#reality tv series | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

oxpogues4lifexo · 3 months ago

Text

Keeping Up With The Camerons

TumblrTV

Keeping up with the Camerons

Episode 3 - Life Inside The Bubble Wrap

Previous Episode Here

Episode transcript (/ means cut scene, bold italics means narrator, bold means host)

Word Count: 12.5k

Shorter Episodes Here - 3K Words

Coming up!

“You even look at her and im gonna-“

“Dad I’ll be fine..”

“Because you’re my brother Rafe! And sometimes I actually give a shit!!”

“She hasn’t dealt with Rafes other side before and I really don’t want her to have to.”

“You care.”

They keep forgetting they’re on a show.. with cameras!

“Summer loving had me a blast..”

“Oh well oh well oh well oh.”

“You cover for me tonight, I’m seeing someone.”

“Who’s someone?”

“No one..”

“I’m not afraid to move you to the cut Rafe!”

“Cmon Bells you can’t keep nothing from me princess.”

Kooks. And Pogues. Two tribes. One island.

Or in this case..

The Camerons. Kildare. One family. The whole island.

I am your host Ryan Seacrest, and THIS is Keeping up with the Camerons!

This episode includes the bts footage the Camerons don’t know you can see, forgetting that there are cameras in every crevice of their life not just in the hands of my camera crew! (Written in pink)

NOT PROOFREAD

“You better behave..! You’re with my daughter today and I’m not afraid to fire you and do this show on my own! I swear to GOD you even look at her, Ryan, I’m gonna-“ Ward grabs ahold of Ryans blazer, pulling him in as he raises a fist.

Sarah runs over, yanking Wards arm away, “Dad! I’ll be fine.. I’m with Topper today remember!” She reassures him, but the name only caused even more outrage across his face.

“Topper..” He steps away from Ryan causing him to sort himself out, flattening his blazer and redoing his tie. Ward pulls Sarah to the other side of the room, “Honey.. As far as I’m concerned, that boys trouble. I don’t like him and I don’t feel comfortable-“

“I told you we’ll be fine! I’ve already called him and he said he’s picking me up.” She raises to her toes, placing a kiss upon Wards stubbled cheek, “I promise..” She smiles softly, going in for a hug as she rests herself against his chest.

He can’t help but melt into her touch, grazing her back with his palm as he kisses the top of her head gently, “Okay.. but anything happens and you call me okay?”

She nods as her phone begins to buzz, looking down at her pocket as she takes it out, “Oh it’s Topper!” She shakes her phone before skipping off outside.

“I mean it Sarah!!” Ward yells, earning a thumbs up through the glass door.

“So it’s not a very busy day! Me and Topper are meeting some other friends down by the beach to do a beach clean, and then after that I’m not really sure. I guess we’ll just have to see where the day takes us.” She smiles, shrugging her bare shoulders.

“And you and Topper are okay now?” Ryan asks concerningly.

“Yeah we’re fine. He told me it was about John B and I had to tell him he was just messaging about Ward. It’s the only reason we ever talk so once he understood that, we were okay again.” Her lips lifted causing her cheeks to redden, the straight lies that slipped through her teeth were hard to maintain, but she managed. For the most part.

Sarah went upstairs to get ready, changing into a pair of white denim shorts and a cream halter neck. Finishing up her makeup she gets a message.

She looks down at her phone, frowning at the name that appeared.

Bella B

The message read,

A second message came through, taking over the previous one. Except this time the name was different.

Top ❤️

Sarah sighs, clicking the little button on the side of her phone to shut it off before grabbing her shoes and running off downstairs.

“Dad I’m off!!” She calls but doesn’t wait for an answer as she takes herself outside.

“Right you listen to me.. I hear you treating my daughter like shit one more time and you won’t want to come back here again you understand..?” Ward spits, face to face with Topper beside his black truck that parked outside the garden of the estate.

“Mr Cameron I-“ The blonde boy raises his hands innocently, shaking his head as his eyes widened through genuine fear.

