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Night had fallen over Outerbanks and the summer breeze was blowing over Annabelle's bare arms. Annabelle has made it back home and found out that the rest of her friends had too. John B had even succeeded in finding the drone and Annabelle was now on her way down to Kiaras family's restaurant to celebrate with her friends. The restaurant was located on the other side of town, on Figure Eight forcing Annabelle to walk through the fancy neighborhoods of the Kook side of the island. JJ had offered her a ride but she wanted to walk this time. She had a lot to think about and needed a moment alone with her thoughts.

Music poured over the street that she was walking on, coming from a huge mansion at the far end of the street. It didn't take a genius to know whose house it was. The Cameron Residence.
Annabelle sighed.

As she walked closer, a group of boys poured out from the gate and onto the street. All five of them, stumbling, clearly intoxicated. Topper were cheered at as he ran over the road and the three boys behind them laughed as Topper face planted on the road.

Annabelle bit the inside of her lips as she realized she was gonna have to push through the crowd of kooks to get through.

"Bells?" A familiar voice made the girl tear her gaze from the ground and look up at him.

"Rafe." She breathed. He ran a hand through his hair, noticeably trying to sober up.

"Hey, Bells." He smiled and cleared his throat. All his friends had hurried after Topper leaving Rafe and Annabelle alone in front of the house filled with drunk teenagers. Rafe stepped forward, his movements slurred and slightly off-balanced revealing that he was intoxicated. "What are you doing over here."

"Don't get your hopes up, Cameron. I'm not here to see you." I grinned at him. "I'm heading to Kie."

Rafe snorted out a chuckle and nodded slowly, staring at Annabelle with a hazy gaze.

"Now, if you'll excuse me." She said, trying to pass him but he stepped in front of her, his tall figure looming over her shorter one.

"Don't leave just yet." He said. "Why don't you come inside?" Rafe said.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Annabelle said. She hadn't talked to Rafe face to face in months and when they did, it was rarely more than small talk. The opportunity to spend some time with the boy sounded oddly appealing.

"Come on, Bells. Your friends can wait." Rafe looked down at her, stepping closer. "Plus, it's dark. Let me sober up so that I can give you a drive at least. I don't want you walking around this late."

Annabelle breathed out as she stared up at him, his face close to hers. Hearing him call her by her nickname sent an odd flicker into her stomach and she fought every urge to walk inside with him. "Good old caring Rafe Cameron," She smirked, earning one back.

"That's me." Rafe chuckled.

"Your friends wouldn't be happy if you brought a pouge in there." Annabelle shook her head.

"Fuck my friends," Rafe said, trying to gain some balance. "It's my house and my party, isn't it? I bring whoever the fuck I want."

Annabelle breathed out deeply. "Five minutes."

"Five minutes." Rafe smiled and draped his arm around her. "Come on, before you change your mind."

The two walked inside the party, with multiple eyes on them. Most of the teens were too drunk or high to even notice.

Rap music played from the house and the front yard was filled with singing and dancing teens. Everyone around them wore designer clothes from top to bottom. Even their socks were screaming kook.

Annabelle walked through the crowd, wearing a simple black low-cut top along with torn jean shorts that would never pass for a kook party.

They made it inside where Rafe led Annabelle to the living room. Kelce pulled Rafe aside to a group of couches. Girls and guys sat gathered around a coffee table, rolling up joints and lining up what looked like coke. Kelce dabbed Rafe up, telling him something about 'new fresh product'.

Rafe hesitated for a moment, looking at Annabelle. He knew how Annabelle felt about drugs after what happened to her mother but he wasn't exactly the type to say no to those things.

Rafe sat down in the armchair while Annabelle stood awkwardly behind him with her arms crossed as she tried to avoid every pair of eyes around the coffee table that focused on her making her feel like an animal in a cage.

Rafe leaned forward, lining up the white powder with his credit card before rolling up a dollar bill, placing it to his nose as he snorted the drug. Annabelle exhaled deeply at the sight and turned on her heel. She needed air. But for some strange reason, she couldn't bring herself to leave. Like something deep inside her told her to stay. Like the curiosity of what could happen had a bigger control on her mind.

Instead of walking out the door, she walked up the stairs to the top floor. She had never walked through the corridors of Rafe's house before despite her having spent a whole summer with him, two years prior. Annabelle would climb up the tall tree and into Rafe's window. The girl hadn't seen anything outside Rafe's room ever.

However, the girl knew exactly how to find her way into his room. She walked through the tidy room, pushing the balcony door open.

