Katherine was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted after the party at the boneyard. She didn't expect Todd to text her at all, so when he was texting her repeatedly, telling her their fight was dumb and that they weren't breaking up, she was quite surprised.

She sent a quick text to her mother to let her know that she was safe at Sarah's, before switching her phone off and tucking it into her pocket. She had no interest in stroking Todd's ego. Like he'd told her, there were plenty of other girls on the island to do that for him.

The last thing Katherine wanted to do was hash out the events of the night with anyone else, so she quietly opened the Camerons' front door, in hopes of entering the house unnoticed. However, that hope was abruptly crushed no sooner than she'd manifested it, because when she walked through the door, Sarah's father, Ward, was pacing the corridor. He was speaking in a hushed voice on the phone, but when he saw her walk through the door, he frowned. "Yeah, no, I'll-I'll call you back." He hung up the phone and immediately walked towards Katherine. "What in the world...?" He tilted her chin upwards towards the light, to get a better look at the wound on her lip. "Katherine, what happened?" So much for not talking about it.

Her eyes flashed towards the stairs when she heard footsteps approaching, silently hoping that it was Sarah coming to her rescue. However, when Rafe came into view, stopping at the top of the staircase, her stomach started to churn. She returned her gaze to Ward, offering him a small smile. "You know me, clumsy clumsy," she chuckled. "I tripped on the beach and bit right through it. I-I haven't had a chance to clean it yet. I'm sure it looks worse than it is."

Ward seemed to believe her, laughing along with her, but Rafe's eyes remained unconvinced. His arms were crossed over his chest, watching as she climbed the stairs and tried to brush past him. "Whoa, hey, what's up?" He grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him. "You haven't answered any of my texts." He finally got a good look at her lip, knowing well that it wasn't from falling. "Who did this? Was it Todd?" His voice was gruff. "He called wanting to fight me. Did you...did you tell him?" There was no masking the hopefulness in his voice.

"I-it wasn't Todd," she lied, trying to move around Rafe.

He was enraged, that someone had put their hands on her. "I'd hate to have to kick his ass."

"Leave her alone, Rafe."

Katherine was more than relieved when Sarah appeared at the top of the stairs, her arms crossed over her chest. Katherine shot Rafe an apologetic smile, before bounding up the stairs and joining Sarah. "Tonight was an absolute shit show," she groaned, leaning into Sarah's embrace. The pair walked into Sarah's room and closed the door, leaving Rafe to stare after them.

Katherine plopped across the foot of Sarah's bed with a grunt, keeping her eyes planted to the ceiling. "Are you okay?" The bed dipped next to her, where Sarah's concerned voice could be heard.

She let out a bit of a dramatic sigh, but not exactly dramatic, given her circumstances. "He couldn't even say sorry," she muttered, shaking her head. "I mean, I know I can't exactly be mad about him cheating on me, given the fact that I..." she trailed off, pursing her lips into a straight line. She sat up on her elbow, facing Sarah. "Am I being ridiculous? Should we even be broken up?"

Sarah brushed Katherine's hair out of her face, shaking her head. "You're absolutely not being ridiculous," she objected. "That piece of shit hit you, Kat. He didn't even look sorry, and he literally tried to make it your fault."

"I don't even know how to be single," Katherine laughed incredulously. "We've been together for so long—."

"No excuses, damn it," Sarah wagged her finger, laugh. She pulled her up, forcing her best friend to look her in her eyes. "You're going to have fun this summer. Okay? So what if you don't have a boyfriend. There are a ton of guys that would kill to take Todd's place, and I think I know two in particular."

Katherine's eyes narrowed at her. "Two?" She knew that Sarah was referencing Rafe, but the second one was lost on her.

Sarah rolled her eyes at her oblivion. "JJ Maybank?" Katherine waved her off as soon as the name came out of her mouth. "Oh, please. I saw you flirting with him at the Boneyard, by the keg."

It appeared to be a talent that Sarah had, that she could read Katherine like an open book. Katherine absolutely hated it. Often times, she swore the Cameron girl knew her better than she knew herself, but that was what you got when you'd been best friends for your entire lives.

Katherine rolled her eyes dismissively. "I wasn't flirting," she scoffed. "I was saving that touron from a meaningless one night stand with a Pogue. She couldn't have handled it."

"Oh, and you can?" Sarah couldn't resist the urge to tease her, but Katherine was quick to retaliate, playfully shoving her backwards on the bed. They both erupted into laughter that could be heard from anywhere in the house. It was almost enough to help take Katherine's mind off of the evening.

Even after a warm shower, and long after Sarah had fallen asleep, Katherine found herself tossing and turning, unable to will herself to sleep. She gnawed on the inside of her cheek, before grabbing her phone off of the nightstand. To her surprise, there was already a text on her lock screen.

rafey ♥️
u up?

