The premise of the series: Much to his surprise, Rafe Cameron finds himself a little too interested in Y/nâs personal life after one overheard conversation.
A week after your encounter with Rafe at the party, you meet him again only to be left even more confused about what happened between the two of you.
Part 3. Defenses to trespass (3k)
Not expecting much from the Midsummers, you still find yourself enjoying the night in company of Rafe and your friends. Until you donât.
Part 4. Housewarming (5.1k)
While confronting Rafe about Midsummers, he opens up to you about his problem with Ward, and you find a way to help him. The kook vs. pogue feud gets worse when partying at the Boneyard.
Part 5. Unforeseen costs (2.6k)
While crashing at your apartment with the kooks, youâre finally told about what happened to JJ at the Midsummers. Later that night, you get an unexpected visitor, causing a lot of tension between you and Rafe.
Part 6. Mainlandâs episode (2.6k)
Even though youâre out of town, you still manage to be the talk of both pogues and kooks. Meanwhile on the mainland, you enjoy the offline company of an old friend⊠as well as the online company of another friend.
Part 7. Jealously is in the air (3.9k)
Rafe living in your uncleâs apartment is no longer a secret, and itâs only him to blame for it. You find a way to make up with JJ during OBX outdoor movie session. After a long night of feeling strained, both you and Rafe come to a certain conclusion.
Part 8. Gate crashing do-over (3.2k)
After telling Rafe your plan for the night was Wardâs charity dinner, he invites himself over, quickly regretting his decision. Even then, the evening ends on a much lighter note thanks to you.
Part 9. The cold shoulder (3.1k)
After finally being in Rafe Cameronâs arms, you feel like youâre both comfortable enough to open up to each other. Once the Menzies name is mentioned again, youâre not so sure anymore.
Part 10. Timeâs up (3.3k)
After being split up for a little while, you and Rafe reconcile your differences when he finally realises he has to be a better man in order to be with you.
when i say iâm from ukraine, people assume i live somewhere else now. when i say i live in ukraine, they assume iâm somehow immune to war, and thereâs a logical division between a ukrainian they chat with on discord and a ukrainian on the news. bitches my yaoi is written from the bomb shelter
- the plot relies too much on either jj being way too dumb or pope being way too smart - spending 700k on a shithouse then building the shop FROM scratch because pope read some books?????? yeah right
- speaking of pope, the pogues drag him down so so so much. like, they got over 1 million dollars and pope could finally afford education he wanted so bad and he just didnât do anything with it?????? and we hear that that is his goal still later in the season. the scene where they argue on cutting costs was supposed to be funny but honestly the pogues would be nowhere without him and should stfu immediately
- kooks this seasons are cartoonishly evil and like a 2d version of characters if that makes sense. they are supposed to be 2 years older than they were s1-3 but theyâre just stupider and have no business bullying pogues that much (especially topper, i feel like they didnât know what to do with him at all)
- the friendship vibe is gone completely, the 3 couples are separate entities that do not interact with each other as much. like they all keep secrets from each other and do not care if theyâre being put in dangerous situations. sarah and john b going to get married while jj is out with his âdadâ he has known for 4,5 seconds - like they do not gaf about him at all
- jpate definitely did not cut out obx for romance either (besides sarah and john b - they were part of the plot and make sense overall) jiara is bland and jj doesnât seem into it at all, the fact that there werenât even on a real date in 2 years is honestly hilarious and sad at the same time. i like cleo and pope tho
- honestly sad that they didnât make any of the pogues meet someone outside of their group romantically. it would be fun seeing them balance our gold hunt and relationships
- making kie and sarah 100% pogue was a stupid decision, a part of what made season 1 special and interesting is seeing them balance kook life and pogue friendships, now theyâre all the same
- why do they keep making new enemies we do not care about like đ«đ« with ward and rafe i was so invested because we know the characters and they have connections to the core 5, idgaf about the new ones!!!!!
- luke maybank being altruistic and âtaking careâ of young jj makes no sense AT ALL. like weâve ruined whatever was established in s1
- jjâs crashouts (though beautifully shot) pissed me off and would put pogues into even more debt
- jj dying waaaaas silly even if rudy wanted to leave. the main complaint about s3 was bringing back a dead dad, they basically did the same thing again lol. sure kill him off if thatâs the only way, but by a guy they met 3 business days ago??? nah-ah
A friendly reminder to USians: if you are planning to vote on Election Day, your mantra is "Nothing I see today convinces me not to go vote."
