#because ill do it

[atlabeth]

tis the damn season part 4 - rafe cameron

part 3 | masterlist | part 5

a/n: okay so. first of all im so so SO sorry that it has literally been a year since the last part. i said it wasnt going to take a month for this to come out and i guess i was right because a year isn't a month lmao. it's not even christmas season anymore but i just could not stop thinking about this all of a sudden so here we are again. i hope you guys still want this lmao.

it was just really hard for me to get through the cameron family part, i love writing sarah but for some reason i just could not get a handle on ward and rose. not a surprise that yn and rafe meeting in the library was the part that i flew through

anyways enjoy. sorry for it being a year since the last part and it not being christmas anymore<3 im a great and responsible writer. also because it has been so long i completely understand if you dont want to be on the taglist anymore, so just lmk and ill take you off!

wc: 7k

warning(s): the dreaded parent dinner. rose and ward being judgmental and yn being insecure ya know the vibes. but also a lot of fluff too

“How drunk are you?” 

“Sober enough to get through this night,” Rafe said. “How high is your bullshit tolerance?” 

“High enough to get through this night,” you repeated, and he smiled. 

“Alright.” Rafe took a deep breath then nodded, and the two of you got out of his car. You handed him his keys and he, after putting them in his pocket, slipped his hand into yours as you started walking towards the house. The motion was starting to feel more natural than it should. “Rose’ll probably want my help setting up for dinner as an excuse to talk to me about you, but my dad will most likely be in his office until we’re done, so you don’t have to worry about another one-on-one thing.” 

“I can handle that,” you said. “It’ll be easier in front of the rest of your family. But before we go in—” you turned to look at him, a slightly teasing smile on your lips. “I think we should talk about all that stuff your friends said back there.”

Rafe sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry about that. I promise, they were just exaggerating to embarrass me.” 

“No, it’s fine,” you chuckled. “I like your friends; they were a lot different than I was expecting, but they were actually really cool. I just… well, I wanted to make sure it wouldn’t change anything with this.”

“No, no—” Rafe laughed a little as well and brushed it off with his hand. “Okay — all cards on the table, I did have a crush on you freshman year. But that was just freshman year, and now it’s gone! We’re— we’re just friends. I feel nothing for you anymore.” 

You gave him a look. “Nothing?” 

Rafe rolled his eyes playfully. “You know what I mean.” 

“Just teasing you,” you agreed with a smile. “But it’s good to know that there is absolutely nothing between us. I mean, you did promise not to fall in love with me.” 

Rafe nodded seriously. “Of course. And you promised not to fall in love with me, so you can’t falter either.” 

You placed your fist over your heart. “Hope to die.” 

He snorted a laugh and tugged on your hand to get you walking again. “You’re so lame.” 

“And you had a crush on me when I was even lamer,” you teased. But before you could do anymore, Rafe was saved by the bell as he opened the door and pulled you inside with a wink back at you. 

“Rose, we’re home!” he called as he shut the door behind you. You heard the clatter of silverware in the distance followed by clicking heels on the tiled floor, and soon enough a blonde woman with an unnaturally bright smile came around the corner.

Her eyes lit up when she saw you and she said your name. “You must be the girlfriend!”

You offered a smile of your own and nodded. “In the flesh. It’s so nice to— oh!“

You didn’t get the chance to finish your sentence as she pulled you into a hug, and Rafe just gave you a knowing smile in response to your widened eyes. 

“It‘s so nice to meet you too,” she gushed, and when she finally let go she kept her hands on your shoulders. “We’ve all tried to drill Rafe for information about you these past couple days, but he refused to open up — you can imagine how happy I am to finally get to meet ‘the girlfriend’.”

You laughed a bit at her mimed quotation, nodding along to her words. If only she knew how right she really was. 

“I feel the same about meeting you all.” To drive home the point you reached for Rafe’s hand, and without hesitation he took it. “Rafe and I are really happy together, so I thought— we thought that it would be a good time for this to happen.”

Rose grinned and as she started walking, the two of you followed her. “Well, it is an absolute pleasure to have you here for the holidays. I’m sure Rafe has hardly been able to hold himself back from showing you everything Kildare has to offer.”

“Uh, yeah,” he piped in. “We just went to the country club and met up with Kelce and Topper, and we took the scenic route back. You liked it, right?”

You nodded. “It was great. Everything here is, really — your house, the beaches, the nature, the Outer Banks as a whole, it’s all beautiful. I can’t believe this is my first time visiting.” 

Her eyebrows shot up as you all finally reached the kitchen, a mess of measuring cups, bowls, and a myriad of other kitchen supplies scattered around the island table. All it took was a gesture of her head for Rafe to let go of your hand and get to work with tidying up the area. You made a mental note to ask her how to acquire that kind of power. 

“You’ve never been here?” she asked, and you shook your head. You didn’t know why that was so surprising to both his parents. “Well, that just means you have the chance to see everything with fresh eyes.” 

“I’m looking forward to it,” you smiled. 

Rafe gave you a warning look, one you knew very well that was telling you to stop talking, before he focused back on his stepmom with a smile. “We can handle the rest of this, right? Y/N can go relax a little in my room before dinner — uh, she didn’t sleep very well.” 