Katherine locked the phone back, staring up at the ceiling yet again. You're going to have fun this summer. She glanced over at her unsuspecting best friend that was sleeping soundly next to her, recalling her words. She was right. Fuck Todd. The best way to get over him was to get under someone else, or something like that.

Slowly, she slid out from underneath the comforter, careful not to move the bed much and disturb Sarah. She snuck around the bed and out of the room, closing Sarah's door to a crack. She tiptoed down the hallway, thankful that there seemed to be nobody stirring in the hallway.

Her heart was thudding in her chest when she reached Rafe's door. She started to knock, but figured he was expecting her, so she just twisted the door knob. There was a small creak that came from the hinge, signaling her arrival. She couldn't make out much in the room, other than the glow from Rafe on his phone.

She turned and closed the door behind her, locking it for good measure. The last thing she needed was for someone to catch her in a vulnerable state with Rafe.

"Hey," his voice came from where he had propped up on his elbow to look at her. "Are you okay?"

Katherine contemplated the question, wanting to lie, but the pang in her chest wouldn't let her. She quickly shook her head no, inching closer to the bed. He was quick to shift over, to give her space. As soon as she moved into the bed with him, his arms wrapped around her, pulling her against his chest.

It wasn't her plan to cry into his chest, but his arms felt oddly comforting. She'd known him most of her life, and she considered him a safe place. "We broke up," she muttered. "Like, for good."

Rafe had to fight to contain his excitement. He absolutely hated seeing her in Todd's arms. He was weak, and she needed a protector. Someone who would stop at nothing to do what he felt was right, and in her best interest. That was Rafe.

"I-I'm sorry," he lied, running his hand along the skin that was exposed on her lower back. "He doesn't deserve you, for what it's worth. You are absolutely incredible—everything about you. You should be with someone that knows your worth."

Katherine sniffled and looked up at him. Her nose was red and her blue eyes were accented by the way she'd been crying. Rafe somehow knew all of the words that Katherine needed to hear, every time she was in such a pained state. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that Rafe could make her happy, in the way she deserved, but as much of a physical attraction as she had to him, she didn't harbor romantic feelings for him.

Maybe I could... she tried to convince herself. Maybe I've been so hung up on Todd that I've missed what was right in front of me.

She craned her neck upwards and planted a gentle kiss on Rafe's lips, desperately willing herself to feel something. There was nothing, though. No spark, no fireworks...her heart was thudding in her chest, because of the physical attraction she so obviously had for him, but beyond physical, it was nothing.

Rafe was the complete opposite. He was so entirely enamored by her, her kiss alone being enough to make him hard. He didn't waste any time deepening the kiss, slipping his tongue between her lips, caressing along hers.

Katherine knew it was wrong to sleep with Rafe again, especially when she knew how he felt about her. She just managed to convince herself that maybe she could love him in that same way. His hand trailed down the front of her pajama shorts, and Katherine was a sucker to let him.

Surfing was Katherine's favorite way to clear her mind, with simply sitting on the beach as a very close second. Her mother taught her the, as Katherine would call it, life skill when she was only eight and she has loved it ever since.

Basically anything that involved the beach, or the ocean, was a sure fire thing for Katherine.

The morning after her rendezvous with Rafe, she insisted on taking a trip to the beach. The sun danced off the perfectly tanned skin of two blonde Kooks that had every guy in Kildare looking their way. They never paid it much attention, but on that day in particular, it annoyed Katherine beyond measure. She rolled her eyes at any of them that dared to voice their thoughts and even flipped a couple of them off. One could say that Katherine Scott was in a bit of a mood. The storm had left a great devastation in its wake, but you couldn't tell the teenagers of the island that.

"What is with the swarm of horn dogs today," Katherine muttered, sitting upright. She slid her hot pink sunglasses that matched her hot pink bikini down her nose, narrowing her eyes at another couple of guys that walked by. She brushed off some of the excess sand that had littered her beach towel with a huff.

Sarah simply shook her head and smiled, obviously amused. "What's got you so wound up, Kat?"

"Shall I list all the things," she hummed sarcastically. Truth be told, Katherine wasn't sure herself. Probably the lack of sleep from replaying the previous nights events, or maybe the fact that she was harrowing guilt from how poorly she treated the Pogue that actually defended her.

It was her idea to come down to the beach today. Not because it was her favorite place to be, or because the weather was literally perfect. Not because the waves were perfect for surfing, but because she knew he would know the waves were perfect for surfing.

It wasn't so much that she wanted to see him, but she did feel like she owed him an apology. And she also still had his bandana. She used the ugly little piece of fabric to tie up her hair, so nobody would ask questions as to why she had it.

With her glasses still perched near the tip of her nose, Katherine scanned the not-yet crowded beach until she spotted the familiar blonde walking towards the water with Pope, both with boards in tow.

