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RAFE AND CHARLOTTE were still tangled in an embrace when the sound of tires on gravel cut through the quiet afternoon. 

Charlotte stilled for a moment, knowing it was no doubt her friends finally making their return from Charleston. She could feel Rafe stiffen as he turned his head, eyes landing on the Twinkie travelling down the driveway. 

"That's my cue," he muttered, untangling his arms from Charlotte before taking a small step back. His features had darkened slightly, as if preparing for a fight he was sure to happen. 

Feeling like her heart was tugged in a million directions, it took Charlotte a moment to decide how she wanted to respond. Ultimately, her response shocked Rafe. "No," she argued firmly. "Don't go. We could, uh...we could actually use your help with something."

She knew the Pogues wouldn't be happy to see Rafe, but he wasn't their biggest enemy anymore. And she knew that if they hadn't found what they were looking for in Charleston, Rafe might be their only hope at saving Poguelandia. 

Rafe quirked a brow, looking over his shoulder toward where the Pogues were piling out of the vehicle, Kiara and JJ joining them from the shop. "Are you sure? Your friends hate my guts, remember?"

Charlotte started walking down the driveway toward them. "Don't care," she argued. "They'll get over it."

Which after all Rafe had done, she didn't really expect them to, but she at least expected them to trust her. 

It took a couple seconds, but soon enough she could hear the sound of Rafe's footsteps behind her, it only taking him a couple of strides to catch up to her. 

"Is this about the rezoning hearing tonight?" He wondered, digesting her determined face as she approached her friends. Charlotte nodded, knowing he that Rafe was well informed as to what was going on. 

It was JJ who spotted the two of them first, his face instantly darkening. "What the fuck is he doing here?" He demanded, drawing the attention of the other five. Everyone's face darkened in the same way, aside from Kiara who looked rather impassive. 

Charlotte ignored him, coming to a stop in front of them and positioning herself in a way that almost protected Rafe from their hate-filled glares. "Did you find it?"

John B tore his eyes away from Rafe long enough to shake his head. "No. Too late."

"You didn't answer my question, Charley." JJ pointed out, angry eyes still locked on Rafe. 

Focusing her eyes on her best friend, Charlotte maintained her composure, finally finding it in herself to be confident in both her friendship with the Pogues and whatever relationship she had with Rafe. "I think he might be able to help us tonight."

Pope scoffed, "How do we know he's not the one doing this."

"He's not," Charlotte assured instantly. "But he knows a lot about real estate law. He's our best bet right now." She stole a quick glance at Rafe, giving him a chance to back out. But he didn't take it. He gave her a small nod, letting her know that he was going to stick by her side. 

"You think you can stop it?" Sarah questioned, hesitantly looking toward her brother. Their history was as messy as it could be, but Rafe had made a promise to be better for his sister, Charlotte hoped he was willing to stay true to that. 

Rafe met eyes with his little sister, giving his head a small shake. "I can't stop it completely, but I've seen enough of them done to know the inner workings."

"Are we really listening to this prick?" JJ wondered, as if trying to rally the troupes. "We can't trust a word he says."

To his credit, Rafe didn't engage with JJ, just addressed the rest of them. "It's the Thorntons behind all of this. Dale's a friend of Topper's parents, and all of this is set up to go in their favour. Topper's grandfather is the judge ruling on the matter."

"Son of a bitch," John B muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Of course it is."

"After what happened on the beach the other day, they're really out for blood," Rafe continued. "It's crooked through and through."

"You would know," JJ grumbled. 

Charlotte shot him a look before refocusing on Rafe who had taken a small step forward so he was standing with the group rather behind Charlotte. "So what do we do?" She wondered desperately. 

Rafe looked at each of them, as if to drive home the point. "Get everyone you can. Every Pogue on this side of the island, any Kooks you can manage to convince. The only way I've ever seen one of these overturned is with a shitload of money, or a shitload of public outrage."

Cleo begged the question they had all been wondering. "And why should we trust you? Why the hell would you ever help us?"

Rafe's eyes were already on Charlotte when he spoke. "Because," he answered. "Lottie cares about this place, and for whatever reason, she cares about you Pogues, too. Besides," he added. "Topper's been a real dick lately and I wouldn't mind to see him taken down a few notches."

All eyes turned to Charlotte who's cheek had heated up considerably. "What other choice do we have?" She questioned, redirecting. "I trust Rafe, and I don't see anyone else with any bright ideas."

Much to all of their dismays, she was right. They had no other options. 