Rose rolled her eyes, but the amusement was clear in her expression. “Fine. I’ll save the grilling for dinner.” 

You gave her a polite nod as you turned to go, but when Rose wasn’t looking you mouthed a ‘thank you’ to Rafe that he answered with a smug smile. She was nicer than you had imagined, but you didn’t think you could handle all of her questions in addition to a family dinner. You had a feeling you were going to need every advantage you could get for tonight. 

It just so happened though, that as soon as you turned the corner, you ran into Rafe’s younger sisters. You wondered if they always traveled as a pair. 

“You guys are back already,” Sarah said with a pleasant smile, and you chuckled. 

“Uh, yeah,” you nodded. “We just went out for lunch with his friends at the country club.” 

Wheezie groaned as she leaned against the wall. “Kelce and Topper? God, they’re the worst.” 

You frowned a bit. “I actually thought they were pretty nice. They like teasing Rafe just as much as I do, so it’s a plus.” 

She shrugged. “I’m surprised they were so nice to you. A lot of people on this side of the island wouldn’t be that way towards you.” 

“Wheezie!” Sarah scolded with a jab to her shoulder, but that only knit your brows further. 

“What are you talking about?” you asked, and Sarah sighed. 

“I’m guessing Rafe hasn’t really told you about the inner workings of the Outer Banks,” she said dryly, and you nodded. “Well…” she trailed off, and then shook her head. “It’s not the right time, and I don’t really think it should come from us. I don’t really want you to get all in your head right before the big dinner interrogation.” 

“Are you always this mysterious with your brother’s girlfriends?” you asked after a beat of silence.

Sarah smiled as she started to back up. “How else am I supposed to keep my younger sister allure?”

“It’s not allure if you’re so open about it,” Wheezie said as she rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna go get some lemonade, want any?”

Sarah shook her head, and then she looked to you.

“Oh— uh, no. Thank you.”

Wheezie chuckled a bit. “Don’t act so surprised that we wanna get to know you. You’re pretty cool in terms of Rafe girlfriends.” 

As she walked off, you turned to Sarah with an amused look. “Is she always like that?”

“It just means she likes you,” Sarah said with a smile. “And for the record, I do too.”

You stood there smiling at the ground for far too long after Sarah had already gone off on her own. They were charming in a very likable way, even if they did have their quirks. 

At least your fake boyfriend’s sisters liked you — now, you just had to get his parents on your side.

-

“So…” Rose glanced over at Rafe with a smile as he mashed potatoes. “Are you gonna give me anything, or do I have to wait for dinner?” 

He chuckled. “I think we can wait for dinner. She’ll be happy to tell you all about herself then.” 

“You’ve been together for almost three years and we barely know anything about her!” she exclaimed. “What’s the reason for that kind of secrecy?” 

Rafe bit the inside of his cheek, suddenly very interested in the potato masher. “We just wanted to make sure that we were solid before we started telling people outside of our friend group,” he said. “I… I really like her, so I wanted it all to go well.” 

She raised her eyebrows. “You both wanted to keep it a secret, or just she did?” 

He frowned. “We both did. Why does it matter?” 

“She’s not like us,” Rose said after a moment of hesitation, and Rafe’s grip tightened against the handle. “How do you know she’s not just using you for your money?”

“Excuse me?” He turned to her with an incredulous expression, the thought so ridiculous to him that he could hardly even deal with it. “You’re not seriously calling my girlfriend a gold digger, are you?” 

“It is a valid concern!” she defended, her voice becoming slightly higher from his reaction. “You’ve seen the way she looks at the house, the way she marvels at everything down here — for god’s sake Rafe, she’s never even been to the Outer Banks and she lives a couple hours away. Why else would she want to keep the two of you a secret?” 

“Okay,” he said with a dry laugh, setting down the masher and walking over to the sink to wash his hands off. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Just because she’s not crazy rich like every other person on Figure Eight doesn’t mean she’s after me for money. We’ve been friends even longer than we’ve been dating— I was the one who asked her out first. She’s actually a good person, Rose—and no matter what, you can’t insult her like that. She’s,” he swallowed and turned away for a second, “she’s my girlfriend. So you can’t say this kinda stuff about her.” 

Rose stared at him for a moment before she sighed. “Okay. At least you actually care about her.”

“Of course I do,” he scoffed.

“I just want to make sure you know what you’re getting into,” she said, once again on the defensive. “You’ve always been hasty—”

“Do you want my help with this or do you just want to keep talking shit about her?” Rafe interrupted, his voice rising out of frustration. “Because if you keep this up you’re gonna be doing it alone.”

“Watch your mouth, Rafe,” she said, though mostly for virtue’s sake. “You just can’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“There’s nothing to warn me about,” he said sharply. “She’s a great person, and she’s one of my best friends. So lay off.”

She raised her hands, finally conceding. “Okay. You win.” 

Rafe rolled his eyes, but he still moved onto his next job. That didn’t change the fact that the rest of their preparations were done in silence. 

-

You spent your time alone in Rafe’s room very valuably — after relaxing for a little, you found Topper and Kelce’s instagrams and immediately started stalking them. 

