𝐍 𝐈 𝐍 𝐄 𝐓 𝐄 𝐄 𝐍
powerpuff girls

Rafe. Of course, he had to ruin things. If anyone even touched Meredith, he would intervene. It wasn't like they were dating. She didn't even like him. But, he was controlling. It's who he was. There was no changing that. "Hey, man. Mer, how are you doing?"

The brunette clenched her jaw at the tall blonde, his blue eyes staring deeply into hers, almost as if he was challenging her to speak. JJ, who had yet to say anything back in a way that would surely piss Rafe off, stood in front of Meredith defiantly, slapping the boy's hand from his shoulder.

It didn't take a genius to see the way Rafe Cameron held his gaze. It was as if he was competing over something. Over someone. Over Meredith.

"I'm wonderin' if you could get me a mai tai, my friend," Rafe placed his hands back on JJ's shoulders, preventing the pogue from moving. Around the three were Rafe's friends, or in this case, his henchmen.

"Pogue, how about you make that two?" Kelce spoke up from behind Rafe, his gaze set on Meredith. She narrowed her eyes before silently looking back at the Cameron son, who couldn't seem to look away from the blonde pogue.

"I'm on the clock right now," JJ lied, head held high. Meredith took a step back, knowing that if things escalated, she wouldn't be found in the crossfire.

"Oh, on the clock," Rafe repeated, a mocking tone following his words. "I didn't know that dancing with Meredith over here was a part of your job." His threatening gaze landed on the brunette, who had yet to say anything.

"You guys look spiffy," JJ ignored the boy's previous comment, but Meredith could tell Rafe had hit a nerve. "You know, uh, I've got a couple of orders ahead of you, so why don't you guys just go ahead and wait by the bar?"

The blue-eyed pogue pointed inside at the bar, where Meredith could see her parents sitting, engulfed in a conversation with family friends.

"No, we're going..." Rafe paused, looking around at the scene. "We're going with you."

"Help yourself to some hors d'oeuvres," JJ ignored, beginning to take cautious steps back. Meredith moved out of the way when his back met her chest, holding the extra fabric of her blue dress in her hands to prevent it from getting stepped on.

"Oh, yeah," Rafe nodded sarcastically, a menacing smirk on his lips. He turned to his friends who had begun surrounding them. "Guys, JJ's gonna serve us some hors d'oeuvres. Right?"

"Well, here are the hors d'oeuvres," the pogue pointed to a table lined to the brim with neat plates of various foods. Meredith internally cursed, knowing that this would only end badly, especially when JJ's nervous eyes met hers. In a fit of panic, she looked away to the door. If she meant it as a signal, he seemingly picked it up because his feet began taking him to the door before anyone could stop him. He picked up his pace to a panicked run, the group of Kooks following hot on his trail.

Meredith's widened eyes caught sight of something that had fallen on the ground. Her furrowed brows before moving to the folded up note, kneeling down to retrieve it from the ground.

Her eyes read the scribbled words in dark marker. In large letters, it said: 'meet me at the bag drop. From, Vlad'. Her brows immediately furrowed at the letter. Who the hell was Vlad?

Before she could fold the piece of paper back up, a voice was heard over her shoulder. She flinched at the sudden presence behind her, frantically turning around to see Sarah.

"Shit," Meredith placed a shaky hand on her beating heart, a relieved sigh falling from her lips. "Oh, you scared me."

"I'm sorry," Sarah let out a soft chuckle before her brown eyes were falling to the paper in her best friend's hands. "What's that?"

"Oh, uh... its-" Meredith stuttered, clear anxiousness radiating off of her. The blonde kook's brows pinched together at her best friend's obvious panic.

"You okay?" Sarah tilted her head, trying to meet Meredith's darting eyes.

"Uh, yeah," She nodded, swallowing thickly before looking back up at Sarah. The whole time Meredith had been looking inside the building in hopes that she could spot the kooks, Sarah only grew more curious. "Hey, who's Vlad?"

Sarah's widened eyes shot up at the revelation. Meredith knew about her and John B. She knew everything. Meredith took notice of the blonde's nervous gaze, only raising her brows in expectancy.

"Oh, that's John B..." The blonde revealed, eyes casting down. She couldn't meet her best friend's gaze, it was obvious. She was clearly guilty. When she finally met Meredith's eyes, the sable-haired girl wore a disgusted look. "It's a long story."

"That's some kinky shit, Sarah," She screwed her face up in distaste but couldn't help but smile at the blonde's lovestruck smile. "Explain everything later, yeah?"

Sarah nodded reassuringly, her lips curling up into a smile. She knew that Meredith didn't necessarily support it. It wasn't because of the pogue circumstances. It was because she was disloyal to her boyfriend. Meredith knew it. Sarah knew it. But, it would take a lot of explaining. "Here, read this. I have to go do something," Meredith gave her best friend the letter, not wasting another second to follow after where JJ had run off to.

