⸝⸝₊ ┊run for the hills
── the boneyard ♰ ‧₊˚ ⋅⩩

────── ♰ ──────

⁰︎⁰︎ °. WHEN SARAH CAMERON had asked Valentina to go shopping with her for their annual bonfire tonight, she did not think it would be taking up the rest of her afternoon. She had barely stepped foot out of the Country Club before Sarah was calling her begging for a ride to the shops in town.

"Okay," this was getting ridiculous, "this one. Or the last one?"

Valentina rolled her eyes dramatically before she let the magazine between her fingers fold down so she could see what dress Sarah had pulled out now. A yellow summer dress that would've been good for the beach...not a bonfire.

"The last four you've tried on have been fine, Sarah," Val muttered, folding her magazine back up to continue reading the latest Vogue issue. "Just get the first one you tried on. The one with the purple flowers - that one looked the best."

Sarah groaned. The curtain to the fitting room getting flung closed behind her while Val rolled her eyes slightly at the girls' dramatics. They weren't that far off in age, but Valentina just couldn't help but feel a little better about herself because she wasn't the snotty teenager like Sarah. Except she was. Valentina was the snotty teenager that terrorized Kildare Island and only until recently did it die down. Though to some, it seems as if she would never stop. She was still the spoiled rich girl from the Figure 8 who had an overgrown attitude problem and the money to back it up.

Topper seemed to ground Sarah, somehow - that was beyond Val because Topper Thornton was the least humbled person in the whole state. The size of his ego could float them all out to the sea and back. But for whatever reason, that seemed to ground Sarah and at the same time, send her into the skies above them. She was the Kook princess after all.

Val liked to claim she was responsible for that.

Sarah Cameron was her protégé.

When Val was gone and out of the Outer Banks, Sarah would be the one to take over. It was only a matter of time before the King and Queen of Kildare Island title got passed down.

And one thing Sarah was gonna have to figure out, was how to pick out her own dresses for a bonfire she was invited to. Low and behold, she had ended up with the same dress Val had told her to grab.

"Great," Val folded up her magazine and dropped it back to the table after Sarah had given up and stuck with the original dress, slinging her purse over her shoulder and following her to the register.

"You really think Topper will like it?" Sarah questioned, holding the dress up against herself as if it was on her as Val just nodded and leaned against the checkout counter.

"It's Topper," Val advised. "He can't tell the difference between a mini skirt and a maxi dress. Trust me, it's fine."

The register scanned the dress, the employee typing something into their computer while Sarah rifled through her purse for the credit card Ward had so graciously given her on her 16th birthday.

"Is Rafe going?" Val shook her head, placing the sunglasses she tried on back into its spot. "So, you're just going by yourself? Val, that's so embarrassing."

"Embarrassing for who?" She started. "It's only embarrassing if you make it embarrassing." Sarah scoffed out a laugh, grabbing her credit card back with her perfectly polished nails and tucking it safely away into her bag. "Last person who tried to embarrass me was Travis Montgomery."

Sarah's face was all sorts of confused.

"Who?"

"Exactly," Val pushed herself off the counter and started towards the front door. A chime sounding their departure as Sarah's dress resided comfortably in the bag draped between her elbow. Valentina pulled her own sunglasses from her purse, perching them atop her nose to save herself from the heating sun above them.

The Outer Banks was a cruel place in the summers. Heat and humidity that could only rival a night spent at the edge of a Florida beach. Valentina missed the summers she spent away in London or Birmingham. Not the most glorious weather, but it got her out of the heat. And the drama.

There were only a handful of people Val could consider people she trusted. She could count them on one hand.

The Kooks were all sorts of untrustworthy. Everything they said was followed by a trail of money so long it could wrap around the entirety of Kildare. Granted, Valentina was not a stranger to just how beneficial money could be. She'd saved Rafe's ass a few times from paying off whatever debt he had gotten himself into.

She'd promised herself it was always the last time she'd pay for his shit...like that worked.

Manipulative bitch.

"Besides," Sarah glanced over at Val as the older one started talking. "If Rafe was going, it would be a giant pissing match between him and the Pogue's."

Sarah snorted out a laugh, covering it quickly with her manicured nails before rolling her lips into her mouth. She hadn't meant to laugh, but Val was right. Rafe would be looking for any opportunity to pick a fight with just about anyone.