It was valuable, to be fair — you got to see pictures of Rafe when he was in high school, and some videos of him being the idiot he’d warned you about when you went through their pinned stories. They made you smile, seeing him like that — just from the pictures you could tell that he was a frat boy in training, but he was charming in a boyish sort of way. You also knew you would’ve completely fallen for high school Rafe if the two of you met at that age.

You cleared your throat as you shut off your phone and put it face down on the bed. Thank god for the distance between you then, because thoughts like that were definitely off limits. 

It was just in time, because you heard a knock on the door and Rafe saying your name. 

“Uh, come in!” you responded, and he came in the door as you sat up. 

“Dinner’s all ready, if you’re ready.” 

“Yeah,” you nodded, and you stood up from his bed as you smoothed out your dress. “This is fine for the first dinner with your family, right? How do I look?” 

Rafe looked you up and down, his eyes raking across your body in the most exaggerated way possible as he whistled. “Babe, you look great. Super hot.” 

You burst out into laughter at that, and he even cracked a smile. “You are completely ridiculous, Rafe. You cannot act this way in front of your parents.” 

He brushed his hand through the air. “They can deal with it. My fake girlfriend’s only getting the best.” 

You shook your head, a smile of your own growing. “Like I said: completely ridiculous.” 

“I try.” Rafe’s grin faded a bit as he looked back at the door, and after a moment he shut it. He then turned back to you, his expression completely sobered. “I’m gonna be completely honest with you. This might be rough.” 

You frowned a bit. “Rough in what kind of way?” 

“Rough in a ‘making you doubt everything about yourself’ kinda way,” he said, and he sighed as shook his head. “Rose and I—we talked while we were setting everything up, and she thinks you’re some kind of golddigger. And,” Rafe huffed a dry laugh, “my dad’ll probably think the same thing. He’ll be a lot more covert with it, though.” 

“Great,” you muttered, and you suddenly felt very self-conscious as you wrapped your arms around yourself. A part of you itched to put Rafe’s sweatshirt back on, the familiarity of it a comfort you were suddenly aching for. But you remained in place, letting out a deep sigh instead. “I thought you said that both of them were from blue collars before they ended up with all this.” 

“They were,” Rafe confirmed, “but they’ve gone full kook over the years. They look down on the very same people they used to be, and… they’re probably gonna look down on you too.” 

“Great!” you repeated, and you felt the heat rush to your cheeks. You and Rafe weren’t together so it shouldn’t have bothered you, the thought of not having his parents’ approval, but it was just the opposite. “That’s— that’s just great, Rafe.” 

“Hey,” he said, his voice softer, “hey, it’s okay. I don’t want you to worry about them. Just— just be yourself, and we will make them like you. And if they say any out of pocket shit, don’t just take it, call them out on it. And if you don’t want to, I will.” Rafe gave you a genuine look. “I won’t let them do what they do to everyone else.” 

You recalled your conversation with Ward earlier in the morning, when he, out of nowhere, told you that he didn’t think you were a good fit in Rafe’s life. The man barely knew you and he was already trying to scare you out of it. 

And for some reason, just the thought of that brought your resolve back. If there was one thing you had in spades, it was spite.

You swallowed the lump in your throat and nodded, offering a smile that you hoped was convincing. “Right. We got this.” 

“We got this,” he agreed, and he offered his hand. “You ready, fake girlfriend?” 

You nodded again and took his hand, reveling in the warmth it provided as he squeezed your hand. “Ready, fake boyfriend.” 

-

“There you two are,” Rose joked as you and Rafe entered the dining room together. “I was beginning to think you decided to abandon us.” 

“I wouldn’t let him do that,” you said with a smile. “I’m just sorry we didn’t get to do this last night.” 

“Oh, I am too,” she agreed, and she finished setting the last platter on the table. “I’m sorry that it’s taken us three years to finally have a family dinner.” 

“Me too,” Wheezie said, looking up at you as she finished setting down the silverware. “I still don’t know what you see in him, but whatever.” 

“Louisa, be nice.” You instinctively tensed up as Ward walked in, and you returned the gesture when he smiled at you. “We’re all happy to have you here, and we’re all sorry it took so long.” He looked at Rafe pointedly. “You should’ve brought her down sooner, Rafe.” 

“We’ve already talked about this, Dad,” Rafe said. “We weren’t ready before, but now we are. You guys have to deal with that.” 

“He just didn’t want to scare her off with his crazy family,” Sarah said dryly as she walked in, a stack of plates in her hands that she placed on the table.  “Probably a good decision with all this interrogating.” 

“I don’t mind,” you said, and it wasn’t completely a lie. You and Rafe might not have been together, but you were best friends. It was probably a good thing you were meeting his family, even if it was under this sort of guise. You laughed a bit. “I’d want to know about my son’s secret girlfriend too if I were you.” 

“Well, you’re welcome here anytime you want, sweetie,” Rose said. “We have a lot of lost time to make up for.” She set the final dish on the table and held her hands out. “Feel free to help yourself.” 

“It all looks wonderful, honey,” Ward said, pecking his wife on the cheek as he took his seat at the head of the table. 

Your nerves evaporated slightly as you sat down, reveling in the silence you probably wouldn’t get much of as everyone served themselves. You were immediately proven right as Rose looked at you with a smile. 

“So,” she said your name, “Rafe tells me you’re looking to become a doctor?” 

