Cassie's POV

"Look, he'll come around, all right? It's...He's doing a JJ thing" John B shrugs as we sit inside the Wreck.

"You think he'll go home?" Kiara asks and I frown.

"There's about a zero percent chance that JJ goes home" Pope scoffs.

"You okay?" John B asks Sarah.

"Yeah" She nods "Are you?"

"I mean, I'm in one piece, so..." The brunette drawls off.

"Okay. It's too dangerous to pawn this thing off piecemeal. So our best bet is to go down there and get the rest of it. Bring it all up at once. Put it in- in a safe or a vault or something. I- I don't know. Just until we can find someone who won't rip us off" Pope explains "I can figure it out tonight, get it done, and we can be out there early tomorrow morning"

"All right, let's do it" John B agrees.

"Easy peasy" I chirp.

"What about that thing with my dad?" Sarah asks and my smile turns to a frown.

it's always something

"Shit" John B curses.

"What thing?" Pope asks.

"I have to go fishing with Ward" John B admits and I roll my eyes.

"You can't get 400 mil cause you're gonna go kill fish?" Kiara asks sarcastically and I snort.

"Look, I have to go" John B states.

"Blow it off" I tell him, turning to Sarah "I'm sure that Papa C will understand, right?"

"It's 400 million in gold!" Pope exclaims.

"Make something up!" Kiara agrees.

"Look, I- I have to, okay?" John B huffs "He- he saved me, all right? If it weren't for Ward, I'd be in foster care. So...I have to go"

"Don't worry about it, Johnathan" I assure him, glancing at Pope and Kiara "It'll be better to go at night. Won't it, guys?"

Kiara huffs and Pope hesitated but nods eventually.

"Fine. Fine, go fishing" Pope groans.

"And at least JJ will probably have washed up by then" Kiara adds and I nod.

"Hey, Johnathan?" I hum and he turns to me "Give me a ride home?"

"Sure" He nods, tapping Sarah's shoulder as he stands up.

I ruffle Kiara's hair and peck Pope's cheek, telling them I'll see them later before following John B and Sarah out to the van. We drive in a comfortable silence, listening to the radio and sharing smiles ever so often.

"So welcome to the Pogue life" John B announces "Is it everything you ever dreamed of?"

"And more" Sarah replies enthusiastically.

"Ooh. Ooh!" John B fakes surprise and I laugh at them both.

I hear the beeping of a horn and I jump up, turning to see Rafe on his bike.

"Oh, shit. That's Rafe" Sarah curses.

"Hey, pull that piece of shit over!" Rafe barks and I groan, knowing an argument is about to erupt.

Rafe swerves in front of the van and John B hits the brakes. The brunette makes a move to get out the van but I grab him.

"Shit. No, no, no, no. John B" Sarah rushes out.

"What?" He snaps.

"Let us handle Rafe" I huff, climbing out the van behind Sarah.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sarah screams and I grab her wrist, pulling her back from starting a fight.

"There she is! Little Miss Perfect!" Rafe spits angrily.

"Are you high right now?" I ask in disbelief and his head snaps to me.

"No, I'm not high" He answers.

"Damn it! We could have run you over, asshole!" I yell at him, slapping his chest as he takes off his helmet.

"I just heard about your little home invasion" He declares and I gulp.

"What are you talking about?" Sarah asks, acting clueless.

"What would Dad say if he knew you're robbing drug dealers?" Rafe asks rhetorically.

"I don't know! You could tell him if he didn't kick you out!" Sarah retorts.

"Sarah!" I scold her.

"I tried to take care of my little sister-" Rafe gets cut off.

"That's a lie" Sarah scoffs.

"-who's ungrateful, as always" He finishes "Listen, the guy you robbed is a bad man, Sarah"

"Yeah, I'm aware, Rafe!" Sarah spits.

"Listen! He gave Cas this, okay?" Rafe yells, lifting up my burnt arm "He gave her this for me being late on a payment!

