its always the kook’s fault
summary: an alternate universe where rafe and jj used to be friends before ward cameron finds out and ends their friendship for good.
warnings: swearing, mentions of drugs and alcohol, angst, ward cameron and luke maybank :(
pairings: jj!maybank x kook!rafe (not a ship, just friends!)
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rafe always got what he wanted, whether it is money, drugs, alcohol or sex.
there was only one thing in this world which he couldn't seem to grasp on to no matter how hard he tried - his fathers love, and he would do anything to gain it.
ward, being the influential and powerful man that he is, was the driving force behind the whole kooks vs pogues dilemma.
nobody could recall a time when the drama between figure 8 and the cut did not exist. only two boys on the entire island were aware of the origins of the feud - rafe cameron and jj maybank.
the kook king and the southside pogue.
it might come as a shock to many but they used to be friends, good ones at that. the boys bonded over their similarities - their terrible fathers, absent mothers and addictive tendencies.
their time spent together was kept a secret as a condition agreed upon by both of them. rafe was seen as a brother figure by the younger blonde, who grew up without much guidance from his own father.
many would argue that jj was far more mature than rafe but somehow jj failed to recognise this while they were “friends”.
rafe wasn't so much of an asshole when the boys were friends. jj was laid back and this rubbed off on the older boy. he grew relaxed and did not thrive on constantly grabbing someone's attention at all times.
this did not make his father, ward happy at all.
ward was unaware of the relationship the boys had formed over the summer but he grew suspicious when rafe left every single day with a slight skip in his step.
who is he so excited to see? ward had to find out.
rafe who was only 17, had just gotten his driver’s license and surprisingly, his father let him drive one of their many cars. it was black with heavily tinted windows - everyone knew this was one of the cameron’s but the tinted windows helped hide rafe’s newfound friend from the public.
as ward followed behind rafe in his car, his face pulled into a frown when he recognised the familiar route his son was taking - the cut?
he felt the urge to pull his son over then and there but stopped himself as he wanted to see who or what he was coming to see all the way on this side of the island.
disgust filled ward’s mind as he looked around the streets he grew up on. he prided himself on making it out of here and living on figure 8.
rafe had heard the words many times from his father.
“you’re lucky to be born rich, rafe”
“if you die poor, well that's on you son”
ward only wanted rafe to be as strong as he was, if not more. his intentions may have seemed good in his own mind but his action were far from good.
as rafe pulled over in front of the broken-down house, ward paused and parked his car too. he kept his distance not wanting his son to be known of his presence just yet.
eventually, he thought, as he gripped the steering wheel.
the older man’s vision went red when he saw jj step out of the chateau, pulling rafe in for a hug by his shoulder. as the younger boy did so, he was blocked from ward's line of sight due to his son's broad shoulders and height.
he would deal with rafe once he was home.
jj and rafe hung out at the chateau for a few hours, smoking a bong before rafe decided he should head home. it was only 5 pm but ward had set some sort of curfew which for some reason, only applied to rafe and not sarah, who was younger than him.
never the less, the cameron boy listened to his father's orders not wanting to cause any more disappointment than he already had.
as rafe walked into the large mansion he called home, he passed by his father's office before looking inside and seeing his father sitting in the dark like a mad man.
“dad?” he called out, why is he sitting in the dark?
rafe flicked on the light to be met with his father's dark eyes, anger seeping out of him. rafe’s eyes travelled down to his fathers bruised and red knuckles and watched as his father gripped his hands into fists before motioning for his son to take a seat.
reluctantly, rafe walked over and sat next to his father.
“shut up, rafe” his father's voice was strong and intimidating, booming through the small office.
“what were you doing on the cut” by his father's tone, it sounded like he already knew the answer.
“i wasn't on the cut, dad” his voice came out barely above a whisper.
“don't you lie to me rafe, i swear” ward cut himself off, standing up and facing away from the boy who was looking at him with widened eyes, fearful of what would happen if he told his father the truth.
although there was no feud yet surrounding pogues and kooks, ward made it clear he was not fond of the “lower life scum” as he called them.
to him, they were only good at doing jobs for him which was why he hired them to work on his boats. no pogues ever acted up in front of ward as he called the shots on the island. he could make or break you - literally.
“do you want to be a pogue?” his father was now one again facing rafe as he started him down, towering above him with eyebrows frowned as he shouted as his son.
rafe simply shook his head and fixed his eyes on his shoes not trusting his voice and knowing he was bound to cry once he looked at his angry father.
“you look at me when I'm talking to you” ward roughly grabbed his son’s jaw with his thumb and pointer finger bringing rafe’s teary eyes in line with his.