You nodded. “I’ve been working towards it since middle school. It’s hard to believe that I’m getting so close to med school.” 

“Are you applying?” Ward asked. 

“Not yet, but I’m looking,” you said, and you chuckled. “I thought I would get a break from all the medical stuff after I took the MCAT, but between school hunting and classes, I think it’s gotten even busier.” 

“She’s amazing,” Rafe said, “seriously. She and Melanie are both on pre-med tracks, and I swear, all they do is study.” 

“Mel parties sometimes,” you joked, “but… yeah. I’ve become really well acquainted with the library.” 

“That was actually how we met,” he said, glancing at you, and a smile immediately broke out on your lips. “Freshman year, remember?” 

“How could I ever forget?” 

/ 

You let out a haggard sigh as you held your head in your hands, staring at the textbook beneath you. You had an entire spread around you—laptop and charger, nearly empty water bottle, a bag of goldfish, a whole mess of highlighters and pens, and your bio 252 textbook open in front of you. You had been trying to read the same sentence for the past ten minutes, and your brain was not cooperating. 

You screwed your eyes shut as you leaned back in your chair, pressing your hands against your forehead. At this point, you wondered if you were losing brain cells.

“Hey, uh— is this seat open?” 

You cracked your eyes open to see a guy in sweatpants and a UNC tee standing, a backpack slung over one shoulder and very pretty eyes. 

“It’s 2:35 in the morning,” you said. “Half the library is open.” 

“I know, but,” he chuckled, “you look smart. I feel like being around you will make me do my work.” 

That got a dry laugh out of you, and you just shrugged. “Sit away, I guess. As long as you’re quiet.” 

He nodded and took a seat on the other end of the table, leaving enough space to be polite. “I’m Rafe, by the way.” 

You nodded as well. “Cool.” 

“What,” he said, setting his backpack on the ground, “I don’t get a name?” 

“If I survive these midterms, you can get my name,” you said wryly, and your focus fell back to your textbook. 

Though you couldn’t see him, you heard the smile in his words, could feel his eyes on you. “Deal.” 

/

“Never thought that you would be living the rom-com life, Rafe,” Sarah said, very tongue-in-cheek. “Makes sense that she was annoyed by you at first.” 

“To be fair, I was kind of losing my mind,” you said with a laugh. “Word of advice for your freshman year, Sarah, learn the meaning of school-life balance, and learn it before you’re knee deep in midterms.” 

She chuckled, nodding sagely. “You don’t have to worry about that. I won’t be in the library that late no matter what time of year it is.” 

“Very studious of you, Rafe,” Rose said, and she smiled. “What were you doing in there anyways?” 

He shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep, so I went to the library. Maybe it was fate.”

“I think it was just persistence,” you said dryly. “Because you came in every single night after that.” 

/

“This seat open?” 

You blinked at the voice, the words from your laptop screen swimming in the air as you looked back up. To your surprise, it was the same guy from the other day, with the same words. Rafe, if you remembered.

“Why are you here again?” 

“Because I took my econ midterm yesterday afternoon and killed it,” he said, “and I think it’s because you’re good luck.” 

You raised your eyebrows. “I’m good luck?” 

Rafe nodded. “My hypothesis is that being around you is giving me good luck, so I’m testing it by hanging around you before each of my midterms.” 

That actually got a laugh out of you. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.�� 

“It’s not stupid if it works, is it?” He set down his bag and shot you a grin. “Besides— I gotta make sure you get through the season alive so I can get your name.” 

You just shook your head, though you were unable to hide your own smile. “Fine. House rules still apply.” 

Rafe held up his hands. “Absolute silence. You got it.” 

Ten minutes passed in keyboard clacks and page turns before you couldn’t help yourself, and you looked back up at Rafe. 

“Are you really going to come here every night?” 

“As long as you’re here,” Rafe said, “I’m here.” 

/ 

“And he did,” you said. “He came back every night that week, sat in the same spot in complete silence, and we did our work together. At 2AM, no less.” 

“And I passed every single one of my midterms with flying colors,” he said. “I still think it’s because of you.” 

“That is so sweet,” Rose crooned. “Who knew our Rafe was such a charmer?” 

“Rose—” he started, his cheeks flushing, but you chuckled. 

“He certainly was,” you said. “Anyone else, and I think I might’ve kicked them out. But I couldn’t say no to those eyes.” 

And it’s not like you were lying—that really was how you met. It just wasn’t the love story that you were making it out to be. It was a week of the library, and then you didn’t see each other again until Melanie dragged you out to an end of the semester party—the party that Kelce mentioned, the party that you ran into Rafe again. 

That was certainly a night. And not one you could really detail at a family dinner. 

“If we have you to thank for Rafe’s performance in his freshman midterms, then I’m certainly in your debt,” Ward said with a slight smile. 

“I don’t think it was because of me,” you said. “I think it’s because he actually sat down and studied for once in his life.” 

Rafe rolled his eyes. “Say that all you want, but you’re my good luck charm. I know it.” 

“I assume that you’ve always done well in school?” Ward asked. 

“I have to,” you said honestly. “I’m on a huge scholarship at Chapel Hill, and if my grades drop below a certain point, it gets taken away. I literally can’t afford for that to happen,” you chuckled nervously, “not to mention the hit my career prospects would take.” 

