Cassie's POV

Johnathan decides to inform me that he has a plan to make Kiara and Sarah friends again that Pope and JJ are helping him with. He told me I have a free day but he's coming to pick me up once the sun sets, no arguments. I enter my bedroom to see Rafe still asleep and I tilt my head to the side, looking down at his sleeping figure. He looks so innocent when asleep, like an angel sent from heaven or even a child. A smile tugs at my lips and I crawl in beside him, gently sweeping stray hairs off his forehead. He stirs in his sleep, his eyes fluttering open and I smile at him softly.

"Morning, sleeping beauty" I joke and he smiles a small smile, wrapping me in a hug.

"Where is everyone?" Rafe mumbles, nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck.

"Kiara is with the Pogues, my dad is at the wreck and Anna is out for brunch with Rose" I answer, running my fingers through his messy bed hair.

He hums in content and I giggle, sitting up. Rafe's hands fall to my waist as I straddle him and I put my hands on his bare chest.

"How you feeling?" I ask in concern and his face falters slightly.

"I'm fine" He shrugs.

"Rafe" I frown, sliding my hands up to hold his jaw in my hands "Speak to me"

"I'm gonna be okay, Cas" He assures me with a warm smile, rubbing circles on my waist "Thanks to you"

"Shut up. I didn't do anything" I roll my eyes with a grin.

"Don't act all humble on me, Carrera" He grins in amusement and I scrunch up my nose in distaste at the nickname.

"Don't ever call me that again" I tell him seriously and he chuckles.

"What would you prefer then, Cas? Cameron?" He smirks smugly and I shake my head at him, lightly smacking his chest.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Rafe asks curiously and I hum in thought.

"How about a movie day? We can go get some snacks and watch a load of movies all day" I suggest, smiling widely.

"Sounds like a hoot" He smiles back up at me.

"Great" I chirp, hopping off the bed. 

I skip into my closet, pulling open the bottom of my drawers which holds a selection of my guy friend's clothes. A couple of John B's patterned shirts, some of Pope's hats, JJ's sweatshirts, Topper's polos, etc. I find a pair of grey sweatpants that belong to Rafe and throw them at him.

"Do I wanna know how you got all those clothes that clearly don't belong to you?" Rafe asks curiously and I grin sheepishly.

"Probably not" I chuckle awkwardly.

My eyes land on a worn out blue crewneck and I grin, grabbing it and slipping it on.

"Is that what I think it is?" Rafe asks, amusement lacing his voice.

"You gave me this at my 15th birthday party, three years ago. I stupidly forgot to bring something to keep me warm on the yacht and you offered me your sweatshirt" I confirm, retelling the story behind the item and he grins.

"You kept it" He states in surprise "And by the looks of it, you wore it a lot"

"I don't know what you're talking about" I scoff, making my way downstairs.

"You're a terrible liar!" Rafe laughs, following me.

Truthfully, I used to wear the sweatshirt when I missed him and I guess you can say that I missed him a lot.

I glare at him playfully, opening the pantry and he winks at me, making my stomach do backflips. I avert my gaze to the food and ignore the heat in my body as he walks up behind me.

"Ooh, cheez its" He chirps, grabbing the box.

"Ugh, I forgot how much you loved those things" I gag and he looks at me in horror, hitting my shoulder with the box which makes me laugh.

I grab a pack of Oreos, Doritos, chocolate covered pretzels and two cans of soda.

"I forgot how much you loved those" Rafe gags, looking at my pretzels and I gasp, sticking my tongue out at him.

We head into the living room and I turn on the tv. Rafe flops onto the sofa next to me as the Netflix logo flashes on the screen and I turn to him.

"What do you wanna watch?" I ask.

"I don't know. You can choose the first movie" He shrugs and I grin happily, putting one of my favourite movies on.

Cher Andi Horowitz's face appears on the screen and Rafe looks at me in disbelief.

"Clueless? Haven't you got tired of this movie yet?" He asks me.

"I will never get tired of this movie" I declare truthfully and he shakes his head at me, turning to look up at the screen on the wall.

"Here's where Dionne lives. She's my friend because we both know what it's like to have people be jealous of us" Cher narrates.

"Oh, look. It's you and Sarah" Rafe comments and I gasp loudly, hitting him with a pillow.

"That is so not true" I pout as he laughs at me.

"Whatever you say, Cas" He smirks.

I roll my eyes and turn back to the movie, popping a pretzel in my mouth. 

Around half way through the movie Rafe fake yawns and stretches his arm over the back of the sofa behind me, making me shake my head with a small smirk.