Exit polls suggest DT cannot be caught? YOU STILL GO VOTE.
Exit polls suggest KH has it in the bag? YOU STILL GO VOTE.
Pundits are saying the country is swinging overwhelmingly red? YOU STILL GO VOTE.
Pundits are saying the country is swinging overwhelmingly blue? YOU STILL GO VOTE.
Polls can be misleading (intentionally or not). The methodology can be biased (or simply poor). Early results may not reflect what the full count will show. There may be a red mirage. NOTHING YOU SEE CONVINCES YOU NOT TO VOTE.
The biggest Democratic win in swing states means nothing if democrats don't turn out everywhere to keep the reliably blue states blue.
VOTE. Wear appropriate weather gear if you think you may have to stand in a line outside (coat, hat, gloves, umbrella, sunhat, whatever, you know where you live). Bring water and a snack and something to do (book, game on your phone, podcast and headphones, whatever, you know what you like). GO VOTE.
NOTHING YOU SEE ON ELECTION DAY CONVINCES YOU NOT TO VOTE.
Okhmatdyt after today's russian attack. One of the most famous and biggest children's hospitals not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe.
This terror continues because the world allows it to. These terrorists do whatever they want, while most countries forbid Ukraine to hit targets deep inside russia, to destroy military aircraft that launch missiles at Ukraine from the safe depths of their shithole country.
In Nikopol, the occupiers attacked rescuers twice when they were extinguishing a fire in a residential building after the strike.
The first time, a fire and rescue vehicle was damaged. Then a truck was sent to the scene to transport personnel and equipment - but the Russians struck again. Luckily, the firefighters managed to get to the shelter.
âmaybe i'm too young to keep good love from going wrong
but tonight, you're on my mind so, youâll never knowâ
taglist: @jellybassett @glowingtree
(authors note PLEASE READ: you guys are the SWEETEST ever omg the amount of love iâve gotten on this so far is insane. i appreciate, and reread over and over again, every single comment or reblog i get, it genuinely keeps me so motivated to write and i appreciate you guys so so much you have no idea. i havenât written in forever so i excepted no one to like this fic but so far you guys have proven that to be not true and it brings me so much joy. i plan for this to be long!! idek how many parts iâm just gonna keep writing chapters until the story ends!! i cannot guarantee how often updates will be but iâll write my ass off as much as i can for a while!! all the love in the world to you guys!!! enjoy!!)
you wake up the next morning with no messages from peter. this, usually wouldnât be strange since he often slept in later than you, but he didnât even reply to your message from last night at ten thirty. he never went to bed earlier than two in the morning. a gross, nervous feeling creeps up on you. you try to shake it off, thinking that maybe he just fell asleep early when he hadnât heard from you. thatâs what you would keep telling yourself.
downstairs in the kitchen, steven and jeremiah were sitting on stools at the counter, comparing their cereals. belly was at the table, studying the pancakes she was eating. susannah was cooking more pancakes at the stove. âmorning (y/n)!â susannah greets you as you enter the room. jeremiah looks up at you and when you make eye contact, he gives you a forced smile and then looks back down at his cereal. heâd been acting weird since last night, when you told him about peter. it actually sort of made you feel bad, that you didnât tell him sooner. he was clearly bothered by it or offended about you not telling him. the last thing you wanted to do was make things weird between the two of you, and thatâs exactly what you did.
âmorning susannah,â you smile at her. âcan i have some pancakes?â
âabsolutely you can!â she exclaims, flipping a pancake over onto a plate. âgive me two minutes and theyâll be ready.â
âthanks susannah,â you say then walk over to sit with belly at the table. she smiles at you, her mouth full of pancakes.
âwhat are you doing today?â she asks you. you shrug.
âdunno. what were you thinking?â
âyou should take me driving,â belly smiles cheekily. you laugh. she always asked to go driving ever since you got your license, but you didnât mind. she had told you before that she trusted you the most to teach her how to drive without being too judgmental.
