030 !! HEARTLESS

Georgie hops off the bicycle right outside the Glissons' mansion, the pristine bushes off the back of the garden surround her in a taunting aura, demanding why a lowlife like her is setting foot on their privileged grass.

She's determined not to go inside, the house and the boy inside suddenly feel too suffocating for her.

After all, he doesn't even know her.

When has he actually taken the time to really look at her? Ask her about how she's getting along? Ask her about her dreams and passions, her interests and hobbies?

Never is the right answer.

For him, her lips and her smile and her eyes and her body, all of it is enough.

He doesn't dare try and infiltrate her mind, never attempts to catch sight of her deepest darkest secrets and that hurts more than life itself.

They have an agreement; they're not friends, they're not lovers.

They're just two distinct people running from their lives, running to each other for a distraction.

And that's all she'll ever be to him - a distraction.

So, why after being hurt - physically and emotionally - for perhaps the millionth time in her life, should she depend on him for anything but diversion?

Even expecting any more of him would be wrong, considering their "deal".

And right now, though she needs desperately to get her mind off life, the last thing she needs is to be wrapped in Rafe Cameron's arms without a promise of true camaraderie.

Hence, Georgie paces the grass covered area towards the back of the house, her phone clutched in her palm and the call continuing to ring for more than a few seconds.

Her face twists into a frown, the thought of him avoiding her again simply seems unsettling.

And yet, the ring continues until it goes straight to voice-mail.

The fact that this is the second time he's ghosted her ever since he got involved with Sarah Cameron is not lost on her.

He just simply does not have enough room in his life for her anymore.

But sure, she's just supposed to accept and move on as if they haven't been each other's guiding lifeline since forever? As if she and all their other friends, haven't been the one to pick up his broken pieces and fix him every time he's fallen apart?

Now that he has Sarah, he can be forgiven to overlook their feelings, their priorities all in the name of love?

That sounds miserably unfair.

"What are you doing out here?".

Georgie startles, her phone almost slipping from her grasp as she turns around to find the Outer Banks' beloved prince adjacent perfection of a human - quite a stretch but we pretend we do not care - looking at her with knitted eyebrows, eyes flitting all over her face as he takes in her disheveled, dried tear-stricken appearance.

"I . . . .", her mouth parts but no words come out.

Swiftly, he walks up to her, eyes still roaming over her features trying to make sense of what he's seeing.

Trying to decipher her deepest darkest secrets without letting himself slip, without letting his concern be known.

"What happened?", he asks, clearing his throat in an attempt to present his voice as steely, uncaring, unconcerned.

Definitely not worried at all.

She shakes her head, pocketing her phone.

"Nothing".

Bullshit, he wants to say. Don't lie to me, he wants to yell and then, to prove to her that he's not just an aggressive, spoiled rich asshole, he wants to pull her into his chest and let her feel held.

Feel a little less alone.

But, he's Rafe Cameron and as everyone is wont to believe, he was born heartless - curiously perfect but heartless - which is why affection is completely lost on him.

"You wanna go in?", he tips his head towards the door watching her battle every little thought forcing her to say no.

Turn heel and run.

She purses her lips quietly eyeing the house, feeling his sharp gaze through the corner of her eye.

"Uhm . . . .", Georgie turns her eyes to his, he seems to visibly hold himself back from bombarding her with a hundred thousand questions.

From screaming out of frustration because she doesn't think he's worthy enough to know.

But he holds back, for obvious reasons.

"Do you have food in there?".

Her eyes drop down from his, a subtle shade of pink coating her cheeks as the words escape past her lips.

She fidgets with her hands, silently staring at the grass beneath their feet in a sorry effort to downplay her embarrassment because who the fuck asks something like that?

She's hungry, sure. She hasn't eaten since very early this morning and even then, all she had was two shriveled bananas since that was all that was remaining in the pantry.

She's due for a grocery run at Heywards, one which seems rather fruitless now that she's thinking about it because she doesn't exactly have enough money to buy more than a week's ration at best.

Maybe I could ask Anna to issue me an advance.

Still, the embarrassment she feels by asking Rafe out of all people for something as basic as food makes her wish the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

He exhales a sigh of relief, heart slowly wrenching in its cage at the sight of her shyly looking away from him.

"Yeah. Of course. C'mon", he offers her his hand.

Georgie stares at the extended palm, his skin appearing so soft and she, for a fact, knows that it is indeed soft because he's touched her with that hand.

So many times.

Reluctantly, she places her much smaller hand in his, his eyes lighting up in amusement as his fingers engulf her gentle hand fitting right between her fingers as if they were made for being contoured together.

Without another word, he leads her inside, hand still tightly clasped with hers and walks over to the kitchen cabinets effortlessly opening them with one hand while his other stays enveloped around hers.

He pulls down several boxes Kelce and Topper had brought over for him as soon as he'd informed them of his current living situation.

Few boxes of cereal, generic grocery brand cup noodles, oatmeal, the basics.

And then for a few laughs - because after all he did assign his grocery shopping to the most unserious people on Figure Eight - a few packets of oreo cookies and rainbow gummy bears.

He'd never admit it out loud but oreo cookies do manage to lighten up his mood once in a while.

"We have some frozen pizza too. I think Kelce got some other stuff, let me check the fridge-".

He goes to move over to the fridge but is pulled back by their clasped hands.

He glances down at her and his heart practically thumps out of his chest at the sight of her face.

She smiles up at him, that goddamning adorable little grin full of everything that screams sunshine and joy and flowers and summer and not Rafe Cameron.

Her green eyes light up as he looks down at her, the corners of his lips twitching into a half smile.

She throws a quick glance at the packets strewn all over the counter, grin remaining firm across her lips.

"What's your favourite gummy bear flavour?".

He blinks, trying to assess the fact that she really just asked him that.

Huh.

"I'm . . . . not really picky", he responds fighting off the smile threatening to take over his lips.

She narrows her eyes at him.

"Have you tasted any recently?".

He bites his lip, thinking.

"Not that I know of".

That grin again. Slowly tugging the corners of her mouth up, her lips stretching out as she looks up at him with pure and utter adoration.

"Well, you will today".

She squeezes his hand and disentangles their fingers, picking up the packet and pulling it open with her teeth.

How the hell is she real?

***
sighs i love yous so much