"If you wanted to put your arm around me all you had to do was ask, Rafie" I tease him and his cheeks flush a light pink.

"I don't know what you're talking about" He scoffs, removing his arm from the back the sofa.

I scoot closer to him and grab his arm, pulling it around my waist. My head lays on his shoulder as I watch the movie and I feel his eyes on me. I look up at him and instead of looking away, he stares down at me intensely.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask, my voice quiet.

He leans in, agonisingly slow, and my breathing hitches. His nose brushes against mine and my eyes flutter shut. Just as I think he's going to kiss me, he pulls away and I open my eyes, looking at him in confusion.

"What the hell is this?" He abruptly asks and my eyes widen.

"I-I don't know" I stutter, not knowing what else to say.

"I mean, we sleep together and you say it can't happen again, but it does. Now I'm living with you, sharing a bed and cuddling. I hate to sound like a bitch, but you're so fucking confusing, Cas. One minute you're hot then you're cold and sometimes I can't keep up" Rafe rants and I listen to him carefully.

I pause the movie and turn around to fully face him. Thoughts run through my brain but I can't find the courage to say anything.

"Cassie, say something" He pleads.

"Rafe, you're a good guy-" I get cut off.

"That's never good" He mutters, throwing his head back onto the sofa and I giggle.

"Listen to me" I whine, climbing onto his lap and grabbing his face in my hands.

He looks at me patiently and I smile warmly at him.

"Rafe, you're a good guy and I don't know many of them. You make me feel special and you've always looked out for me. I'm not going to lie and say I didn't have the biggest crush on you when we were kids" I speak, his lips curling into a grin "What I'm trying to say, is that I care about you and you're always gonna mean a lot to me"

"I care about you too" He replies, reaching out to cup my face in his hand "A lot"

A grin spreads across my face and Rafe leans in again, finally connecting our lips. The kiss is short and sweet which makes me feel all fluttery inside. He leans his forehead against mine and I play with his hair contently.

"Be my girlfriend?" He murmurs and I melt in his arms.

"I'd like that" I whisper, making him smile widely.

He kisses me once more before tucking my hair behind my ear and kissing my nose which makes me scrunch up my nose with a soft giggle.

"Let's finish the movie" Rafe suggests and I nod.

I climb off his lap and snuggle into his side as he presses play and wraps his arm around me, holding me close.

☁️☁️☁️

The doorbell rings loudly throughout the house and I hop off the sofa, telling Rafe that I'll be back. I open the door and see John B standing there with Sarah, both of them dressed fully in black.

"Shit. Give me five minutes to change" I tell them and they nod.

I let them in and Sarah closes the door behind her as I head into the living room. Rafe looks up and when he sees his sister with John B he looks at me in confusion, wondering why they're here.

"Sorry, I forgot to mention that I promised I'd hang out with the Pogues" I tell the boy who rolls his eyes.

"Hey, rule number one" I warn him and he holds his hands up in mock surrender.

I grin, ruffling his hair and he groans, swatting my hand away. I shoot my favourite Kook/Pogue couple a big smile and run up the stairs to my bedroom. Trying to be as quick as possible, I change into some black skinny jeans with rips at the knees and a black halter neck top. After brushing my hair into a high ponytail, I slip on some black lace up boots and a dark khaki green flannel with embroidered flowers on the shoulder.

Once I apply a little lipgloss and spray some perfume, I race back down the stairs to see Sarah rolling her eyes as John B and Rafe glare at each other. I cross my arms over my chest and clear my throat loudly. Both boys look at me almost instantly and I give them both stern frowns which makes them look at me guiltily.

"I'll try not to be back too late but just incase, don't wait up" I chirp, pecking Rafe's temple and he nods with a small smile.

"C'mon, you two" I sing, skipping to the front door. 

"You two look extra cosy" Sarah speaks up as we walk towards the Twinkie.

"I would hope so" I smirk, shooting her a wink as I pull the van door open to reveal JJ, Pope and Kiara.

"Ah, Kiara!" I grin happily before looking at John B "I see that your plan worked" 

He grins proudly and I shake my head with a smile, hopping into the van. I sit in between Pope and JJ who both greet me with big smiles.

"We need to talk later" Sarah mumbles at me and I nod.

"All right, you guys got rope?" John B asks as we near the Crane residence.

"Got it" Pope answers.

"Grappling hook?" The brunette asks.

"No grappling hook. We're not Batman" Pope scoffs.

"Pulley?" John B continues.

"Check" Kiara huffs.

"Dark clothes?" He states.

