EDEN had formed a shit plan overnight. 

She hadn't been able to gain much sleep, and instead spent the late hours of the night thinking of a way out of the mansion that didn't include actually giving Singh any information on the diary, or the book itself. 

She had little options. Without any contact with her friends, Eden had no clue if they were coming to save her, or if they were trying to. The guards and dogs at every corner stopped her from picking the lock and sneaking out. Rafe being stuck with her stopped a lot from happening. 

In the end, she comes up with the half baked idea that maybe if she fessed up to knowing where the diary was, Singh would let her go under the promise that she'd 'fetch it for him'. Of course, the Bexley would use that as her window to find her friends, hide, flee to the OBX—something like that. 

It's not Eden's smartest idea. Singh seems like a very intelligent man and would certainly see through her little lie, or send a guard with her to make sure she did indeed go and get that diary—the Bexley knew she couldn't fight off one of his guards, if one so happened to get sent with her. 

Eden knows it's a JJ level shit plan, but what does she have to lose? Singh doesn't know where the Pogues are so he can't hurt them. He wants the diary and maybe just maybe he'll be stupid enough to let her go and get it. 

So, once the sky lightens up, the Bexley gets out of bed and heads to the window. There's a guard positioned outside of it, and if she gets his attention, she can try and get him to speak with Singh next. 

After a few raps, the guard turns around with an unimpressed look. Eden starts pointing towards the house, quietly mouthing phases along the lines of, "Go get Mr. Singh. I want to talk to him." 

The sound must have awakened Rafe, because the boy quickly arises from his makeshift bed on the floor, "What are you doing?"

"I want to talk to Mr. Singh!" the Bexley echoes louder, the guard watching her without moving. "Hello? I would like to speak with—"

Rafe quickly rushes over towards the window, "Shut up, shut up, shut up—what the hell are you doing? What are you doing?" 

"You have your escape plan, I have mine." Eden brushes past the blonde, realizing that the guard outside was no use in her attempt at speaking to Singh. 

"Think for a second. Eden, Ed' what—what are you doing?" 

"Don't call me that." The Bexley huffs at the nickname, beginning to knock on the door in hopes that a guard outside would hear her. "Hello? Is anyone out there? Can I please talk to Mr. Singh!?"

"Hey, what are you doing—"

Eden whips around, growing annoyed with the boy. She could tolerate her friends constant nagging, but she didn't owe Rafe any explanation. "Just sit down and shut up!"

She continues to bang her fist against the door, the Cameron boy falling into a few seconds worth of silence. However, when no one comes to answer, Rafe crosses over and stands beside Eden at the door, lowly stating, "You're lying about this diary thing. You know where it is."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." the Bexley replies, running a hand through her hair. Great, no one had answered her and taken her to Singh. "I wouldn't tell you either way." 

"Listen, I would't tell me either, but he is never going to believe we don't know something, alright?" Rafe watches as Eden continues to knock on the door, clearly ignoring him. Without hesitation, he reaches out to grab her arm, "Listen, hey! Singh killed—"

Eden whips around, lip curling upwards as his hand touches her skin. She quickly rips it away with a hiss off, "Don't touch me." 

"Don't act like that." Rafe scoffs, before lowly adding, "Look around, Eden. I'm the only friend you've got."

Eden hates the way it's true. Whether or not she wanted to slap the boy, yell at him, tell him how much of an asshole he is....he's all she has right now as a friend, as bad as it sounds. She didn't have the Pogues to help her out of this mess. She only had Rafe Cameron.

Before the Bexley can reply, the door clicks open and a guard walks in, clearly having heard the commotion. Eden is quick to pace up to the guard, Rafe muttering a light, "Hey.."

With as much confidence as she can muster, Eden looks up at the guard with a firm expression, "I would like to talk to Mr. Singh. Please." She can tell that the guard has an idea of what she has to admit, "It's important that he hears what I have to say."

The guard looks between the shorter girl and the blonde boy before meeting Eden's gaze. "Yes." 