“Dad??” Sarah jogs over, once again removing Ward from yet another human. “I already told you we’re fine.” She grabs ahold of Toppers shirt, holding him protectively to her side as she reassures Ward for the second time.

“I just feel like he didn’t give you much of an apology sweetheart.”

“He did. You just weren’t there. We’re fine, see!” She leans up to kiss Toppers cheek, a small blush reddening his skin.

“I’ll be checking in with Ryan throughout the day! Behave yourselves!” He waves a finger at the two kids before slumping off inside.

Topper and Sarah both look at each other for a second before snickering, “Your dad’s so weird..”

“Weird because he cares?” They lift themselves into Toppers truck; Sarah turns to him with a slight grin, “And who was the one who got worried when I faked getting hurt after the storm hm? If I remember correctly Rafe said you were my bi-“

“Right yeah I got it okay. I’m sorry.” He raises his hands causing Sarah to giggle.

His hand finds her thigh, squeezing gently whilst they drive down the coast. The wind blowing Sarah’s sandy locks around with Toppers sat fluffy atop his head.

Topper goes round to Sarah’s door, holding her hand as he lifts her out the car. “Thank you..”

He smiles, her hand still tightly held in his as they make their way down the sandy path to the group of volunteers. “Are you okay Sar?” Topper tilts his head as a dip forms in his brow. “You’ve been quiet.”

“Not really.. I just..” She frowns, taking a minute as the frustration finally catches up with her after Topper reminds her of it. She tuts, “Just.. Rafe’s been so irritated all week and it’s really starting to get to me. Like normally I could ignore it because it’s just who he is but for some reason it’s just even worse this week and he always takes it out on me.” She avoids eye contact but the squeeze against his hand said enough.

“I never noticed it Sar I’m sorry. Why didn’t you say anything when it started?” His eyes widen, watching her face as she struggles to come up with a response. He pushes the strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear before placing a gentle kiss to her temple.

She shrugs, “I didn’t really notice it. But now all I can think about is Bella. What if-“

“Bella??” Topper stops her mid walkway, gripping her shoulders with a huge dip to his brow, “I thought-“

“I’m allowed to care Top..” She frowns, eyes lowering as she picks at his finger nails, “I mean.. it’s not her fault we don’t talk anymore!” Her shoulders slump and she takes a deep breath, frowning at her own words; avoiding eye contact as the cameras pan in on her.

“Whyre you worried about Bella..?” He picks up on her consciousness of the camera, taking her hand and pulling her away slightly, out of sight from Ryan; he waves them away whilst mouthing a ‘sorry’ in their direction. “Talk to me it’s okay..” He reassures, leaning down to her eye level as he pushes a strand of hair from her face.

“Just..” She looks around making sure no one could hear her except what she didn’t know was that the cameras were set up all around the island and everything was being picked up even if no cameraman was following them. “I didn’t notice Rafes attitude because it’s 24/7 and I kinda learn to ignore it but when it’s about Bella that’s when I feel like I should worry.”

“What do you mean??” Topper stands up, eyes widening.

“Hey just because me and Bella don’t spend much time together, doesn’t mean she’s not my best friend and I’m not allowed to care about her.”

“Ever since last night, Rafe’s been in such a bad mood and when I asked him about it he said Bella refused to come over today! That never happens!! Topper somethings happened..” She almost pleas, eyes squinting from the sun, as she reaches for his hand.

“For fucks sake!!!” Rafe slams around in the kitchen, not caring about the amount of noise he’s making.

Sarah was going to the kitchen for some breakfast, running in after she hears her brother screaming, “Rafe??” She stops beside the island where he was searching around, “What’s happened?”

“Get out the way..” He speaks calmly and quietly, standing over her as he reaches out a hand to gesture for her to move. His patience slipping away from him quickly.

She stares up at him, a frown pulling at her brow, “Excuse me??” Her head tilts in offence.

“Sarah, fucking move!!” He grabs her shoulders, pushing her aside firmly.

She turns to him, watching as he makes his way out the kitchen, frowning at his antics, “Rafe what’s going on with you?”