"Okay," John B agreed, not entirely thrilled about it. "We'll consider it."

It was his way of dismissing Rafe, doing his best not to give him any credit. 

Catching on to the fact that their use for him was done, Rafe gave a small dip of his head. He looked to Charlotte for a moment, preparing to leave. 

But before he actually made the move to exit, he spoke. "Actually, Sarah? Do you think we could talk for a moment?"

Sarah, who had been looking down at her feet dragged her eyes up, meeting the gaze of her brother. Charlotte looked between the two of them, seeing the millions of unsaid things between them. 

"Um..." Sarah looked to John B, as if hoping he'd give her the answer she was searching to. He kept his face neutral, leaving the decision up to her. It was her brother after all. 

"Okay," Sarah finally answered. "Fine."

JJ let out a string of mumbled curses as he turned and retreated from the group, his frustration finally boiling over. 

Relief flooded Rafe's features for a moment as he looked to Charlotte again, as if verifying that she was seeing all of this. Charlotte rose her brows. She really hoped he wasn't simply putting on a show for her. 

"Come on," Sarah muttered, nodding Rafe toward the water where he and Charlotte had been earlier. "Let's make this quick."

They were barely out of earshot by the time JJ returned to the group after his slight cooling off period. "You serious right now, Charley?" He demanded, tearing off his hat and scrunching it between his hands. "You really bringing him into this?"

Turns out he hadn't cooled down. 

She stared back at him, not wavering. "I'm not bringing him into this. He happened to be here and he happened to have more information on this than any of the rest of us have."

"He's done it again!" JJ exclaimed, "Pulled you right back into his fucked up little trap."

"JJ," Kiara began, face pinched. "Don't--"

"No!" JJ argued. "He's--he's, god, he's the scum of the earth yet we're gonna take advice from him? After all he's done?"

Charlotte, still able to maintain her composure, nodded slightly. "I'm not going to excuse a single thing he's done in the past two years." She assured, looking to all of them. "But he's working on himself. Just think," she proposed, "has he done anything to any of you in the past year?"

JJ clenched his jaw, "Lost me that race."

"That was your fault," John B interjected, not to defend Rafe, but to remind JJ of how stupid he'd been. 

"Really, man?" JJ challenged, his anger rising by the second. "Who gives a fuck that he's had a year of not being a complete prick. What about everything he's done to all of us in the past, everything he's done to you, Charley?" He'd swivelled his attention back to Charlotte. 

"Rude boy is right," Cleo agreed. "We can't trust Rafe."

"I'm not saying you all have to!" Charlotte argued, her composure slipping slightly. "I'm just saying that he's our only chance at saving this place right now. And I'm not saying that any of you need to forgive and forget for all the unspeakable things he's done, but if I want to forgive him for what he did to me then that's my own damn prerogative. If I want to take him at his word that he's change, then that's my business."

She was only looking at JJ now, her eyes ablaze. 

He stared back at her, his chest heaving in anger. "So what, I'm just supposed to sit here and watch as he tears you apart again and then be the one to pick up the pieces...again? Cause I'm damn sick of it."

Charlotte faltered for a moment, his words cutting her like a blade. Because as much as she wanted to deny it, JJ was right. He always was the one she turned to, the one she leaned on when she needed someone to heal her broken heart. 

"Dude," John B chastised, giving his head a small shake. "Let's not go there right now."

Charlotte stepped around him so JJ and her were face to face. "No," she argued. "Let's hear it. What else do you want to say to me, JJ? I can take it." 

A year ago this would have brought Charlotte to tears, sent her hurrying into the house where she could cry without anyone seeing her. But now, she was ready to take conflicts on head-on. She was done with pent up anger and unspoken feelings. Life was too damn short for that. 

JJ stared back for her, not receiving the reaction he had been expecting. Kiara, Pope, Cleo, and John B all watched the two of them with worried expressions. JJ and Charlotte never fought...ever. 

Taking a small step forward, JJ looked directly into Charlotte's soul it felt like. "He's ruined you, Charlotte, and I care about you more than you'll ever know. So excuse me for not trusting him. Excuse me for sayin' the same damn thing everyone here is thinking."

Charlotte pressed her lips into a thin line, but soon they morphed into a frown. Because the longer she stared back at JJ, the more she saw the fear in his eyes, the genuine worry. He wasn't doing this over some ego race...he genuinely feared for her and her wellbeing. 

Dropping her voice so only he could hear, Charlotte shook her head. "You're not responsible for me. I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you were."