He grabs a hold of Eden and pulls her outside, locking Rafe once more inside the bedroom. Eden stays quiet, trying to replay her plan over and over in her head as the guard leads her down the stairs—confess to the diary, play into the act that it can be fetched and returned, go and find the Pogues.  

The guard pushes her the dining room, gruffly muttering, "There." 

Singh is sitting at the head of the table, eating breakfast. He looks at Eden rather expectantly and the guard disappears, leaving the Bexley to finally try and find her way out.

"I lied." Eden gets to the point, one hand rubbing the silky material of  her pajamas between her fingers. Singh takes an inhale of breath, eyes locked on the Bexley. She can't tell what emotions he's feeling and proceeds, "I don't have the original, but I can get you a copy of the diary. I know where it is." 

Singh nods, almost surprised that Eden had fessed up. "I'm relieved to hear you say that, you know." He picks up a grape and places it in his mouth, "May I offer you something to eat?"

"Not hungry." the Bexley replies.

"Relax." Singh taunts, almost sending her anxiousness, "Nothing's gonna happen to you now. You're cooperating, and I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, you know."

Eden mutters under her breath, "Too late for that." 

The two fall into a tense silence, Singh almost waiting for Eden to finish out her plan because deep down she knew he knew there was a twist to her words. 

"I'm willing to retrieve it for you. No guards necessary." the Bexley pauses, and when Singh stays quiet she repeats her need, "Alone."

The man chuckles, knowing what she was trying to pull—if he let Eden go alone, she'd easily escape and run back to her friends. "But how would I know you'd come back? You know, I need some collateral."

"Rafe's still up there." Eden shrugs. She could care less what happened to the Cameron boy. "Keep him." 

"Rafe," Singh chuckles to himself, getting out of his chair. His brushes past the Bexley, who steps backwards wearily. "How did someone so young get into so much trouble." 

Eden wants to open her mouth to answer, but for once she keeps her lips sealed. 

"You know, I built this fortune myself, you know, from nothing. From absolutely nothing." He stopped at the door, turning around and pointing a finger at Eden. "Do you know how that happened, Miss Bexley? Hm?" 

Eden's expression is firm. She knows that to get here, Singh didn't let people go and get things without guards, didn't play stupid and allow people to escape without getting what he wanted first.

"I can assure you it was not by being a fool." Singh moves closer to her, voice holding less hospitality than it had. "Don't waste my time. The diary holds the key to the ultimate conquest, and that, my young friend, Miss Bexley, is my destiny." 

Well, shit. Now Eden knows her plan has no chance of working. Either Singh is sending her out with a guard, or he's locking her back up with Rafe until she actually gives up the location of the diary—she doesn't want to say Rafe was right, but maybe he was. 

"So you need to tell me where it is, or I'm gonna—"

Before he can finish his threat, there's an obnoxious buzz. Singh lets out a sharp inhale and exhale of breath, running a hand down his face as he moves over to the table to grab his cellphone. 

"Amazing." Singh muses with a chuckle, staring at his phone screen. "A text from our friend, Jimmy Portis." Eden feels her brows furrow, and the man comes towards her waving his hands in the air, "From beyond the grave, apparently." 

Jimmy was dead. She'd head the gunshot and Singh wouldn't let him off. Clearly in close contact with Singh, Eden's sure that Jimmy would keep his phone on him, certainly when he was saving the very teens the man wanted. He'd probably keep it in his bag—

His bag. The very thing JJ had searched through, in which he most certainly snatched something valuable. Like a phone.

Eden wants to curse out JJ Maybank.

Singh proves her thoughts to be true. "It seems Mr. Portis has captured your friends."

The man holds up his phone and Eden's lips thin as she looks at the message. It's a photo of John B. and Sarah looking solemnly into the distance with a quick caption of 'I got these two'. —an attempt at luring Singh and his men with fake-bait.

Sure, Eden appreciates the attempt at saving her, and sure, no one but her and Rafe knew Jimmy was killed,  but seriously? Did Pope not tell JJ the plan was risky as shit? Did anyone realize using John B. and Sarah as bait could backfire? 

