A Chapter| Chapter Eleven

Lila woke with a slightly dizzy feeling, the head rush she received when her eyes fluttered open put her in a small panic. When she sat up she immediately relaxed, realizing she was simply still on the boat. With a rub to her tired eyes, running a hand through the knotted curls, Lila pulled herself out of the empty bed.

"Ow." the blonde mumbled as she hit her toe on the door frame. With a sigh Lila ran yet another hand through the dyed locks, the sun hitting her sensitive eyes in a annoying way that made her roll her eyes. Lila had never been a morning person, no way would she start now.

With a small push to the door, Lila walked out onto the deck, looking out and seeing they were floating closer toward the docks again. With a nod to her head the teen set her search for Rafe, ready to complain about him leaving her in the bed alone once again. Lila considered going up the steps to see if he was up there but based off the slow float or the boat, she could conclude no one was driving, taking their time until they got back.

With a quiet walk toward the front of the boat a small smile spread across Lilas face. Rafe had his back to her, his body resting against the boat railing. Lila frowned slightly as she watched him bend down as a sniff came from him, the cocaine on the side of the boat visible to her eye as he took a step to the side slightly. Lilas bare feet burned against the boat floor, her feet walking toward him quickly.

Rafes whole body jumped when he felt two arms wrap around his middle, tensing up before he recognized the soft touch.

Lila.

"Morning." he greeted her, trying to look over his shoulder at her but failing miserable. Lilas said something, her words coming out muffled from where her face was pressed into his shoulder. Rafe chuckled slightly, turning around in her arms as his went around her shoulders.

"I don't speak that language, try again." Rafe said as Lila groaned and looked up at him, squinting her eyes immediately from the bright sun. Rafe removed his hand from her right shoulder, holding it a few inches from her eyes to block the sun for her.

"I said, what time is it?" Lila asked as her fingers played with the hem of his yellow tee, the black ring still around her thumb.

"Around eight, maybe later." he said with a shrug as Lila huffed and let her head fall back on his chest. Rafes slight sniffle of his nose made Lila worry, smart enough to know he did the drug a lot more then what he said he did.

"Hey, Rafe?" Lila asked, his arms tightening around her shoulders as he hummed. Lila pulled back slightly, her heart beating increasing as she thought about how he would react to what she was gonna say.

"Can you-" Lila began, stopping herself as she looked up at him. Blue was meeting brown in a indescribable way, so many emotions, so many unsaid things. And Lila couldn't bring herself to tell him how much cocaine scared her, how much it worried her. She couldn't bring herself to say it because that would mean having to tell him the story behind why she hated it so much, and because she was whipped by Rafe Cameron and couldn't risk him blowing up on her.

"What?" Rafe asked her again, pushing some of the blonde locks out of her face as his fingers ran over the small bruises on her face that were nearly faded, only a light yellow color now.

"Nothing, never mind." Lila shook her head, lifting her hand to whip the small amount of white power from under his nose. Rafes face fell as she did so, trying to make a mental note to wipe his face next time she was around. Lila hummed as she let his body go, walking toward the soft seats on the outline of the boat, sitting down as she patted the small space next to her.

"How come you always leave me in the mornings?" Lila asked curiously as Rafe sat next to her.

"It's only ever like ten minutes before you wake up." Rafe said as he rose his arm as Lila leaned into him, his left arms over her shoulders as the boat floated closer to the island.

"But why?" Lila asked again, rubbing her eyes as she leaned into his more.

"I guess I just got use to waking up early." Rafe said as Lila looked at him like he was crazy.

"What?" he asked her now with a laugh, not being able to hold himself back by the look on her face.

"Waking up early for what?" Lila asked, curious actually, knowing he wasn't in school and didn't have a job.

"When I was still in high school my Dad use to get me up really early to go golfing, I hated it back then but once I got use to it I just couldn't sleep in anymore." Rafe said, opening up to her, finally. Lila couldn't help but let the warm feeling take over her body, the snap inside of her that made her emotions get the best of her. Here he was, Rafe mother fucking Cameron, a complete douch bag, opening up to her.

"You should start waking me up with you, I need to get back on a schedule before the summer ends for school." Lila said, a small smile on her face, wake me up with you. He got what she said, looking down at the blonde who was curled up by his side, eyes barely open.

"I'll try, how much longer do you have until you graduate?" Rafe asked her, panic setting in as he realized he'd never asked her how old she was.

"Just senior year left." Lila answered as Rafe nodded his head, despite that she couldn't see him.

"How come you didn't stay in college?" Lila asked, felling his body tense slightly at the words. Lila hurried to place a hand on top of his before he got offended by her words, feeling him relax slightly.

"Just more important things in my life." he explained. Cocaine. Lila knew, she knew that's what happened. A blind person could tell you Rafe Cameron was a addict, it wasn't hard to see, especially not to Lila who knew it all too well.

"Like what?" she asked, waiting for him to go on and tell her. Lila sat up to look at him some, seeing Rafe already looking down at her.

"Doesn't matter right now, yeah?" he asked, clearly trying to get away from the topic. Lila was glad he didn't get mad, glad they wouldn't ruin this once again.

"Okay." Lila answered with a forced smile as she looked up at him, a blink to her eyelashes. They weren't anything special, far from it, but they made her eyes look beautiful and rounder. Rafe stared at Lila, stared at her like she was the only person in the world.

"I've gotta go do some stuff when we get back, wanna come?" he asked, his large hand rubbing her back slightly as Lila hummed.