"What's going on with you guys anyway?" Sarah had that question on the tip of her tongue for weeks. Just waiting for a chance to ask it. To figure out what her brother was actually doing with Val. Sarah didn't care about her brother, not in the slightest, it was free entertainment for her to watch him constantly get pegged down off his high horse every time he was around Ward. But she didn't want Val to get hurt. Because Rafe hurt everyone he was near. "Are you guys like..."

"A thing?" Val finished her question, glancing at Sarah through her shades before she was leading them into a nearby café. "What would you define as a thing?"

"I don't know," Sarah shrugged. "Seeing each other, I guess. Like...going on dates."

"Well we don't go on dates," Val almost laughed, amused at the mere idea of going on a date. "So, if that answers your question, then...yeah."

"Really?" The blonde picked up a menu that she wasn't going to read, venturing towards the seats secluded by the bay windows. "You don't want anything more than that?"

"What do you care?" Val defended. "You don't even like your brother."

"And I can't figure out why you do. He's kind of an ass, isn't he?," Sarah shot back. Val rolled her eyes, sitting back in her seat, a leg crossed over the other as she scanned pointlessly over the menu. "I'm just saying," her voice was a lot softer than it was from its defensiveness a few seconds ago. "It might be a good idea to figure out what you want from him before he just drops you."

"We're fine," Val defended. She was always defensive about her relationship with Rafe. He was there for a good time and he was there when either one needed a date to some gala their parents had signed them up for. It had been that way since they were 16. She had to get defensive, because if she didn't, everyone would be able to see the cracks in the wall surrounding them. "What about you and Topper? Made it to third base yet?"

She knew they hadn't, they'd barely made it past Sarah letting him make out with her on her bed.

It was Sarah's turn to hide behind her menu, hiding the flush of embarrassment that crept up her neck. Val wore a victorious smirk, letting her eyes read over the menu once again while Sarah fell silent.

"Don't worry about my relationship and I won't question yours."

♰

Kook's, Pogue's, Tourons.

To understand the Boneyard, you had to understand the three groups of people that went there.

Kook's, obviously. Run the island, talk shit about anything and anyone, stir up trouble just because they can. The one's everyone hates.

The Pogue's. The ones who live on The Cut, trying to work three jobs just to make a living. Usually supplies the alcohol, which Valentina would not be complaining about. Cheap, easy to get, but it was a good way to get drunk fast.

And the Tourons. Val hated them more than anyone else. Acting like they'd been in the Outer Banks their whole lives, visiting for no more than three weeks during their summer breaks. They didn't know shit about the Outer Banks, and frankly, they never would.

The Boneyard advertised that it was for everyone, but in reality, it was the farthest thing from that. There was never a year that Valentina had arrived at that party where people weren't separated into their little cliques. The Boneyard wasn't the friendly beach play date that everyone wished it was, it was a feeding ground for those that think they're better than everyone else to feast on their prey.

Feasting season was upon them; and Valentina Sterling was smack dab in the middle.

"Look who it is," a voice to cheery for their own good had broken the sandy steps that Valentina had taken up to the only table set up with alcohol. "Queen Sterling, can I offer you a fine Milwaukee beverage?"

"Maybank," Val grumbled a little impatiently. Forcing a tight smile before stopping in front of the table.

JJ Maybank. The Cut's very own class clown. The one that just about everybody adored.

"Where's your guard dog?" He'd managed the joke before Val even had the chance to get him to stop. His hand extended with a cup of beer towards her as she grabbed it. "He too busy to watch you tonight?"

"He's locked in his kennel tonight," it rolled off Val's tongue before she could stop it. And it seemed like the same thing happened to JJ as he barked out a laugh of his own. "Figured I'd save you guys the trouble."

"Well thanks, princess," he cheered again. "Much appreciated."

Val muttered a quiet agreement under her breath, grabbing the beer cup and leaving JJ to his alcohol duties. Whoever had left him in charge of the keg was an idiot in Val's opinion. They would be lucky if they still had any by the time the sun had finished setting behind the sea behind them.

She held the cup with her teeth for a second, ripping a bill from her wallet before reaching in front of JJ to place it on the table in front of him.

"For the beer," she called back out, holding her cup up before disappearing into the crowds before JJ could put up a stink about accepting her dirty money.

Everything was dirty in that town, it was just a matter of time before it started to stink.

The Boneyard was great if you had friends there with you. For Val, it was only fun cause she got to watch everyone get shitfaced. The Kook's started to get sloppy. The once bright and stellar of the island start to get clumsy and slur the words out of their pretty mouths. It was entertainment of the highest accord, one that she only got from watching her brothers argue with each other.

When the Kook's got messy, things got interesting.

