CHAPTER FIVE
"you didn't deserve that"

EVELYN HOLDS HER CAMERA tightly as she walks towards the golf course, feeling a little paranoid about the parcel from earlier. Even after promising Sarah that she was okay with the whole thing, she cannot help but be a little worried by it. There's definitely some people that live near her that would find something like this funny, so there's every chance that it's a prank but there's also every chance that it isn't.

For the next little while she will have to push it from her mind though, one of her older neighbours had enlisted her help with taking some photos of his golf shots to hang in his office. He'd offered her some extra money, which she had declined because she remembers how they'd dropped around meals after the death of her mother — when herself and Alex had been far too distraught to even think about what to eat.

"Evelyn!"

The call of her name doesn't go unnoticed, the girl turning her head to see Rafe and Topper walking towards her. Despite the fact Sarah is her best friend, she isn't exactly the greatest of friends with either of these two. When they were younger it was a different story, she'd been rather fond of Rafe then — he was like her brother too. As they grew older that changed, there was just something off about him that she couldn't figure out.

"Hey guys," Evelyn greets softly, her lips forced up into a small yet somewhat welcoming smile. She has grown good at faking those.

"What are you doing here, Vee?" Rafe asks, his tone a lot friendlier than it is with most people. It's something she guesses she should be thankful of, whilst she may not be overly fond of him anymore, he still seems to hold some sort of fondness for her.

"Mr Price has asked me to take some photos for him," Evelyn replies, holding the camera up so that they can see.

Rafe and Topper both nod their heads at her.

"Well we will leave you to that then," Topper says.

"Right," Evelyn states awkwardly before turning around and walking towards where she is needed.

She can already see Mr Price standing around with a few of his golf friends, smiling and joking about something. His wife is with him, chatting with one of the workers who seems rather surprised that she's actually communicating with him. They're good people the Price family, so different from many people on this side of the island.

Mrs Price used to garden with Evelyn's mother, they'd talk for hours about the flowers they can grow here on the island. The woman would bring over some cuttings that could be replanted, several of those now grown into beautiful flowers in Evelyn's front garden.

"Hi Mrs Price," Evelyn greets, the older woman closest to her as she approaches.

She turns her head and smiles warmly, not hesitating to pull the teenager into a tight hug. Evelyn laughs lightly and wraps her arms around the woman just as tightly.

"It's been far too long, sweetheart. I was just telling Merv this morning about how we'll have to have you and Alex over for dinner one night," Mrs Price speaks as she pulls away.

"I'd love that. Alex is still away at the moment for one of his movies though," Evelyn responds.

"Well you're always welcome. Merv! Evelyn's here,"

The man turns around and his grin is just as warm as his wife's had been. "It's lovely to see you. I'm feeling especially photogenic today,"

Evelyn laughs. "That's good then. I–"

Evelyn's attention is drawn away from them when she spots a familiar boy not too far away. He's standing opposite Rafe and Topper, a bag of what she assumes is groceries are scattered all over the floor in front of him.

"Evelyn?" Mrs Price calls her name, worry lining her tone.

"Just give me a second," Evelyn replies, walking quickly in the direction of the trio.

She is rushing as quickly as she can, practically picking up into a run when she sees Pope get hit with the golf club. "Hey! Rafe, stop!"

The boy freezes up slightly, looking over his shoulder to see his sister's best friend heading towards them. "Stay out of this, Vee,"

"What are you doing? Leave him alone,"

Rafe doesn't listen, lifting the club and hitting the downed boy with it harshly. Evelyn lunges forward and grabs hold of his arm, trying to pull him away from Pope but he's a lot stronger than her. Her hold does barely anything to deter him, he's able to swing the club again. So Evelyn does the next best thing, moves to stand in front of Pope so that he cannot be hit anymore. There's a rage in Rafe's eyes that Evelyn has never had to see first hand.

"What are you doing? He's a pogue, he shouldn't be here," Rafe hisses.

"What are you talking about? He wasn't bothering anybody, Rafe. Not everything is about kooks vs pogues," Evelyn responds shakily.

Rafe chuckles darkly and steps closer to her, the two of them now face to face. She looks up into his eyes, fear making its way through her body. "You shouldn't stick your nose into my business, Evelyn. It's not going to end well for you,"

"Pope is my friend so I've made it my business,"

"Your friend? This pogue isn't your friend, Evelyn. You should remember who your friends actually are or you'll end up like them,"

"Are you threatening me, Rafe?"

He chuckles and begins to back away with his hands held up. Topper is simply watching the events unfold, not even bothering to stand up for his girlfriend's best friend. She'd always thought he was a lackey, a mindless follower of Rafe Cameron, today has only proved her point.

"Come on Topper," Rafe says and the blonde boy follows after him.

Evelyn immediately spins around and crouches down beside a fallen Pope, hand on his shoulder so that she can get a better look at him. His nose is bleeding as is his lip, his eyes watery as he slowly looks up at the girl.

"Pope," She breathes out his name. "We need to get you cleaned up,"

"I'll be fine. I'll do it myself," Pope states somewhat stubbornly.

"Hey, no. How did you get here?"