"Maybe later. I told Kie i'd meet her and the boys down at the restaurant." Lila answered, immediately regretting bringing up them infront of him. Rafe had a slight annoyed look on his face as he looked away from her for a moment, out at the ocean.

"Yeah? Your Pogue friends, hum?" Rafe asked, looking at her again. His look was to familiar with her, way to familiar. The look he'd give her when he was attempting to intimidate, trying to scare her in a way. Lila knew it by now, she knew exactly what he was thinking and what he was trying to do.

"Yeah, my pogue friends. Maybe you forgot but i'm still one of them, and i'd really fucking appreciate it if you weren't such a dickhead to them. If we're gonna be friends you can't go around being rude to my original friends, they had me before you did. They have dibs." Lila stated with sass as she looked at him, just the amount of intimidation as his eyebrows raised at her words.

"Friends? You and I are just friends?" Rafe asked her, speaking on her previous statement.

"You know what I mean." Lila said while nudging his shoulder some, her voice dropping slightly to a embarrassed and bashful tone.

"Do I?" Rafe asked as with a small smirk on his face, Lila watching him with a raise of her eyebrows. Reaching his hands over, he pushed some of the messy blonde hairs from her face, caressing her cheek slightly as Lila looked over at him with a small smile. To lost in his eyes to flinch when his hand ran over the small bruises on her face.

"Do you want me to bring you something back home? From Kie's restaurant?" Lila asked as she propped her head up with her arm that was rested on the side of the boat. If a stranger listened to their conversation it would have sounded like they'd been together for years, ages even. The chemistry the two had, the tension that had built up since the day they met, it all just seemed too natural between the two. Like they'd known each other for so long, like they didn't have a awkward phase of a relationship. They were just them, just like that.

"No, no i'll be okay. What time are you gonna be home?" Rafe asked her curiosity, looking over the boats side to see how close they were to the docks they were.

"Six maybe, possibly earlier but I doubt any later, why do you ask?" Lila questioned, stretching her legs across his lap as her arms went over her head for a good second before coming back down.

"Rose wanted me to talk to you about helping her put together this thing for Midsummers, thinks you'd have a good eye for it." Rafe explained to Lila with a nod of his head as Lila nodded her head, doubting she'd be any help but not bothering to tell him that.

"I'm invite to that?" Lila asked, hearing it was only for rich families, but in a way it seemed she was apart of one now.

"Your moms are, meaning you are. And I'm gonna be there, meaning you're immediately invited." Rafe answered, avoiding eye contact at his words. Lila tried to hold back her smile, if he was invited she immediately was. A million thoughts raced through her mind as to what that meant, what he was implying. She didn't wanna over think it, not yet at least as the blonde simply nodded.

"Kie told me about it once I moved over to your house, seems kinda cool." Lila went on with a shrug, seeing him give her a look, not agreeing as Lila laughed at the odd look.

"What? You don't like it?" she asked, reaching her hand over to rest on his shoulder, rubbing slightly.

"Just a excuse for dad to parade us around like a perfect family." Rafe said with small huff, his cheeks blowing out slightly as his fingers traced small, cursive words on Lilas thighs.

"Well, plot twist, i'll be there. So maybe, another plot twist, I can steal you before he has the chance." Lila said with a point of her finger, getting  a chuckle from Rafe at her words.

"Plot twist." he mimicked her as another laugh left his mouth.

"Plot twist." Lila nodded her head agreeably. The cold metal on her finger causing a hammer in her heart, the sweet guested once again making her wonder. She wanted to ask what they were, wanted to ask so badly. But she didn't, she didn't ask because she was terrified what he would say.

"Watch your step." Rafe said as he helped Lila off the boat, her sandals hitting the docks as Rafe tied it off.

"Well, see you at home." Lila said as she turned on her heels, not knowing how to end the moment.

"Woah, Lila!" Rafe called out, making the blonde look back at him with squinted eyes from the sun, holding her hand up to block it.

"That's how you're gonna stop this? 'See you at home' and walk away?" Rafe asked her as Lila frowned her eyebrows, seeing him huff slightly at her actions.

"What do you want me to say? We're around people now." Lila said, looking at the multiple Kooks that were getting onto their boats that morning, a few even saying hi to Rafe when the two got back home.

"I don't care that we're around people." Rafe said back, his voice louder to make his statement know as he took a few steps forward.

"Then what do you care about? Because it's just this massive brain fuck as of right now with how confused I am." Lila spoke as she stared at him, feeling better to say what she was feeling out loud.

"I just...." Rafe trailed off, stopping himself as he stared at her. It was unknown what he was stopped for. Maybe because of how many people around them he knew, maybe it was that she was still in high school, maybe it was the fact that people know she hung around Pogues, or maybe it was because he was scared to show emotions, scared to show how he felt.

"I just care about you, is that not good enough?" Rafe asked her, a annoyed look on his face as Lilas lips spread into a smile. He said it, finally. He said it infront of so many people he knew, he said it like he meant it and maybe he did.

"More then enough." Lila answered as she walked over, grabbing his face and pressing their lips together quickly. Lila held onto his face for a good few seconds, his hands gripping her waist. The whistling and cheers from the few people around them cutting their moment short as Lila pulled back with a red face as Rafe grinned down at her.

"See you at home." Lila repeated herself as Rafe nodded his head, saying the sentence back to her before she walked off.

••••
a fluffy fill chapter going on here but i loved it honestly.

next chapter is gonna be cute and a ton of lila x everyone honestly.

also some huge back story on lila coming soon!