Granted, it took a few hours for her group to even get buzzed. Between the waves crashing against the shore, Topper's constant shouting between his friends...it was nauseating.

Valentina could feel her own buzz chasing her. Her skin tingly, ready to be set alight. She could feel the very tips of her toes. Everything was heightened, it was good enough reason for her to sit out of their game of truth or dare they had started. They always loved the stupid games at their parties. Truth or dare. Spin the bottle. 7 minutes in heaven. All the parties they would play back when Val was a freshman in high school. It was times like this that she remembers most of them are only 16, simply living out their high school lives and getting drunk on the weekends.

That's when Val's life was good and worry free.

Cheers sounded around the group as it became Topper's turn again. It seemed like it was his turn half a dozen times already. He was well past drunk, swaying on his feet, clothes sticky from spilt beer that he didn't seem to mind. And loud. Half the beach could hear him.

"Dare," he nodded, laughing when Kelce had patted him on his shoulder happily.

"Kiss the hottest person in the group," an old classmate of Val's spoke. "Besides Sarah."

Val kept a watchful eye on the couple as the dare was spoken. Sarah looked like she had stopped having fun multiple rounds ago and Topper hadn't even noticed. But then again, why would he? The attention was on him. Topper had looked around the group, catching Val's eye a little too long as she sat back against her elbows, her heels digging into the sand underneath her before she quirked an annoyed brow.

"Don't even," she cut his thought off before it could even reach his brain.

The group laughed at Topper's short lived attempt.

Val scoffed at Topper deflating, looking around the group to see who he could possibly kiss before the game came to an end when he backed out.

She'd managed to rid herself from the group before they could start another game, heels secure between her fingers and empty beer cup held in the other. Val could feel someone following her, their steps racing to catch up with hers before Sarah was winding her arm with Val's.

"It's a stupid game anyway," Val promised to Sarah. "They just try to start shit for their own benefit."

"I know," Sarah had muttered. Val could tell she wasn't convinced, not with the way Sarah rested her head against her shoulder and let her lead her wherever she wanted to go. "I need a drink."

And Val could do just that.

It only took her a few seconds to find the blonde in charge of the beer, smack in the middle of a volleyball game that she would gladly interrupt.

"Maybank," Val's whistle broke through the volleyball game across the beach. Catching everyone's attention before she was cocking her head towards the beer stand.

A few of the Pogue's cursed JJ out for leaving in the middle of the game. The blonde leaving with a promise to come back and kick all their asses.

"Really?" Sarah muttered quietly to Val when she had noticed who she had called over. She was all for drinking, but not the cheap beer JJ was gonna offer them.

"Oh, you bring your protégé," JJ joked, sending Sarah a curt nod as she gave him the faintest of smiles. "You ladies having a good night?" Val accepted the cup of beer once again after ridding herself of the empty one from an hour before.

"Watching you get your ass beat? Yes, I am," Val smiled sweetly, downing most of her beer in one go before wincing as it burned her chest. "Could you bring the cheapest shit you could find?" She complained lightly.

"I happen to like this cheap shit," he reasoned, downing his own drink before smashing his cup and cheering a little loudly. He was definitely drunk. "Sarah, could I offer you a taste of this cheap shit?" He mocked lightly.

"No, thanks," Sarah declined.

Val rolled her eyes slightly before grabbing the drink for her. So much for wanting a drink.

"Wimp," she muttered to the blonde, drinking it as Topper had managed to find their way to the pair again.

It's like Topper had a radar on Sarah at all times. Constantly on the lookout for her, always over her shoulder. People thought Rafe was bad with Valentina, but she was sure Topper was about ten times worse. It was almost a little obsessive.

"I'll take some," Topper reached for the cup before JJ pulled it away.

"That's nice, but I didn't ask you," JJ slurred. The slurred words caught John B's attention off to the side. "If you said pretty please, maybe," a shrug followed.

Val eyed the two hormonal teens carefully around the edge of her cup. This is where things got sloppy. When the Kooks and the Pogues got tangled together. It happened more often than not, and the longer it went on, the more violent it became. One of these days, someone was going to kill someone else.

"Sarah. Sarah, here -" JJ tried to hand Sarah another drink before it was getting knocked out of his hands.

"She doesn't want it, you -" Topper had caused Val's cup to fall to the sand below them, sending the drink all over her and JJ. A gasp followed from her, a few from the growing crowd around them.