“you want to be friends with that boy? huh?” ward practically spat the words out of his mouth not even bothering to use his name knowing it would only make him madder.
“no one knows, he's not a bad person, dad” rafe surprised himself with the words coming out his mouth. he was quick to defend the pogue and this infuriated ward.
rafe would never defend his family this way.
the anger coursing through him was enough for ward to justify his next actions.
he let the words sink in for a few seconds before turning around to walk away. rafe assumed he had convinced his dad enough and got up to leave.
suddenly rafe felt himself fall back against the soft couch and a harsh burning sensation on his right cheek.
“don't ever talk to a pogue again”
rafe’s eyes didn't move from the floor as he tried to come to terms with what was happening. it was all going too fast for the boy.
“do i make myself clear, rafe?” his father asked, pressing for an answer
“yes, sir” voice timid and breathy as he tried to hold back tears as a result of his father's actions.
“good, now get out, I'm tired of looking at you”
after rafe had left, jj went back home only to be met with a strange car outside his place. it was a clean car that screamed figure 8.
before jj had the chance to turn around and leave, he was met with ward and his father calling out to him.
“get in here, boy” jj wasn't scared of his father, nor of ward cameron but just like rafe he tried to receive some validation from his father and so he followed his orders.
the thought as to why ward cameron was in his house didn't even cross the boys mind until it was too late.
luke was a bad father, if not an awful one. ward had shown up and said he needed more kids working on his boats. before ward even mentioned the pay or conditions luke was already agreeing his son would do it.
he thought he could steal some of his money for drugs.
“you're going to be working for him” lukes tone was blunt, smirking slightly as he informed his son of the job description.
“what do you say?” ward finally interjected, eager to get jj away from his father, alone where he would be weak.
luke didn't leave his son much of a chance but jj was excited to have his first job regardless of what or where it was.
“well let me show you around today, you can start tomorrow” ward said as he ushered jj towards his car.
jj looked back at his father for confirmation. luke simply raises his hand, which was occupied with a beer bottle and motioned to get in the car.
the drive was silent, no words exchanged by the two. ward didn't crack up or even offer a smile when jj made a joke, which raised suspicions in the young boy's mind.
he watched as ward keep his eyes trained on the road, fingers tightly gripping the steering while making his knuckles turn white.
jj reached for the handle of the door, only for it to be locked. shit.
the car suddenly jerked forward as it came to a harsh stop.
before he could do anything to defend himself, jj felt ward's fist meet his body and face in an endless amount of punches. blood scattered over the window as the blonde boy was punched right in the cheek.
it was no use how hard he tried to fight back, the older man being too strong to overcome. he could only take the punches being thrown at him until ward finally stopped, out of breath.
“stay away from my son” he spat, before opening jj’s side of the car and watching as his body dropped to the ground without remorse.
that night, jj didn't return home. he spent a few days at the chateau instead. when he did come home, his father was quick to question why he wasn't at work, as if he was supposed to be there 24/7.
luke beat his son worse than ward had when jj uttered out that he “got fired”.
years went by, approximately 2 and the cameron boy was now 19 years old. he had changed in many ways and so had jj. rafe trusted his father with his whole life, even though he shouldn't whereas jj has never let his guard down since.
both boys went their separate ways after each incident and never spoke again unless it was to poke jabs at each other.
jj learned to bite back when rafe beat him down with his words despite not wanting to engage in rafe’s childish behaviour. rafe used personal things against his former friend which only drove jj into a fit of hatred and detest.
rafe channelled all the frustration and anger he felt towards his father's actions into fights and abusing drugs and alcohol. he already had addictive tendencies but they only grew stronger once jj was declared an enemy of his.
just as jj suspected, rafe got new friends, who were all kooks - bet his father loved them.
jj always had the other pogues but his friendship with rafe was different, they could relate to each other in ways he couldn't without the others.
the old rafe cameron was long gone and he targeted the pogues at any chance he got nowadays. jj being one of his main targets.
if it were up to rafe, they'd still be friends, but now with the rivalry in place, there's no way. topper and kelce already had a skewed view of the pogues, which aided rafe in pretending to despise the lower class, particularly jj.
jj often recognised that look in rafe eyes when he would be excessively violent. he knew that look from his own eyes - the one he got when his father hit him.
jj let rafe take his anger out on him but always ended up fighting back, not because he wanted to but because whenever he saw rafe, he saw ward and that was enough to drive the blonde pogue to a fit of rage.
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haven’t seen anyone write anything like this i so thought id do it.
rafe and jj would be such a powerful duo ugh. maybe in another life.
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