𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀🜲⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡

𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙚

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀🜲⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

♫ 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 ♫

That night, Kyla went to sleep in a stressed mood. Just because she was appalled at what happened between her and Rafe at the party didn't mean she wanted their relationship to end for good. She knew he had been on cocaine, as well as alcohol, she assumed, so perhaps it was just the drugs talking. She didn't want to truly believe he cared more about sex than the girl standing right in front of him. She really didn't want to give up on them. Not when she had run out on him at the party with barely giving him any time to explain himself. Maybe if she gave him time to explain why he said the thing he did, their relationship could be mended in no time, and they could go back to how they were: the perfect couple.

Before he apparently started using cocaine, of course.

When Kyla woke up the next day, which had been surprisingly later than normal due to how exhausted she had been from the past few days, she immediately grabbed her phone on her nightstand. She was met with two messages from Rafe, one from extremely early in the morning and one from only a few minutes ago.

Rafe 💞
Hey, I'm sorry about before. I want to
make it up to you. Golf in the morning?
3:32 a.m.

You're probably still sleeping, or maybe
you're not and you decided to ignore this,
but I'm at the course now if you want to come.
11:41 a.m.

Kyla bit the inside of her cheek as she read the messages, trying to decide if it was a good idea to join him or not. By not joining him, it would further prove to him that the issue they were having was truly serious and it wasn't just a one-off fight. But by not joining him, she was at risk of making the situation worse and not letting him have a chance to explain himself. She sucked in a breath, taking one last glance at his messages before she typed something back to him.

Kyla
Just got up. I'm on my way soon.
11:53 a.m.

Once her text was sent, she forced herself out of her bed and put on some golf-appropriate attire to get ready for the golf course. She put on a white skirt with a navy blue top, along with a belt to accompany the skirt. She also put on a thin, white jacket since the weather app warned her of a breeze. Once she was done putting on some light makeup, she went downstairs and grabbed a blueberry muffin to eat on the way to the golf course, which was located at the Island Club. Her parents had finally gotten a membership after many years of groveling for it, so she was allowed in once she arrived.

Rafe had dropped his location to her once she texted him that she was there, so she went ahead and grabbed a rental golf club and some golf balls to make her way over to where Rafe was on the green. However, once she got closer to his location, she realized he wasn't alone. Topper was with him.

"Uh, hey, boys?" Kyla called out, a little confused as to why the Thornton twin was there. She thought it was supposed to be just her and Rafe so they could talk about what had happened the night before.

Rafe looked over at her and smiled. "Hey, babe. You-you look gorgeous," he complimented straight away.

Kyla tried to stop herself from blushing, but she couldn't help but feel the blood rush to her cheeks at the compliment from her boyfriend. "Thanks," she replied once she reached them on the green.

"Hey, Ky," Topper greeted her, waving awkwardly.

"Uh, hey, Topper...What are you doing here?" She inquired slowly, her brows furrowing.

Topper glanced over at Rafe and swallowed hard, not knowing what to say. "Oh, uh," Rafe cut in, "he and Sarah also got into a little bit of, uh, a fight last night, and-and I wanted to give him some advice, you know? She's my sister, so I know her best."

Kyla looked between the two of them, having a hard time grasping the idea of Rafe simultaneously apologizing to her while also giving Topper advice on how to resolve whatever issue he was having with Sarah. Speaking of which, Kyla didn't wake up to any texts about the fight they apparently had last night, so she wondered what could have possibly happened and how she could help. But focus on yourself right now, Kyla, she reminded herself.

"Is-is that okay?" Topper quickly added once Kyla hadn't responded for a few seconds.

"Well..." She began, still looking between them, "I just find it a bit weird that he chose to give you advice at the same time we're supposed to be resolving our own issues," she said, her eyes landing fully on Rafe at the end of the sentence.

