summermil

[summermil]

𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟 ❀

𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛 𝑥 𝑓𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑐

𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠: 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑠𝚑𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑡𝚑𝑒𝑟, 𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑦 𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑦 𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑦 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑡𝚑𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑡

𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 ꕤ

𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑝𝑎𝑑ೀ

𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑦 :( 𝚑𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒

𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑝𝑎𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝚑𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠 !

angel's eyebrows raised in surprise. "midsummers?" she asked, slightly shocked.

"yeah, have you heard of it?" her dad questioned, suspiciously.

"uh..no, well- maybe, i think rafe said something about it" she stumbled over her words, trying not to let her dad see into her lies.

her father's eyes narrowed and angel panicked, thinking he'd seen deep into her lies. "rafe huh?" he almost spat out his name, like it hurt to say. "well, his dad does have a great connection to the event. in fact, he was the one who invited us there" he continued with a horrible grin on his face.

both of his children were silent, both lost in their own thoughts. their father sighed, knowing he lost the battle of entertaining any of them. he waved his hands in the air, dismissing tommy. angel thought this was an invitation for her to leave as well, but as she scraped her chair on the wooden floor the dreaded man spoke up again.

"no angel, you stay"

angel wanted to scream. she knew there was a catch and she was about to be faced with it, right now.

"you, young lady, are going to be getting a job, at the country club" he pointed a stern finger at her.

"a job? are you serious?" she argued back.

"enough of your rudeness. me and your mother have decided that you need to be put to use-" he started.

"put to use?" her tone was aggressive "i'm not a damn, dog, or a housemaid, you can't just shape me into whatever you want" she was starting to get pissed off with the way this man treated her. the sound of her chair scraping across the floor so violently dully rung in her ears, she ignored it as she stormed out of the kitchen.

but before she reached the doorway, she turned back around to say one more thing. "you and i both know that mom would never want this" her words were true. she knew her mom had no say in this- even if she did, angel was sure her words wouldn't even make it into his brain.

with that, she stormed out of the kitchen. not before missing his final "you start tomorrow" which only made her groan and slam her head into her pillow once she reached the comfort of her room.

the blonde girl laid there for a bit, just thinking. it was probably a dangerous thing to be doing- and she recognised that, pulling out her phone from her pocket and opening the chats with sarah, trying to get everything off her mind.

to: sarah 👙

angel🪽

do u know where the country club is?? 

sarah 👙

yeh, why?

angel🪽

my dad got me a job there 

apparently, and i start tomorrow 🙄

angel🪽

also, he said we are going to midsumers!!!

sarah 👙

WAITTTT, really?

angel🪽

yess!! idk what to wear though 

sarah 👙

omggggg!! can u come over tmrw?

angel🪽

yesss probably like.. after my shift 🙄 why??

sarah 👙

perfect, I'm finding you a dress!!! see you <33

  ⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

angel smiled to herself, tossing her phone onto her pink bedding and rolling on her back. she decided to freshen up, throwing her legs off the bed and walking to the bathroom, twisting the hot tap on her shower a perfect amount. the heat soaked into her skin, the suds from the shampoo danced around in the air. 

some time later, she was curled up in her bed, her strawberry body wash lingered in the air. the lights were dimmed and she had bid goodnight to the rest of her family- minus her dad, who she couldn't find anywhere. an abundance of thoughts crowded her mind, eventually sending her off to sleep.

               ⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

that next morning, she woke to banging on her door. she rolled her eyes, turning over, assuming it was just her brother trying to annoy her. but the hard knocking continued, and as she opened her eyes to listen better, she realised the sound was much more firm than her little brothers could ever be. 

shit.

she scrambled out of bed, ignoring the blankets that dropped to the floor. the door handle swung open with the force she applied- and there stood her dad. she evened out her breathing, trying to stand confident up to the man.

they stood in a silent stare off for a second. "first day of work" he tried to smile, but it was a dull grimace- at that. 

her eyes widened slightly, she'd completely forgot. better than being grounded, she supposed. she fought down a groan, deciding to put on a brave face. 

"when do i start?" she asked.

he glanced down at his glimmering watch "30 minutes" he said, walking away from her room and back to the staircase.

she spun on her heels without a second thought, 30 minutes was definitely not enough time. 

"your uniform is outside your door" she heard him call, making a mental note in the back of her head as she rushed to get ready. 

some light makeup later, the folded uniform sat neatly in her hands. a golfing-type skirt and a polo shirt. how classy. seemed like polo shirts were the necessity for this island. speaking of polo shirts- her mind wandered off to rafe.

the option of texting sarah weighed in her mind, but in her eyes- angel didn't even know rafe. she decided against it, taking a lucky glance out the big window in hopes he would come roaring past on his bike. but the only roaring sound she heard was her dad's voice.

"angelica! hurry up!" he shouted up the wooden staircase, his shout echoing off the walls.

it seemed to snap her out of her little daydream, grabbing her phone and sprinting down the stairs, trying not to trip over her own feet. she glanced at her sock clad feet, then back to the shoe rack. 

"what shoes should i wear?" she asked him. 

but- the man just shrugged, the keys jingling in his hand as he exited out the front door, leaving her standing there. she scoffed when it was certain he was out of ears. the one time she tries to have a civil conversation.

there wasn't much selection, so she just grabbed the cleanest ones, tying the laces carelessly and jogging to catch up with her dad. 

the car engine came to life the second she shut the door, she didn't even manage to get her seatbelt on before he sped out of the driveway. she then, realised how awkward it was. she'd barely been in the car with her dad alone- hell, she'd barely been in the car at all. he purchased it a few months ago, the check pretty hefty. it was his prized possession- to be honest, he treated it better than he treated his own kids.

but the harsh reality scared her, so she pulled out her phone to distract her self. she sent sarah a quick message, informing her that her shift started soon. sarah sent good luck back, telling her how she'd be great and to 'remember you r coming over later!'

suddenly, her dad took a quick turn, almost making angel drop her phone. she looked up from the screen, shocked by the view. he'd turned into a gated area, but she could still see past the large metal objects. the grass was so bright, almost blinding, golf buggies littered the area- she assumed it was a golf course.

she didn't listen to the words her dad exchanged with the security, but as the gates opened- a large building appeared in her eye line. some sort of restaurant, she suspected.

the hand break creaked, and angel was too busy staring at the sights that she didn't notice they had parked up. 

"good luck" 

it was enough to snap her out of her trance. she turned to look at him as if he'd been speaking in a different language. but as soon as his nice facade came, it dropped away.

"go on" he ushered "the entrance is there, and you are 5 minutes late, hurry" 

her movements were frantic, the door handle slipped out of her hands a few times before she finally swung it open, slammed it shut and ran towards the door he had pointed at. she was definitely getting shit for that later.

the door was locked, so she knocked. nobody answered for a few minutes, but as she went to knock again, the lock twisted. it opened slowly, the horrible creak made her ears wince. 

a man stood at the door. he was a short, old man - who was also, dressed in a polo shirt- and he greeted her with a friendly smile.

"can i help you?" he asked.

"uh... i'm here for a job?" she questioned, now faced with the reality that she really had no clue what she was doing. "my dad sent me" she added when the man's face fell into a confused look.

"oh, yes!" it lit up again. "angelica seaver?" he said, looking up like he was reading it from the top of his head.