He clenches his jaw, biting his cheek as his hand meets his hair, “Why do you care??” He shouts, not bothering to stop.

Sarah squeezes her palms tightly, hesitant to her next words, “Because.. because you’re my brother Rafe! And sometimes I actually give a shit!!”

His body comes to a halt instantly, eyes squinting before slowly turning around, head tilted as his eyes lock onto hers for a moment before his shoulders drop, “Bella won’t talk to me, a’ight? She refuses to come over.” He rubs his hand over his face, “Happy now..?” He throws his hands up, speaking low and gravelly under his breath, not wanting to seem like he cares that much but the aggressive tone in his voice proved himself wrong.

“Wait what? Wait Rafe why not??” Sarah steps closer, the concern in her only growing the more he speaks. Her eyebrows dip as she awaits his response.

He squints, raising a brow as he bites a lip to hold himself back from losing his temper. He laughs, tongue running along his teeth, “If I knew Sarah.. don’t you think I would have dealt with it by now..??” He tilts his head against hers, eyes darkening as he threatens her with his stare.

She doesn’t buy it, watching his eyes, ignoring the look on his face calmly as if she’d been through this before. She frowns unconvinced, “What did you do to-“

He huffs, standing up and frowning so deep his eyes looked black, “Don’t you have shit to do??” His eye twitches at her lack of reaction.

“Whatever Rafe..” She rolls her eyes, pushing her shoulder into his arm as she shoves past him, “Sorry for caring.”

He stands there a moment, frowning and rubbing his eyebrow; confused as to why Sarah didn’t crack under the pressure of him and why she all of a sudden cares.

“I.. Sar that must be so recent! I was with them yesterday and they were perfectly fine? It could’ve happened last night.”

“Last night? What you didn’t go with them?” Her tone picks up, eager to get an answer.

“Uhh..” Topper hesitates, not realising why it was such a big deal, “No.” He scrunches his brows through confusion as he watches her face relax; eyes rest as her shoulders fall.

“Okay. Um. Well it’s not our business to deal with but I swear if it gets worse I am gonna call her! She’s never had to deal with Rafe’s other side before and I really don’t want her to have to!”

Topper doesn’t respond, just watches her with a gentle smile. It causing a frown upon Sarah’s face, “What?” She can’t help but let a small smile slip onto her blushed cheeks.

He shrugs his shoulders, “Nah nothing just.. It’s nice you still care..”

Little does Sarah know, or Rafe for that matter, me and the crew know exactly why Rafe and Bella aren’t speaking. They keep forgetting they’re on a show.. with cameras! (He chuckles at his own words) Last night and this morning we caught them on the phone together.

"Rafe..? Did something happen again.??" The girl whispers through the phone worryingly.

"I'm surprised you even answered after earlier..!" He frowns, laying back against has hands in the darkness of his room.

"Why wouldn't I Rafe? You could be my dad and l'd still find it in me to care about you. Thats saying something.." She reassures quietly, a slight laugh evident through her words.

"Uh.. I- I'm sorry 'bout earlier by the way.. I-"

"It's fine." She answers plainly, "I mean I get it right, want to be all perfect for the camera. You don't need a little leach everywhere you go. Ward told me he said to act different this week, I'll just wait it out I guess.." You could hear the disappointment across the phone even from far away.

"Bella.." He sighs, rubbing a hand across his face as his brows knit together, "You shouldn't have to-“

"It's fine Rafe.. Why did you call..?"

He takes a moment, wondering whether he should have called at all, feeling as though it's wrong to ask for her comfort after what he did, "Just.."

"Do you want me to come over..? I can if you need me to.."

He hits himself once again, digging his palms into his eyes before lifting himself against the bed frame, "No no.. don't get yourself in trouble with Callum, Bee.." He sighs, biting his cheek, "It's just my dad."

"That doesn't even surprise me Ray.. he's been a little stressed today.."

"A little?? Bella he screamed at me.. for coming on the boat earlier! That's why I was pissed off when we went out."

