𓂃 𓈒𓏸⋆𓇼⋆𓏸𓈒 𓂃

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞
𝐰𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐞

The sun was warm against Gens cheeks, eyes shaded by the expensive pair of sunglasses resting on her nose. The street smelled of baked goods, coffee beans, and cigarettes; the latter courtesy of the older lady sitting a few tables away from them. In front of her, a still steaming honey latte with a heart traced in the foam and a half-eaten croissant, which she already knew would probably be finished by the boy across from her, scarfing down a cream puff.

"Okay." Rafe mumbled, licking the spot of cream from the tip of his finger and cleaning his hands off with his napkin, before reaching out with grabby hands, "Gimme,"

Gen smiled, passing her camera to her best friend before pulling her sunglasses off her face, "Sunnies on or off?"

Rafe paused his tinkering with the camera to glance up at her. She looked beautiful sitting across the small table from him, Eiffel Tower tall in the background behind her, hair pulled up into a clip to show off her neck that her low-cut sundress exposed. He smiled, "Off."

She nodded, placing her sunglasses on the table before leaning back with a smile. Rafe brought the camera to his eye, snapping a few pictures. "Alright, me next." Gen laughed as Rafe stood up, gesturing for his best friend to stand from her seat, "I want a picture with the tower too. Don't be an Eiffel Tower hog." She rolled her eyes at his teasing, standing from her seat.

Once stood, they switched spots and Rafe adjusted his hat on his head, Gen spanning pictures of him with a smile, "Okay, finish your food, so I can get this picture. I wanna go see the vineyards."

"Gen."

She and Rafe switched seats, the girl humming in acknowledgment at the boys call, "Gen."

"What?"

"Gen."

The girls' eyes slowly peeled open, sunlight flowing in through the open curtains aggressively blinding the girl as she awoke.

"Get up."

Gen groaned, turning on her right side to face her father, "Don't make me."

"We have breakfast reservations with the Cameron's at 7, sweet pea. And you have to leave at 9." Robert de Portiers smiled, watching as Gen adjusted to the brightness, looking up at her father and remembering her dream.

"Thank you again, for that trip, dad." She mumbled, stretching her arms above her head as she sat up.

"Of course, honey. Now hurry and get dressed! We leave in 30 minutes."

Robert left his daughter's room, Gen groaning from how tired she still was as she trudged over to her bathroom to shower.

𓂃 𓈒𓏸⋆𓇼⋆𓏸𓈒 𓂃

"We've even begun discussing pushing into the Cut with certain developments. If we can tear down some of those broken down buildings and replace them with establishments, we can bring in a higher tourist percentile-"

"Problem there, though, Ward." Gens head lifted from her breakfast, raising an eyebrow at her father, "Those aren't just broken down buildings, their people's homes and businesses. They won't be so easy to up and move."

Ward nodded and straightened his back, "Well we have a plan for that. We can offer the homeowners money and security, under legal pretenses, of course." Robert de Portiers smiled and raised his glass of sweet tea, "Now you're thinking, Cameron."

Gen rolled her eyes at her father, sticking her fork into a piece of waffle on her plate. Before she could even lift it from the plate, her mother was whispering in her ear, "Careful, dear. You don't want to get bloated before your orientation."

Gen froze, staring down at the not even half-eaten plate of breakfast. Her mother's breath reeked of the red wine she had hastily emptied from her cup the moment she got it, and Gen had to bite down her remark about her mother's early morning drinking habits, forcing a smile and nodding, "You're right, mom."

She put the fork down on the plate and placed her napkin on top of the dish, a silent sign for the waiter to come take her plate. "Are you done already? You didn't even eat your bacon. You love bacon." Rafe mumbled, but Gen smiled and nodded, "Not hungry anymore. Nervous for tonight, I suppose."

Rafe didn't buy it, but he nodded, "You're gonna do great. Do you want me to come with you?" Gen sucked in a breath and nodded, "Yeah, that'd be great."

College orientation was that night, and it was a 3-hour drive from the island to the University of Richmond. And Gen was unbelievably nervous. She didn't even want to go to college to begin with, but of course, her parents insisted on her going to a private, non-profit college. She knew they insisted on a private college because those were the only ones they could bribe.