"yes" she gave him a polite smile "um i, prefer angel though"

"very well, angel" he smiled "follow me, i'll get you set up" 

so she did. he walked her through the entire process. it was only the morning when she arrived, and by the afternoon the place was flooded with people. she had a pretty good idea of what she was supposed to be doing: serve the customers and hand out refreshments to the people playing golf. simple enough.

the first task she was given was handing out the drinks to the golfers. the man, who she learned was called dennis, gave her an approximate location, handed her the drinks and keys to a golf cart, then sent her on the way.

she took a breath when she made it to the vehicle. information had been fed to her for hours, and it was starting to take a toll on her. maybe this task would be relaxing. begrudgingly, she twisted the keys in the ignition and set off in the direction she was given.

the task was easy, and although the wondering eyes from the men she served made her skin crawl, she got it done pretty quickly. now, she was just stalling. the sun burned across the island, reflecting off the sand. luckily, her visor gave her some shade, but she could feel the rays burning her arms. she cursed herself for not bringing sunscreen, making a mental note to apply aloe vera when she got home. 

she swerved the cart around a corner, lost in her own thoughts. but that was a mistake, as she nearly hit the familiar boy who was lying on the ground. she looked at him closer, squinting to try and get a better look. he was rolling around, almost like he was in pain. she killed the ignition and hopped out, now feeling the burning sun all over her exposed skin.

"pope?" she called out confused.

she heard him groan, and as she got closer she noticed the blood dripping down his face. the girl gasped, kneeling down in the sand next to him. "a-are you okay?" her voice was weary.

"no" he said, crimson covering his white teeth.

"oh..can you stand up?" she didn't know what to say, the other day was no indication if the boy liked her or not, he didn't really say much.

with a grimace, he pulled his body weight up to a standing position. she copied his movements, her hand ghosting on his arm as he wobbled to the side. 

"come, sit" she beckoned over to her golf cart. he eyed it reluctantly, but ultimately decided that it would be a better idea if he did, he could trust her.

she drove back to the country club building in silence, the occasional groan of pain from pope when they went over a speed bump and the same amount of apologies spilt from angel's mouth when she went round a corner too fast. she didn't want to ask how he got into the condition he was in, afraid of over stepping boundaries, so she just kept quiet.

the buggy was parked in the wrong spot, courtesy to her, she hoped dennis wouldn't come out and see that she screwed up on day one. 

"i'm going to get you some ice, okay?" she told him, one leg already on the ground. "i won't be a second" there was barely any time for him to respond anyway, as she sprinted off to the door as soon as the last syllable left her mouth.

a few small bags of ice were in her grip as she rummaged around drawers for a first aid kit, cheering silently when she found one. she slipped out the door, praying that no one had seen her. but to her surprise, when the golf cart came into view, she noticed another familiar face.

rafe.

taking a deep breath, she prayed that she wouldn't embarrass herself in front of him. but, she failed to notice the way he was threateningly standing over pope.

the ice dropped on the seat next to him. alerting the, now group, of guys that stood around the cart. 

"angel" the man said, leaning his arms on the top of the buggy as he pointed at her name badge.

"hi, rafe" she spoke, turning popes head towards her and digging in the medical kit she managed to retrieve.

"didn't know you worked here" he said, giving her a charming smile. she refused to look at him though, the nerves coursing through her veins.

"uh yeah.. i started today" the antiseptic she was poring on a paper towel dripped onto the seat, she cursed to herself.

"not sure doctor is part of the job description of a drinks server" 

she mumbled under her breath, using the sterile paper town to clean the cut on the top of pope's head. he winced at the pain "sorry!' she squeaked, trying to work fast.

"what was that?" rafe asked, teasingly.

most of the blood was gone, so she handed pope the bag of ice. "keep that there, for a few minutes" she gave him a kind smile. he returned it, still not speaking. 

rafe's chuckle echoed in the background as she checked pope over for any more injuries. "alright, i get it. give me the silent treatment after i saved your ass from being gr-" he started.

"rafe!" she cut him off, not wanting pope to hear the rest of his sentence. surely he'd tell all his friends that she was grounded for two weeks, and then they would assume that she probably committed a crime, and then they'd hate her.

rafe's smirk dropped. if she was looking him in the eyes, the way they darkened would of been visible in the sunlight.

"look, i'm trying to help pope because, i don't know if you can see, but he is bleeding! can you just.. give me some space..please?" she knew the regret of snapping at rafe would come later, but all she needed now was to make sure pope was okay - and to not be fired on her first shift.

he sucked on his teeth, his glance said it all as he turned back to his friends- the guy sarah named 'topper' and another boy she didn't recognise. not even a second glance was sent her way as he walked back onto the golf course.

a sigh left her mouth. cleaning up the medical kit that was still sprawled out over the leather seats. the situation felt so strange to her. the fact that she found pope in the middle of a path, bleeding out- what the fuck had even happened? the courage built up in her, along with the curiosity, so she decided to ask.

"wha-"

"angel!" a shout echoed across the landscape. 

"shit!" she exclaimed. "er.. you can keep the ice and just go home, maybe?" the words came out in a spurt as she hid the medical kit in the back. 

"sorry" she back tracked. "just- i don't know, good luck!" those words were also a frantic panic as she ran towards the origin of the shout.

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

the sun barely peaked from behind the clouds when she finished her shift. her first proper shift. the rest of the day hadn't been very interesting, the club seemed to flood out, by mid-day it wasn't very busy- she just opted to stare at the landscape for a couple of hours. the bright rays no longer shone over the golf course, and the lights that lit the path to the parking lot seemed a bit dim. the bulbs must of not have been changed in years.

it wasn't cold- so to say, but the breeze was picking up slightly and angel regretted not bringing a thin jacket with her. she stood in the middle of the parking lot- it was practically empty apart from a few shiny looking jeeps and soft tops. she reached for the phone in the smart pocket of her skirt, hitting the button a few times before realising the familiar picture of the sunset in her home town didn't light up the screen. 

a sigh left her mouth- her phone was dead. her eyes glanced around, spotting a little make-shift bench around a big planted tree. she resided there for a while, just watching the sun finally disappear behind the dark clouds. only then did she realise how dark it really was, and only then did she feel the first spit of water on her skin. 

she assumed that her dad would pull through the gates in his flashy car to take her home. but after waiting a while, she began to dwell on the thought that none of that would happen. it only began to rain more. it wasn't heavy so to say, but if she stayed out here any longer she was sure to catch a chill. the girl looked up at the sky, she couldn't believe how fast the weather changed on the island. one second the sun was burning her skin, next minute the same sky was soaking right through her.

the blonde wrapped her arms around herself for warmth, finally deciding that her dad was not coming to collect her and she would just have to find her own way home. she picked herself up off the bench, stretching out her legs slightly. nobody was around anymore, she watched the last car go almost ten minutes ago. just one car remained, and she assumed it was the owner of the club- maybe she'd have to ask them for a ride.

the raindrops splashed against her skin, soaking her hair. she squinted as she tried to look around in the little light she had to see where a possible exit was. as she turned her head to the right, she noticed a figure. angel stood still, and so did the shadow. nobody should be around- even the one person she assumed was still left wouldn't of been stood in the direction she was facing.

without a second thought, she bolted. her feet hit the ground faster than the thoughts entered her head- she didn't look back with a glance. the shoes she picked that morning gave her a leverage, making her decent even faster. but there was one problem- she didn't know where she was going.

a corner came into her view, her body swerving to narrowly miss the side of the brick wall. like a swivel, her head turned to see if the figure was still visible. that was a mistake- as soon as she lost attention of her footing, she ran into something solid. her body recoiled back, but the object seemed to stay still.

her eyes drifted up. it was a man- in a polo shirt, a very familiar one at that. wait..