"Why didn't you say anything..?"

"I.."

"Rafe i'd rather you talk to me then take it out on me.. I'm always here for you.. You know that."

"I know, I know." He huffs, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sits up on the edge of his bed; resting his elbows against his knees, head in his hands.

"You didn't deserve that.. even if you were being an asshole.. you know that right.?"

Rafe hums, a silence filling the room. All that was heard were the quiet breaths from Rafe as he exhaled into his hands, "I uh.." He lifts his head, realising how unfair it is to expect anything from her anymore, "I'm gonna go okay..? Sleep well Bee I'll see you later alright?"

"Wait Rafe did you not want me to stay-"

He quickly presses end call, stopping the conversation before it went any further; exhaling deeply as he falls backwards against his bed. "Fuck!" He kicks his bedside table, causing a loud screech against the floorboards. He laid there the rest of the night, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling; contemplating the day he had just experienced.

“Hey Bells, you coming over before work?” Rafe bubbles, taking his towel off from his waist and chucking it onto his bed, followed by his phone.

Silence held across the line, causing a furrow in Rafe’s brow. He turns around to the phone again to make sure he did actually call her, “Bella?”

She sighs heavily, staggering a breath, “Rafe.. I- I dont understand you. And I’m too tired right now. Can you just leave me alone?”

“Bells I thought we were okay again??” Rafe pleas, placing himself on the edge of his bed, frantically running his hand through his greasy bangs.

“You always do Rafe. Every little slip up and you think an apology is gonna make it all better. You don’t care anymore and I get it okay? You don’t need me anymore, so I’m stepping back.”

His head jerks up as his eyes widen, grabbing the phone as he quickly jumps to his feet, “What? Bella I never-“

“Bye Rafe..” The phone line cuts, leaving the room deathly silent.

He stares at his phone, eyes darkening as he bites down on the corner of his finger. “Fuck sake!!!” He slams his phone onto the wooden floor, a piercing crack made out loudly through the echo of the large room. “Shit!!” He throws his hand into his drawers, knocking everything onto the floor. Glass smashing and bottle lids rolling around were the only sounds picked up by the camera before Rafe left the room.

“How’s Sarah doing today Topper? I mean seeing as the other day you said she’s not really the most comfortable around the cameras?”

Topper laughs, crossing his arms out of surprise, not even remembering the conversation himself.

Ryan had pulled Topper aside; the sun had fallen past mid-day leaving the beach a golden orange as the tide had gone back out. Toppers hair matching the hot sand beneath him.

“I mean she’s still not great with them. And I don’t think anyone would be if constantly being followed everyday. But she’s open to sharing anything and everything with you today. She doesn’t mind doing her part and participating but she won’t admit how much she hates it.” He chuckles, running his fingers through his hair as he glances over at Sarah who was swinging back and forth with Wheezie, waiting for Topper to drive them home.

“Well actually, she messaged me this morning Top, but why me? You know. It’s why I’m more worried about it because it means that it HAS to be about Rafe no? Has she spoken to you, like, at all?” Sarah questions, moving her attention down to her bright blue gloves as she carefully slides her fingers in.

“No, nothing. I get what you’re saying though Sar, I wouldn’t know why else she’d wanna speak to you. I can call her if you’d like? But I don’t think she’d tell me because, you know, I’m friends with him ‘n all. Your like.. you don’t even talk to him.” He hands her a bag, keeping his under his arm to give his hands the freedom to slide his gloves on too.

“She did say she doesn’t know who else to talk to about it.” Sarah shrugs, agreeing with Toppers previous statement, running her gloved hand through her hair to push it out her face.

“Exactly! It’s probably something she doesn’t want going back to him. You’ll tell me though right? What she says.” Topper watches her, awaiting the response as if it was the most important thing to him.

“I mean yeah of course but why?” She laughs, frowning slightly as her eyes follow up to his.

“What do you mean why? Shes my best friend Sar.”

“I didn’t know you two were so close?” She looks down at her gloves, not fazed by it at all she just was genuinely surprised.