She knew she shouldn't. But, for some reason, her feet were moving before her brain was. She owed it to him after every bitchy remark she had put him through just hours ago.

It didn't take long for the teenage girl to find the group, voices echoing from the men's restroom. She could easily make out Rafe's demanding tone and his menacing laugh. She really didn't want to - in fact, she considered turning around. But, it was like her feet were moving on their own. Before she knew it, she had ended up opening the door and entering the men's room.

"Very Rafe of you," As soon as she heard it, she immediately knew it was JJ's strained voice. "Five on one?" Meredith rounded the corner to see Kelce holding JJ in another headlock while Rafe acted out a sick and twisted golf fantasy. At least, that's what it looked like to her.

"If you could please stop talking?" Rafe interrupted, getting into position to hold an imaginary golf club. "It's very disrespectful. I'm trying to hit a ball."

The pogue struggled in Kelce's tight grasp, his blonde hair falling over his eyes.

"Learn your etiquette, my friend," just when Rafe looked up, his eyes looked past JJ and to the brunette whose presence was previously unnoticed. His smile widened, almost as if this had been his plan all along. "Hey! There she is!"

Collectively, the boys in the locker room turned to see Meredith's sharp gaze and clenched jaw. JJ was unable to turn around, but he had an idea of who it was just by how Rafe acted. Meredith didn't waste another second to approach Kelce, reaching for his shoulder.

"Let go of him," Rafe's thundering voice spoke over hers, and before she knew it, one of his friends was grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her away from JJ and Kelce. She tried to fight the blonde kook off, but his grip was a lot stronger than she would ever be.

"Your face looks really bad," Rafe leaned forward, eyes inspecting the various cuts and bruises that littered JJ's face. "Starting to look like your dad a lot more."

His words seemed to hit a nerve because before he knew it, JJ was spitting in his face, eyebrows pinched in anger.

"Oh, shit," Rafe chuckled, clear amusement dripping off of his words. Meredith rolled her eyes at the boy, his friend's arms still wrapped tightly around her figure to prevent her from moving.

"Rafe, just stop," Meredith spat, her eyes burning into his skull. She struggled against his friend, who didn't seem to want to let her go anytime soon. After all, it was all about Rafe's orders.

"What was that?" He smirked, taking a step towards her and cupping a hand around his ear. From behind him, JJ clenched his jaw, watching as the kook stepped in front of her. "You're supposed to be on my side. And, what? Now, you're just going around and slumming it with this trash?"

It was clear that his words made her mad, especially when her dark eyes narrowed into slits. "I'm not," She spoke sharply. "Not that it's really any of your business."

"No, it actually is my business because you're -" Whatever he was going to say was cut off by the flickering of lights before a deeper voice was shouting into the room.

"Gentleman!" A security guard entered the locker room, his eyes laying upon the group of teenagers. "Ma'am. Is there a problem?"

"Oh!" JJ scoffed when Kelce harshly shoved his off, flattening out his suit. "Pardon me, officer. No, there's not an issue. I just..." He paused, head turning to look at Meredith to see that she was still being restrained. His cerulean eyes met the boys who had his arms tightly around her, silently forcing him to let go.

Meredith quickly stepped away from his grasp, meeting Rafe's cold stare momentarily, no ounce of forgiveness behind her eyes.

"Actually, yes." JJ corrected himself. "No, there is an issue. Uh, we got a criminal trespass in progress here. Beep! Call it in, right? Blatant disrespect for private property."

His blue eyes met Meredith's quickly. It felt like time stopped, like he could stare forever. But, he knew he couldn't. It wasn't his place. He was a pogue. He turned back, facing the security guard.

"Yeah," Rafe nodded nervously, going along with the pogue's plan. He had noticed the look exchanged between the two but chose to ignore it for the time being.

"I'm in violations of all kinds of shit, sir." JJ falsely admits, running his hand through his hair nervously. "But these young gentleman," he moved to fix Kelce's tie, who then slapped his hand away aggressively.

"Don't touch my shit," he spat, shoving the blonde away.

"And this beautiful lady," he moved to face Meredith, who looked down to hide the blush on her cheeks. "Uh, caught me, sir, and they're about to take me away. And that's what you should do, escort me out of here."

The blonde pogue held his hands up for the man to cuff, but the security guard gave him a dubious glare. "You got me."

"Come on," the security guard grabbed ahold of JJ's wrists, pulling him towards the door aggressively. Meredith didn't like how he handled the pogue because he was exactly that, a pogue. If he was a Kook, he wouldn't be escorted with violence. He'd most likely pay his way out of it.