Singh backs up. "Ryan!"

God, what had her friends gotten themselves into? 

She's sure they thought Ward was behind this somewhere along the lines, no clue on the true mastermind behind her kidnapping. No clue that Singh would do worse things to them than Ward ever had, given the chance. 

Eden quickly paces after the man, "Wait—Mr. Singh!"

"Get me the big trucks and meet me in the back in three minutes." Singh speaks to the guard. Ryan, eyes still locked on his phone as she assumes he tracks the location of the fake-bait image—had they really forgotten to turn the location off? 

"Mr. Singh, please—I'll get you the diary. I promise you I really will!" Eden could be telling the truth at this point because she'd rather give up all of the inheritance than watch her friends get hurt, as she knew Singh would do to them for trying to bullshit him. "If you leave my friends alone, I'll go and get it—"

Singh points a finger at the Bexley. "Fenton, get Miss Bexley."

Eden shakes her head as the same guard who'd let her out earlier snatches her and starts hauling her back up the stairs. "No, Mr. Singh! Please! Don't hurt my friends!" He doesn't bother glancing up and the Bexley fights Fenton to get back down to the man—she just can't see her friends get hurt when they don't know what they were getting into. "Get off of me! Mr. Singh!"

 "That depends, Miss Bexley." Singh calls out, unbothered by her desperate pleas. "We'll continue our chat later. I look forward to it, you know."

Eden is shoved up the stairs but she continues to screech out to the man, "No! Don't fucking touch them! Leave them alone! Mr. Singh! Don't fucking touch them—"

"Enough from you." Fenton mutters, unclasping a hand from his arm and setting it over her mouth instead. The Bexley tries to yell over his hand but she knows her muffled words have no effect on Singh. "Inside." 

Fenton rips his hand off of her face and shoves her inside the bedroom. He locks the door before Eden can even try to run back out, and the Bexley presses her forehead against the door. Sure, she hadn't expected her own plan to go right, but she didn't expect her friends to be found and get involved so quickly; to be threatened so quickly. 

"Fuck you." Eden slams her fist against the door, though she isn't sure who she's talking too—the guard, Singh, her friends for being naive enough to think they could get her out of here only to get themselves in trouble. 

Rafe watches the girl in silence—clearly something happened—and after a beat, asks. "What happened?" 

Eden almost forgot Rafe was here, and lets out a sigh. She wasn't in the mood to talk to him, even if he was the only person she could talk too. All she wanted to do was figure out how she could stop Singh from hurting or even touching her friends—which, being in a locked room, wasn't helping.

Taking her silence as plain ignorance rather than the girl trying to think, the Cameron states, "You're gonna have to talk to me at some point. Okay?" 

"I'm not really in the mood to talk right now. Shit just happened." the Bexley moves away from the door, taking a seat on the bed. "And even if I was, I feel like you're just not understanding that with all the shit you've done, you are the last damn person I want to talk with. Absolute- fucking-last."

Rafe lets out a sharp exhale.

"You shot Peterkin. You left my best friend to get the blame for it and almost the death sentence. You've attacked every one of my friends more than once. You've stolen everything that we've got." Eden starts to read off the list of things Rafe Cameron has done. "You tried to drown Sarah. You've choked me and you shot up the Chateau tree leaving me with this." She gestures to the scar on her upper arm, left from the bullet that grazed her. "Would you like me to continue?"

Rafe storms close to her sitting figure, "Peterkin, I was protecting my father, okay? I did what I had too, so....don't." 

Eden watches as the boy sits down in a chair near the window, muttering, "Don't what? I'm just stating facts." 

"I'm as much a victim as she is." 

Eden can't help but guffaw. "Victim? Grow up, Rafe!"

"Think about it, okay?" Rafe has lost any sort of anger or tension in his tone as he tries to defend himself, "What did I get from shooting Peterkin, huh? Nothing. Okay? I had nothing against her. I mean, I—I.....I liked her." He starts to sputter, slowly unraveling in front of Eden, "You think I wanted to make that choice, huh?"