“Is that.. is that a problem?” Topper realised how bad it sounded, stopping in his tracks as he grabs ahold of Sarah’s arm.

“God no! Topper of course it isn’t. I just thought you two were just friends of Rafe.” She takes his hand in his that gripped her arm, quickly moving him forward down the path.

“Nah we grew up together Sar, I care about her. Just want to know Rafe isn’t being a dick to her.”

Sarah smiles, enjoying his thoughts towards someone other than her, which for him is quite rare; secretly happy about the fact someone genuinely cares about Bella, despite herself not exactly being the best ‘friend’ to her in the past.

“Yo, you look thirsty!” Kelce walks up to them, cutting the moment short as he shoves a bottle of yellow-coloured liquid of something or other into Toppers gloved hand. “Have some of that, baby!”

“Okay so what’ve we got here huh?” Topper opens the bottle as Kelce laughs, rubbing his hands together with a guilty smile plastered on his face.

Sarah goes over to Wheezie, pulling her in for a hug as she steals her sunglasses. “Hey!” Wheezie giggles, taking them back and slipping her arm into Sarah’s.

Topper takes a whiff of the bottle, immediately wincing, pulling back the drink to give him some space from the stench previously corrupting his nostrils. “Oh my god!” He laughs, raising his brows towards Kelce which caused him to chuckle, nodding slowly as he tilts his head towards the bottle, urging him to take a sip.

“Okay okay..” Topper mutters, lifting the bottle up to his lips as he tilts his head back, taking a huge mouthful and coughing as the liquid hits the back of his throat.

“Oh yeah! Thats how you do it baby.” Kelce laughs, clapping impressedly.

Topper chokes out, leaning over to pass Sarah the bottle, “Man.. Come on Sarah!”

“Yeah come on Sarah!” Kelce pipes up, egging her on.

She smells the drink, laughing as Topper continues to catch his breath, “What did you do to this??” She giggles.

“Yeah he is not playing around!” Topper laughs, pointing at the bottle with wide eyes.

Sarah pulls it up to her mouth, gagging at the flavour but not stopping it from dropping down her throat. Being cut short by the cup being yanked from her grasp. She struggles to keep it down whilst reaching forward towards Wheezie, trying her best to grab the cup from her before it reached her- too late.

“Woah woah woah!” Topper jumps forward as he watches Wheezie take a long sip.

“Mm- mm..” Sarah shakes her head, pulling the drink out her hands. Kelce just stood by and laughing, enjoying the show. “Since when did you start drinking??” Sarah asks, concern growing inside her as she watches Wheezie swallow the liquid without any struggle.

“Uhm..” Wheezie flicks her hair off her shoulder, wiping the excess off her chin, “Since today!” She shrugs away Sarah’s worry.

Sarah laughs, her eyes rolling towards the boy, “Great going Kelce!”

The moments cut off by the instructor coming around the corner, “You guys got it under control?” He makes his way up the sand hill.

The kids rush to hide the evidence of alcohol, Kelce stuffing it in the cooler whilst Topper distracts. “Yes sir! It’s looking good, sir!”

Kelce shuts the lid quickly, “Just clearing the stretch out!”

“Just hydrating!” Sarah smiles innocently, snapping the band of her gloves against her wrist.

“Almost finished!” Kelce rushed to his feet in time to look busy.

The man nods, smiling to them, with a thumbs up, “Great job! Keep it up!”

“Thank you!” Topper nods, pulling back on his pink gloves.

“That was a close one huh!” Kelce chuckles, smacking the blondes back before walking off to grab a litter picker.

“So Sarah whatre you doing here?” Ryan walks over, a cameraman following just behind as they step to the side to not get in the way.

“Oh hi!” She smiles softly, taking off her gloves to give the man her full attention. “I’m just picking up the litter that was left by the storm a few days ago. You know, the reason filming was pushed back!” She laughs, rolling her eyes at her own words, raking her fingers through her golden strands as she pulls them back into a hand-held pony, letting some air reach her neck.