"Got it" Sarah and I chime in unison.

"Flashlights?" The boy asks.

"Check" JJ chirps as the van stops.

"All right, good. We're ready" John B announces.

"Let's go" Kiara breathes out.

"Lets go get rich, guys" JJ says giddily and I smile in amusement at the blonde boy's excitement.

John B hops out and opens the van door to let us all out.

"Go, boys" Sarah ushers them.

"And girls" Kiara adds and I pat her back with a grin.

"Let's roll" Pope declares.

"Right on" Sarah smiles, trying to get out the van but John B stops her.

"Wait, wait" He says and we all look at him in confusion.

"I wanna say thank you, guys. Seriously. It means a lot to me that you're here tonight" The Routledge boy tells us sincerely.

"Always" Kiara says, rolling her eyes.

"Of course, man" Pope smiles.

"My man" John B replies, both boys doing the Pogue handshake.

"Anytime, Johnathan" I assure the boy and he smiles at me happily.

His eyes move to Sarah and sickly sweet loving looks on their faces make me proud. I feel happy for both of my best friends. They deserve the whole freaking world and the amount of love I see between them assures me that they'd look out for each other.

"All right, we done with the circle jerk? Can we go do this?" JJ asks and I roll my eyes.

"It's not a cute bonding moment if JJ doesn't get awkward and ruin it" I comment making the others laugh.

"Shut up, Cassie" The blonde huffs, elbowing me and I elbow him back with a laugh.

"Let's get that wheat in the water" Pope announces, climbing out the van.

"Weed? I'm up for weed" JJ says like an excited child.

"JJ, sweetie, he said wheat" I tell the boy who frowns in disappointment.

"After you" I hear Kiara say as I hop out the van.

"Ladies first" Sarah counters which makes me smile at the fact they're getting on.

"Alley-oop" My sister chirps and Sarah climbs over the wall.

JJ helps Kiara over the wall, much to her protest and I shake my head at the duo. With a little help from John B, I pull myself over the wall and he follows closely behind with Pope. We reach the house and suddenly a bright light shines at us.

"Shit" We all gasp, panicking as we dive for cover.

"Go, go, go, go" Pope hurries us.

"Flashlights!" Kiara hisses.

"It's on strobe!" JJ panics, trying to turn off his flashlight.

"Dumbass" I mutter.

"Shh" John B whispers as the blonde manages to turn it off.

"Okay, so she has motion sensor lights" Pope declares.

"We could, uh...move really slowly, maybe?" JJ suggests.

"What?" Sarah asks in disbelief.

"Were you dropped on your head as a baby?" I ask seriously and the Maybank boy shoots me a glare.

"Oh, shit. Let's throw a rock at it" John B suggests.

"That's a really good idea, actually. Let the axe murderer know that we're here" Kiara says sarcastically.

"Throw a rock at it?" Pope asks in utter disbelief.

"You guys have a better idea?" John B snaps.

"Literally anything but that" Kiara answers.

"Jesus fucking christ, will you two please stop using your pea brains before you hurt yourselves?" I whisper yell.

"What about the breakers? In the circuit box on the porch" Sarah speaks up, looking at me "Remember when we used to play hide and seek here as kids? If we were brave enough, we'd go all the way up to the porch"

"She's right" I gasp "I've seen it"

"No, no. You're not going in the house alone" John B protests.

"Watch me" Sarah scoffs.

"She won't be alone. I'm going with her" I assure the boy who still looks hesitant.

"Crain chops people into pieces" JJ warns us.

"If you believe that, but she's like what, 85?" Sarah argues.

"Yeah, somethin like that" JJ nods.

"She's probably barely still kicking" I shrug and Sarah nods in agreement.

"I'll go with you guys" Kiara says, turning to me.

"We're safer in numbers" I nod.

Sarah, Kiara and I all part ways with the boys, making our way to the porch.

"She must have a generator plugged into the main power supply" Kiara states.

"Shh" Sarah whispers as we sneak up the porch steps.

Kiara opens the circuit box and I point my flashlight at it.

"Where are the breakers?" Sarah hisses.

"What is this?" Kiara snaps in confusion.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no" Sarah panics as I look up to see the wires leading inside the house.

"Oh, hell no" I declare and their gaze follows the flashlight.

"Shit" Kiara huffs.

"It goes inside" Sarah observes.

Kiara turns to the door and opens the gate before putting her hand on the door handle. She looks back at us hesitantly before opening the door and heading inside. The door creaks and I cringe as I follow her inside behind Sarah. We tiptoe through the house, trying to be as quiet as possible but I hear a loud cat meow and Sarah jumps, grabbing my arm.