A few moments later, Rafe opened the door behind her, walking out to the sight of Annabelle sitting on the railing. He wasn't scared that she'd jump. Doing stupid things like these were Annabelle's specialties. Rafe sighed behind her.

"Bells, you good?" Rafe asked.

"You Kooks are idiots," Annabelle muttered.

"What did you expect, we pay our way into an education. It's not IQ, it's this guy right here." He waved a dollar bill in front of Annabelle's face, showing off George Washington. Annabelle chuckled as she pushed his arm away from her face.

"Now, could you like not kill yourself? I've booked the golf course tomorrow, I won't have time to clean up your remains." Rafe said.

"You rich folks don't even clean up your own shit. You get others to do it for ya." Annabelle said, turning around to face Rafe. He remained a few feet away, staring at her from behind with his joint between his fingers.

"True." He chuckled. 

"Gosh, you're such a kook." Annabelle stared at him as he leaned against the balcony railing with his arms crossed.

"What?" He laughed.

"Hollow, rich golfing boy." Annabelle breathed.

"There's more to me than hollow rich golfing boy," Rafe said.

Annabelle held his gaze for several moments of quiet with only the sound of the party echoing in the night. Despite them being only two floors above the chaos downstairs, it sounded almost completely distant.
"I know." She finally said. "You've shown me."

The two looked at each other, both of them thinking back to the summer two years ago. Something shifted in the air. The smell of saltwater and the perfume that Annabelle wore that summer filled the girl's senses.

Rafe lifted his joint to his lips again, staring at Annabelle through the cloud of smoke that left his mouth in a long exhale.

"I thought you said you were sobering up." Annabelle lifted her brow jokingly.

"This is me trying to get you to stay for longer." He smiled, taking a deep inhale from his joint.

Annabelle rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Idiot." She muttered under her breath before smiling up at him. "You still messing around with all that shit?"

Rafe stared at his joint and nodded. "Why do you care?"

"I just don't want you to die in your forties," Annabelle said, looking away.

"We've barely been talking for the past two years and all of a sudden you're worried about my health?"

"You're right. I don't give a shit." Annabelle shrugged. "Wouldn't be too much of a loss anyway. You kooks are easily replaceable."

"Clearly, considering the guy you were with at the boneyard. Who was that prick anyway?." Rafe looked up at Annabelle. Annabelle's jaw tightened as she glared back at him. That was obviously not what she had meant. Plus, Rafe had no right to speak about the boy like that. He didn't know him. Not that Annabelle remembered a lot about him but Rafe always instantly assumed that every guy around Annabelle had bad intentions.

"He's not a prick, Rafe." Annabelle breathed. "He was just trying to help. He was nice."

"He was nice?" Rafe repeated. "Tell me his name then."

Annabelle sighed. Matter of fact she had been too drunk to remember his name. She wasn't even sure she asked him.

"See? You should be more careful with who you talk to. He probably only talked to you because you were drunk and he was horny." Rafe scoffed.

Annabelle glared at him. "Oh, because I'm so intolerable when I'm sober?"

"You know that's not what I meant." Rafe shook his head. "Come on, Bells, could we at least try to be civil for more than three minutes?"

"Yeah, we could. If you weren't such a pain in the ass." Annabelle said making Rafe chuckle. The girl tried to keep an icy expression but it soon transformed into a giggle. "Idiot." She muttered between her laughs.

Soon, the laughter died out, leaving the two teens in a soft silence with only the vibrating bass song from downstairs and the chattering voices from the people in the backyard beneath them. Annabelle exhaled softly, her gaze slowly traveling back to Rafe, locking eyes with his that were already staring back at hers.

A few moments passed before either of them said anything. They just sat at two different ends of the balcony railing.

"Why'd you bring me in here." Annabelle finally asked.

Rafe swallowed, letting a few moments pass before he spoke up. "I don't know. I wasn't gonna let you walk alone." He shrugged. "Plus, it's been a while. I guess I wanted to check on you."

Annabelle looked at him with an unreadable expression. "Thank you. But I don't need checking up on."

"Bells, your mom just died. It's okay to grieve."

Annabelle breathed out. When she woke up this morning she hadn't expected to end up at Rafe Cameron's house having a full-on therapy session. She wasn't very fond of the idea of talking about her feelings with Rafe. Five minutes had passed a long time ago. She could just get up and leave but for some reason, she didn't. She remained in her spot, looking up at Rafe. "I'm dealing with it. Day by day type of shit." She shrugged, trying to linger out of the question as quickly as possible.