“Ah yes! I do know trust me.” He laughs along with her. “Stupid Agatha.”

“Its nice that your volunteering! All of you.” He nods to Topper and Kelce just off the screen pulling a small breathy laugh from Sarah’s mouth.

“Yeah.. Toppers good with that stuff and Kelce likes to seem like he’s helping! You know so people like him more.” She giggles to herself, Kelce overhearing and giving her a dirty look from afar. She smiles sweetly, but contrasting with the use of her middle finger, flipping him off which causes him to laugh, biting back from saying anything whilst the cameras on her.

She smiles, knowing she’s protected, crossing her arms and looking back at the camera. “Was there anything else you wanted to ask?”

“Sarah..!!” A small voice whines through the mic, just off the screen. A hand pulls at Sarah’s and her eyes widen the second they land on her sister’s pale form. “I don’t feel good..”

“Uh.. okay okay! Hang on!” She grabs ahold of her, wrapping her arm around Wheezie’s waist as she looks up at the broad man, “Sorry can we talk again later? Thank you!” She doesn’t wait for an answer as Topper had already realised the situation. He tells Kelce to find his own way home before jogging over and hooking an arm around Wheezie’s waist aswell; securing her from both sides as they practically carry her to his car.

The car ride back to their estate was nothing short of a quiet drive. The wind grazing their skins as the song ‘summer nights’ from the movie Grease starts playing quietly in the background. Wheezie lay her head on the backseat of the car as her arm held tightly around her stomach.

Sarah’s eyes dart to Topper, the song bringing her back to one of their first dates, where they made pizza and watched Grease under the moonlight of her garden. She blushes, her cheeks pulling as a soft smile makes it way onto her face. “Summer loving had me a blast.. summer loving happened so fast..” she mutters a few of the lines to herself, elbow leant out the window as she watches the houses fly by.

Met a girl crazy for me..

Topper watches her a moment, smiling at the mere sound of her angelic voice.

Met a boy cute as can be..

Wheezies lips pull, eyes crossing between the two of them; having heard every detail about that night through and through, she knows how happy her sister is right at this very moment.

Summer days drifting away to oh oh the summer nights

“Oh well oh well oh well oh-“ Topper shouts, deepening his voice to match the singer, tapping his palm against the driving wheel to the beat of the song; attracting Sarah’s eyes quickly as she can’t help but smile, cheeks reddening.

They switch back and forth, singing their gendered lines whilst Wheezie’s stomach began to calm, distracted by the joy radiating from her sister and her boyfriend.

“I never really see them together because they’re always somewhere else, but when I do it’s normally really gross. But that was really cute. I didn’t think they had those nice moments you know. Like I thought it was all just the kissing and stuff but it’s nice that he makes her happy! I like him..” Wheezie nods, a big grin spread across her cheeks as her eyes brighten.

Wheezie gagged and choked before letting go into the toilet bowl. Sarah gathered all of her hair into a hand whilst the other rubbed against her back. “Oh god..” She grabs a damp towel, sitting beside her on the edge of the bathtub as Wheezie pulls herself up.

“What have we learnt?” Sarah flushes the toilet as Wheezie’s breathing deepens, she takes a moment, sitting on her knees.

“Never.. mix vodka, with Crystal Light” She sighs, nodding along.

Sarah smiles, “Very good-“ Wheezie heaves again, jumping over the toilet as another load comes up. Sarah pulls up her hair again quickly, trying not to watch through disgust; coughs and sighs leaving Wheezie’s mouth as she looks up at her with reddened glassy eyes.

“Please don’t tell dad..” She breathes, eyes droopy and skin pale. Her mouth sat open as she wiped her lip with the back of her hand.

Sarah’s brows raise, a smirk pulling at the corner of her lips, “I won’t..” Wheezie looks up at her, “On one condition.”

Wheezie sighs, knowing what she’s asked for already, sitting back against her feet as she looks up at her, “What’s that?” She flicks her eyes at her, tilting her head through an annoyed tone.