"rafe?" she exclaimed, looking him in the eyes- he seemed just as confused as he was. 

"angel?" he asked, bewildered.

she stumbled over her words, blinking the water from her lashes. her movements were frantic as she looked from rafe, back to where she came from.

"what... was that you?" she questioned, her chest rising rapidly- as if she'd just run a marathon.

another puzzled look flashed over the boy's eyes, he seemed to take in the way angel was shaking, obviously soaked through from the cold. rafe shook his head, fiddling with the keys in his pocket. "you need a lift?" it was dark- and obviously way past the end of her shift so he assumed nobody had come to pick her up yet.

she didn't answer, continuing to stare into his eyes like he was speaking a different language.

"alright then" he tutted, turning sideways past her and walking in the direction of his car. she followed immediately.

"no!" her voice rang "or.. yes! i don't know!" concern grew in him- he'd never admit that though. she seemed genuinely confused. before he could even blink, angel shot into the passenger seat- apologising for damping the expensive leather. 

"where too?" he asked, switching on the engine.

again- no answer. he turned to look at her. she was leaning against the window- trying to peek into the distance, almost like she was being followed. "what the fuck?" he voiced out loud. "are you being followed?"

with wide eyes, angel turned to look at him. "that wasn't you?" the panic evident in her voice. she had no time to think logically, but the chance of that figure being rafe was near to none- how would of he got in front of her that fast?

rafe just chuckled, backing out of the parking lot as he shook his head. "always sarah's friends" the words came out quietly, like he was afraid of her hearing- like he'd be giving any of sarah's friends a ride home.

thankfully, angel didn't pick up his sentence, the name of her friend only falling on her ears- reminding her of the plans they had. "can you take me to sarah's..." she asked, timidly. forgetting the fact it was his house too.

the boy didn't say a word, continuing to drive down the dark lanes with one hand on the steering wheel. angel felt the silence consume her- the weight of what she said to him earlier still lying on her shoulders. 

"i'm sorry.." she admitted, focusing her eyes on the footwell. 

he only chuckled, giving her a half smile which she failed to notice. "you're good" 

although the cameron boy felt conditioned to hate all of his sisters friends, he couldn't quite help but think of angel differently. much to his dismay- he knew deep down he was beginning to take a liking to her. the thought weighed down his head- that couldn't go on for much longer.

[summermil]

𝑡𝚑𝑟𝑒𝑒 ❀

𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛 𝑥 𝑓𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑐

𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠: 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑠𝚑𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑡𝚑𝑒𝑟, 𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑦 𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑦 𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑦 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑡𝚑𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑡, 𝑎 𝚑𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡𝚑.

𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 ꕤ

𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑝𝑎𝑑ೀ

𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑑

oh my god...

when she noticed the door opening she expected to find sarah standing there, not him. the same guy she'd noticed the other day. the one who seemingly had a fight with his dad and sped off on his motorcycle. that time she'd seen him from a distance. but now, up close, he was better looking than she even imagined.

"uh, hi" she made the first move, surprisingly.

"hey" he gave her a smile, a smirk even, shamelessly checking her out. not that she could deny she wasn't checking him out just a minute ago. he had another polo shirt on, classic. she assumed it was the dress code for wealthy males on this 'side' of the island. since every man she had seen - outside her home - supported the polo shirt and khaki shorts combo, just like him.

she let her eyes rake back up to his face. he was gorgeous, she'd seen 3 boys yesterday but not one of them compared to him. he was tall - taller than her, not that it was hard to be taller than her, she had to crane her neck slightly to look up at him. 

"is uh.. sarah in?" she asked, timidly. where's your confidence gone now, angel?

his smile dropped, and so did her heart. shit. what did she say? was it wrong? was this not even sarah's house? 

"yeah" he ran a hand over his face. "she's just-" he started, but was quickly cut off by an angry guy storming his way down the stairs, pushing past her and sarah's brother at the front door. he was also dressed in a polo shirt. maybe she has two brothers? she didn't mention a second one.

"rafe, your sisters a bitch man" this guy said as he barged into angels shoulder, not even acknowledging her. alright. so maybe she doesn't have two brothers.

"tell me about it" rafe shouted out the door, as the guy walked down the driveway in a hurry to seemingly get away from the house.

rafe. that's his name. cute. hm.. wait a second. he said what about his sister?

but just as angel was going to open her mouth to protect her new friend, she came flying down the same staircase. "topper!'" she was shouting but she quickly lowered her voice when she saw angel and rafe standing at the door.

no one said anything for a few seconds. sarah was clearly in distress, angel was confused, and that smirk appeared back on rafe's face. but before he could open his mouth, sarah cut him off. "shut your mouth, rafe" she pointed a finger at him.

his smirk didn't leave, instead, he just put his hands up in faux surrender. "alright, i'll leave you and your friend in peace" he said, walking away from where her and sarah were stood not before looking angel up and down once more. 

sarah scoffed, walking over to angel, inviting her in properly and closing the door behind her. "are you okay?" angel spoke in a soft voice. sarah sniffled, then wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"yeah, um" she took a deep breath "follow me."

so, she did. sarah's house was beautiful, with a giant spiral staircase, multiple stories, big rooms and a massive front and back garden. angel followed the girl up the said spiral staircase and into a room. sarah's room.

once they entered, sarah sat down on her bed - composing herself. angel slid the jacket, which belonged to sarah, off her shoulders. setting it down next to her. "i bought you this back" she gave a warm smile, not knowing how to cheer the girl up.

sarah lifted her head from her hands, acknowledging what angel had said. "thanks" she gave a weak smile. it didn't quite reach her eyes like normal. sighing, angel sat down next to her, slinging her arm around sarah's shoulders.

"what's wrong?" she asked in a whisper, leaning into her. the tears fell from sarah's eyes again. angel just held her closer. letting her cry onto her shoulder.

"m-my boyfriend, i-i broke up with him a-and" she stuttered out in between cries "he s-said some..hateful w-words". her head shook as she leaned into angel more. 

angel was confused, she didn't say anything for a moment. she thought sarah's boyfriend was the guy she was cuddled up on the beach with. but it seemed now that sarah's real boyfriend, well ex-boyfriend, was the guy she named 'topper', who ran out of the house when she arrived.

"whatever he said, don't let it affect you. he was probably just salty that the most beautiful girl on this island broke up with him" she tried cheering her up. it worked, when sarah's head rose from being buried into her shoulder, she gave a small laugh. sarah's laugh sent a smile on angels face as sarah - once again - wiped her tears, took a deep breath and stood up from the bed.

"I'm glad your here, i need your opinion" she exclaimed, walking to her closet.

"what? is it another boyfriend?" sarah turned around in fake shock, scoffing playfully as she couldn't stop the smile that spread on her face.

"girl, no" she shouted as she disappeared into the walk-in wardrobe she had in her bedroom. fancy. she reappeared a second later with four garment bags in her hand. "i need help deciding"

angel raised her eyebrow in question. "where are you going?"

sarah dropped the bags onto the bed and looked at her new friend. "you don't know?"