Rafe rubbed his lips together, blinking a bit at Kyla's words before he took a step forward. "You're right. You're t-totally right. I'm such an idiot. God, why am I such an idiot? I should be focusing one hundred percent on you. I just— I have no idea what I was thinking," he rambled.

Kyla released a sigh. "You're not an idiot, Rafe," she automatically assured him. She was so used to saying those words, or something similar, since Rafe always spoke so low of himself when he was upset. It was usually after he got into an argument with his father, where Ward would utter those same words to him. All Kyla would try to do was try to reassure him so he knew he wasn't an idiot, or a loser, or a failure. Because Rafe wasn't those things to her, not at all. Sure, he disappointed her at times, but he always made up for it. This was most likely one of those times, and all she had to do was reassure him that he wasn't what he thought he was.

"Really? 'Cause I feel like one," Rafe shook his head.

"Well, you're not. You made an effort to apologize, and I appreciate that. And you're also trying to be a good friend to Topper. That just shows me how much you care about the people around you," Kyla went on. She always did this. She always tried to come up with excuses with him to try to make herself feel better. She was blind to it at this point and really believed the words she was saying. And so did Rafe.

Rafe's lips began to quirk up into a smile. "I do care. I care a lot. Which is why I brought you out here. I wanna apologize for what I said last night. It was stupid as fuck and I didn't mean for it come out like it did. I was just...high and-and drunk, and I wasn't thinking. I know that's not an excuse, but I wasn't thinking straight. I just couldn't get my words out right. And I'm sorry. Really. I don't think our relationship is boring. I look forward to seeing you and speaking with you every day. If I didn't...I wouldn't be standing here right now and apologizing."

Kyla processed his apology, her own lips turning upwards into a soft smile. That was the kind of apology she was hoping for. One that was genuine and explained why he said the things he did. Now, the only thing she had to question was why exactly he was using cocaine. "I accept your apology, Rafe."

Rafe smiled even more before he went to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her in for a quick kiss. However, Kyla put her hand up to stop him. "What is it?"

"Why were you using coke?" Kyla questioned before her eyes flitted over to Topper. "Both of you. Was that your first time, or has this been happening at other parties?"

"It was my first time and I never plan on doing it again, so please don't tell Sarah," Topper blurted out at a lightning pace before he swallowed thickly, causing Kyla to give him an odd look. He cleared his throat, "Just please don't tell her, Ky. I don't want to make things worse."

Kyla sucked in a breath before she held her hands up in defense. "I won't tell her," she promised, and Topper released a sigh of relief. "But that doesn't mean Tara won't."

Topper tensed up again. "W-Well, Tara was also using it too, so she'd be stupid to tell her."

Kyla's eyebrows raised. "She was?"

"Uh...yeah," Topper confirmed. "But that was also her first time, too, I think. Just for fun."

"He's right," Rafe quickly interjected, making Kyla snap her eyes back over to him. "It was just for fun."

Kyla narrowed her eyes. "How many times has it been 'just for fun' for you, Rafe?"

Rafe's Adam's apple bobbed and down, seeming to think about his answer as his eyes darted all over his girlfriend's tanned face. He went to open his mouth to give her an awaited answer, but stopped himself once he spotted something over Kyla's shoulder. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," he uttered instead.

"Hey, what?" Topper spoke up as he followed Rafe's gaze. Kyla furrowed her brows and looked over her shoulder to see Pope walking along the path beside the green with some grocery bags in his hand. He was most likely delivering an order to the Island Club from his father's seafood shop, Heyward's Seafood.

"I don't think he's a member, do you?" Rafe pointed out as Kyla fully turned around to watch Pope walk down the path.

"It's fine, just-just let him go," Topper told his friend, and Kyla nodded as she put a hand on his chest to urge him to stay put. "All right, let's, uh...let's go get your ball. Come on."

"What happened to his ball?" Kyla pried as she looked over at the Thornton boy.