“You seem really serious about all of this,” Ward said, and he clasped his hands together. “Why do you want to be a doctor so badly?” 

“It’s the only thing I can imagine myself doing,” you responded. “I’ve always loved science, and the human body has fascinated me even when I was a kid. Growing up, I’ve seen a lot of bad things happen to a lot of good people, and it’s… it’s just not fair. So I guess becoming a doctor would be my way of helping those people and putting some good back in the world.” 

“Oh, that is so sweet,” Rose said, her eyes softening. “Rafe, honey, you really picked a good one.”

Wheezie snorted a laugh. “Yeah. Now I know for a fact she’s too good for you.” 

“Louisa,” Ward admonished, and he looked back at you. “That’s a very noble goal. I can only imagine the hard work you’ve described is but a fraction of the full picture. I mean, my senior year was busy as all get-out, don’t get me wrong, but I was in business. Pre-med is a whole different thing to navigate.” 

“It is,” you agreed. “Right now I’m juggling classes and labs, an internship, a part time job, and trying to have a social life all at the same time.” You laughed a bit. “It’s a lot, and sometimes it gets overwhelming. But when that happens, I take a step back and try to remember what I’m doing all this for, and that almost always gets me back on track. And when it doesn’t—” you glanced at Rafe with a smile— “he’s always there for me.” 

Rafe returned your smile and took your hand under the table, and it filled you with some confidence. You certainly weren’t lying about the last part. 

“She’s amazing all on her own,” Rafe said. “I’m only her cheerleader.” 

“Maybe it wasn’t a good idea for you and Rafe to get together,” Sarah said, frowning. “You’re setting the bar way too high.” She looked at her parents. “I hope you don’t expect me to do all that when I get to college.” 

“You’ll do whatever you have to do, sweetie,” Rose said with a smile. “I’m sure you had to work up to all of this.” 

“Oh, definitely,” you nodded. “I applied to get into my high school’s health science specialty center in eighth grade, and it all went from there. It’s always busy, but it’s the most fulfilling work someone can do.” 

“Are you sure you can handle it?” Ward asked. His tone was noncommittal, but you knew what he was after. You weren’t going to give it to him. 

“Dad—” Rafe started, glancing at you for a second, but you spoke up. 

“I’ve been working towards this since my freshman year of high school. Everything’s gone to plan up until now, and I don’t plan for that to change.” Both your smile and your grip on Rafe’s hand tightened. “I know I can handle it.” 

“Well,” he said, his eyes far too calculating as he looked right at you, “I wish you all the best.” 

“Thank you,” you said smoothly. 

The tension at the table had been steadily rising ever since Ward looked in your direction, and it was starting to get to you. Rafe, as attentive as ever, immediately took over. 

“Dad,” he said, drawing the attention back to him, “we did an investment project in my 407 course for the final. It was actually really interesting, and my professor said that my group had one of the best projects she’s seen in her career. Do you wanna hear about it?” 

“Sure.” The smile he offered to his son was the same you’d seen since the moment of your arrival, and some of the pressure dissolved from your shoulders. You made a mental note to thank Rafe profusely at the end of the night. “Your professor was Dr. Waters, right?” 

He nodded. “She said you know each other.” 

“We do,” he said, and you felt like you could breathe again as he looked away from you. “I’d love to hear it, son.” 

Rafe wasn’t lying when he said he was skilled at navigating the waters of his family, because he kept the limelight off of you for the entire rest of the dinner. He talked about his own classes and directed it towards his sisters, and though you chimed in to answer the occasional question or add to one of his stories, you didn’t feel like your entire life was on blast. 

You and Rafe ended up helping Rose clean up, and she smiled at you as you handed her a plate. 

“Tonight was lovely, sweetie,” she said. “I can’t wait to hear about everything you accomplish in the future.” 

“You’re too kind,” you said, biting back a smile that was actually genuine. “I really enjoyed tonight.” 

“I’m glad.” She started the dishwasher and sighed as she looked at you. “I know my husband can be heavy-handed sometimes, but it’s not personal, trust me. We want the best for Rafe—Ward just has his own way of showing it.” 

“C’mon, Rose,” Rafe grumbled. “You saw what he was doing, and you went along with it. That’s not okay.” 

“He wasn’t doing anything,” she said pointedly. “He wanted to know more about Y/N, so he asked her. That’s all.” 

“You know that’s not—” 

“Rafe,” you interrupted, and you held up your phone, “Mel’s calling. C’mon, let’s go catch her up on everything.” 

He hesitated as he looked at you, but you just raised your eyebrows a little bit and gestured towards the hallway. Rafe sighed and nodded, glancing back at his step-mother. 

“Rose—” 

“You two enjoy yourself,” she said. “Cleanup’s already almost done—thank you for your help.” 

“Of course,” you said. “Have a good night, Mrs. C— Rose.” 

She smiled and nodded, waving the two of you off as you practically dragged Rafe into the hallway. 

“What was that for?” he complained once you were in the safety of his room, door shut. 

“You were about to get into a completely unnecessary argument.” 

“I was defending your honor, babe,” he said austerely. 

You laughed a bit, shaking your head as you sat down on the side of his bed, and Rafe leaned against the wall. “And I appreciate it, Sir Cameron, but I want this to be as drama-free as possible. Don’t get into arguments with your parents for me.” 