Eden keeps her lips sealed, showing no emotion to his words. 

"What I did was a gift from me to my father, for....for him, and I got screwed because of it, okay? So don't get that look when I say I'm a victim, alright? I am!" 

"Peterkin was doing her job. Ward should be and deserved to be in jail." The Bexley finally says, voice quiet. Rafe stays silent and Eden adds, "You have your sob story about Peterkin, what about Sarah? You had no reason to touch her at all. She's your sister. If you're a victim, then I don't know what I'm supposed to call her because you have sent her through fucking hell." 

Sarah. His little sister, whom he used to build sandcastles with on the shore and laugh in the ocean with. Who he checked the closet for monsters and helped her learn to bike. The girl who he was supposed to look out for and protect. The girl who was the epitome of favoritism by his father. Who was shown all the attention and given what she wanted. Who looked just like their mother in all the wrong ways.

  "I will admit, though, what I—what I did to Sarah....what I tried to do, um...." Rafe stands up, voice growing slightly shaking. Eden looks up and she's sure she can see tears growing in his lash line. "What I tried to do to Sarah, I admit that was wrong." A teardrop falls down his cheek and he grows even more emotional. "I know that, alright? So, you don't have to remind me."

Eden watched as Rafe Cameron began to break down, slamming his hands against his head. She shifts her gaze, listening to the shaky exhales that left his lips.

"She was family. I should have never touched her, you know?" Rafe cries out, all emotions shifting through his mind. If it was Eden's call, she'd hire him a therapist—he clearly needed someone to vent too. "I should have never touched her, but, you know, I just lose control in moments like that and I don't know what happened. I'm trying....I'm trying to get better.  I told you that the boat blew up."

Eden nodded, "I know." 

She's sure Rafe's trying, but she's not sure he'll ever become a good person. He'll always have blood on his hands.

"It doesn't matter. All I'm saying is just that I'm not the bad guy you think I am, okay?" Rafe starts to put himself back together, going back to his original statement. "But even if I was, even if I was just like, bad Rafe Cameron or something.....you got no choice. You may—you may not want to trust me, okay, but I'm your best bet."

Eden sighs. She needed a way to find her friends, and if her plan wasn't going to work, she supposes she can give Rafe a shot. "What do you have that can benefit me?"

He kneels down on the floor, hands brushing against Eden's legs. "Look, I got a boat that can get us off the island, okay?" Eden's interest is piqued at that. A boat was just what she needed. "But first, we gotta get out of here, and it is better if we work together."

There's sounds of men talking and engines starting. Eden gets off of the bed and pulls the curtain away from the window, watching as guards with guns loaded into truck beds, Singh standing near.

"They're leaving?" the Cameron asks.

"Singh sent his men out to find John B. and Sarah." the Bexley exhales, moving away from the window. "One of my friends stole Jimmy's phone and tried to fake-bait Singh, but obviously, Jimmy's dead and now Singh knows their location."

"Sucks for them. That's good for us, though." Rafe says, turning around to look at the Bexley. "This may be our only shot at getting out of here." 

Eden gives a curt nod. She's willing to follow Rafe if it gets her out of here.

Within a few minutes, Rafe and Eden conspire a plan.

It wasn't terribly in-depth—the two teens would pretend to yell and scream and fight one another, Eden would end up screaming as if she were hurt and something something over to create a loud sound so the guard opened the door and Rafe could throw a punch—but it could work.

 Eden knew that Singh couldn't let her get hurt, given he knew that one of them held the diary, more so the Bexley. And she's sure that information was passed to the guards. So, if she acted like Rafe was harming her, there was a much better chance of one of the guards answering then if she just banged her knuckles on the door and asked to talk. "

It wasn't too difficult to pull off, either. All Eden had to do was scream at Rafe, and all Rafe had to do was act like a psycho—pretty easy. 