âsure, bells,â you say. âyou can drive me into town to grab some stuff from the store.â
âbonfire tonight, (y/n),â steven turns to face you. âdonât forget.â
you nod. âwould never.â
âcan i go?â belly asks, looking between the two of you. steven looks at jeremiah then laughs.
âbelly, thatâs not really your scene,â steven says. âyouâve never gone before.â
âwell i wanna go now,â she looks at you. âplease?â
you look at steven, who shakes his head. you shrug. âi donât know, belly. isnât tonight usually your movie night?â
âit is,â susannah appears with a plate of pancakes for you. you thank her as she sets them down. âbut we could always reschedule if belly wanted to go to a party with her siblings.â
âsee?â belly says. âeven susannah doesnât think itâs a bad idea.â
âdonât get me too involved, now,â susannah tucks bellyâs hair behind her ear. âi have no opinion on the matter except for i want you to do whatever makes you happiest.â
âi think you should come, belly,â jeremiah speaks up for the first time since youâve gotten downstairs. everyone turns to look at him and he shrugs. he wonât look at you. âit would be fun if you were there.â
âbetter make sure itâs okay with mom first,â steven tells her, but she waves him off, finishing her pancakes and going to rinse off her plate.
â(y/n), iâll be in the pool. come get me when youâre ready to go!â
âthirty minutes after eating before you can swim!â susannah calls out to her, but belly was already gone. susannah shakes her head, but thereâs a smile on that face. âthat girl.â
soon enough, you and belly are in the car, her driving you both into town. the music was blasting and the windows were down, hair whipping everywhere, but neither of you cared.
âwhat do you have to get from town?â belly asks.
âsome hair stuff and i wanna go to that one boutique we found last year and see if they have anything cute,â you reply. she grins.
âi completely forgot about that place!â
âme too until i was packing for this trip and found my skirt i got from there last year,â you and belly had always looked around different shops in town, mainly window-shopping and judging the clothes that were sold in those shops. they were so extremely over priced and half of them looked like something your grandmother would wear. that was, until last summer, when you found the most gorgeous hot pink skirt on a sale rack at a new boutique. you could not stop thinking about it after you left, so the next day you and belly went back so that you could buy it. you wore that skirt constantly. the thing you remembered most about it was the way that jeremiah had looked at you the first time you had worn it. he made you feel so special just from one look, so that skirt became a staple piece in your wardrobe after that. when you started dating peter, you stopped wearing the skirt. it was such a small, meaningless idea that he looked at you special when you wore a random skirt, but it meant a lot to you at the same time. enough that it felt like betrayal to pack the skirt to bring to cousins, so you left it at home.
you and belly spend the afternoon at the shops, picking out outfits for each other to try and laughing at the ridiculousness you put each other through. as youâre getting ready to leave, before she starts the car, belly turns to you. â(y/n).â
âwhatâs up bells?â
âhave you noticed anythingâŠdifferent, about conrad?â she sounds hesitant to ask you, and almost whispers his name. you sigh.
âsorta,â you say. âi was talking to jere last night and he told me that things were weird with him. he doesnât know why, but itâs been months. he quit the football team.â
âwhat!?â belly exclaims. âno way. he loves football, i thought he was gonna play in college.â
you shrug. âso did everyone. he just changed things out of nowhere. jere said that he wonât ever say anything and pretends nothing is wrong, but he hasnât really tried talking to him. you know how guys are with each other. talking about stuff like that does not come easy.â
belly nods, staring down at the steering wheel. you touch her arm gently. âhey, maybe you should talk to him.â
âme?â
âyeah bells. heâs happier around you, even if you donât see it. maybe heâll talk to you.â
she sighs. âi donât know (y/n). he seems mad at me. like, every time weâve talked, he is so different,â she glances over at you. âyou know how i feel about him. i justâŠi hate the thought of losing him.â
âyou wonât. i promise you, you wonât. heâll open up. you sure as hell did not do anything wrong, itâs probably just something small he needs to work through. everything will work itself out.â
belly smiles at you gratefully. âthank you, (y/n). i think i would go crazy without you.â
âthat is exactly what a big sister is for.â
she starts the car and begins to drive away. âso, another thing⊠do you think i should be a debutant?â
âa debutant?â you ask, shocked. âbelly, when i was considering it last summer you seemed disgusted.â
âi know,â she sighs. âbut susannah asked me to do itâŠand i know she was bummed when you didnât do it last year so i just figuredâŠ.â she trails off, but she didnât have to finish. susannah had asked you last year to be a deb and you were going to do it, you really were. you even started looking for dresses and planning everything. that was, until jeremiah announced that he had no intention of ever being an escort to the deb ball. it had felt like such an indirect that it completely killed all of your interest in the ball. he was the only person you had even considered asking to be your escort, and he so openly hated the idea of being one, so you figured that was a sign that it wasnât right for you. if you were honest, you always regretted it.