"My dad's boat,"

Evelyn stands up and holds her hand out to him. The last time she'd done this, she spent the next few minutes dancing around with him and JJ. When his hand grabs her's this time, Evelyn knows that there will be no happiness following it. The boy is holding his stomach where Rafe had smacked him with the golf club but his other hand stays in her's.

"Evelyn? Oh dear, what's happened?" It's Mrs Price who is walking towards them with wide eyes.

"Do you mind if we postpone this? I need to take him home," Evelyn says quietly, eyes still on Pope who won't look her way.

"Of course. Get him home safely,"

Evelyn nods and gently guides Pope back to his father's boat.

Evelyn tries to be as gentle as she can be, apologizing every time a pained noise falls from Pope's lips. It probably doesn't help that the cloth is a rougher material so it's incredibly hard for it to not hurt.

"That was the best one hundred bucks I've ever made! When I say count me in on all these grocery deliveries Pope, I mean it!"

The sound of JJ's voice causes both of them to freeze up lightly. Evelyn knows that he isn't going to stand for this, he isn't going to just let Pope get hurt like he has been without doing something in retaliation. In a way, she admires his dedication to his friends but the last thing they need today is another confrontation.

He joins them on the boat, grinning at Evelyn. "Hello, sunshine! Pope get you to help as well?"

"Uh not exactly," Evelyn stutters out, watching as JJ's eyes slowly stray to the cloth that the girl has in her hands.

He walks around to stand beside Evelyn and any sort of grin he had on his face has now completely vanished. "What happened to your face, dude?"

Pope doesn't look like he wants to answer, doesn't seem like he will answer, so JJ turns his questioning to the only other person who knows what's happened.

"Topper and Rafe,"

It's all she has to say because JJ knows exactly what the two of them are like.

"They said no Pogues on their side of the island," Pope mummers.

JJ stares at his friend for a few moments before speaking up again. "What are you gonna do?"

Evelyn knows it's not the best idea, that she should stop them from doing something so stupid, but there's a simmering anger within her as well. Pope hadn't been doing anything wrong, he was simply doing his job and it was enough for Rafe to attack him. She doesn't know if they think the same, but Evelyn considers Pope and JJ her friends — even somebody who is as softly spoken as herself hates when her friends are messed with.

So here she is, standing beside JJ as they watch Pope look for a way to sink Topper's precious boat.

"What were you doing there anyway? Didn't take you as a golfing type," JJ strikes up conversation with Evelyn, looking to his right.

"I was there to take some photos for somebody. I saw what was happening from where I was," Evelyn replies quietly.

"They didn't hurt you, did they? I was so caught up in Pope that I forgot to ask,"

There it is again, that fluttering of her heart. It's such an odd feeling, to have somebody other than Sarah or Alex actually care for her these days. People like Topper, Rafe and even Ward Cameron, act like they care about her but it's just not the same.

"No, I'm okay. He didn't touch me," Evelyn assures.

"Good,"

Evelyn manages to hide her smile as Pope swims back over to them. JJ is practically radiating with pride as his best friend stands back with them again. "I'm so proud of you man,"

"You can't tell anybody," Pope speaks in response.

"Oh, no, yeah. Totally, dude,"

"No, I'm serious, dude. Not Kie, not John B, nobody,"

"Yup, my lips are sealed,"

Pope's eyes move over to Evelyn who assures him with one of those smiles that are practically an Evelyn Carter trademark.

"We're going to head back to John B's. You coming sunshine?" JJ asks the smaller girl who looks as if she's contemplating. "We're just gonna surf and shit. Bring your camera, might be able to get some photos,"

It's as if he's known her his whole life, JJ somehow knowing exactly how to persuade her into joining them. They take the boat back to Heyward's before heading over to John B's where Kiara and John B are already waiting.

Evelyn simply sits in the sand, the wind blowing through her hair as she takes several photos of the friends. They look so natural, the pogues having fun and it simply translating that way through film. They're her favourite types of pictures to take because everything about them is so real, authentic.

"Hey,"

Pope's voice startles her, causing her to almost drop her camera. He manages to help her keep it in her hands, grabbing a hold of the bottom of it and holding it up.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Pope winces.

"Don't worry about it," Evelyn smiles, her attention now fully on him and not the surfers.

Pope can't help but watch her in return, her blue eyes almost sparkling beneath the light of the moon. They've been out here so long now that night has fallen and the world around them has gone almost silent beside a few yells from the pogues in the water and the crashing of waves.

"How are you feeling?" Evelyn asks him softly, not wanting to overstep considering she doesn't know whether or not she actually has the right to ask.

"I'm okay. Just a little sick of it is all," Pope responds glumly.

"You didn't deserve that. People like Rafe and Topper like to use their financial status as a way of getting away with everything,"

"I've noticed," He states dryly. "Isn't Topper your friend?"

Evelyn has to stop herself from laughing at him. "No, he's my best friend's boyfriend who I tolerate at best. I've gotten pretty good at it over the years. I couldn't be friends with somebody like that,"

"Well, you've got us now,"

Evelyn grins, her smile enough to bring one onto his face as well. "Yeah?"

"Yeah,"

NOTE

Double update! I just really felt like writing today so here's another chapter! Hope you enjoyed :)

made by fireandbloods