life.