"oh my god, who is keeping these secrets on this island"

sarah chuckled, unzipping one of the bags to reveal a beautiful plain white dress with off the shoulder sleeves. 

"wow" angel was mesmerised, it looked expensive. "where are you going in a dress this pretty?"

"it's an event" sarah started "its called midsummers, all the kook families attend it"

"a kook is.?" angel asked, still confused from the explanation she got from jj on the beach.

sarah rolled her eyes playfully. "a kook is me, you, the people that live on this side of the island, the cut, some people call it." she paused, making sure angel was following along. "we have money, big houses and nice jobs"

"well, that's not our fault, we didn't ask-"

"shhh" sarah cut her off "let me finish!" she exclaimed. 

"fine!" angel giggled.

"the pogues, aka the people you met yesterday, they live on the cut. they don't have a lot of money, not very nice houses and they work for the kooks"

angel frowned. "most kooks hate the pogues, unfortunately, they're always getting into trouble but, i think they're cool"

"me too.. and i've barely even spoken to one" angel laughed again.

"you know the girl who tried to tell you being a kook is a bad thing?" sarah asked "kiara, her name is"

"oh..yeah. what about her?" angels stomach dropped, remembering how upset she had gotten over the girl she didn't even know.

"guess what" a smile spread over sarah's face, slightly comforting angel.

"what?"

"she's a kook too" 

"no way" angels mouth dropped open. "why was she so bothered?"

"she turned full pogue or something, much to her parent's disappointment"

"is she going to this midsummer's thing?" angel wondered.

"yeah, probably" it went silent for a minute before sarah spoke up. "technically, you should be going - if you're, you know 'a kook'. " she made air quotes with her hands.

"I'm not sure, i have no idea what my dad does all day, i barely even see him"

"oh" sarah said, confused. "we go every year, my dad owns something i think, he always does a speech, i'm not really sure. i only go for the alcohol, to be honest" she admitted.

"wow, how do i secure myself an invite" angel didn't think her dad was very involved with that sort of stuff. she didn't even know what midsummers was.

"you could come with me, if you wanted" sarah offered.

angel thought about it for a minute. "when is it?"

"next week."

she would still be grounded by then. it was one thing to sneak off in the day for a couple of hours, but to sneak off to a party where the whole of the island could be, was a little risky. "i'll think about it" she offered a smile, already deciding the answer was probably no, but she'd entertain the idea anyway.

"now, show me the rest of the dresses."

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

about four hours later and the pair had tried on about everything in sarah's closet, performing their own little runway show. she and sarah had decided on the first white dress although, there was a cute light blue dress that came as a strong runner up, angel wished she could of had that one to herself.

the two girls were now lying on her bed, exchanging embarrassing stories from their childhoods.

"when i was in first grade, i wanted to be a dolphin" angel started, laughing already - emerging a chuckle from the other girl who didn't even know the story. "one day, i had all these red bumps form on my upper body, and i thought i was turning into a dolphin" sarah let out a loud cackle, angel shushing her "i haven't even told the story yet!"

"sorry, sorry, continue miss dolphin" sarah composed herself. 

angel sighed playfully and continued on. "i ran to my teacher crying because i didn't want to be a dolphin yet... turns out i was just allergic to yogurt" the two girls burst into fits of giggles, rolling around on the bed until one of them eventually tumbled off of it, making the situation even funnier.

once they'd come around, angel - who was now lying on the floor - spoke up. "i haven't eaten all day" she groaned.

"what!" sarah shot up from her space on the bed, jumping onto the floor and pulling angel up by her arm. "c'mon, you like pizza?"

"fuck yes!" 

angel let sarah drag her to the living room, where they sat on the couch and decided on which pizza to order.

"pineapple on pizza?" sarah questioned the other girl.

"ugh.. the best" angel smirked when a scowl crossed sarah's facial features.

"ew, we can't be friends anymore"

angel rolled her eyes sarcastically, leaning over to get a look at the menu. they eventually decided on what they wanted, turning on the large flat screen television for entertainment while they waited for the delivery.

fifteen minutes later the doorbell rang. angel looked over at sarah who was too engrossed in the episode of pretty little liars they'd turned on. "you go get it, this is my favourite part"

angel sighed, before getting up from the couch and padding her way over to the front door. she opened the door and was met with a young boy, around her age. he smiled at her, although it was more of a grimace, their hands touching as she took the pizza. 

"there you go, pretty lady" he gave her a wink. angel was uncomfortable, hoping she could just close the door and scurry back to the living room to eat her food, but the boy opened his mouth again. she sighed internally, mentally telling herself she'd hear what he had to say once more before she closed the door on him. 

like a fish, his mouth opened and closed, but no sounds came out. angel wondered if she was having a stroke, if her hearing had gone for some unknown reason. but when the boy's eyes drifted behind her figure, she couldn't help but turn around.

stood behind her was none other than rafe, the boy who she'd just met a few hours before, who practically insulted his own sister and left before another snarky remark could leave his mouth. he had one eyebrow raised as he stared at the timid boy in-front of him.

"s-sorry" the boy squeaked out before scurrying off from where he came from. god, he wasn't that intimidating surely. but, as soon as he appeared he was gone again. when she turned back around, she caught the back of him as he headed to another room. she stood there for a minute, gathering herself. what the fuck just happened?

"angel" sarah called out from the living room.

"coming" she replied breaking out of her daydream.

"was he cute?" sarah asked with a wink when angel set the boxes down on the coffee table

angels eyed winded "what?" she asked, franticly.

"the pizza guy, silly"

"oh" she coughed "no he was, no" she shook her head laughing.

"shame, thought i could set you up with one"

"oh shut up" angel rolled her eyes collapsing back onto the seat to resume the episode and eat her pizza.

they quickly finished the pizzas, spending another hour watching another episode of the show. then, angels eyes snapped to the giant windows, noticing it had gotten dark.

"shit" she swore to herself. making sarah's attention snap to her friend.

"what?" she asked

"my dads gonna kill me if i'm not home, it's already dark" she stood up, getting ready to leave and - hopefully, not get caught by her dad.

"i think your dad needs to loosen up a bit" sarah smiled

"tell me about it" angel shouted as she walked to the front door. "bye!" she added, turning around to give sarah - who was shocked at how quickly she'd managed to gather her things and leave - a wave.

"bye, call me!" sarah shouted back, returning the wave.

as soon as sarah heard the front door shut, rafe turned round the corner. she eyed him as he also followed the path to the front door. 

"rafe" she caught his attention, his eye brows raised in a questioning way. "can you.. make sure she gets home alright?" she asked sheepishly.

he rolled his eyes. "why don't you look after your own friends sarah, i'm not a babysitter" 

she huffed as she sat back on the couch, tired of her brother's attitude. but unbeknownst to her, he had actually followed through with her request.

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

outside, angel walked down the driveway at a fast pace. wrapping her arms around herself for warmth, she didn't realise how cold it gets at night here. well, maybe for her because she isn't used to it. she was lost in her thoughts when she approached the gate, pressing in the code she remembered, frowning when it didn't open. she tried again, but to no avail. she huffed, but before she could pull out her phone to check the code, she felt a presence behind her.

she turned around to be met with none other than rafe - she didn't know his last name yet but she made a mental note to ask sarah later. 