"All right," JJ nodded. "See you around, Meredith." He looked back over his shoulder, a mischievous smirk on his lips. He knew that he was slowly getting under Rafe's skin, and he secretly enjoyed it. "Fix that tie, son. You're looking spiffy, too. You Powerpuff girls have fun."

But Rafe didn't like walking away on a good note. In fact, he thrived in need of conflict. "Tell Kiara she looks pretty hot for a pogue. Oh, and from now on, stay away from Meredith."

In a fit of rage, JJ spun out of the man's tight grasp, his jaw clenched and practically fuming. He lunged towards Rafe, but the kooks were quick to push him back before he could lay his hands on anyone. Daryl, who was quick to retrieve the blonde, began yelling.

"Hey! Stop it. Come here!" He shouted, grabbing the pogue by the shoulders. "Let's go!"

"You think I'm afraid of you?" JJ taunted, being dragged away by security. From inside the locker room, Rafe fixed his suit, a frustrated sigh falling from his lips.

"Hey, safe travels back to the cut," Rafe shouted out to the retreated figures, hand moving to slick back his hair. "Hey, hey, it was really nice seeing you again, JJ!"

As soon as the pogue was gone, Meredith felt small. She felt vulnerable around the people she used to call her friends. Their friendship felt so insignificant now. Now that she knew what they were capable of. They had shown their true colors, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to be around people like them. Especially not when their hatred towards pogues was for the sole reason of their less fortunate lives.

"Hey, boys, why don't you leave us here to have a little chat. Alright?" Rafe eventually spoke up, and by the way his voice grew more stern by the second, she knew he was mad. He wasn't just mad. He was furious.

She had betrayed the kooks. There was no way of getting out of it.

One by one, his friends began filtering out of the men's locker room, one of which sent her a sympathetic gaze.

Once they were alone, Meredith could no longer avoid the suffocating tension. He was practically fuming, and there was no way to calm him down. She had only looked up when she heard his footsteps to see him approaching her, his stare dark and threatening. It almost scared her.

"What are you doing?" She didn't mean for her voice to come out as a whisper, but she was scared her tone might cause him to lash out.

Rafe didn't answer. He was too clouded with rage and frustration. She could see the vein protruding from his forehead, his chest rising and falling in deep breaths. "Rafe?"

No words left his mouth. Not even when she began backing away from him, her hands shaking at her sides. He didn't usually have any frightening features. Except for his temper. It never failed to scare her.

"Rafe..." She tried again, her voice wavering slightly under his menacing stare. She swallowed thickly when his hand lifted from his side and moved to the side of her face. When his palm made contact with her cheek, she unintentionally flinched, attempting to back away, but her back met with the wall.

At that moment, Meredith was sure he was going to do something. It was his eyes that told her that. They held a type of rage behind them. But that wasn't what scared her the most. It was the lust.

She wasn't even sure she saw it, but it was there. Especially when his eyes flickered down to her glossed lips.

She inhaled sharply when his thumb grazed her cheekbone, just below the bandaid. She could practically feel her heart racing. She was sure it would beat out of her chest.

Tears burned in the back of her eyes, but Meredith couldn't blink. She couldn't move. She was frozen. Her back was against the wall. He was in front of her. Meredith Waters was cornered, and there was nothing she could do.

She could try to fight him off, sure. But, he was so much stronger. His strength would overpower her.

It was like every word she tried speaking was lodged in her throat, threatening to fall out. But she couldn't speak. She physically couldn't.

Meredith was sure he could feel her shaky breath from their proximity, but she couldn't calm her breathing down. Rafe was terrifying her.

She thought it couldn't get any worse, but she was wrong because he had leaned down to her level, lips pressing against hers forcefully. She whimpered against his mouth in distaste, face scrunched up. She brought her knee up to shield herself from his body, hoping that he would back away. But his lips didn't - wouldn't leave hers.

Her pleading cries were muffled against his lips, hands moving to push against his chest. Rafe was so much stronger than her. He wouldn't move.

His other hand moved to her waist, trapping her body against the wall. Even above the fabric of her dress, she could feel the spine chilling coldness of his hands. It only made her stomach twist in distaste more, especially when his hand ran up and down her hip.

The second his hand began sliding to her back, it triggered her flight. She pushed his hand off, pleads muffled against his mouth. Eventually, she had built up the strength to push him off, bones no longer feeling as if they were ice cold.

"Get off," She urged, pushing him back with all of the strength she could muster. The second he was off of her, her shaky arms wrapped around her own figure, hugging herself in hopes of protecting herself. She didn't know it yet, but tears were rolling down her cheeks, specks of mascara following.

"What's wrong with you?" She choked out, voice wavering uncomfortably. It was when the tear landed on her lip that she realized she was crying.