Rafe sent her a sad nod and Annabelle looked away. A long silence hung over them. Rafe kept his eyes plastered on Annabelle, studying every inch of her face and body. From the dirty sneakers that she had worn since that summer two years ago. Rafe remembers writing his name on the soles. It had probably faded by now but something flickered in his chest over the fact that she walked around in shoes that once had been sighed by him. His gaze traveled up to her shorts and top and he had to force himself to not stare at that one part of her upper body. His eyes trailed over the shell necklaces and up to her face, admiring her features.

He wasn't sure if it was the drugs or the heat of the moment that made him stand up and walk over to Annabelle. The girl stared up at him, stunned and baffled when he grabbed her face, cupping it with his hands on her jawline.

"Rafe what are you-"

Rafe's thumb grazed over her jaw, sending a shiver down her spine. He brushed some hair out of her face, his brows rising at the sight of the cut on her cheek. Annabelle knew that Rafe wasn't aware of what monster her father turned into after her mother's death. Maybe he knew about his drinking problem but he'd never suspect him of ever using violence against his own daughter. Rafe had met her father and knew just how much he cared for her.

Judging by the look on Rafe's face, he had no clue what had caused the wound which Annabelle was thankful for.

"Looks deep. What'd you do this time?" He grinned and Annabelle let a relieved sigh escape her lips knowing that Rafe hadn't suspected anything.

"Fell." She lied. Rafe chuckled before the two fell silent again. Rafe's hand lingered on Annabelle's cheek, his thumb brushing over her skin. Annabelle's breathing hitched at the feeling of Rafe's hot breath against her lips. Warthm flickered in her stomach as she took in his scent. Fresh, expensive with a hint of vodka.

Rafe stared down at her, taking in the sight of her brown eyes. Amused by the sight, he lifted his joint to his lips, inhaling from it. Annabelle watched as his head tilted back and the smoke formed a cloud over his face.

Looking back down at her, he held the joint in front of her face, hovering it over her lips. Annabelle bit the inside of her lip.

She hadn't touched a drug or cigarette since her mother died but she was suddenly considering smoking with Rafe Cameron. A Kook. She was an idiot. She knew that she was but there was something pulling about him.

She kept eye contact with the boy as she wrapped her lips around the cigarette, letting the smoke seep into her mouth before releasing it back into his face.

Rafe smirked through the cloud of smoke and placed the joint to his mouth. Annabelle glanced down at the party beneath them. A few scattered teens stood in the garden under them, all minding their own business without paying any attention to the two on the balcony. Which probably was for the better since the sight of Rafe Cameron with a pouge wouldn't do good on his image.

She looked back up at Rafe, whose eyes remained on Annabelle's mouth.

Suddenly, reality crashed over Annabelle and she blinked frantically, shaking her head as she stepped away from him, her behind meeting the balcony railing.

Annabelle turned back around to face him. "I should probably go. The others are waitin-"

"Don't go." Rafe stopped her before she could even finish her sentence. "Don't leave just yet." He repeated in a softer voice.

Annabelle stared at him as he pulled out a small bag of white powder. "For old time's sake? Just one."

Annabelle used to shoplift, pickpocket, and steal people's mail, just to get enough money to do lines with Rafe. That whole summer, the two experimented like crazy together. But now, she had promised herself to never do that again.

"Stalling on letting me leave, aren't we?" Annabelle smirked.

"It worked, didn't it? Your five minutes are up a long time ago. Yet you're still here." Rafe grinned at her.

"I was just leaving." Annabelle stood up.

"Come on, Bells." Rafe tilted his head to the side.

"Raf-" Annabelle breathed.

"Come on. One line hasn't hurt anyone." Rafe said.

Wrong. He was dead wrong. But Annabelle didn't say anything. Instead, she sighed, an approving smile slowly forming on her lips.

Rafe smiled back, pulling out the small sipper bag, letting the powder fall onto the small table in the corner of the balcony. Annabelle stared as he lined up two perfect lines. The action she had witnessed him do many times before during the summer two years ago.

Rafe glanced up, handing her a rolled-up dollar bill.

____

Sand trickled down through the hourglass slowly. Each grain of sand glistened in the small moonlight pouring in from outside.

"Bells, come on. I want to show you something."

Annabelle moved away from the hourglass that stood on the dust-free shelf in Rafe's room, turning towards the boy who stood in the doorway.  Annabelle looked at him as he stood holding out his hand for her.