“I get into arguments with my parents all the time,” he said. “Doing it for you makes it better.” 

“Rafe.” 

He sighed and shrugged. “Fine. Drama-free break.” 

“Thank you.” 

“But not if my dad starts coming for you like that again,” he added with a pointed finger. 

You chuckled and nodded. “Fine.” 

You then looked at the clock on his bedside table and blew out a loose sigh. “God, it’s way later than I thought. You, get on my phone and call Mel. I lied about her calling, but I actually do want to talk to her tonight, and she definitely wants to catch up with you. I’m showering and getting ready for the night.” 

“Aye aye, captain,” he said, catching your phone as you tossed it to him. “But you know you don’t have to change in private. I have a very big room.” 

You gave him a look as you grabbed your bag. “Very subtle, Rafe. Behave.” 

He laughed and went back to your phone as you shut the door. 

You went through your routine as usual, the warm water helping to relieve the tension that had built up in your muscles. It was nice to have some alone time after the rollercoaster that the day had been, from Kelce’s bombshell conversation to the choppy waters of Ward Cameron—you had no idea the Outer Banks were going to be so complicated. 

It was only two weeks. Two weeks, and then you and Rafe were back to being nothing more than roommates and friends. Easy. 

You dried yourself off when you were done and slipped into a pair of shorts and an old Raleigh tee. After finishing the rest of your night routine, you opened the door again, smiling a bit to see Rafe laying upside down on his bed on the phone. 

His eyes flickered over to you and he smiled as well as he sat up. “You can ask her that yourself, actually—she just got out. You’re goin’ on speaker, Mel.” 

She cheered your name and you laughed as you settled on the bed with Rafe, picking up the phone so you could look at the little Mel on your screen. “You already look great. The OBX air is good for you, I swear.” 

“Better than city air,” you chuckled. “How have you been? Are you devastatingly bored without Rafe and I?” 

“You know I am,” she said with mock austerity. “Ayden’s already gone back to Richmond, so I’m all on my lonesome. You guys are all the worst for leaving me.” 

“Sorry,” Rafe said. “Should’ve asked you to be my girlfriend too—then we all could’ve had a great time with my parents.” 

She snorted and shook her head. “I love you Rafe, but I prefer the empty apartment.” 

He shook his head with a sigh. “So mean to me.” 

“It’s for your own good,” she chided, and she looked back at you. “How’s he treating you? Like a queen, I hope.” 

You laughed. “Mel, I am seriously living the life of luxury here. His room is the size of our freshman dorm. Honestly, it’s probably the size of my apartment back home. I would be Rafe’s permanent fake girlfriend if it meant a house like this.” 

Rafe shrugged. “We do have a couple more holidays coming up.” 

“Joking,” you said, and you sighed. “His family is… something.” 

“I told you I would fight them for you!” he defended. “I am fully ready to argue with my dad for you, but someone said she doesn’t want me to defend her honor.” 

Mel laughed, her eyes twinkling. “You beautiful knight. At least you’re trying to protect my girl.” 

“Always,” Rafe said, and then he stood up from his bed. “I’m gonna get ready—don’t gossip about me.” 

You gasped, scandalized. “We would never.” 

“Perish the thought,” Mel said simultaneously. 

Rafe rolled his eyes with a smile as he left, and you picked up the phone. “He sure is something.” 

“Yeah,” Mel said, something in her voice, “he is. And now that we’re alone, we can gossip about him.” 

You chuckled and shook your head. “There’s nothing to gossip about. What did he even talk to you about?” 

“Just basic stuff,” she said. “Told me about Kelce and Topper, and said some very choice words about his dad. But he mostly just talked about you, which is why we get to talk about him.” 

You frowned a bit—you couldn’t help but wonder what that entailed. “What did he say?” 

“Nothing important,” she said, brushing it off. “So, how’s the gig? How’re you liking the Banks?”

“This honestly isn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” you admitted. “Sure, his dad can be a lot, but Rafe is great. He’s always making sure that I’m okay, and it’s really sweet. I think that I can maybe see what all those girls see in him.” 

“Oh, wow,” she said. “You’re already in the falling in love with him stage?” 

“No!” you exclaimed, maybe a little too hastily. “No, god— where did you get that from?” 

“Someone’s a little defensive—” 

“Mel,” you said, staring at the bathroom door hoping Rafe couldn’t hear the conversation, “I’m not in love with him. We’re friends that are fake-dating each other. There’s a very big difference.” 

“If you say so,” she mused. 

“You’ve been watching too many rom-coms,” you said dryly. “Enough about me—how’s holding down the fort?” 

“I already told you that it’s boring,” Mel said. “I’m going back to Charlotte in a couple days, but that is also boring, which is why I want to talk about you!” 

“And I already told you, there’s nothing to talk about!” you defended. “We had a chill night yesterday, I hung out with his friends this morning, and we had dinner tonight. Standard girlfriend stuff—nothing to worry about.” 

“Fine,” she relented, and she laid back on the sofa. “But you have to keep me updated on everything.” 

“Of course. Now, I know you were talking to some guy in November. How’s that going?” 