"He also gave her this because if you! You and your stupid bike!" Sarah screams, pointing at my bruised neck.

Rafe looks at my neck in anger and he lifts my chin, taking a better look.

"Fuck" He breathes out "Cas, I'm-"

"Don't. It's okay" I assure him, grabbing his hand to calm him down.

"You stole from him, all right?" Rafe says to his little sister "What do you think he's gonna do to you or your Pogue boyfriend?!"

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare!" She argues back.

"Don't think I don't know what you've been doing, all right?!" Rafe barks.

"Rafe, calm down!" I warn him and he clenches his jaw.

"I'd give Barry his money back, like, yesterday" He states in a calmer tone.

"You worry about your shit, I'll worry about mine!" Sarah shouts.

"I'm taking care of my own shit, okay?!" Rafe roars.

"Rafe! Rafe, enough!" I holler, putting a hand on his chest.

"Psycho" Sarah hisses as she walks away.

"Sarah!" I shriek and she shoots me an apologetic look.

"Let's go home, okay?" I tell the Cameron boy who nods.

I walk over to the van, realising Topper on his own bike. John B and Sarah look at me expectantly and I lean in the drivers window.

"Rafe's gonna take me home" I tell them and John B gently grabs my wrist.

"Are you sure?" He asks worriedly.

"Johnathan, I'm sure" I smile, looking between him and Sarah "Try and ignore these two idiots, okay? Have fun"

They both nod and I ruffle John B's hair, walking back over to Rafe.

"You calm now?" I ask him, getting on the back of his bike.

"Calmer" He corrects.

I wrap my arms around him and he revs the engine, taking off down the dirt road. At some point on the way home, Topper takes a different road to go home himself and we're left alone in my drive way. Rafe gets off first and I follow him into the house.

We decide to watch a movie and he picks the Fast and Furious movies, which I don't complain about. I get some snacks and we get comfortable on the sofa, pressing play to the movie.

During the first few movies I make multiple comments about how hot Letty and Brian are which seems to frustrate Rafe, but I continue, finding his frustration amusing.

"Ugh, Paul Walker could bend me over-" I get cut off by Rafe groaning loudly.

"Enough! No more!" He huffs and I smirk widely, running my fingers through his hair.

"Are you jealous, Rafie?" I ask curiously.

"I'm not jealous" He scoffs, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, really?" I hum.

"Really" He nods.

"Cause you look pretty jealous" I comment and he glares at me.

"I said 'I'm not jealous', Cassandra" He growls, pushing my hand away from his hair.

"Oh, shit. Not the full name" I gasp sarcastically and he clenches his jaw.

I lay my head on his lap and continue watching the movie as I absentmindedly draw small circles on his leg. I feel him slowly relax and he lays his arm over me, lightly stroking my hair.

A couple hours of content silence between us as we watch the movie, I hear a whistle and I look up at Rafe.

"Did you just whistle at me?" I ask in disbelief.

"Pass me the soda" He says casually and my eyes widen.

"Excuse me?" I snap and he gulps, his face paling.

"Sorry, baby" He mumbles, reaching out to pull me into his arms.

I slap his hands away with a glare and get off the sofa, storming away.

"Babe! Cas, wait!" Rafe whines, following after me.

"Why are you so fucking annoying?" I mutter, walking up the stairs.

"I swear I won't do it again" He promises, catching up to me.

I ignore him, entering my room and immediately stripping down to my underwear to change into something more comfortable. I head to my closet but as I pass, I catch my reflection in my mirror and pause. The girl that looks back at me makes me feel physically sick. She looks ill and broken. My watery eyes wander from scar to scar, assessing and judging each of my injuries.

The bullet wound on my stomach is healing nicely but I know for a fact it will scar badly. The gash on my upper arm from Mrs Crane's fire poker is still nasty looking and I have no doubt that will scar too. The burn on my forearm from Barry is looking a lot better but I can see the white scars already showing up. The dark bruising around my neck and the cuts on my knees will eventually disappear but for now, it only makes me feel worse.