She didn't even know what she wanted to do with her life, how the hell was she supposed to choose a major? One subject that she would spend the next 50 years of her life making money off of? Impossible. Thankfully, she had somehow convinced her father to let her start in the spring semester instead of the fall, giving her an extra 5 months until she had to leave. Luckily, she had acquired enough credits in high school to even be able to skip the fall semester. It didn't make it any less nerve-racking.

But knowing she'd have Rafe for not only the drive but with her at the orientation itself and staying with her in a hotel was comforting; she wouldn't have to be alone with her overthinking.

Her eyes glanced down to the delicate gold watch on her wrist, eyes widening at the time. "Oh, goodness." She laughed, adjusting her skirt and looking around at the two families, "I'm so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Cameron, I have to get going, don't want to miss orientation." She stood from her chair and slowly pushed it into the table, "Ah, yes. Congratulations again on Richmond, Genevieve." Ward smiled, Gen sending him an appreciative nod as she walked over to her father to place a kiss on his cheek, "Thank you, Ward. I'll text you when we get there, 'kay Dad?"

The man nodded, "Be safe, sweet pea." He smiled up at her, squeezing his daughter's hand before going back into conversation with Ward. Gen looked over at Aster, who was sitting next to their father and had completely zoned out on his plate of waffles, "Hey, text me." Gen whispered to her brother, who looked up at her and nodded before bringing his gaze back to his plate. "Good to see you, Sarah, and you, Wheezie." The two girls smiled brightly at Gen, waving at her as Rafe stood from his chair and pushed it in, "I'm actually gonna drive her there, Dad. So I'll be back home on Wednesday."

"Yeah, be safe, son."

Ward didn't spare his son even a glance, and Gen sighed as she wrapped her hand around Rafe's bicep and caught his attention before anyone could notice his suddenly sullen demeanor, "Come on, we wanna beat traffic." She smiled up at the tall boy, who nodded and began guiding Gen towards the door of the Country Club.

"We gotta swing by my place and grab my bag, and I need to change. Did you wanna take your truck up there?" She smiled as he opened the door for her, and Rafe nodded, "Yeah, I just filled its tank last night. We'll swing by mine since it's closer and grab me a change of clothes first."

Gen nodded as she sifted through her purse for her lipgloss, smiling up at Rafe as he opened the passenger door and held a hand out to her. "Thanks, Rafe." She mumbled, using his hand to hoist herself into the truck. She ignored the feeling of domesticity from him, adjusting herself in the seat for the ride to Tannyhill.

𓇼

After a quick detour at Tannyhill and a quick stop at her own home to grab her bag and change from her skirt and top into a nice sundress, they were off to Richmond.

Gen sighed, kicking her heels off her feet and bringing them up to cross them on the seat. "So, are you excited?" Rafe kept his eyes on the road and Gen sighed and looked out the window at the trees flying by.

"Not really. I don't even want to go to this stupid school. And even if I wanted to go, I wouldn't have chosen the University of Richmond. I mean, how many successful people have graduated from there? I can't think of a single one off the top of my head." She ranted, anxiety levels rising as she thought about having to live in that stupid town for the next 4 years.

"Lil Dicky went to the University of Richmond." Rafe smirked, glancing over at her in amusement as her jaw dropped, "You're lying."

Rafe shook his head, and Gen leaned back in frustration, faking a cry, "I'm gonna share an alma mater with Lil fucking Dicky. My parents hate me." Rafe laughed at that, "You're gonna be fine, Gen. You'll join that sorority, have fun and learn a bunch of random shit, and then you'll come back home."

To me. He wanted to say, holding himself back and keeping his eyes on the road. Rafe couldn't believe he'd be spending the next 4 years away from her after spending damn near his entire life with her. For a while there he debated applying to Richmond, but he knew he couldn't get in on grades alone and his father would laugh in his face if he brought up college now, after saying he didn't need to go.

Gen nodded, looking down at her hands, which were fiddling with the rings on her fingers.

"I don't even know what I want to major in, and I sure as hell don't know what I want to do with my life. How am I supposed to make that decision?"

Rafe sighed, "Well, your dad is passing the company on to you, maybe look at majors in pre-law and buisiness." Gen couldn't stop the scowl on her face, "I'd rather pluck my eyes out with spoons then be a damn lawyer."