Mel went on for a while about the guy—his name is Paolo, he’s an engineering major, he’s the hottest man she’s ever seen, but she’s definitely not interested in him, along with a lot of other things—and while you were about to ask something else in a rare pause, you lost your chance when Rafe came out of the bathroom. 

Wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants with his hair still wet and messy in just the right way, you just stared at him. It was embarrassing how speechless you were.

“You good?” Mel asked, and that snapped you out of your reverie, but not before Rafe noticed you looking. 

He just shook his head. “Can’t compliment you but you can objectify me. Your hypocrisy is insulting, babe.” 

“I’m so sorry Rafe,” you said austerely. “I can hardly control myself around you, you’ve got to understand.” 

He sighed as he pulled a shirt on. “It’s a burden I’ve got to bear, unfortunately. But I’m strong enough to do it.” 

“Okay, you two are gross,” Mel said. “I would say get a room, but you have one, and I’m clearly overstaying my welcome. So I’m just gonna hang up. Have fun, lovebirds!” 

“Mel—” you started, but she was gone before you could continue. You laughed as you turned your phone off, glancing at Rafe. “Uh, sorry. You didn’t miss much, just her talking about some guy.” 

“Oh, Paolo!” Rafe nodded. “I introduced those two, actually. He was in my finance class last semester, and he talked about her a lot. I hope they work out.” He smiled a bit as he sat down next to you. “Mel and her dream guy aside, what d’you wanna do for the rest of the night? After the dinner you sat through, I think you deserve a break.” 

“How do you feel about watching TV and doing nothing?” you asked. 

“Sounds perfect.” Rafe leaned over and picked up the remote from the side table, flipping it over in his hands as he talked. “What are you feeling? Grey’s Anatomy?” 

“God, no. It’s not accurate, and I need at least one second where I’m not thinking about school.” 

He chuckled. “Then what d’you suggest?” 

“Law and Order,” you said, “but we pick a random season and start halfway through it.” 

“You know that’s not accurate either?” 

“I haven’t spent years going over the law,” you said, “therefore it’s accurate to me.” 

Rafe laughed and handed you the remote, shaking his head. “Sounds perfect. Want some popcorn?” 

“Nothing I love more than lawyers and popcorn,” you said. “Except for you, fake boyfriend.” 

Rafe pressed his hand to his heart as he went over to the door. “I feel the same way, fake girlfriend.” 

You started cracking up, and Rafe’s small smile sent heat rushing to your cheeks. “Oh, and the second drawer on my dresser has a bunch of sweatshirts in case you want one.” 

You frowned. “Why would I need one of your hoodies?” 

He shrugged. “You’ve been shivering this whole time.”

And he walked off, wholly nonchalant, but you couldn’t tear your eyes away. 

Apparently, Rafe paid more attention than you thought. Even when there wasn’t an audience. 

You snapped yourself out of your reverie, wandering over to said drawer, and you rifled through until you found a suitable one. Nothing like being a walking advertisement for the Kenan-Flagler school. 

You pulled it on then settled against the pillows as you picked up the remote again. After a bit of scrolling you decided on season 13, episode 11, and Rafe came back in with a big bowl of popcorn right when the title card played. 

“Perfect timing,” you smiled. 

“I try,” he said, and he shut the door behind him as he sat down next to you. His gaze moved to your sweatshirt and he grinned. “Nice choice. I’ll make a business major of you yet.” 

“God, no,” you muttered, and he just laughed. 

The two of you settled in and got comfortable for a night of lawyers and detectives and murder and popcorn, fought over through swatted hands and playful shoves, and maybe it was something about the day that just had you not thinking clearly. 

Because you didn’t mind when your hands touched in the popcorn bowl, and you didn’t mind when he slung his arm over your shoulder, and you didn’t mind when you fell asleep on Rafe’s shoulder 23 minutes into episode 15. 

And Rafe didn’t really mind either.  

-

rafe does mind that it took a year for him to be seen again though. sorry man

perm tags: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin @maruchan77 @simonsbluee @kwyloz @masteroperator

obx tags: @milkiane @lilgoddesshines @sexytholland

ttds tags: @aaleksmorozova @everyonesannoyedwithme @sunnysidee-up @onlygetaway @itsalexwin @hanniebee33 @grimesrheee @lurkymurker

[becomingpotatoes]

so what. do i have to write the warrior cats parody musical myself

[puppyeared]

filipina miku!! my mom helped me with her outfit ^_^

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

did it mean anything to you

[stemmmm]

more people gotta try this shit where bill has not improved and will not change but he's just chilling so its fine probably. its great

[officialspec]

what are we, some kind of league of legends?

[mroddmod]

magma fiddlestan be upon ye

[qualityrain]

[uncharted-constellations]

The Princess and Hero of the First Great Calamity

The orange snoot is very important to me….

[astronnova]

danny phantom cast explorations and thoughts :v

[remxedmoon]

so all you need to do right now is disappear.