"Where are we going?" She chuckled as she placed her hand in his.

"You'll see." He said, his gaze soft with a slightly foggy expression caused by the drugs.

They stepped out his his room, walking through the hallways of the mansion. Teens, bottles, and bags were scattered over the floors and the music flowed from downstairs.

Rafe led the pair to a room at the end of the hall. Laughter erupted from a group of teens in the room next to it. The Cameron boy opened the door that they stood in front of leading the two of them inside. By the looks of it, it might have been a guest room of sorts.

Rafe crossed the room and walked over to one of the windows. He cranked it open and placed his foot outside.

Annabelle instinctively took a step forward. They were two floors above the ground and at least twenty feet up. A fall like that would kill him.

"Don't worry," Rafe said, noticing the concerned look on Annabelle's face. He stepped onto something on the other side of the window. "See? It's fine. Come on."

Annabelle hesitantly took a step toward the window. She grabbed Rafe's hand and he assisted her outside. They were standing on a small surface, between two flower pots. Rafe took a wobbly step onto the rooftop about three feet from the surface where Annabelle remained gripping onto the window. She noticed herself sway a little but instead of tightening her grab on the window she simply just stood there, giggling uncontrollably.

"Get over here." Rafe smiled to disuse his concern. His eyes ping-poning between her unsteady feet and her hand on the window. "Come on. I'm serious, take my hand."

Annabelle's giggling had transformed into a brutal fist of laughter making her stand even more unsteady. In one swift move, Rafe encircled her waist and lifted her onto the roof.

Suddenly Annabelle's laughter died out upon realizing how close she was to Rafe. This was the closest the two had been to each other for two years and for a second it seemed like the proximity between them caused everything around them to go into a momentary pause. The music from downstairs became distant and the stars suddenly felt like huge spotlights, directed at the pair.

With her body pressed against his and his arm around her waist, she was suddenly fourteen years old again, looking up at the first boy to make her feel seen. The boy that was her secret and she was his and it made her feel so special. The boy who always smelled like salt water and expensive perfume. The boy who would talk about their future with the most beautiful glimpse of hope in his eyes.

Annabelle couldn't blame the drugs for the sudden acceleration of her heart and breathing or for the fireworks, firing and exploding in her stomach when his green eyes met hers.

Rafe's arm remained around her waist, hugging her figure closer to his, just an inch but that was close enough for Annabelle to notice the move. Breathing evenly suddenly became an impossibility and it got even harder when Rafe's eyes began to roam her face with a look that she had only seen before when the two were alone together. A look reserved for Annabelle only. Two green eyes devoured every inch of her face, lingering on her lips before traveling to the side of her head. A hand loaded with electricity brushed strands of brown hair out of Annabelle's face, sending an instant shiver through every vein in her body.

His hand remained on her cheek, cupping the side of her face, gently brushing over the skin under her scar. Annabelle couldn't comprehend what was happening when his lips caught hers. Suddenly, they were levitating, leaving them in an abyss of darkness and stars. The cold summer night had been replaced with a heat that wrapped around the pair. The two teens who almost considered each other strangers had been replaced with the two kids from two summers ago. The roof that they had been standing on had been replaced with the night sky of bright stars. The music from the party had been replaced with a beautiful stillness.

Ten seconds, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen...
The glass lid that had closed reality out, shattered causing a rain of glass and realization to fall over them. Fourteen-year-old Annabelle evaporated into thin air the second that she stepped away from Rafe. Annabelle stared at the boy in front of her through regret and confusion.

"I'm sorry... I.." she couldn't explain. Explain why she did it. Why she stepped away. Why she felt like she did before.  "I should go." Was all she could think of to say.

Rafe didn't do or say anything except stare at her as she backed away and stepped onto the flowerpot surface before climbing through the window, leaving him in the night sky.

Storming through the house filled with kooks. She was too distorted and high to pay any mind to the looks and comments that the richer upper-class teens threw her on her way out. She bolted through the front door and back into the night again. She didn't dare to look back at Rafe if he was still there.

The air wasn't warm anymore. The stillness and quiet were long gone and the rap music from inside the house was blasting even out on the street. And she wasn't fourteen years old anymore in the company of the only boy she had ever loved. She was alone and that boy was back to being nothing more than a stranger.

𝟑𝟕𝟏𝟕 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
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Finally finished this chapter. This is so dramatic but it was needed because I'm in my feels alr. Also, Annabelle and Rafe are about to be my angstiest plot ever I'm so excited.