Rafe laughed at that, silently agreeing with her.
.

𓂃 𓈒𓏸⋆𓇼⋆𓏸𓈒 𓂃

Genevieve couldn't deny the fact that the University of Richmond was beautiful. It was named the #1 most beautiful college campus in the country by the Princeton Review for a reason.
The campus was covered in flower beds, river bridges, and beautiful architecture, and Gen couldn't help her expression as she admired it.

"Changing your mind?" Rafe mumbled, nudging his elbow against hers as they stood there. Gen sighed and looked up at him, shaking her head, "No."

Rafe chuckled and rolled his eyes, using his free hand to gesture over to a long line in front of what they assumed was the main building. Gen nodded, right hand clutching the top of the purse resting at her hip, and beginning the walk over to it.

It was a damn long line, and the two stood there chatting amongst themselves for over an hour until they reached the check-in desk. A middle-aged woman sat at the table smiled up at the two, "Well, good morning! Names?"

Gen smiled down at her, "Uh, Genevieve de Portiers, P O R T I E R S. And my guest, Rafe Cameron, R A F E." The woman nodded, writing Gen's name down on a red-bordered piece of paper with a barcode and slipping it into the clear pocket of a red and blue UOR lanyard. She then switched to a pile of Hi My Name Is sticker badges and wrote Rafes name on it.

"Alright this one is for you-" She handed Gen the lanyard, and then peeled the name badge off and handed it to Rafe, "And for you. Guests can't enter unopened buildings without that-" She pointed at the barcode on Gen's lanyard, "So keep that in mind. And enjoy, I hope you love your new school, dear."

Gen smiled gratefully at the woman, "Thank you."

The two turned and followed the crowd, Gens eyes wandering around the campus and its buildings. There were maybe 2 hundred families here, some huddled together talking, some laughing as they went in and out of buildings.

There were booths, all labeled with different groups and clubs you could sign up for. As they approached them, she took note of some; Animal Law Society, Club Baseball, Club Tennis.

Gen grinned, nudging Rafe with her elbow and walking off towards the stand. Two girls, both around her age, and a boy stood at the stand, smiling brightly as they handed out flyers.

"Hello! Interested in U of R's Club Tennis?" One of the girls asked. She was blonde, tall, with brown eyes and a kind smile. Gen nodded with a smile, "Yeah, yeah. Definitely interested."

The girl smiled and stood in front of her flyers, "Are you experienced?"

Gen nodded and looked down at the clear bags of UOR merchandise in a bowl, "Uh, yeah. Been playing it since I was 8. School and club." The girl grinned widely and plucked a flyer from the right, handing it to Gen, "Awesome! My name is Lola, I'm the club captain, our tennis team is the best in state and we'd love to have you join. I hope to see you soon!"

Gen smiled at her and turned to Rafe, lips going downwards as she showed him the flyer, "Tennis."

Rafe chuckled, "She seemed chirpy." Gen rolled her eyes and slapped his stomach before slipping the flyer in her purse, "Be nice. Do you see the Kappa Alpha Theta stand? Mom would kill me if I didn't stop and make sure they know I'm a legacy."

Rage sighed, using his height to his advantage as he looked out around the crowd for the stand. He nodded once he found it, pointing in its direction and placing a hand on her upper back to guide her through the crowd. He did that a lot, placing his hand on her back in thick crowds, and it never gets easier for her to control her breathing when he does so.

Once through the crowd of students and in front of the booth, Gens eyes immediately went to the girls standing at the booth. All wearing some sort of red and white combination. The girl at the front, not currently talking to anyone, had a look that could kill she was sending right past Gen and Rafe.

Gen raised an eyebrow, following her line of sight to the booth behind them, a frat booth with a sign that read Pi Kappa Alpha. Out of the group, one boy stood out, tall, with dark skin, and a smile that a small brunette girl was currently swooning over.

Gen turned back to the girl and stepped in front of her, "Hi."

The girls attention snapped to Gen, a large smile forming on her face as she took her in, slowly handing Gen the sorority flyer, "Hi there! My name is Sadie. What's your name?" Gen ignored the girls overly friendly attitude and smiled, "Uh, Genevieve. Genevieve de Portiers."