"I'll be right back," she said simply, getting to her feet.

Sarah sat up on her elbows briefly, about to question her, but she didn't have a chance before Katherine was out of earshot. However, she quickly realized what her friend was up to when she saw JJ.

Katherine trotted towards the boys, earning a few whistles her way, to which she managed to ignore. "JJ," she called when she a few yards away from them.

Both JJ and Pope's head snapped up at the sound of her voice. The blonde's gaze lingered a little longer than it should have, but Pope quickly snapped him out of whatever daze he was in before Katherine could even notice. "O-oh, hey, Kat. 'S-'sup?"

"Smooth," Pope muttered lowly enough for only JJ to hear. "Hey, Kat." He offered her a small wave.

She returned the wave and smiled kindly at they Heyward boy, before letting her gaze drift back to JJ. "Hey, look, I-uh," she stammered, glancing sideways at Pope. Katherine Scott didn't admit mistakes. It wasn't in her DNA. She was stubborn, occasionally impetuous and often times short-tempered, but most of all, prideful.

JJ patted Pope's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "I'll catch up with you, man." Pope looked between them, before finally picking up on what was happening before sending them both a thumbs up. JJ adjusted the backwards cap on top of his head. "What's up?" He sunk his hands into his swim trunks and looked down at her. The cut on her lip was rather masterfully covered, but various bruises littered her skin across her arms and on her waist. JJ didn't dare steal another glance, though.

"I, um," she started, unsure of exactly what to say. JJ didn't rush her, though, he just waited patiently for her to say whatever it was she needed to say. "I didn't get to say thank you for...for taking up for me. Besides Sarah, I've never..." she shook her head, laughing humorlessly, wringing her hands together, fueled by the anxiety flowing through her. "I've never had anyone else do that. A-and I'm sorry that I was such a bitch and hit you and-."

JJ immediately cut off her rambling and shook his head. "You don't have to apologize," he shrugged. "I kind of took it too far with the..." he trailed off, looking to his left and right. He ran a hand along the back of his neck. "How's your boyfriend?"

Katherine chuckled dryly. "Wouldn't know," she shrugged. "We broke up." She didn't miss the way JJ's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but before he could bother pressing for more answers, she was quick to fold her arms over her chest in defense. His eyes darted down at the action and Katherine playfully shoved him back a step. "Eyes up here, Maybank." A small smile toyed at her lips that she was futile in trying to stifle. She forced her gaze to fall, unwilling to continue to stare into the cerulean pools that were his eyes, but the smile on her face quickly faded when she saw his bruised knuckles. "Are you okay?"

His own grin dissipated when he followed her eyes down to his hands. "This? Oh, yeah," he chuckled. "Same look, different day." He held them up to inspect them and Katherine grabbed them to get a better look for herself.

The night before, she hadn't been able to see how busted up his knuckles were, nor did she see the scars from past altercations imbedded into his skin. She trailed her thumb across the many of them, as though they each had their own story to tell.

His eyes flicked from where he had also been looking at his hand, to fully take in the girl in front of him. JJ had always thought that all Kooks were the same: stuck up, bitchy and unbearable to be around. Katherine didn't seem like any of those things. The frown lines that formed between her brows were one of concern for him, as opposed to disgust, and the way that his heart started to race when she grabbed his hand was far from a coincidence. Granted, nobody had ever shown him real and true concern before.

Katherine caught his eyes scanning her face and she let his hands fall back down to his side. "I should probably head back over to Sarah," she murmured, looking between his eyes, almost as if she was searching for an excuse to stay within their depths. "Oh, by the way..." she trailed off, unwrapping the bandana from around her ponytail. "I washed it for you. You know, so it didn't have blood all over it."

JJ swallowed thickly, grabbing the fabric from her grip. "Right, yeah," he nodded. His eyebrows were furrowed as she backed away, but his expression was otherwise unreadable.

"I'll see you around, JJ," she hummed. Similar to yesterday at the Boneyard, she gave him a two finger salute, ending it by raising her middle finger. A cheeky grin was plastered on her face until she turned away from him and sauntered back over to Sarah.

JJ bit the inside of his cheek, watching as she walked away. He let out a breathy laugh, before tearing his attention away from her and walking towards Pope, who was pretending not to notice. "Sorry, man."

Pope put his hands up in surrender. "Mackin' a Kook has to be hard work," he scoffed, shoving JJ playfully, who returned the favor while insisting there was no way in hell he was mackin' a Kook.

Sarah was still resting on her towel when Katherine walked back, though she had rotated to her stomach. "How's JJ," she hummed knowingly, not even bothering to open her eyes. Sarah could read her like an open book--Katherine despised it.

Katherine shrugged her shoulders, even though Sarah couldn't see her. "Just wanted to give him his bandana back."

"Right, right," Sarah chuckled, leaning up on her elbows. "You ready to get out of here?"