"What's wrong?" Rafe asks, wrapping his arms around me.

"I'm gonna be covered in scars" I frown sadly and he sighs, laying his head on my shoulder.

"If I could, I would kiss away all of your scars to make you happy" He whispers, kissing my neck.

"Don't they bother you?" I ask curiously and he chuckles.

"Of course they don't" He assures me "You're always gorgeous to me"

"Thank you" I sigh, kissing his cheek.

"It's only the truth" He replies, walking over to the bed and kicking off his shoes.

I enter my closet and open the bottom of my drawers, pulling out a white t-shirt of Rafe's. After slipping the top on, I skip over to the bed that Rafe has settled himself down on and he smiles up at me widely.

"Cuddles?" He asks like a child.

"You're so needy" I giggle and he pouts.

"Is that my shirt?" Rafe asks curiously as I crawl onto the bed.

 "Mmhm" I hum, laying my head on his shoulder.

 "God, you are so fucking cute" He grins, pulling my thigh across his waist.

He leans down and places a sweet kiss on my lips that makes me smile. I kiss his lips again and he grins, kissing me over and over again until I laugh. He captures my lips in a longer kiss that gives me butterflies and makes me melt in his arms. We part and he leans in to kiss me again but I push his face away.

"I've already kissed you like ten times" I tell him with a smile.

"But just like another ten, please?" He asks and I giggle, pecking his lips once more.

"You've got plenty of time to kiss me, Rafie. I'm not going anywhere" I tell him and he grins widely.

"How's it feel?" He asks and I furrow my brows.

"How does what feel?" I ask in confusion.

 "You know, knowing that you're mine and all" He says smugly and I laugh, rolling my eyes.

"You annoy the hell out of me" I answer and he smirks.

"But you love it" He states.

"Every second of it" I agree and his smirk melts into a heartwarming smile.

"Y'know what?" He sighs, laying his head back on the pillow.

"What?" I mumble, drawing patterns on his bare chest.

"I remember practicing how to ask you out in the mirror when I was a kid" He admits and I giggle.

"No way" I choke out in amusement through my laughs.

"You weren't supposed to laugh! Now I'm embarrassed" He pouts and I sober up, still smiling widely.

I gently cup his cheek in my hand and lean up, pressing my lips to his. He kisses me back softly and smiles into the kiss, squeezing my thigh. As we part, I swipe my thumb over his bottom lip and grin up at him.

"Don't be embarrassed. That is insanely cute" I assure him and his lips tug up at one end.

"I think deep down, I've always been in love with you" Rafe whispers and I nod.

"Me too" I hum in deep thought "Sometimes I feel like you were just made for me, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean" He smiles, drawing circles on my thigh.

"We're endgame, baby" I grin and he chuckles, shaking his head.

Rafe pulls a blanket over us and I turn off the lamp before we get comfortable.

"Hey, Rafie?" I whisper into the darkness.

"Yeah, Cas?" He murmurs.

"Promise me that you'll ask me to marry you one day" I blurt out and gulp, waiting for a reaction.

"On one condition" Rafe bargains and I furrow my brows.

"What's that?" I ask curiously.

"Promise me that you'll say yes" He replies and my heart skips a beat as my lips tug into a wide grin.

"I promise that I'll say yes" I agree.

"Then I promise that I'll ask" He hums, kissing my temple.

There's another short silence before I speak up once again.

"Rafie?" I mumble.

"Shh, go to sleep already" He whispers sleepily.

"One last thing" I promise.

"What is it?" He asks curiously, pulling me closer to him.

"I love you, Rafie" I tell him, kissing his cheek "Sweet dreams"

"And I love you, Cas" He replies, pecking my lips "Sweet dreams, gorgeous"