"can i help you?" she called out to him over the wind.

"i think i should be asking you that" he chuckled, walking closer

"yeah.." she rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "what's the code?"

he, begrudgingly walked over to her space, bumping his arm against her shoulder as he punched in the right code combination, making the gate swing open.

he held out his arm "ladies first" there was a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

she rolled her eyes at him this time but went forward anyways "charming" she muttered under her breath. but as soon as she rounded the corner where her house came into view, she froze. 

"fuck!" she whisper-shouted turning around to hide but only to be met with rafe's solid chest. his arms grabbed her shoulders on instinct as a string of apologies left her mouth.

"what?" he cut off her rambling, looking around for a threat or any person, only spotting a nicely dressed man on the driveway of the house next door. he knew a family had moved in, his dad said he worked with the man, said he was a nice guy, had a few family issues but apparently they moved to the outer banks to 'sort them out'.

"my dad" she whispered, "keep your voice down."

"he won't hear us over the wind.. wait, your dad?" he asked, slightly shocked. when he'd seen this blonde girl turn up at his doorstep he assumed it was another one of sarah's pogue friends. he had no idea she was a kook. 

"yes, oh my god he's gonna be so mad" she was slightly panicking almost pacing up and down the small gap they were hidden in. 

"why? what have you done to make him so mad, little miss kook" he teased.

she stopped her pacing to look up at him in offence. "don't call me that" she scowled. "i'm grounded for two weeks, okay?" she threw her hands up in the air.

"damn, what you do?" two weeks seemed a little harsh? did she commit a serious offence or something, he wondered.

"i-" she hesitated "doesn't matter i just.." 

he smirked a little, placing his hands on her shoulders and guiding her towards her house. she thrashed in his grip. "what are you doing!" she exclaimed, but he just shushed her and walked her to her house. he easily overpowered her so getting her there wasn't an issue, he just had to make sure it didn't look like a kidnapping to any passers by.

he let go of her once they got to the path that led to the house. "just follow my lead, okay?" he whispered to her, bending down to her ear level.

angel sighed, she didn't know whether to trust him or not, she'd met him a couple of hours ago and he was either gonna make her punishment from her dad worse, or make it better. she decided to trust him, although she basically didn't have a choice, her dad had already spotted her. 

he looked angry as he approached her, a scowl on his face. his mouth already open, ready to lecture his daughter about breaking his rules. but rafe spoke up first, stepping in front of the girl as to protect her.

"hey sir, i'm rafe, i live next door" he pointed to his house and angels dad's shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.

"nice to meet you, mr cameron, your dad has told me a lot about you" he held his hand out for rafe to shake. 

"likewise mr.." he left the question open, waiting for a last name. 

"seaver" her dad smiled, angel had never seen him smile before, it felt weird.

"likewise mr seaver, all good things i hope" rafe shook his hand, noticing the firm grip and the tight smile on his face. this was odd.

the older man nodded his head, eyes drifting back to his daughter. "care to explain what you're doing out?" he sounded calm, but angel knew the layers to his tone.

"dad i-" she went to retaliate.

"she was helping me with some work, mr seaver" rafe butted in.

the man looked suspicious for a minute "what kind of work?"

"math, it's for my dad's business, i help him sometimes," rafe said, squaring up his shoulders to seem more confident.

"angelica, you are failing maths" he deadpanned to his daughter.

shit. "it was easy maths, dad" she knew better not to argue.

her dad turned back to rafe, they seemed to have a silent stare down for a moment before he dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "well, off you go son, i'll take her in"

"alright" rafe eyed her, giving her a knowing look as her dad guided her inside. "see you later, mr seaver" the name sounded like poison rolling off his tongue. rafe had known the man for 2 minutes max, but he already seemed like no good.

meanwhile, angels dad guided her inside. she internally cringed at the thought of the harsh punishment she was about to receive, but nothing happened. he didn't shout any cruel words at her or send her to her bedroom for another few years. instead, he walked into the kitchen and asked her to sit at the dining room table.

her brother, tommy, was already there, surprising angel when she rounded the corner. she took a seat next to him, kicking his feet as a way to silently say hello. her dad sat down opposite them. whatever's happening can't be good. fear rolled through her body. what if something happened to her mom, that's why he didn't punish her. what if-

"angelica, you are no longer grounded" he spoke, suddenly.

her eyebrows raised in shock. was this some sort of joke? "really?" 

"don't make me regret it" he said, his eyes boring into her, making her sink back into her chair.

"but" he started and angel internally sighed, of course, there's a twist.

"we, as a family, need to attend this event."

"event?" her brother, tommy asked.

"its called, midsummers."

[summermil]

𝑡𝑤𝑜 ❀

𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛 𝑥 𝑓𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑐

𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠: 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑑 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑡𝚑𝑒𝑟, 𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑦 𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑡, 𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡𝚑.

𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 ꕤ

𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑝𝑎𝑑ೀ

her hair danced in the wind. the cooling feel of the sea breeze hitting her face was enough to distract her from her current predicament. in her room. grounded. for two whole weeks.

it was monday now, and after spending the rest of the weekend in her bedroom, she decided she'd had enough. she was going to disobey her dad's orders and sneak out.

she knew he'd gone to work, but since this was his new job, she had no idea when he'd come back. she wasn't even sure what he did. but she didn't bother worrying about that, as long as she doesn't bump into him during her escape plan, she'll be good as gold.

her room didn't have a lock on it yet, luckily, so she gently pulled open the door. the awful creaking sound echoed through the whole hallway, and she hoped she hadn't disturbed her mom.

the girl danced across the landing and down the stairs, making sure to be as quiet as possible, but when she rounded the corner in the kitchen, she was met with a fright. someone was stood in the kitchen.

she clambered backwards, knocking into the wall in the process, letting a small "ow" slip from her mouth.

"angel?" a small voice called out.

"mom?" was that really her mother calling for her, or had she gone insane?

the blonde peaked round the corner, and sure enough, leant on the kitchen island - was her mom.

"mom!" she exclaimed in shock "what are you doing down here. god, you scared me" a deep breath escaped from her lungs. 

"i was down here the whole time, honey." she chuckled slightly, though it sounded painful.

"i thought you should be resting?"

"yeah well.. your dads out. thought i might get some exercise before he comes back and locks me back up again" angel knew she was joking, but deep down she also knew - it was the truth. 

5 years ago, the doctors diagnosed angels mom, isabelle, with pancreatic cancer. it was rare, she was only young. they didn't know how she developed it, they said she was healthy, so the chances of her becoming cancer free were large. but quickly, they descended. 

every doctor's visit, every hospital appointment, all told them the same thing. they couldn't help her. the cancer had spread too far, and as much as the family pleaded with the doctors, they just couldn't do anything to help her. that was nearly 3 years ago. the hospital warned the family of the life expectancy. so, that's why they moved to the outerbanks.

her dad said it was a fresh start, her mom had always loved the beach. when angel was growing up, she was given the nickname jelly. her mom had started it, taking inspiration from the jellyfish that always washed up on her home town beach.

angel took that as a motto in life. she never let anyone close enough to sting her. maybe that wasn't good for her. that's why she liked this fresh start, new experiences, new people, she hoped it would be better than the last.

deep down though, she was upset. she knew the only reason they moved here was because her mom was dying. she didn't have very long left to live, and she wanted to be by the beach for her final months.

angel was angry. angry at the world for trying to take her mom away from her. she knew she'd have to live with her dad, but she had hope her mom would hold on, she had hope that they would run away together - her, tommy and her mom- then start a new life somewhere away from all the pain. but that was more of a dream.

the days we're getting closer and closer, the ticking sound of a clock echoed in her head when she thought about it. but, it wasn't happening now, her mom was alive, in fact, she was stood right in front of her.