JJ was quick to push Topper away before John B had finally stepped in. The blonde got pushed back harshly, pumping into Val's shoulder harshly before Sarah was grabbing her wrist to center her feet down. Sarah was too busy fussing over Val's jacket - very expensive jacket, mind you - to really worry about her boyfriend trying to pick a fight with the Pogues.

"You're so funny, man," JJ was laughing a little manically, in a way that only a drunken teenager could laugh as the rest of his friends had shown up to pull him away.

"Dirty Pogues!" Topper lit the fuel underneath him, sending the rest of their night into flames.

The girls backed off quickly when John B had charged towards the Thorton boy suddenly, sending him backward as Sarah screamed a little louder than was necessary. They were stuck on the sidelines to watch, the smell of beer and an overabundance of testosterone greeted them as the shouts from the two boys got louder.

A few of the Pogues had bitched at their friend, trying to keep the peace but ultimately failing in the end when Topper had stalked towards them.

"Babe," Sarah started frantically, leaving Val's side to try and grab the arm of her boyfriend to stop him. "Babe, babe -" she was cut off when John B was sent to the ground.

Valentina was stuck in the sand. Nothing more passing her ears than the waves John B had crashed into and the crowd getting rowdier by the second. She scanned them carefully, seeing a few stand up to get a closer look, a few others minding their own business with the drinks in their hands.

Then the chanting started. A short proclamation from Topper with a promise to drown John B just like his suspected dead father had.

Topper was fucked in the head. In all sorts of ways that not even Val could understand through the own fuckery in her mind. People could be bad, but there would always be someone worse right behind them. Immature, ruthless, selfish, and an asshole. The whole package.

Maybe she should've brought Rafe.

Because something had flipped.

Val had that feeling in her gut like she could throw up at any second, one that threatened to ruin her perfectly nice weekend. The feeling like when she was little. She'd get so nauseous that she couldn't eat, but the reason all along was because she hadn't eaten. It was a never ending cycle that happened time and time again.

This feeling in her stomach was worse though and it was real. It was fear.

Because Topper was going to drown John B and all they could do was stand back and watch.

"Oh, my god," Sarah was frantic, on the verge of tears and a grip on Valentina's arm so tight, it threatened to bruise. "Topper!"

She stepped back when JJ had reentered the fight. A determination on his face to win the fight that had a shiver running down Val's spine. He was the only one willing to stop the fight, to put his own well being on the line, but he had threatened everyone else's too.

He had a gun.

"Yeah, you know what that is," the absolute pride beaming off of JJ was unsettling as he held the gun to Topper's head. Where the hell would he have even gotten that? People sure as hell weren't sticking around to find out. "Your move, broski."

"Jesus, fuck," Val muttered, taking a quick step back and pulling Sarah behind her. "What the hell, Maybank?!" A chorus of his name had followed, screams from the crowd drowning it out as his own friends screamed at him.

"Did you say somethin', princess?" He mused, gun still pressed tightly into the Kook's head.

"Is he fucking -" Val was quick to turn to the Pogues. "What the hell is wrong with you guys?!"

"Put the gun down!" Sarah begged again as Topper finally surrendered the fight. A quiet mumble of defeat as JJ finally backed off, gun still secure in his hand as Val followed his movements closely. Trying to pick off his next move. "Kie! Can you check your psycho friend, please?"

"Okay, everyone listen up!" JJ screamed at everyone. The anger in his voice evident. Sarah finally let go of Val's arm, rushing to help her boyfriend up as John B slugged around in the water to sit up on his knees, trying to catch a big enough breath of air into his lungs before he could pass out. "Get the hell off our side of the island!"

Valentina jumped at the sound of gunshots ringing through the air, shrieks and shouts sounding through the almost dispersed crowd before she saw the blonde get pushed harshly from his friends. The last she saw of them was John B collapsing back into the water behind him.

Sarah had dragged Valentina away before she could even think. A few hurried shouts for her to follow them to the safety of Topper's truck. Some promises that she didn't hear before the one lively party behind them had disappeared into a reign of terror. She was too lost in her own world to even fight the idea of getting in Topper's truck, all she could do was get in the back and let the silence swallow them whole.

The Boneyard was the place for everyone to set their differences straight, guess they wanted to make this year all the more special and get the police involved.

rc
12:31 am

u still up? got an sos

door's open

────── ♰ ──────

gracie's getaway //
i love val. said it last chapter and i'll say it
again and i'll keeping saying it when she
eventually fucks up :D but i'll still love her

this is only partially proofread like literally
all of my chapters so we stay vigilant and
ignore the mistakes!

anywho 😼

- gracie xx