"What's wrong with me?" He finally spoke, his words laced with venom. A loud scoff fell from his lips. "What's wrong with you? You're fucking a pogue?"

"No," She spat back, unable to hide the distaste on her tongue. Her arms were still tightly hugging her figure, trying to hide herself from the world. She felt so weak. So vulnerable.

"Yeah, see, I don't believe you," he chuckled humorlessly, scratching the back of his neck anxiously. "'Cause I don't know whose side you're on anymore."

"Well, that fucking sucks," She retorted, each word sharp like a blade. It was her only defense skill. Sharp words and painful insults. "It doesn't give you the right to kiss me!" She shouted, finally taking a step forward. Tears were pooling from her eyes now, but that didn't stop Rafe's actions.

"That!" He shouted, his deafening voice forcing a flinch from the girl. "That is exactly why I did it! You don't belong to them."

"I don't belong to you either," She fought, blinking away the tears that wouldn't stop forming in her eyes. She just wanted him to go away.

She almost thought she hallucinated it because the next thing she knew, he was laughing. She wasn't sure if he just really found the situation funny (the situation where he took advantage of her) or if the drugs had really scrambled his brain. "That's where you're wrong, Meredith. Because this," he moved back in front of her, his hand moving to hold the side of her face. She squeezed her eyes shut at the contact, too scared to move away from him. "Is mine. And this," his finger dragged along the silver necklace around her neck, stopping at the pendant.

"Is also mine," his voice was deep, almost hoarse. But, his lustful eyes are what scared her most. "Remember that, Meredith. We're meant to be together. Not you and that pogue. You're mine..."

His lips were falling back to hers before she could pull away, and he only grew more forceful when she began pushing against him to get out from under his grasp. "Rafe, stop -"

Her pleads were silenced by his tongue that slipped into her mouth, pushing against her own. She began whimpering, trying anything to get him off of her, but he was so much stronger. It didn't help that whatever he wanted, he got.

His hand slipped past her butt and down to the back of her thigh, fingers gripping her skin tightly. Too tightly. Her cry was silenced by him mouth, which only grew hungrier against her. "You're hurting me..."

Her words meant absolutely nothing to him because he began kissing down her hot neck, hand only holding tighter on her thigh. "Stop," She cried out, shutting her eyes tightly.

She knew that if she gave in, it wouldn't be as painful. She just wanted him to stop.

She had shut off all noises around her in hopes that it would just be over. And, just when she thought she would never be free, his large body was pushed off of her, and she could make out voices yelling.

"Rafe, man, stop!" Her watery eyes looked up to see Caleb shoving the boy back harshly, his hands firmly on the boy's chest. "Get away from her. Rafe, get out."

"This has nothing to do with you, man -" his words were silenced by Caleb, who had only become more insistent on removing the boy from Meredith's proximity.

"Get out, Rafe," his voice only became more demanding, and his shoves only became more violent. "I swear to God, if you ever touch her again."

Rafe didn't waste another second to leave the room, especially when Caleb had practically dragged him out. The boy turned around upon making sure that the Cameron son had no plans to come back. His eyes caught sight of her tightly shut, watery eyes and her shaky hands holding herself gently. But, what made his heart hurt the most was the sound of her choked sob that left her swollen lips.

Caleb approached the shaken girl slowly, making sure not to startle her already terrified demeanor. He couldn't help but sigh when his soft touch forced an involuntary flinch from her.

"Hey, it's just me," he whispered, hand holding her shoulder softly. "It's okay, he's gone. Mer, hey." She had finally looked up into his eyes, ones that were downturnt sadly. Meanwhile, hers were red-rimmed, and mascara covered tears were staining her cheeks.

He was sure she would never speak, especially not when she attempted to take breaths, each one just as shaky as the one before. "I-I made him so mad," She stuttered out, chest heaving up and down.

"Hey, it's not your fault," Caleb muttered, dipping his head to meet her darting eyes. She was in a complete panic, and he wasn't sure what to do to help. Her whole life, she held up her walls around her heart, giving nobody the opportunity to see her emotions. But, now, it caught him off guard. She looked so broken. "Come here."

His arms were pulling her into his embrace before she could object. At first, she cowered away from his reassuring touch. But, when he assured her that he wasn't going to do anything, she eased into his hug, using all of her strength to wrap her arms around him.

Meredith Waters was broken, and Caleb couldn't do anything. The worst part was that it was all Rafe Cameron's doing.

authors note!
pls don't hate me.... i changed the face claim to alexa demie because i feel like her personality fits meredith so much better, and i love her soooo much! i feel like this is the best choice, and I'm usually not someone who changed major plot lines in stories mid way, but i couldn't help myself! so if you get any notifications that I'm changing chapters, this is your warning!