"hey" the same voice snapped her out of her trance. "didn't your dad say you were grounded? i heard something along those lines, but i was so dosed up on pain meds.. i didn't really understand"

"no...no" the girl denied it. "he might have been talking to tommy, definitely wasn't talking to me" her voice went higher at the end. she knew her mom suspected something, but alas - she let her off.

"alright.." the older woman yawned, stretching her joints and wincing slightly when she pushed them too far. 

"i'm gonna go out, mom. is that okay?" angel asked, praying the slight waver in her voice wasn't a giveaway. 

"now?"

"yeah..i.. ya know, i just thought i'd explore the island" 

her mom snorted "well, maybe if you didn't spend all day in your bedroom yesterday, you could have gone out then"

angel thought she'd caught on to her lie, she was ready to accept defeat and head back to her bedroom.

"but, of course, you can go out jelly, just be safe.. okay?"

she almost cheered. "yes mom, thanks, i love you, bye" the rushed string of words left her mouth as she grabbed the house keys off the rack and practically sprinted out the front door. finally free.

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

the sound of the waves crashing were comforting. when she was little, the only way she could fall asleep was with the sounds of the sea echoing around her room. she grew out of it, but the noise always seemed to bring her comfort.

so did the feeling of sand on her feet, the wind in her hair, the salty taste of the ocean. 

perched on a rock, angel began thinking. how her life could have been different. she wished she could turn back time, undo her mistakes and maybe even fight for her mother a bit more. she always believed it was her fault she was dying. she's dying. her mom is dying and there is absolutely nothing she can do about it.

salty tears rolled down her face. she just wanted life to be normal- why couldn't anything go her way? she wrapped her arms around herself in comfort, shaking on a rock in the middle of the beach.

"hey" it was quiet, barely there. angel ignored it at first, probably just another voice her head had made up. 

"hey, are you alright?" it was louder this time, whoever was speaking was close.

the girl turned around cautiously, but instead of a threat being behind her, it was another girl. her brown eyes locked onto angels blue ones, the girl's eyes were caring, kind. she had dirty blonde hair and as angel recognised she was not a threat, she also noticed her mouth moving.

everything seemed to come crashing back on her then. the sound of the waves, the chill of the air and the question that was coming out of this stranger's mouth. angel shot up onto her feet, frantically wiping the tears from her face and forcing a fake smile. 

"are you alright? you didn't answer for a second" the girl asked.

"uh, yeah I'm o-okay" she winced at her voice cracking, scolding herself for showing vulnerability to a stranger.

"I'm sarah" she gave a friendly smile. "i don't think I've seen you around before"

"uh no, i- we just moved here" for fucks sake angel, speak like a normal person "im angel, nice to meet you"

"cool... where do you live?" sarah responded.

angel thought it was a bit strange to give a stranger her address, she hadn't even known this girl for a minute. but she trusted her for some reason. her mom's words swam around in her head.

'don't let them get too close angel, they'll leave you with a horrible sting'

"i know that's a strange question" the other girl laughed, taking angels silence as an answer. "you don't have to answer if you don't want to"

fuck it, she decided. she wanted to make new friends? well, she had to start here. so, she told the stranger her address.

sarah looked shocked for a second, before her face lit up in excitement. "are you serious?" she had a hint of a smile pulling at her lips.

angel couldn't help but feel a small smile form on her face as well. maybe the people around here were nice, maybe moving here was a good decision. 

"yeah, we moved in about.. 3 days ago"

"we're neighbours!" sarah exclaimed, happily.

"oh my god, really?" angel matched her energy.

"yes, how did i not notice" she threw her hands in the air.

"do you- do you have a brother?" angel couldn't help but ask, the guy she'd seen on the motorbike that night, had to be part of her family, right?

"yeah, i live with my dad, his wife, my brother and my younger sister" 

"i think i saw your dad.. and your brother" angel hoped sarah didn't think she was trying to pry out information about him. 

"yeah.. they don't get along well" the girl's mood changed slightly and angel noticed a shift in the air.

"i don't get along with my dad either, he favourites my younger brother more" 

"is it just you, your brother and your dad?" 

"no.. my moms with us too, she's just... ill at the moment"

sarah gave a sympathetic smile, "i hope she gets better"

"thanks" her words hit angel like a ton of bricks. she won't get better, she's dying, she won't survive, she won't li-

"hey, me and my friends are hanging out down the other end of the beach. wanna join?" the brown eyed girl asked, extending her hand for angel to take.

new people? maybe she could make some more friends. "sure, why not" she smiled, grabbing her newfound friend's hand and letting her drag her down the beach.

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

the two girls had made it about halfway back down the beach when sarah noticed angel was shivering and had her arms wrapped around herself for warmth, she wondered if the new girl just wasn't used to the coastal wind chill. so she offered up her jacket. 

"take this" she said after she slipped off the jacket to hand it to her new friend.

"are you sure?" angel asked, "i don't want you to get cold."

"I've lived here all my life angel, I'm used to it"

"okay, thanks" angel took the jacket with a small smile, slipping it over her shoulders. she then noticed something in the distance, a bright orange glow. almost like a fire? she looked around realising just how long she had been out. the sun was setting, leaving a beautiful reflection on the water. but it was getting dark, hence the fire in the distance. 

"do you see that?" she asked sarah, pointing her shaky hand in the direction of the light, realising that she'd been out so long and forgotten to have breakfast that morning.

"yeah" she replied back, happily. "that's my friends, come on" she chuckled before jogging in the direction of the fire.

angel could see them now, there was 4 other people sat on logs around a mini camp fire. she didn't run to catch up with sarah. she just picked up her pace a bit, letting her feet drag through the sand. 

the warmth from the fire was much appreciated by angel when she walked up next to the log sarah had sat herself on. she had sat by a boy with grown out shaggy hair, he was wearing a shirt and by the looks of how cosy him and sarah seemed, she could only assume that was her boyfriend. there was no room on that certain seat so angel casted her eyes around. the next available space was by the only other girl. she had darker skin and her hair held beautiful curls.

"guys this is my friend, angel, i met her.. just now, we're neighbours!" sarah beamed out to her friends. nobody said anything, but now all eyes were on her.

"uh, hi im... yeah, I'm angel" she gave an awkward wave cursing herself for not being able to talk to people at all.

"so.. you're a kook" the girl with the curls asked, crossing her arms over her chest in annoyance.

"kiara!" sarah scolded, giving her a look.

"what's a.. kook?" angel was confused, what was a 'kook' and why did this kiara girl seem so bothered?

"you don't know?" the blonde guy sat farthest away spoke up. angel shook her head.

he sighed. "pope, get up" he guided the guy next to him to sit down next to kiara, patting the, now empty, log bedside him. "sit" he ordered angel, looking her in the eyes.

"okay.." angel was scared about this strange group of people. hell, she met sarah about half an hour ago and she thought she could trust her just because they're neighbours? shit. what have i got myself into? her eyes darted around nervously as she took a seat.