âyou should do it,â you say after a while. âyouâre right, it would make susannah happy. and iâm sure youâll have no problem finding an escort. itâd be a lot of fun to watch.â
âyou think so?â
âdefinitely.â
belly nods, but doesnât say anything, focusing on the road. you do the same thing, staring forward. part of you still wondered if jeremiah would have been your escort if you had asked. the other part of you hates yourself for thinking that you would be the exception.
later that night, youâre standing and staring at your closet, trying to figure out what to wear to the bonfire. you brought a few dresses and skirts, but suddenly, you hated everything you owned. this bonfire was super fun every year and the best way to start out the summer, so you felt so much pressure to pick out something cute.
âhey,â jeremiah appears in your doorway, ready to go. âyou about ready?â
âyeah,â you sigh. âjust gotta figure out what to wear.â
âhm,â he thinks for a second, walking towards your closet. âyou still have that pink skirt from last summer? that was good.â
you look down. âuh, left it at home.â
âoh,â he says, a hint of disappointment in his voice. then, he clears his throat and turns his back to you, facing your clothes. he looks for a second before grabbing a blue sundress and handing it to you. âhere. this is perfect.â
you look at the dress and smile. it was one of your favorite dresses, simple and comfortable but super cute. of course jeremiah would pick out a sundress for you to wear. he always claimed that girls in sundresses were his weakness.
âokay. get out so i can change,â you push him out the door and he laughs as you do, allowing you to close the door in his face. you change quickly and find a pair of sandals to go with the dress, check your hair and makeup one last time, then you went downstairs to meet everyone else. conrad and belly were sitting on opposite sides of the couch, steven in the middle of them (which looked like it was awkward for all three of them), and jeremiah sat in the chair by the couch, staring at his phone. when steven sees you come down, he shoots up from his seat and claps his hands. âalright! letâs get going! jereâs driving, i call shotgun!â
you make eye contact with jeremiah who smiles at you after looking you up and down. you feel yourself blush at his gaze. he always did this to you. you felt so special just by him looking at you. it was stupid, honestly. thatâs just how he was.
the five of you pile out of the house and into jeremiahâs car, you, conrad, and belly squished into the back while steven and jeremiah sat in the front seat of the car, singing their hearts out to taylor swifts âcruel summer.â they were insane when it came to her music, but neither of them would ever admit it.
as soon as you arrive at the beach, steven jumps out of the car. heâs halfway to the fire by the time you even open your car door, and conrad and jeremiah are following close behind him, leaving you and belly to walk down on your own. you glance over at belly, who is staring at the group of people on the beach, a nervous look on her face. you throw your arm around her. âitâll be okay bells. itâs actually fun here, promise. justâŠdonât talk to anyone weird. or too old. and if you get uncomfortable just come find me. weâll figure it out.â
she smiles at you gratefully. âthank you, (y/n). iâll be okay. you go have fun with your friends.â
you squeeze her shoulder gently as your friend nicole waves you over. âlove you bells.â
âlove you too.â
you hurry over to nicole and hug her tightly. âoh, nicole! itâs so good to see you!â
âitâs so good to see you too!â she exclaims. as you pull away from the hug, she offers you a beer and you take it. âhow have you been?â
âso good,â you tell her. âthe school year was great and i actually have a boyfriend back home!â
âohhh!!â nicole squeals. âwhatâs his name? how long have you been together? tell me everything.â
you fill her in on all of the details of your relationship, with her squealing excitedly at the end of almost every sentence. as soon as you finish talking, you feel a hand on your shoulder, and turn to see your friend shayla. it was your turn to squeal in excitement as you hug her tightly, then nicole does the same.