Suddenly, a girl behind Maddie spun around with wide eyes, looking Gen up and down, "de Portiers? Like Ella de Portiers? Ella Carnegie?" Gen sucked in a breath and nodded, keeping a friendly smile on her face. The other girl laughed in surprise and walked around the booth, holding her hand out to Gen. "Hi, Bailey, president of Kappa Alpha Theta, it's an honor to meet you, really." Once she pulled her hand away from Gen, she turned to Rafe with an outstretched hand, "Hi, Bailey. You are?"

Rafe chuckled and shook her hand, pulling it away quickly and shoving it into his pocket, "Rafe. The best friend."

Maddie smiled and nodded, turning to the booth to face Sadie, "The flyer, Sadie. The flyer."

Gen watched in amusement as Sadie scrambled for something under their booth, before slapping a bright pink flyer into Maddie's hand. The girl turned back towards Gen, "Here-" Gen accepted the flyer being shoved into her hands and took a glance at it, "Greek Life is having an event for back to school on Wednesday, it's the last day of orientation. It's supposed to just be returning students and members, but I'd kill to have a legacy there with us."

In big black letters, U OF R GREEK BACK TO SCHOOL PARTY on the front, as well as the school logo and an address.

"Uh. Yeah, we'll think about it." Gen nodded, and Maddie squealed at that, "Perfect, and you can bring him with you, just dress nice!"

Gen chuckled as she walked back to the booth, turning to Rafe, "I won't be able to do four years of that."

Rafe rolled his eyes, "Let's go find your academic advisor."

𓂃 𓈒𓏸⋆𓇼⋆𓏸𓈒 𓂃

Two days went by all too quickly, and soon, Rafe and Gens hotel room was all packed up and ready to go, minus a few things here and there on their separate respective beds. "Do we really gotta go to this?" Gen grumbled as Rafe entered the large bathroom where she was applying her makeup, "Yes, we gotta go. You need to make friends while you're here. You can't spend 4 years hiding behind your books and only talking to me, Aster, and Alice over Facetime."

Gen groaned and placed her mascara in her makeup bag, turning to her best friend. "Yes, I can."

Rafe laughed, "It'll be fun. We'll drink a little, talk to a few obnoxious kids, and then go back home in the morning.

Gen sighed, "I'm not sure I'm ready for college, Rafe. This is terrifying. Being so far away from home, from my family, my friends, from you? It's...it's too much."

Rafe sighed, reaching out and placing his hands on her shoulders, "You're gonna be fine, Gen. Just breathe."

Gen couldn't imagine where she'd be without him. He'd been a rock in her life since they were kids, her absolute best friend.

As kids, they had always gagged every time one of their parents had gushed about them being 'destined for each other'. Their moms, the two women inseparable best friends from the moment the de Portiers's moved to town, always sipped their martinis and teased the two about it. Rafe and Gen hated it.

But when Gen and Rafe were 15, and had been forced by their parents to be each others dates to sophomore homecoming, things shifted.

When Rafe had seen her come down the steps of her house that night, it was as if he was meeting an entirely new person. Obviously he had seen her in dresses and skirts and looking put together. But this time had felt different. It felt like she was doing it for him. And it made his heart flutter. That stupid, short dark blue dress that her mom had picked out matched his dark blue suit, and the bow in the back that exposed the skin of her back glittered under the lights. She looked fucking beautiful and he couldn't believe he'd never seen her like this.

That night, during a painfully long slow song, Rafe and Gen were awkwardly holding each other as they danced, when Rafe looked over at his friends, all clinging to their dates closely. He sighed and placed a hand on her back, drawing her into his chest. "If we're going to dance, we're gonna dance right." He had said, and Gen had giggled, looking up at him and locking her hands behind his neck, smiling up at him with those pretty red lips, "If you say so, Cameron."

He was too coward to do anything about his growing feelings that night, but he sure as hell changed how he acted around her after that. Instead of just spending time with her after school and studying with her, he started walking her to class, sitting with her and her friends at lunch, waiting for her outside her class at the end of the day.

Gen noticed it, of course. How could she have not? He looked so cute in his suit that night, and the way he looked at her didn't go unnoticed by her or anyone around them.