"jj" sarah warned, "be nice". 

be nice?  angel thought, suddenly panicking, looking around for any escape or another human who could save her. she was convinced they were going to kill her, on this secluded part of the beach where nobody was around. these thoughts quickly put a chill through her bones, making the warmth from the fire practically useless. she wrapped sarah's jacket around herself tighter, basking in the slight warmth it gave her.

a hand nudged against her arm, snapping her out of her daydream. once again she had gotten to overwhelmed and zoned out. the guy with messy blonde hair who sarah called 'jj' started speaking to her again. "are you good? you looked scared. c'mon, we're not that scary" he laughed a little.

angel, despite her thoughts, felt the corners of her mouth turn up a tiny bit. although she thought they might murder her, her flight or fight wasn't kicking in, she didn't have butterflies in her stomach and her gut instinct wasn't telling her to run. maybe she was okay. so, she muttered out an apology and reverted the conversation. 

"so.. what's a kook?"

everybody sighed, finally realising she actually didn't know what a kook was. they all drew their eyes to jj, he sighed before speaking up.

"there are two sides to this island, figure eight and the cut. the kooks.. and the pogues."

"okay? i still don't understand" angel didn't get any of this.

"the kooks are the rich families. they have nice houses, nice cars, big parties and lots of money"

"so your a kook" kiara spoke up. "and so is sarah" from the expression on her face angel could tell nobody in this circle liked the kooks.

"is that a bad thing?" 

"ye-"

"no!" sarah shouted over kiara. "being a kook is... fine."

"see the pogues and the kooks don't like each other.. it's like, a rivalry" jj carried on his explanation.

"why not?" the blonde girl asked.

"man, because-"

"because the kooks are stuck up pigs who have too much money and only care for themselves" kiara interrupted again, abruptly standing up from her seat and stomping off the beach. angel opened her mouth in shock. is she going to be known as a 'kook' now. she hoped not, how hard would it be to get people to like her after this reaction?

the boy who was addressed as 'pope' stood up and turned in the direction kiara had gone. "uh.. i better go.. check on her" he stuttered out, walking in her direction.

"yeah.. me too" jj said standing up to follow his friends. he waved awkwardly before scurrying off in the same direction.

angel turned back to sarah, bewildered at what just happened. sarah opened her mouth quickly to try and stop the hurt that washed over her new friend's face. but it was too late, as a tear had already fell from her eye. she untangled herself from john b and ran over to sit with the other kook.

"it's okay" she whispered, slinging an arm around angels shoulders. "she just.. overreacted, that's all" 

"i don't understand" tears ran down her face but her features kept expressionless, eyes glowing in the ambers of the fire as she stared into it. "why don't they like me"

"they do like you" the boy exclaimed from the other side. "they just.. don't trust new people"

angel's head fell into her hands, missing the look sarah had gave him. this day had gone worse to good to shit all over again. 'they don't trust new people'. what does that even mean?

"I'm sorry" she sniffled.

"why are you apologising? we should be saying sorry to you" sarah said

"you only met me like, half an hour ago.. now I'm crying into your arms"

sarah held her closer, rubbing her shoulder in a comforting manner. "it's okay, besides, i think I've known you longer than that. it's getting dark... we should go home, c'mon i'll walk you" she gave angel a friendly smile, guiding them both to stand up. 

"ill see you tomorrow john b.. bye" she bid goodbye to her boyfriend and, with her arm still around angel's shoulders, began walking back home. they walked back in a comforting silence. with sarah being slightly taller than the other girl, she was able to rest her head on her shoulders.

the walk wasn't long, so they arrived back quite quickly. sarah stopped them at the gates of angels house. she laughed slightly. "my dads gonna be pissed"

sarah looked at her with sympathy. "quick, go inside then, before he sees you"

"okay.. can i see you tomorrow?" angel asked, sheepishly.

"of course" sarah beamed. "come round whenever, okay" she searched for something in her pocket, pulling out a phone and handing it to her. "type your number in, ill text you" 

"okay.. here" angel typed in her number quickly, bidding goodbye to her new friend before scurrying up to her house.

the front door didn't squeak, luckily, considering the building was quite new. she tiptoed across the foyer and up the wooden staircase. at the top of the staircase, there was a table. a table with a vase. a table with a vase that she managed to bump into, creating a ringing sound across the house. she wasted no time bolting to her room, opening the door and collapsing on the bed in exhaustion. luckily, her mom and dad's room was up another story, although she was sure that wouldn't be for long, considering her mum was struggling to get up and down the first flight of stairs as it was.

she unwillingly pulled herself off the bed to change into something more comfy, realising she still had on sarah's jacket. as sleep engulfed her, she made a mental note to take it back tomorrow.

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

outside her window, the bird chirped happily, angel woke up peacefully. then remembered the shenanigans that happened last night. letting out a loud groan, she pulled herself up from her bed and trudged to the bathroom, turning on the shower. she let the warm water engulf her body as she zoned out. eventually returning back to her room after she'd done her hair care, skin care and beauty routine. 

"angel" she heard from outside her door. 

she rolled her eyes "just a minute tommy" quickly throwing on some random clothes, she hesitantly twisted the door knob and cracked open the door, pondering what her younger brother was up to. but to her surprise, he didn't try to hit her with a hand full of whipped cream, or throw a ball at her face.

"yes? what do you need" she eyed him suspiciously.

"i saw you last night" he responded, cheekily.

"tommy" she scolded, dragging him by his shirt into her room. earning a series of 'ows' as she shut the door in a hurry. "keep your voice down, he'll hear"

"what?" the boy furrowed his brows. "he's at work, what are you talking about"

"huh?" angel picked up her phone, checking the time to see that it was indeed, one in the afternoon. she let her eyes scan down the screen. seeing a text from an unknown number. oh, it was sarah. she remembered she'd given the girl her phone number last night. but that also reminds her. the jacket. 

"tommy, I'm going out now okay, so..keep your mouth shut and be good" she pointed a finger at him.

"what's it for me" he asked

she sighed "what do you want"

he stood with his hands on his hips "i want to go to...that basketball court mom was telling me about!"

"alright, ill take you there" she begrudgingly agreed, not even thinking about the fact she was still grounded for 2 weeks. "now get out"

the boy sassily walked out, not before sticking his tongue out at his older sister, typical. she rolled her eyes and started picking out an outfit to go see her new friend again. also remembering to chuck the jacket over her shoulder to return.

she got down the stairs to the front door, hesitating before she opened it. "bye" she shouted into the house, hoping that her mom could hear her if she was awake. angel waited a minute but got no response, so she sighed and stepped out of the house, gently shutting the door behind her.

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

the walk over to sarah's front gate was less than a minute. she'd walked quite fast though, itching to get away from her own house. she punched in the code that sarah had texted her, watching as the front gate peeled open to reveal a beautiful house with a wide balcony looking over the town. angel admired it as she wandered up to the front door.

when she arrived she spotted a small bell on the wall to the side, deciding to ring it instead. she doubted a small knock would be heard in a house like this. the bell echoed around the walls of the building. through the glass door, she could see a figure approaching, not clearly though - since the panels were frosted.

but the figure looked quite tall, she was confused for a second. until the door handle twisted and swung open to reveal a tall boy in a polo shirt with khaki shorts on. she craned her neck slightly to look up at him and her eyes widened in shock.

oh my god...