"He hit it all the way—"

"They put a gun to your head, bro," Rafe cut Topper off, tearing his gaze away from Pope to look at his close friend.

"That's fine. It's fine. Let's go," Topper tried to calm him, but Rafe didn't listen as he started to make his way over to Pope.

"Rafe," Kyla warned her boyfriend, who was seemingly making it his mission to storm over to Pope.

"Hey, Rafe. Rafe! Let's get your ball, man," Topper continued, but Rafe didn't listen to either of them as he walked down the small hill to get to Pope. Kyla and Topper shared a look before the former gulped and followed Rafe, not knowing what Rafe was going to do.

"Hey, what's up, man? Hey, how much for one of those beers?" Rafe queried, placing his golf club on the beer case and across Pope's body to stop him from walking.

Pope glanced at Kyla, making her purse her lips. "They're not for sale," he told Rafe monotonously once he looked back at the older boy.

Pope tried to walk past him, but Rafe pushed the length of the golf club against him harder. "Oh, wait, wait, wait. You can just give us one, then, right?" He taunted as Topper stood in front of Kyla to make his way next to Rafe. She blinked, taking a small step backward due to the action.

"Or you can order one, like everybody else," Pope responded, his tone snippy since he was obviously tired of being held up by the Kooks.

Rafe placed a hand on his chest to stop him from walking past them. "Listen. Wait, wait, wait. You're not listening to me. Um..." He trailed off, shrugging, "...You've got so many, bro, and we've got nothing."

"Got nothin', man," Topper backed Rafe up, making Kyla scoff quietly at him. Topper was just telling Rafe to stop, and now he was going along with it?

"Yeah, and I'm trying to treat my girlfriend to a good time, all right?" Rafe added, pointing back at Kyla with his thumb.

"She doesn't drink," Pope deadpanned, causing Rafe to narrow his eyes darkly at the boy.

"Yeah, he's right, Rafe. I don't," Kyla confirmed. "Come on, we don't need the beers." She went to go grab his bicep to pull him away from Pope, but Rafe shrugged her hands away. "Rafe."

"I'm not done talking to him, babe," Rafe replied without so much as a glance back at her, and she scoffed at him.

The Heyward boy swallowed thickly. "Look, they're not even mine. They're already paid for, okay?" He explained to them.

"Already paid for?" Rafe repeated, placing the top end of the golf club in the bag to see what was inside. "You probably stole 'em, right?" He assumed as he brought the club down harshly, ripping the plastic bag and making the corn and other groceries fall to the sandy path.

"Rafe!" Kyla called out, her eyes widening as she took a step forward.

"What the hell?! You owe me for that!" Pope exclaimed as he pointed at Rafe with the other bag in his hand, prompting Rafe to hit that grocery bag out of his hand as well. "Ooh!"

Rafe let out a breath. "Dude, I don't owe you shit, Pogue," he shook his head as he walked over to Pope threateningly.

"Rafe, stop," Kyla ordered from behind him.

"Buy your own shit!" Pope shouted as he pushed Rafe back to get away from him, only for him to back up into Topper. Pope spun around, his eyes wide as he realized it would be two against one.

"Hey, hey, come on, man. We just want one of these beers!" Topper urged as he tried to grab the box out of Pope's hands. "Come on, just give us one of these—!"

"You guys are freakin' crazy!" Pope spoke through clenched teeth, trying to keep his hold of the box of beers.

"Give us a beer, man!" Topper demanded before he pulled the box out of Pope's hands, sending the boy down on the sandy ground beneath them. Pope let out a strained groan as he rolled on the ground, obviously hurt from the fall. "Shit! Shit, my bad, man."

"Oh, my God," Kyla whispered before she bit the inside of her cheek as she placed her hands on the top of her head anxiously since she didn't know what to do. She wanted to help Pope and get the boys to stop, but she didn't know if she was able to. They never listened to her.