HHHHAPPY ISATVERSARY EVERYONE. here’s redraws for every single battle cg in the game. 36 drawings this time around, with 11 of those being custom (though admittedly a good portion of those are edits). combined with the portrait redraws i made back in september, i’ve made 114 redraws for this project! jesus christ! just like those redraws, these are completely free to use!! as long as i’m credited and it’s not for commercial purposes, go wild!! do whatever you want!!!

no i didn’t make these for isat’s 1 year anniversary this is just wildly good timing.

i genuinely can’t fit all of these cgs in one post even with the 30 image limit on browser, but i’ll still try to fit Most of them below the cut (without making this post horrifically long), along with some notes that might be important 👍

okay! once again, i labeled all of the custom art as such in the drive(UPDATE. NNOT TRUE ANYMORE. reformatted file names to be easier to mod in auau. apologies!), but if you want a full list, the customs are hatless siffrin jackpot, bonnie jackpot, bonnie special attack, bigfrin attack, and a bunch of alts which are definitely not related to any projects i’ve been thinking about don’t worry about it. and out of those customs, only like. 3 of them are actually completely from scratch.

while i did my absolute best to keep the aspect ratios completely the same as the originals, there’s 3 exceptions that i just couldn’t get to work.

isabeau’s hair in his special attack cg wouldn’t fit in frame if i kept things completely accurate to the og, so i moved his cg down a bit. it shouldn’t cause any issues with modding or anything, it’ll just appear slightly lower than it does in game. alas…

isabeau’s sleeve and mirabelle’s hair made their jackpot sprites a little larger than the originals? i’m hoping this doesn’t have too much of an effect (since the jackpot sprites have inconsistent sizes) but i can’t test this myself unfortunately. aaa feel free to let me know on discord if any problems arise!!

i managed to fix these, so they aren’t going to cause problems now, but my original drawings for mirabelle and siffrin in the final attack scene were a pain in the ass to fix. mirabelle’s sprite was slightly too talk to fit in frame and siffrin’s hat whacked bonnie in the face while i was editing everyone together. i’m only mentioning this because it took like an hour and a half to fix them and finish the scene.

all that aside, these were a fucking BLAST to work on. apparently this ended up taking 57 hours over exactly 10 days. which is a little worrying if you do the math on that but somehow i have not burnt myself out. i will be doing enemies at some point!!! but probably not for a little bit. i think my friends will actually kill me if i don’t take a break.

once again, happy birthday isat. you’ve ruined my life and i wouldn’t have it any other way (silly).

also, on an actual serious note, this little timeloop game has genuinely changed my life for the better? you guys are probably sick of hearing it at this point (or maybe not, i don’t talk about myself That Much. i hope), but i was practically a ghost for about 2 years before joining this fandom. it’s a little surreal to suddenly have friends (plural!!!) and people who Care about me, or even know i exist, honestly. it’s weird!! in a good way!!!

i don’t think i would’ve ever come back to social media if this community wasn’t so welcoming. i’ve met a lot of really great people through this game!!! so, uh, thank you isat, i guess. here’s to another year.

[ashoss]

this idea wont leave my brain please help me !! YIPPEE HADES BATKIDS !!!

without the bg and text under the cut :))

asdhj probably gonna post like,, two at a time because thats ,, a lot,,,, of drawing ,,,,,,, so heres tim and jason! i think i got the hang of it more with jason lol

ALSO ALSO!!!

thank you to those who helped me with the titles for the batkids!! they were all really good :D (all on insta lol)

timothy: the tenured - thomson_at

[starry-bi-sky]

on a completely separate note; shizun luo binghe with a disciple shen yuan who fell into the abyss??? *thinks about LBH canonically stealing SQQ's corpse for 5 years* he'd hallucinate i think. like, like visual and audial hallucinations.

Keeps thinking he's seeing SQQ in the corner of his eyes, or wandering between the trees, amongst a group of disciples. Thinks he hears him calling for him, but its just the wind or another disciple.

Gets Xiu Ya reforged but patently fucking refuses to make a sword mound. Because his disciple Is Not Dead :))) There was No Body. He's Not Dead. And If You keep Insisting That He Is, He's Gonna Skewer You :). He's holding onto Xiu Ya so he can return his most favored disciple's sword when he returns. It's on his hip right next to Zheng Yang where it's supposed to be.

Also this motherfucker?? does not sleep btw. He has the image of SQQ, wide eyed and hysterical and standing at the mouth of the abyss burned into his fucking eyelids. Can't use the dreamscape to escape it either because he keeps trying to save him and either he does and it's an incredibly cruel trick to wake up to, or he doesn't and he gets his heart broken in several different pieces again.

There is no convincing this man that Shen Qingqiu is dead. Absolutely nothing at all. He is buried so deep in denial that moles would be jealous of how deep he is. He keeps making tea for two in the bamboo house only to remember that it's just him. SQQ's fans are hiding everywhere, little reminders of his presence. He goes to wake up SQQ on the mornings he sleeps in-- only to find the room empty.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

[right to left]

finally finished This Wip from Ever ago and so now i ask you ever look into another dudes eyes and suddenly want to do whatever he wants

[yanderespamton78]

Edit since a lot of people seem confused - your "real" name is the name that you want to be referred to in real life. It doesn't have to be your legal name. So if you're trans and you have a different name to whats on your birth certificate, even if not many people call you by the name, it still counts as your real name.

Edit 2 : Holy shit guys please stop reblogging this post my poor inbox im getting like 20 notifs an hour asjfhkajshdkh /lh /srs

[feelo-fick]

um ok cool thanks for letting me know .... why are you telling me this