"Rafe! Stop it! That hurts!" the Bexley cries out, backing up towards the bathroom. She slams her hand against the wall to create a loud 'thump' and makes a dramatic sound of pain as she does so. "Get the fuck off of me! Get off!"

"I'm tired of this shit!" Rafe roars out, following in her steps towards the bathroom. The Bexley knows he's faking his anger, but it doesn't seem too difficult for him to pretend. "I'm gonna kill you, Eden!"

"You're fucking insane! Let go of me—" the Bexley swipes her hand against the bedside lamp, knocking it to the ground. As the glass shattered, Eden let out a mock gasp and went silent, quietly padding to the bathroom. 

Rafe quickly meets her in the bathroom, hiding behind the slightly opened door. As quiet as she can, Eden sprawls out in the tub, Converse clad feet draping outwards so the guard knew to come inside. 

It's silent for a few moments before there's a small echo of, "Hey, you two! What'd you do?!"

Eden holds in her breath as the click of a door sounds, the guard clearing having fallen for their trap. She can't see from the tub, but she can hear the creaking of the floor grow louder, signaling the guards presence growing nearer. 

"What be this?" 

The guard barely has time to step into the bathroom to examine the scene before the door slams in his face. Eden hears a loud groan and knows Rafe has struck, so she leaps out of the bathtub. She watches as the Cameron boy strikes punch after punch at the guard, who falls to the floor outside with another grunt. 

As Rafe smashes the other lamp over the man's body, Eden is quick to spot the guards discarded gun. She dives down to grab it, cocking it as she crosses through the threshold. Rafe is atop of the guard, who lays on his stomach, struggling against the blonde boy. 

"Stay down!" the Cameron grits, "Stay down, you understand?"

Eden stands in front of the man's head, holding the gun—she's learned enough from watching JJ with the weapon. "You move and you're going the same way as Jimmy." 

"Huge mistake." The guard says, cheek against the floorboard, "You'll regret this."

Eden will regret this if Singh ends up finding her, sure. But now? The Bexley is doing whatever she has to do to find her friends before he does—and, at the moment, attacking a guard and holding him at gunpoint is pretty damn worth it.

Rafe grabs the man's phone, unlocking it with Face ID, Eden ripping the fabric off the canopy and tossing it at the Cameron. "Tie him up so he can't call for backup." 

The boy works quickly to tie up the guard, Eden moving back to hold the gun over him so he didn't move. Once tied, Rafe pushes the man harder against the floor, "Don't move. Don't make a sound, alright?"

Eden doesn't trust that the man's going to keep quiet and states, "Gag him." 

Rafe is almost surprised the girl offered to gag the man, but he doesn't hesitate and gives her a curt nod. Eden runs into the bathroom, snatching one of the towels and throwing it at the blonde for him to turn into a gag. 

Forcing it into the guards mouth, Rafe grunted, "Good?"

"Good." Eden hummed in agreement. She looks down at the man, still holding him at gunpoint. "Phone password, please?"

Rafe holds the back of his shirt tightly, and the guard grunts, "4378."

"Thank you." the Bexley hums before stepping over the man's figure and heading towards the door. The hallway is empty and the Bexley immediately heads for the stairs, Rafe locking the door behind them before following. 

The two teens file down, barely looking at the floor below. Eden clasps the gun tightly in her palms, filing down into the living room which is clear, given most of the guards fled out on Singh's command.

Eden runs for the front door, halting in her steps when she sees the back of a guard blocking. She looks for other possible exits and her eyes catch hold on the El Dorado painting that Singh had shown her and Rafe when they first saw one another.

Singh was trying to find El Dorado, and something about the painting meant something. It had to be important, right?

"Rafe—Rafe." The blonde whips around, "Give me the phone."

 Tensely, Rafe whispers. "Why?" 

"To make a new snap streak with John B—just give me the damn phone." Eden sarcastically snaps. 

The Cameron crosses back over to her, pulling the guards phone from his back pocket and holding it out to her. His eyes dart to the gun in her hand. "Give me the gun."

"If I need to shoot, I can." the Bexley dismisses, taking the phone.