Pope got up from the ground, breathing heavily, and went to punch Rafe before Rafe brought the golf club up and poked him hard in the stomach, making Pope double over. He then hit the golf club over Pope's back hard, sending him down to the ground harshly.

"Rafe, stop!" Kyla cried out as she held her hand out.

"Hey! Rafe, Rafe! Come on, man!" Topper shouted with his hands toward Rafe as well, knowing that he had gone too far as well.

"Stay down, bitch!" Rafe yelled over Pope's hurt body.

"Hey, let's go! Let's go, man!" Topper shouted as he pushed Rafe away from Pope, only making Rafe push back.

"What, man?!" Rafe clamored.

"Listen to him, Rafe!" Kyla joined in, but Rafe kept on pushing against Topper aggressively.

"Knock it off, Rafe! Come on!" Topper continued before Rafe pushed off of him. "Seriously!"

Rafe jumped up in the air with the golf club in his hand, hitting it down towards Pope. "RAFE!" Kyla and Topper bellowed at the same time right before the club landed in the sand right next to Pope's body, making the injured boy gasp softly since he thought Rafe was about to hit him again.

"Ha-ha!" Rafe laughed triumphantly.

"Seriously, knock it off!" Topper yelled as Rafe backed up away from Pope for a second.

"Rafe, listen. Come on, man," Topper said, trying to get him to stop.

"Stay away from him, Rafe!" Kyla commanded, but Rafe didn't listen as he leaned down towards Pope's bleeding face.

"Okay..." Rafe trailed off, smacking Pope's face a few times.

Topper looked down at them from above. "Hey, Rafe, Rafe. Just let him go."

"We don't want you over here. You got that?" Rafe spoke to Pope, breathing heavily.

"Let him go, Rafe," Kyla said sternly, her throat hoarse from all the yelling.

Rafe smacked Pope's face one more time for good measure. "Stay off Figure Eight, Pogue," he warned before he stood up and started to walk away. "See ya!"

Topper and Kyla stayed standing over Pope, both in complete shock at what Rafe had just done to him. "Top, Ky, let's go!" Rafe called out, but they both stayed looking down at Pope with wide eyes.

His mouth was bleeding, and the redness coated his white teeth, making Kyla's stomach churn. She didn't think Rafe was capable of doing this, of beating up an innocent boy who was younger than him. Pope wasn't even doing anything, he was only delivering groceries. It wasn't like he sought out Rafe first. Rafe did this because he felt like it. He wanted to feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins by beating someone up who was powerless against him. It was sickening.

"Hey, let's go!" The Cameron boy called out again more aggressively. Topper started to back away slowly, unsure of what his friend would do if he didn't listen to him, while Kyla looked back and forth between her boyfriend and Pope.

She knew she couldn't just leave Pope here, helpless and hurt. That would make her just as responsible for what had happened, and she didn't want to have that on her conscience, knowing that the right choice would be to help her sister's friend. She had already done enough by not doing anything, so she knew what she should be doing in that moment. She gave her boyfriend a final look before she made the decision to crouch down towards Pope, trying to help him up.

Rafe's brows knitted together for a moment before he waved his girlfriend over. "Kyla, come on!"

"Shut up, Rafe!" Kyla demanded.

Rafe raised his brows at her, surprised she had spoke back to him like that. "What was that?"

Kyla looked up at him with Pope's arm in her hands. "What you just did was disgusting! Just disgusting!" She told him, causing Rafe to blink wildly at her. "So get the hell out of here because I don't even want to look at you right now."

Rafe scoffed, "But, Kyla, he's a Po—"

"I don't care what he is!" Kyla interrupted, knowing what he was about to say. "Just go!"

Rafe noticed the angered look in her eyes, one that he wasn't sure he had ever seen before, even in their past arguments. He thought about what to do for a moment before he looked at Topper. "Okay, okay, come on," he said before the both of them walked away from the scene.