âshayla! i didnât know you were coming this early!â nicole exclaims. shayla shrugs.
âyeah, mum and dad decided weâd come now rather than later,â shayla replies. âdeb season, you know? they want me to be prepared.â
âoh, donât remind me,â nicole sighs. âiâm helping as a big sister this year. i donât know if iâm ready to go through it again.â
shayla laughs. âcant be that bad! at least, thatâs what iâm telling myself.â
âdo you know whoâs gonna escort you?â nicole asks. shayla glances at you quickly.
âwell, itâs so early, i donât knowâŠâ
nicole scoffs. âshayla, you are the most prepared and efficient person i know. i know you have someone in mind.â
âwell,â shayla gives you an embarrassed smile. âi was kinda thinking i would try to get to know steven more. see if he would escort me.â
both of the girls look at you, waiting for your reaction. usually, you hated when girls had a crush on your brother. at school, girls who did would try to become friends with you to get closer to him, and it was tiring. but this was different. shayla was one of the most kind, incredible people you have ever met. you knew she had no ill intentions. also, steven could use a good influence like her in his life. âthat sounds like a great idea, shayla.â you say sincerely. she breathes an obvious sigh of relief.
âiâm so glad you said that,â she says. âi would never wanna pursue something if it meant it would hurt our friendship. no man is worth that.â
you nod. âyouâre so right.â
nicoleâs eyes drift over your shoulder. âiâm, uhâŠiâll be right back.â
without either of you replying, she walks away. you watch her as she walks directly to conrad, who had apparently been by himself in that moment. you and shayla look at each other and laugh.
âshe is so down bad for him,â shayla says. you nod.
âpainful to watch sometimes.â
shayla laughs again. âwell, iâll see you later too, (y/n). iâm gonna go talk to steven.â you grin at her.
âhave fun!â
as soon as she walks away and youâre left on your own, your phone buzzes. you pull it out to see a text from peter. finally. it had only been all day since youâd heard from him.
peter: been busy today babe sorry for not replying
peter: at party rn itâs super fun!
peter: look at this video lol there was a tall ass diving board i jumped in fully clothed
peter: (attachment, one video)
you smile at his messages and click on the video he sent you. it took a moment to load, but once it did, you almost dropped your phone in shock. it wasnât a video of him jumping off the diving board. it was a video of him making out with a random girl. you watch in pure shock, unable to move. as the video goes on, you realize it wasnât a random girl. it was cassie, your best friend. you watch the video closely, hoping for any sign that this was some sort of a dare or big joke, but there was nothing. they were just heavily making out, his hands up her shirt and her hands in his hair, and someone just happened to be filming on peterâs phone.
peter: oh shit
you stare at your phone for a full minute after the video ended, unsure what to do next. then, looking at your other hand, you knew. you chugged the rest of your beer, found a cooler, and chugged another one. when you started your third one, you felt a hand on your shoulder. âhey.â
you turn around to see jeremiah standing there, smiling at you. âyou having fun?â he asks. you nod, chugging almost half of the new beer in one sip.
âso much fun,â you finish off the third beer and go to grab another one, but jeremiah grabs your hand.
âwait, be careful,â he says. âhow many have you had?â
âthat was like, my first,â you lie, opening a new beer. âdonât worry, jere. iâll be fine. just having some fun.â
he stares at you, a concerned look on his face. â(y/n), you never drink like this. whatâs going on?â
ânothing!â you say cheerfully. âjust trying to start the summer out right,â you look around and see a group of people dancing nearby. you take a sip of your beer and motion towards them. âiâm going to dance.â
â(y/n),â jeremiah calls, but you were already stumbling away from him, towards the people dancing. shayla and steven were in that group, shayla doing more dancing than steven was, but both of them looking like they were having fun nonetheless. shayla grins at you as you approach, grabbing your free hand and spinning you around. you giggle and dance with her for a while, finishing off your beer as you do. you were definitely drunk at this point, which wasnât hard for you, since you were a lightweight. at things like this, you usually stopped at one beer or seltzer, so you definitely were not used to four. it was good, though. it made you forget about peter and cassie betraying you.
it made you forget until now.