[summermil]

𝑜𝑛𝑒 ❀

𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛 𝑥 𝑓𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑐

𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠: 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑑 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑡𝚑𝑒𝑟.

𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 ꕤ

tap..tap..tap..

the blonde girl sighed in frustration, throwing her diary aside and begrudgingly making her way to the door of her new bedroom. as expected, outside the door was her little brother tommy, who was sitting there tossing a tennis ball against the wall of her bedroom. a sigh left her mouth, as she found the words to scold her little brother.

"tommy!" she sighed in exasperation. "you've been at this for like, an hour - can you quit it already!" tommy didn't move. only grumbled something incoherent and continued throwing the ball.

tap..tap..tap..

the girl decided she had enough. so as soon as the round object hit the wall again, she grabbed it, throwing her arm above her head and keeping it out of reach from her younger brother. 

"angel!" he all but shouted  "give it back, i was playing with that!" he crossed his arms and stomped his feet like a toddler. she was quick to silence him.

"stop shouting tommy, you'll wake mom up" the boy huffed again, realising that his sister wouldn't give it up. 

"come on T, go play with it outside"

"no"

"no?" she furrowed her brows.

"dad said i can't go out after dinner" he pouted.

"screw what dad says tom, dinner was hours ago" 

they stood in a silent staring contest for a minute, before she gave up and marched to the staircase. "coming?" she asked with a raised brow as she descended down the stairs, not waiting for an answer. the boy yawned, carefully following his sister down the stairs, trying ever so hard to not alert his dad of what they were doing. 

he met her outside, she was round the back of the house, facing the brick wall with a larger ball in her hands. she turned around at his presence.

"here" she extended her arms out towards him, her hands gripping a basket ball. "it was in the junk box, saw it when we were packing" 

"are you sure? will dad get mad?"

she sighed. she'd put up with her dad for years. she learnt how to be sneaky. she learned what pissed him off. she learnt the right words to say around him. hell, she even learnt his schedule as a kid, locking herself in her room the moment he got home.

her father never wanted a girl. her mother decided she didn't want to know the gender of her first baby, so she left it a surprise - not the best idea. because as soon as he found out she was a girl, he ran out of that hospital like it was on fire.

her mom said he didn't come back for months. he left the poor woman to care for a newborn baby all by herself. no calls, no texts, nothing. he had no interest in caring for the baby or even naming her, so her mother named her angel. she believed that her baby girl was her saviour. her guardian angel. 

but then he did come back. a long while later when angel was around 2. she'd said her first word. she'd taken her first step. he was around for none of it. so what made him decide after 2 years he was going to come back?

lord knows, but her mother welcomed him back into their lives like he never left. angel will never forgive her for that. all that man caused her was trauma. all he wanted is for his little girl to be a man. she feared her father.

so in 2011 when her mom fell pregnant again, this time with a boy, he was over the moon. he finally had his own little boy he could make into a man like him. so that's how thomas was raised. angel and her mom both thought he would grow up to be like his dad. but throughout the years the little boy also started to fear his father.

that's why angels heart broke for him. she needed to be the role model he never got, but she needed to teach him to be sneaky, to not always obey by the rules of his dad - he can't live in fear of him forever.

thomas just stared at the ball in his sister's hands. "are you sure?" he hesitated to grab it, but she just shoved it into his arms instead.

"yes, i'm sure" she nodded, turning around to skip back inside. "quick tom, the suns going down".

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

tap..tap..tap..

she groaned out in frustration. she'd left tommy outside an hour ago, what could he possibly be doing back outside her room again? stomping over to the door, she grabbed the handle and pulled it open hastily. but to her surprise - it was in fact not her brother, but her father.

her eyes winded ever so slightly in surprise, straightening up her shoulders and clenching the muscles in her jaw. "is everything okay?" she asked, through gritted teeth. her dad never came to her room. this was odd.

he cleared his throat, the sound echoing off the empty walls of the house. "where's tommy" his expression didn't change. his eyes stayed locked onto hers, like they were in an intense stare-down.

the blonde resisted the urge to roll her eyes, swallowing downing the hateful words she wished to say to him. "i don't know" is what she settled for.

"yes, you do" 

the girl shrugged, trying to keep her brother out of trouble. she knew the consequences that would be if he found out where thomas really was. 

"i can hear him ange, he's outside" she hated when he called her that, he knew it. 

she shrugged again, maintaining her innocence. "i can't hear him". the older man shook his head. she knew what she was doing. she was pressing down hard on that one nerve - the one that made him angry, and she knew exactly what would happen if she kept pressuring it. but she continued.

a tut slipped out his mouth as he flicked his head in the direction of the staircase. "come" he ordered, firmly. she sighed and braced herself for what was about to happen. knowing that once he confirmed that her little brother was outside, without permission, he would get into trouble. she was ready to take the lashing.

he swung open the front door, making angel run down the last steps to keep it from slamming. she speed walked over to her father, who had already spotted tommy playing with the ball. the man stood tall, ready to give his son a piece of his mind.

she wasn't going to say anything, but the look of fear her little brother gave her was enough for her to put her thoughts into words. 

"it was me" she shouted, manoeuvring in front of him, trying to match his posture. "i let tom out, i said he could play outside, it was me".

the man's expression turned from puzzled to angry. "you did what" although he kept his cool, she knew on the inside he was about to explode. 

"yeah... i'm sorry" her apology wasn't sincere and she knew that he'd noticed. 

but out the corner of her eye, she saw the door from the neighbour's house swing open. an older looking man stepped out, then a boy. they looked angry, the boy storming past the older man, not before looking to his left at the family beside them.

it must look strange. a teenage girl trying to square up to a 40 year old man, and a little boy with a ball in his hands , looking scared for his life, behind them.

the older man over to the side must of noticed them too, but her dad didn't give up her stare. even as she looked off into the distance. she was locked eyes with the boy. she couldn't see him very well from her spot, but he was tall. his hair was parted like curtains, but she couldn't make out any other features, especially in the dark.

"you, angelica, are grounded for 2 weeks" his order almost fell on deaf ears, almost. but 2 weeks was ridiculous.

"what!" she snapped, looking away from the boy.

"you heard me" he was almost shouting now, "back to your room young lady"

she scoffed, barging past him and back in the house, not before giving one last look over to the boy. except he was gone- making his way to the red motorcycle parked in the front yard. she huffed again, grudgingly walking back to her room.

there was a chair by the window that overlooked the street in front of her house. so she sat in it, enjoying the view of her new life. the scowl on her face came back though. the thought of spending 2 weeks in her room disgusted her. she'd just moved here, and now she's trapped in her bedroom for weeks? 

her arm rested on the windowsill as she thought of a plan to sneak out, but her thoughts were lost as the sound of a motorbike revving filled her ears. speeding down the road was a red motorcycle - and a guy with a familiar blue polo seated on top.

[summermil]

˗ˏˋ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑙 ~ 𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛ˎˊ˗

𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴. 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘣𝘰𝘺, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵?

𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑝𝑎𝑑ೀ

𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠: 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑎𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠, 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑠𝑚𝑢𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝚑𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠, 𝑑𝑟𝑢𝑔 𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒, 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡𝚑. 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗦 𝗗𝗡𝗜

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆

𝑜𝑛𝑒

𝑡𝑤𝑜

𝑡𝚑𝑟𝑒𝑒

𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