"That's not what I'm sayin'," JJ argued, his voice as low as hers. "I just--I just don't wanna see you get hurt again."

Her mouth was open to respond, but she never got the chance. 

The sound of Rafe's truck firing up cut her off, drawing all of their attention toward where Sarah was hurrying back toward them. Charlotte's heart dropped at her expression, fearing Rafe had done something to hurt her. 

"Hey," John B said gently, stopping her so he could get a good look at her. "Are you okay? Did he do something?"

Sarah shook her head, letting out a deep sigh. "No. He didn't do anything. It's just...it's Rafe, can't trust him."

JJ looked to Charlotte with a told you so expression. She rolled her eyes in response. 

"But I think he's right about this whole rezoning thing," Sarah announced, eyes locking with Charlotte. "I think we should do what he suggested."

No one argued, not even JJ. They all knew they had no choice. 

─☼☼☼─

The rest of the afternoon was spent scrambling trying to gather as many people who could support them at the hearing as possible. 

And that evening as they all sat in silence as the Twinkie bounced down the road toward town hall, Charlotte prayed they had managed to convince enough people to show up for them. 

Charlotte looked over at JJ who sat next to her, giving him a small smile. Their argument (Charlotte was reluctant to even call it that) from the afternoon had blown over as quickly as it had started. She could tell that he still wasn't thrilled about her rekindling with Rafe, but he'd dropped it for the most part. 

After all, there were bigger things on JJ's mind, and that much was obvious from the way he sat with his head in his hands. Out of any of them, JJ had to most to lose. 

"Holy shit," John B awed from the front seat as he turned into the parking lot. 

All of them perked up, following his eye line toward the front of town hall where dozens of people were filing into the building...people had shown up for them. Charlotte felt like her heart was going to burst in gratitude as she watched all of the Pogues who had come to support them.

"This is insane," Kiara marvelled as they stepped out of the vehicle. "Look at everyone."

Charlotte nodded, her eyes straying toward JJ who was hanging back. He didn't look as elated as everyone else, anxiety still radiated off of him. 

"Charlotte! Kiara!" 

Both girls turned at the calling of their names, their eyes landing on their parents who were weaving through the crowd. 

"Here we go," Charlotte muttered, not as thrilled to see her parents as she maybe should have been. 

"Hey mom, dad." Kiara greeted, their mother pulling her into a hug, their father pulling Charlotte toward him before they switched. "Came to say 'I told you so?'" Kiara questioned, eyes on their father.

Anna shook her head. "Your father came to support you girls."

Charlotte's eyes drifted toward her father, trying to read his expression. He'd been the ringleader behind sending Kiara to Kitty Hawk, and Charlotte wasn't sure she could ever fully forgive him for that. They'd once had a bond that seemed to be unbreakable...but turns out it wasn't. 

"How are you, kiddo?" Mike asked, noting Charlotte's intense gaze. 

"Okay," Charlotte answered, voice tight. 

Anna placed a hand on Charlotte's shoulder, glancing around her for a moment. "Where's Carson?"

Kiara cringed as Charlotte awkwardly cleared her throat. "We broke up," she answered, watching as her mother's face morphed into shock. "He went back to Durham."

"Oh," Anna breathed. "Hunny, I'm so sorry."

Charlotte shrugged, her breakup seeming like the most minuscule detail in her life at the moment. "It's fine."

Mike was looking at someone behind the two girls, eyes narrowing slightly. "I hope your breakup doesn't have anything to do with him."

Charlotte turned her head slightly, her brown eyes meeting blue ones that were already watching her. 

She didn't expect him to come, but she couldn't deny that it brought her comfort knowing he was here through the shit storm that was brewing. 

Rafe gave a small smile, raising his hand in a wave to which Mike outwardly rolled his eyes. With resentment toward her father growing, Charlotte was wordless as she began toward Rafe, leaving her parents standing in disbelief. 

"Hey," Rafe greeted with a small smile once Charlotte reached him. "You doin' okay?"

Charlotte nodded, glancing back over her shoulder at her parents for a moment. "Yeah, I'm good." She turned back to Rafe. "Thank you for coming. Really, it means a lot to me."

"Of course," Rafe breathed. "I've got you, Lottie."

Somehow, in Charlotte's mind, everything would be alright if Rafe was here. She knew that was irrational, but she wanted to believe that if even for a short period of time. 

"Should we head in?" Rafe proposed, motioning toward the town hall that was rapidly filling up. 

"Yeah," Charlotte agreed, letting out a deep breath. "Let's do this."

─☼☼☼─