if you were honest, it didnât surprise you as much as you thought it would. cassie had been the one to introduce you to peter, and she always had a weird connection to him. you almost felt stupid for not seeing this coming sooner. most of all though, you were just angry. angry at peter for leading you on and cheating on you. angry at cassie for supposedly being your best friend and then doing this the second youâre not in town. angry at both of them for ruining the one good thing you had in a long time. as you walk towards the beer cooler again, jeremiah catches up to you and grabs your arm, holding you back. âokay, no. iâm cutting you off, (y/n).â
âlet go of me,â you grumble quietly, trying to free yourself from his grip, but he was much stronger than you. he grabbed your other arm so you were forced to face him.
â(y/n), whatâs going on with you?â
ânothing!â you yell at him, catching the attention of a few people around you, but you were too far gone to care. ânothings going on with me! iâm just trying to have a good time, okay?â
jeremiah smiles awkwardly at a few people around you, trying to divert the attention away from the two of you. âi know you, (y/n). why are you acting like this? youâre never like this.â
âso what?â you say. âso what if i am?â
a few girls call jeremiahâs name and attempt to wave him over to them, but he ignores them. âcome on, we should get you home.â
âi donât wanna go home,â you say hardly, looking him in the eyes. he looks genuinely concerned for you. somehow, you couldnât find it in yourself to care. âi wanna stay here.â
â(y/n)âŠâ heâs cut off by the sound of police sirens and people yelling and scrambling around to pick up the beer cans and leave quickly. jeremiah swears under his breath and grabs your hand, pulling you away from the beach. âguess you have no choice.â
the two of you run towards his car, following everyone else who was running away from the scene. you look around frantically, but canât find belly, conrad, or steven. âjere, wait, whereâs everyone else?â
jeremiah shakes his head. âiâll find them in a second. gotta get you to the car.â
âbut belly, jere,â you say. âsheâs probably scared shitless.â
he shakes his head again. âshe found someone to hang out with. iâm sure sheâs with him. iâm sure itâll be fine.â
âbutââ
âiâll find her, (y/n).â he cuts you off. âjust please get in the car first.â at this point, he sounds like heâs begging you. you look him in his eyes but have to look away quickly. the desperation in his expression was too painful to look at. you nod.
âokay.â
he squeezes your hand then opens the passenger door for you, allowing you to climb in. âiâll be right back, okay? stay here.â
and with that, heâs running back towards the beach like he was superman. at that moment, it felt like he was, honestly. running back towards the cops in order to save everyone else. you werenât sure that you knew many people who would do that. while youâre still alone in the car, you pull out your phone to finally reply to peter, who had texted you again, five times.
peter: (y/n) omg iâm so sorry
peter: wrong video but i swear itâs not what it looks like
peter: weâre both so drunk we were dared to do it and thatâs why it was recorded
peter: please (y/n) please we didnât mean it
peter: please believe me
you: fuck you
and with that, you block his number, and set your phone down. you wonder if you would have that much confidence if you were sober. you wonder if you would believe him if you were sober. it was a good thing that you werenât, you figured. it was for the best. two months didnât have to mean much, right? just a silly little mistake you made to date him that ended badly, but it didnât matter, right? yeah your best friend betrayed you, but no worries, right?
suddenly, you realize that you are crying. sobbing, actually. uncontrollable sobs escape from your lips and you sit in the dark car, alone, sobbing your heart out. how was this fair? what did you do to deserve to lose your best friend and boyfriend all at once? the fact that if he hadnât accidentally sent you that video then you never would have known made it worse. it made you wonder if this had been going on for a while, and he had just slipped up now. you could not stop crying.
even when the car doors opened and jeremiah slid into the seat next to you, you could not stop crying. he looks at you, shocked. â(y/n)?â he asks softly, unsure. the rest of the car is quiet, but you could feel everyone elseâs presence in the backseat. you shake your head.
âiâm⊠iâm fine,â you say unconvincingly. âiâll be, iâll be okay.â you nod at jeremiah, who was staring at you with the same desperation on his face from before. he seems unconvinced, but starts the car, glancing at you again before he drives away. in the dark, he reaches over and grabs your hand, holding it tightly in his. you continue to cry silently for the rest of the ride home, squeezing his hand with both of yours.
