fade away youth// rafe cameron

11-WHAT COULD I DO?

I drag Kie to a few of the shops in town. With the hunt for the gold over I don't really have much else to do.

I hold up a bright pink tube top. "What about this?"

Kie makes a face. "It's horrible."

I laugh. "So perfect for me."

Kie chuckles. "I wonder what the boys are up to."

I shake my head. "I don't. JJ is probably breaking some law and Pope is probably at his dad's shop."

"Since you know everything, what's John B doing?" Kie questions.

"That I don't know. It would surprise me if John B was in Mexico by now," I joke.

Kie laughs as she holds up a plaid mini dress. "This is horrendous."

I take it from her. "I love it."

"Speaking of love... What's up with you and Rafe?" Kie asks.

I look at her wide eyed. "Love? I don't love Rafe."

Kie laughs. "So, you guys are still just hooking up."

I nod my head. "Yeah."

"Do you ever wish it was more?" Kie asks.

I look at her for a moment. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Maybe?" Kie asks.

"I like him," I confess. "But I don't know. I don't think Rafe is the relationship type."

"You won't know unless you tell him how you feel," Kie tells me.

"So, I guess we'll never know," I tell her.

Kie and I are dragging Pope and JJ to the summer movie series. "I'm so glad that they're still doing this. Keep calm. Carry on. Back to OBX life. You know? Aren't you glad Addie and I made you come?" Kiara asks.

"Ecstatic," Pope replies.

"My couch was pretty comfy, I'll be honest," JJ states.

"We're out of the green zone, man," Pope whispers.

"Dude, tranquilo, okay?" JJ tells him.

"We're in the middle of Kooklandia. This is the last place I wanted to be," Pope states.

"You two can set up, I'm going to get drinks," I state. I walk over to one of the venders. "Hey, uh... can I get two Pepsis, please?"

The man smiles at me. "Sure."

I smile as I see Rafe walking towards me. "Hi."

"Hey, Adeline," Rafe says. "Hey, what's up? How are you?"

I give him a look. "I'm fine."

"Good, good. Um... Tell your boy that we know what he did," Rafe states.

"Sorry, what boy are you talking about?" I ask. "'Cause you know neither of them is my boy."

"Uh, he'll know," Rafe tells me. I turn to walk away. "Bye."

"Weirdo," I say.

I walk back over to where the guys and Kie are. "Just saw Rafe, and he said, and I quote, 'Tell your boy that we know what he did.'"

Kie looks at me confused. "What is that?"

"Um... Where is he?" JJ asks.

I turn to look over my shoulder where Rafe is with Topper and Kelce. "Right there."

Pope stares at them. "Great, the whole death squad. Ah!"

JJ grabs Pope by the head and turns him around. "Don't stare, bro. Just warning you, bro. If they corner me, I'm coming out swinging, okay? Slice and dicin'. I'm on edge right now."