"No, Eden, give me the gun." 

The Bexley has no time to waste and she shoves the item into his chest, typing in the password he'd given and opening the camera. She darts to the portrait, quickly snapping an image of it for safekeeping.

"You ready?" the Cameron asks impatiently. Eden gives a curt nod and she begins to follow after the blonde. "Okay, this way, this way, this way. Come on."

The two run into a tiny corridor, which leads to a backdoor—Eden assumes the back door is how Rafe got in. She allows the blonde to lead the way, cautiously treading behind him as he scans the perimeter for guards. The Bexley can't see any herself, but she can hear the light chatter of many stationed around the home.

"Can you see?" Rafe doesn't spare Eden a glance, eyes locked on a truck that sat in the driveway, delivering some kind of good to Singh.

"Mm, not really, but—" Eden breathes, looking through the small openings in the fence they were behind to watch as the truck started driving away from the mansion. If they could get in that truck...."—I have an idea. Come on."

The Bexley doesn't wait for Rafe's confirmation and makes a dash around the house, running parallel to the road at a matching pace to the truck. Eden's legs burn but she pushes herself further as the truck slows slightly as it turns a corner.

"Now's our window, it's slowing down!" the Bexley pants, brushing past the fence. Rafe follows along. With a few moments worth of a chance, Eden jumps onto the gate of the bed, and starts to climb in with a light grunt.

The Cameron does the same, but neither teen has a chance to catch their breath as a random man turns around in the bed, eyes wide.

"Shit." Eden blankly stares. 

"No...No! No!" The man quickly gets on his feet, ready to throw out the two teens.

Something seems to click in Rafe and he quickly jumps onto his feet, tackling the man backwards. Eden pushes herself into a corner, watching the two men fight—more so Rafe full on attack while the man helplessly tried to defend himself. 

The blonde throws a few punches, earning grunts from the man. The man's head lolls slightly and Eden flinches as the Cameron pulls both of them down into the hay. He shoots a kick in the guy's face as the man tries to arise, sending him back down on his hands and knees.

"No! Please, don't!"

Eden's eyes widen as she watches Rafe easily toss the man out of the truck bed, and off the small leverage of road they were driving past. His body lands with a thud and the Bexley can only hope that the fall didn't kill him. 

She couldn't have just watched Rafe kill a guy just like that. 

Rafe notices her reaction but doesn't spare any emotion, instead ushering her to hide under the tarp—there'd be a security check soon enough. Eden crawls under and lays flat against the hay, chest rising and falling as quietly as possible.

It wasn't a very comfortable position, and her figure was pressed closer to Rafe than she appreciated—he probably had a great view of her cleavage the way she was laying. The bumps rocked them, but neither teen said anything, only sparing each other silent glances every few moments. 

Eden isn't sure how long it is but ultimately the truck comes to a halt. She holds her breath and hopes that the tarp isn't lifted and the truck is able to pass through without any more questioning.

Her prayers become reality when she hears, "All clear! Let them through!"

The truck moves again, though the Kooks wait a few more minutes before revealing themselves again. Adrenaline leaves their figures and Eden leans against the back of the truck cab, sharply exhaling.

"I told you we just had to work together." Rafe smugly comments through a pant, Eden lightly rolling her eyes, though he did have a point. The blonde glances outwards before stating, "Alright. Listen, I'm heading out to my boat, okay? I can give you a ride out, drop you wherever, somewhere safe." He pauses. "One thing though." 

Eden leans her head back, "Of course there's a damn catch." 

"Look at me."

"What? You want me to fetch you the diary, too?" 

"I know your friends are on the island, and my sister." the Cameron boy states, Eden giving a small nod. "I'm not helping them. Alright? I can't trust them, okay? I'll give you a ride out, not them. Okay?" 

The only thing Eden wants is to find her friends and get them off the island, but she can't go anywhere if she gets on Rafe's bad side by complaining. If she just agrees to his terms for the moment, she can create a better plan when she's on his boat. 