Kyla pursed her lips before she looked back down at Pope, seeing him groan in pain on the ground. "I'm so sorry," she whispered before she began to put his arm over her shoulder so she could help him stand up.

Pope wiped at his mouth, trying to get some of the blood away. "It's not you who needs to apologize," he told her through some sharp breaths. "You don't need to help me, either."

Kyla began to walk with Pope's arm around her shoulder, allowing him to balance on her so he wouldn't have to have all the weight on his body. Luckily, both she and Kiara were a bit taller compared to some girls so it wasn't like Pope had to lean fully down on her.

"Yes, I do. My boyfriend beat you up and I just...watched," she replied, looking over at him beside her. "I have to do something." She knew that she should have done more to try to stop Rafe, but as she thought about it, she wasn't sure what more she could have done. How was she supposed to get in between two guys who were much taller and stronger than her? She knew they wouldn't want to her hurt on purpose, but what if they did something on accident? It was too risky. But now, she felt bad for not taking that risk.

Pope only looked down in response, not saying anything for the rest of the slow walk to the boat. Once they made it aboard his father's fishing boat, Kyla took the thin, white jacket she was wearing off and dipped it into the cold ocean water. He needed something to help his wounds and she thought at least something cold could help.

Once the jacket had been soaked with the ocean water, she walked back to Pope on the boat and handed it to him as it dripped down onto the floor. "Here. Put it on your mouth or your eye, and it should stop the swelling for a bit," she told him before he slowly took the wet cloth from her, holding it up to his face. Pope stared at her for a few moments as Kyla began to wring her hands together nervously. "I really am sorry," she apologized again after a second.

Pope slowly shook his head. "It's okay. I don't blame you for what happened. You were trying to stop them," he pointed out before he began to make his way into the compartment of the boat that had the steering wheel.

"But I should've tried harder," Kyla stated as she marched after him. "I should've tried to do something."

Pope looked back at her. "And then what? You get hit by Rafe, too?"

Kyla sucked in a breath. "I don't think he would do that."

"So then why didn't you do something more?" Pope tilted his head, genuinely asking her.

Kyla's eyebrows raised at his question as she began to ponder it. She had to admit, he was kind of right in asking. If she knew Rafe wouldn't do anything to put her in harm's way, why didn't she do something more than just yell at him to stop? Maybe at the back of her mind, she was afraid he would do something to harm her.

She knew Rafe could get aggressive, but it never happened with her. He was always gentle with her, even when they got into their arguments. But the fact that he was capable of something like this and was prone to angering quick, it made her secretly scared inside that that anger would trickle into their relationship.

Am I just being dramatic?

When those thoughts of Rafe possibly hurting her came into her brain, she tried her best to push them out and call herself crazy. But was she crazy for thinking them? Was she crazy to think that if Rafe could get easily violent with other people, that he could get violent with her? She definitely didn't want to find out.

Kyla snapped out of her thoughts and made eye contact with Pope, who was looking at her expectantly. However, before she could respond, a voice cut through the breezy air.

"Pope!" JJ laughed as he ran down the dock toward the boat they were both on. "Dude, you are not going to believe what just happened to me, man! Whoo! That was the best one hundred bucks I've ever made! When I say count me in on all these grocery deliveries, Pope, I mean it." He walked into the compartment the two were in before his smile faltered. "Whoa, what is she doing here?" He immediately asked once he saw Kyla there with his best friend.

"I'm standing right here. You can just ask me," Kyla responded as she crossed her arms.

"Whoa, someone's feeling fiery today," JJ teased and she gave him a look, making him clear his throat and say, "So what are you doing here then?"

Kyla bit the inside of her cheek for a moment before she trailed off, "Rafe and Topper..."

"Rafe and Topper, what?" JJ pressed once he heard the names of the putrid Kooks, looking between both of them, even though Pope wasn't even looking his way.

"Rafe and Topper jumped me," Pope revealed before he finally faced JJ, lowering the wet jacket from his face to show the cuts and bruises left by Rafe and Topper.