"Scaredy cat" I tease her and she shoots me a glare, poking my ribs.

"Hey" Kiara says, getting our attention and pointing at the wire on the ceiling.

"Yeah. Yeah" Sarah nods.

We reach a large circuit box and I grin widely at both girls who look triumphant at our find.

"All right" Kiara sighs, switching off a couple switches.

The lights outside turn off and I hear the power shut down. Our happy grins are wiped clean off our faces when we hear the loud chimes from the grandfather clock blaring through the house. Sarah gasps and we turn off our flashlights, pushing ourselves up against the wall. The sounds of wheezing and coughs accompany the creaking of the floorboards and the thumping of something metal on the floor, getting closer to us.

"Shit" Sarah curses.

"I'm too young to die" I whisper and both girls slap their hands over my mouth.

The footsteps reach us and luckily the girls' hands muffle the gasp that leaves my lips as the old woman comes into view, holding an iron fire poker.

"It's- it's late, Leon" She wheezes "Too late"

My whole body trembles in fear as the woman walks right in front of us.

"I can hear you, Leon" She growls "I've been waiting all night!"

She spins around and Sarah shines her flashlight in the woman's face, only to reveal her milky white eyes staring back at us in rage. We scream loudly and start running.

"Leon!" Mrs Crain screeches as I scramble into a room behind Kiara, not even realising that Sarah isn't following behind me.

"Shit!" Kiara curses and I see the boarded up door that is our only way out.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I shriek in fear, panic setting in.

"Where are you, Leon?!" Mrs Crain barks and fear shoots through me as I realise she's getting closer.

"Come on" Kiara groans as she desperately tries to open the door.

I hear shuffling behind me and I turn to see Mrs Crain swing her fire poker at me. It catches my arm and I scream in pain, hitting the floor. She swings the fire poker again at Kiara but the girl manages to dodge the blow a whole lot better than I did. The crazy old bat continues swinging the iron poker around like a madwoman as Kiara swiftly avoids being hit and I lift my hand to my arm, feeling the warm liquid soaking my flannel. Suddenly Sarah runs up behind Mrs Crain and grabs the iron poker, before knocking the woman to the floor. Both girls yank me off the ground and we run out the door, slamming it shut behind us.

"Holy shit" I pant.

The fire poker abruptly comes smashing through the wooden door and we all scream, making a run for it.

"This way! It goes underneath the house!" Sarah yells and I chase after her with Kiara beside me.

"Go, go, go, go!" Kiara rushes the dirty blonde down the basement steps.

"I'm trying!" Sarah snaps.

"Try faster!" I holler.

"Guys!" We all shout in unison as we reach the basement where the boys are.

"Whoa, whoa. What's going on?" Pope asks in concern.

"Mrs Crain! She's up there! She tried to kill us with a fire poker!" Kiara screams as I grit my teeth in pain.

"We gotta go" Sarah pants.

"We locked her in the parlour, but we gotta go!" Kiara agrees.

"Okay, that's code red! That's code red!" JJ panics.

"We have to go!" Sarah worries, turning to me with concern on her face but I assure her I'm fine.

"Let's go! John B! Get back on, man!" JJ screams to John B who is down a well.

John B yells back but it's muffled and we can't hear it. All five of us grab onto the rope and get ready to pull John B up.

"Come on!" Sarah hurries the brunette.

"Three, two, one, pull!" Pope shouts.

We all pull and fall backwards due to the fact John B isn't on the other end.

"Jeez" JJ mutters.

"Shit" I groan.

"Where the hell is he?!" Pope snaps.

"Shh! Shh!" Kiara tries to quieten us down.

"John B!" JJ hollers loudly.

"Shh!" Kiara snaps at the blonde.

John B screams something incoherent to us and I look at the others to see if they understood him.

"What's he saying?" JJ asks.

"JJ! Cassie! Pope! Kie!" I hear John B scream.

"Yo, he's drowning! We gotta pull him up!" Kiara orders and we all jump to grab the rope.

"Hey, John B! Get back on the rope! We're gonna pull you back up, okay, buddy?!" Pope yells down at John B.

"Come on! Pull!" Sarah snaps.

"Okay, everybody, help!" JJ demands.

"Guys!" Kiara screams.

"Okay, I'm on!" John B shouts.

"Yes! Yeah" Sarah says in relief.

"Okay" JJ nods, getting ready.

"Let's go!" Pope declares and we all start pulling our best friend out the well.