So, she lies with an easy, "They'll get out of here eventually. I just want to go home." 

"That's smart," Rafe hums, Eden fighting the urge to show a look of disgust. Panting still, the boy mused, "You know, I never thought of you as a Pogue."

Eden shakes her head, looking to the side. 

"You are a Kook, Eden. You don't always need to deny it." the Cameron boy chuckles at her sense of denial. 

Ever since he watched Eden Bexley start hanging around the Pogues, start denying her Kook status, he always wondered why? She was Eden Brielle Bexley—everyone knew her, everyone loved her, everyone wanted to be her. Yet, every day, Eden wasted her life away slumming around with the lowest of the low. Throwing away her privilege for three boys. For scum. For Pogues. 

"I mean, you literally have everything you could ever want handed to you on a silver platter, Eden. Money, status....." the Cameron continues, as if the Bexley truly wants to talk to him about her Kook life. "And you trade it for what? Three dirt-bags and their hippie side piece with some weed? I mean, at least Kie is half Kook—"

Eden didn't care what Rafe Cameron had to say about her, but she couldn't sit and listen to him insult her friends—what did he know about the Pogues? What did he know about friendship? 

John B. was her brother. A boy who wore the cringiest of t-shirts and never cleaned his Converse. Who believed in the most outrageous of shit, and had more determination than anyone. A boy who'd made Eden laugh harder than she ever had, and watched every movie she begged him to see because making her happy was worth the wasted time. Who had never seemed to care about what she had, but who she was. He was her family. 

JJ was the best friend she's ever had. A boy who never brushed his hair and always stole the better spot on the couch to sleep on. Who went head first into everything, dangerous or not and cared more than he let people believe. He did everything for his friends. He wore every bracelet Eden had ever made him. A boy who'd always back up and protect her and who'd share every joint he'd ever smoke with her, too.

Pope was the smartest person she'd ever met. He was always the designated driver at parties and was always vetoing ideas. He knew the wackiest facts that no one should know and was more grounded. He gave up all he had for his friends. A boy who always defended his friends, no matter how quiet he seemed to be, and always showed up for Eden and his friends, no matter how much he had to lose.

  Kiara was her friend for all purposes. She cared about the environment and loved to buy bikinis. She was laid back and had unruly curls that blew in the salty air. She gave two shits about what her parents laid out for her and wasted away her potential playing ukulele in the HMS Pogue. A girl who'd speak her truth no matter the situation. The person who'd, until Sarah Cameron came into play, had been Eden's only girlfriend. Only person to paint nails and braid hair with. 

What did Rafe know about the Pogues? 

"I don't think you should talk about my friends, when you don't have many yourself." Eden snaps, crossing her arms over her chest. She'd never changed out of Singh's silky pajamas. "Not everything is about status and money." 

"It is though, isn't it?" Rafe comments. In the OBX, it truly was. You were a Kook or a Pogue; you either had money and a mansion, or a few pennies and a shack; you were judged on what you had to your name. "I mean, seriously, who's saying they just don't see you as a paycheck?"

Eden helped John B. pay the Chateau bills, bought groceries and supplies for the home, and bought anything the boys—more so JJ and the Routledge—needed. She was always there with her father's wallet whenever something came up short, but that wasn't true. 

"And you'd know about helping people with your money?" the Bexley questions. She spent her money on the Pogues to benefit them. To help their situations out because she felt shitty about how much better she truly had it. "All you do with yours is buy coke. Get high."

"Better than spending it on scum like that." Rafe barks, Eden clenching her fists. "Pretend all you want, but you're a Kook. Having Isla Bexley as a mom is never going to change."

She wishes it would. 

mara's misc!

eden & rafe are my new hyperfixation i got a little carried away and wrote almost 6000 words whoopise doopsie 

for once i actually have nothing to say in my authors note. i saw two musicals this weekened and me and kensie have spammed non-stop on snap (i passed her bf on her bsf list guys) so yeah

peace love and cupcakes y'all

hope you enjoyed <3 see you back with chapter 67!!!