"Jesus!" JJ exclaimed before he looked away angrily, causing Kyla to swallow hard since she knew how unpredictable JJ could be. She didn't want to be caught in the middle of one of his outbursts. Especially since she was a Kook herself and dating one of the men that jumped his best friend. "What happened?" He questioned as he looked back at Pope.

"They said no Pogues on their side of the island," Pope told him darkly.

JJ looked over at Kyla, his jaw clenching. "Did you have something to do with this?" He interrogated her as he took a step toward her.

"What? No, I-I didn't, I..." She stammered, trying to find the right words without making it seem like she was just a bystander. But that's exactly what she was: a bystander. She did nothing except yell at Rafe and Topper to stop, and only waited until they left to help Pope. She felt terrible for not doing more.

"Kyla, I swear to—"

"No, she didn't have anything to do with it, JJ," Pope cut in, causing them both to look over at her. "She helped me afterwards. It was just Topper and her...boyfriend," he relayed to JJ for her.

The blond shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe this," JJ breathed out, his nostrils flaring.

"I can't either," Kyla added before she pursed her lips.

JJ looked to her, studying her face for a moment before he suggested, "Why don't you get outta here?"

Kyla blinked at him. "What?" She blurted out. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't want to stay. Maybe because she knew she had to make it up to Pope, but she wasn't sure how. Did he even want her there when her boyfriend was the cause of this? She wasn't so sure.

"I'm sure you wouldn't want your boyfriend to potentially see you with us," JJ pointed out bitterly. "So it's probably a good idea if you go."

Kyla wasn't sure if JJ was suggesting that for her, or for them. She assumed it was latter and that they didn't want her here due to her extremely close proximity to Rafe. She glanced over at Pope, who was averting his eyes from her. "Are you gonna be okay, Pope?"

JJ narrowed his eyes a bit at that as Pope looked Kyla's way. He handed the jacket back to her and said, "Yeah."

Kyla shook her head. "You can keep that. I can get it back from you another time." Pope shared what looked to be a look of confusion mixed with slight surprise with JJ before he slowly put the jacket back up to the bruise on his face. Kyla nodded a bit before she gave the boys a guilt-ridden smile. "I'm really sorry again."

Pope nodded at her before he turned toward the steering wheel, clearly wanting to get out of there and not waste any more time being on Kook territory. JJ licked his lips and nodded himself. "It's alright," he spoke, softer than he did before. He then placed a hand on the upper part of Kyla's back, making her eyes widen a bit. He began to gently guide her to the open door of the compartment they were in. "But you should go."

"I know," Kyla replied as she allowed him to guide her out of the room. They walked out onto the main part of the boat where Kyla stepped off to get onto the dock. She went to go walk off once she heard JJ begin to untie the boat from the dock before she stopped herself and spun around. She met JJ's blue eyes once he stood back up from his crouch as the boat slightly drifted away. "I tried to stop them, you know. I was telling them to stop. They wouldn't listen."

JJ pursed his lips, nodding. "I know."

Kyla furrowed her brows a bit. "You do?"

He nodded again. "I know you wouldn't just let them jump Pope. If you did then..." He trailed off, taking a breath, "then I had a very different opinion of you, Kyla."

Kyla arched a brow a bit, growing curious. "And what's your opinion of me?" She dared to ask.

JJ shrugged. "You're a Kook, but...not the kind of Kook like Topper and Rafe."

Kyla blinked at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

JJ shrugged again. "You're smart. I'm sure you can figure it out, princess." And with that, he walked back into the compartment where Pope steered the boat away.

Kyla sucked in a breath as she watched the boat float away from the dock she stood on. A Kook, but not the kind of Kook like Topper and Rafe? She repeated JJ's words over and over in her head as she slowly walked away from the water.

She wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but she was determined to find out.

authors note!
oh rafe and topper...manchilds smh