We huff and puff as we heave him to the surface and just as I think we're gonna make it out alive, something has to go wrong.

"Pull!" Pope groans and a loud gunshot rings through the basement.

I scream loudly and my sister yanks me to the floor with her, causing us to let go of the rope.

"Shit! Hang on!" JJ tells John B.

"Pope! JJ! What the hell?!" John B barks.

"Climb up! Help me! Hang on!" JJ answers.

"Tie it up now, man!" Pope groans as JJ ties the rope to a pillar.

"Pope, hide!" JJ snaps, diving down next to the boy.

"Let's go! Go!" Kiara yells, as Sarah crawls over next to us.

"She can't aim for shit" My sister then states, looking at the blind woman with the shotgun.

"She can't see" Sarah realises.

"She's totally blind" I add, breathing heavily.

A loud gunshot goes off again and I scramble to my feet.

"Shit! Go, Cassie! Go, Sarah!" Kiara screams as we race towards the basement door.

I sprint through the woods in a complete frenzy, bee lining for the van as the others follow being me.

"Can we go now?!" I hear JJ shout.

"Get into the car!" Sarah hollers and I don't think twice before throwing myself into the back.

"Go, go!" Pope snaps as he and JJ dive into the van after the girls.

JJ jumps into the driver seat and I look out the window for John B, worry running through my body.

"Where is he?" Kiara asks worriedly.

"Come on, start the car. Go!" Pope demands and JJ complies, turning the key as the van roars to life.

As we slowly start driving, I hear a gunshot and John B jumps over the wall.

"Why are we always getting shot at?!" Pope shrieks.

"Come on! John B, run!" Kiara shouts back at the boy.

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait!" John B shouts as he chases after the van.

"Get in!" I scream and the brunette throws himself into the back of the van.

"Whoa!" He breathes out as JJ speeds up.

"Oh, shit" Kiara gasps.

"Oh, my God" Pope chuckles breathily.

"JJ, drive!" Sarah hollers and I climb into the passenger seat.

"Go, dude!" Pope agrees with the dirty blonde.

"Are you okay, JB?!" I ask the boy in concern and he nods.

"Are you shot?" JJ adds.

"No" John B shakes his head.

"You good?" Pope asks.

"Yeah, yeah" John B nods.

"I think i'd know if I was shot, right?" Kiara asks and I laugh.

"You look disgusting" Pope tells John B, who is covered head to toe in dirt.

"God, you smell like ass" Kiara groans.

"What the hell just happened?" Sarah pants.

"All time Pogue Hall of Fame, baby" JJ cheers, grinning at me and I shoot him a warm smile.

"That bitch is possessed" Kiara breathes out.

"That bitch can't aim!" Sarah counters, making me laugh again.

"How does she move that fast?" Pope asks in horror.

"She's possessed!" Kiara answers.

"I don't get it" Pope huffs.

"She's blind" I add.

"She's like Master Yoda" JJ chirps and I giggle.

"Dunno" Sarah shrugs.

"It makes no sense, scientifically" Pope states.

"She does yoga?" I suggest.

"Pilates!" My sister corrects in amusement.

"Oh, God" JJ sighs, leaning back in his chair.

"What is that?" I hear Kiara snap.

"No, you didn't!" Sarah gasps.

"We did it, baby!" John B cheers and I turn back to see a muddy bar of gold in his hand.

"No fucking way!" I gasp in shock.

"I did it!" John B hollers.

"Oh, my God!" JJ yells and everyone starts screaming in complete awe.

"Holy shit! Holy shit!" Kiara screams as we all jump around like crazy people, laughing wildly.

"That's gold!" JJ declares.

"Wait, wait!" Kiara squeals "Guys, we're gonna be rich!"

"Full Kook!" I declare loudly.

"Like Kook rich!" Sarah adds.

We all start chanting the words 'Full Kook' until we get tongue tied and resort to just screaming and cheering in happiness.

☁️☁️☁️

We pull up outside the Carrera household and I turn to Kiara.

"Are you staying at the chateau?" I ask her and she nods.

"You sure you don't want one of us to check out that nasty gash?" John B asks me.

"Nah, I'll live" I shrug.

"See you guys later" I chirp, hopping out the van.

"Bye, Cassie!" They all yell before JJ drives off.

I enter the house, not bothering to be quiet since my dad and Anna are at the wreck doing paperwork till late tonight. Dropping my keys in the dish at the door, I grab my arm in pain and notice a lamp in the living room is on. I wander into the room and my jaw completely drops when I see the person sitting on the sofa looking back at me.

"Mom?" I gasp.