But it never went anywhere. When she was 17, she got her first boyfriend, James. He was a tool, constantly flirting with other girls, but Gen was blinded by how cute he was and how much every girl in school wanted him. But, when when they were alone, he treated her great. It was a different story when they were in public; he was dismissive, rude, mean, and found no problem with blatantly disrespecting her in front of others to gain popularity points.

Rafe fucking hated that guy for a year, and was so happy when Gen came to him at the end of their senior year to tell him she finally broke up with him.

Rafe wouldn't admit out loud how happy he was, that'd be suspicious, but on the inside, he was cheering gleefully.

𓇼

The party was in full swing, evident from the rows of cars sitting outside the obnoxiously large house. Obviously, they couldn't throw the party at the frat houses, but she wasn't expecting the host of the party to live in a fucking mansion.

"I'm gonna kill myself." Gen mumbled up to Rafe, who shook his head and nudged her towards the front door, "You'll live. Show everyone that pretty smile. We'll leave in an hour."

An hour had passed and they, in fact, had not left. Gen was having slightly more fun than she had thought, clutching a red cup in her hand filled with Redbull and vodka and talking to the same girl from the booth about classes and campus life.

Rafe had disappeared 20 minutes ago after getting them a drink, and his absence was starting to worry Gen. She leaned into Maddie to talk over the music, "I'm gonna go find my friend!"

Maddie nodded and squeezed Gens arm as Gen took off into the crowd. She had checked the living room, the downstairs bathrooms, the front yard, the kitchen, and the entirety of the second floor. He was nowhere.

Finally, she shoved her way into the massive backyard, where, shockingly, there was the smallest crowd of students she'd seen all night, and the music wasn't quite as loud. She sucked in the cool night air, relieved for a moment of soft silence and space.

"Gen!"

Her eyes snapped open and she turned to her right, where Rafe and a group of guys were crowded around a table, "C'mere!" She smiled in relief at the sight of him, quickly walking over to the table, "Boys, this is Genevieve. She'll be a student here in the spring."

Gen waved to the guys, who all sent friendly smiles at her and waved, "Hi, I'm Gen. I've been looking for you." She looked down at Rafe, who grabbed her hand and softly pulled her down to sit next to him.

He leaned into her ear, "Do you trust me?" Gen frowned and looked over at him, "Of course I trust you." He smiled, reaching out and grabbing a rolling tray from the table. When Gen looked down at it, she was expecting to see a few joints and loose weed, but instead was met with the sight of three lines of white powder.

"Is that coke?" Gen mumbled, reaching out to gently touch a pile of the soft white substance with the tint of her finger. Rafe nodded and smirked, "Yeah, you gotta try it. Just once."

Gen knew it was a bad idea, this isn't weed or acid, this is a hard fucking drug. But she figured, better to do it now, with Rafe by her side to take care of her, than to do it later when he's 3 hours away.

"Did you already do some?"

Rafe nodded, "It's our first times, so neither of us have to do much. Just do that little one there." He pointed to a small line, and Gen nodded, taking the tray from him and setting her now empty cup on the table.

Rafe reached out and gently gathered her hair from her shoulders and held it behind her head as she leaned down to the tray.

It fucking burned.

"Jesus Christ." Gen coughed, rubbing her nose aggressively as she placed the tray back on the table, "What the fuck."

Rage laughed and released her hair, the guys at the table also chuckling at the girls' lack of experience. "It goes away in about a minute."

About an hour or two later, Rafe and Gen were stumbling out of the party in a fit of giggles. The drugs and alcohol had worn off a while ago, but the two friends were still tipsy enough to find everything funny.

"You can't drive, Rafe." Gen groaned, leaning against the passenger seat as Rafe started the engine of his truck. Rafe chuckled and shook his head, "We're fine, Gen. I can see straight and Im not drunk. It's like a 15 minute drive to the hotel."

Gen nodded as he pulled out from his spot on the street and drove off, the girl looking out the window at the passing scenery and thinking back on her night.

Gen enjoyed the drug, enough to do it again every once in a while, but Rafe enjoyed it far too much. So much so that he immediately found a plug when they got back to the island. And of course, he didn't tell Gen. He didn't want her to worry, he was just having a little fun.