“You..” She smiles, running her hands along her legs, “You cover for me tonight, I’m seeing someone.”

“Who’s someone..?” She teases, poking at her knee.

“It’s no one.. do you promise not to tell?”

“Only if you tell me who the someone is!” She smirks, bouncing on her legs.

“It’s.. a friend! I can’t tell you more than that Wheeze okay? But, please promise me you won’t tell Topper or dad! Or Rafe..!”

“Why not Rafe?” Her head tilts, not seeing the problem with him that everybody seems to have.

“Because he’ll freak out! Can you just.. promise?” She sticks out her pinky, eyes glued onto Wheezie’s as she pleas for an answer.

Wheezie sighs, rolling her eyes before connecting their fingers, “Fine. I promise!” They kiss their hands to lock the promise before Wheezie sits up again, chucking herself over the bowl and Sarah reaches for her hair.

“I don’t get everyone’s issue with Rafe? He’s always so nice to me. And Bella! Oh my god have you seen him with Bella?” She giggles, her hands splayed out in the air as she watches Ryan laugh to himself.

“Yes yes we have they’re cute aren’t they.”

“Yep! And he’s so happy with her. Its why I don’t understand why dads always having a go at him and why Sarah makes him out like he’s horrible!”

This interview was recorded a day or two after the episode was filmed, so Bella had the chance to watch it back and give her opinions as we didn’t get much time after the day had finished with the rest of the family!

“Poor girl. She’s so isolated from the family they don’t tell her anything. I genuinely didn’t know how little her and Sarah speak I thought they were like best friends! I’m glad she doesn’t know about Rafe though! She looks up to him, I think it’s cute. I don’t want her view of him to change. Her poor little mind could believe anything anyone tells her. He’d be made out like a monster if Sarah opened her mouth. It’s why I’m glad she didn’t!”

Sarah takes Wheezie upstairs to bed before running off to the front door.

“Woah Wheezie why do you look so pale?” Rose stops the girls in the middle of the stairs, a glass of white wine sat perfectly in her palm.

“Uhm..” She looks up at Sarah who was holding her up, eyes wide as she waits for her to answer.

“Oh, she swallowed the sea water!” Sarah rushed, readjusting Wheezie’s arm around her neck.

“Oh honey that’s awful, are you taking her to bed?” Rose strokes her cheek, placing a kiss to her forehead.

“Mhm.. yeah.”

“Okay.. well I hope you feel better soon honey!” She presses another kiss to the girls head before walking past them down the steps, her heels clacking down each one.

They both take a deep breath, looking at one another before giggling and proceeding up the stairs to her room.

On the way to the door Sarah walks past the balcony, overhearing a conversation.

“Where’s Bella, Rafe?” Ward questions strictly, arms crossed and eyes locked onto Rafe’s, that were staring into his fathers, confused about his question as if the man was stupid.

“She’s working today. So probably at work?” He frowns at the man’s idiocy, scoffing under his breath.

“Well she’s not Rafe, she never showed. I got a phone call from her manager. It’s why I’m asking you where she is.” He states, rubbing his beard as he leans forward on his knees, shaking his head as he waits for his son’s response.

Rafe’s legs spread as his arms are removed from behind his head, meeting together in his lap as his eyes widen, “She- she’s not at work.. wh- what.. what do you mean she’s not at work, where is she??” His hand finds his hair, pushing it out of his eyes as they squint into his dad’s expression; not understanding why Ward isn’t panicking like he is. His hands interlink as his eyes dart around the area, not being able to focus now this new situation has taken over his mind.

“Shit..” Sarah mutters, checking her phone as the message from earlier reads the time, 9:46. She looks up at the current time, 3:17. “Fuck what did i do..?? I should’ve answered..”

“Rafe I’m going to ask you this once more, and once again only. Where is she?” Wards voice was stern, signifying he’s not someone to mess with at this moment. Genuine concern coating his tone, however; the irritation more of a protective thing than a pissed off thing.

“Why do you think this has anything to do with me??” His brows furrow, sitting back as he lifts a leg ontop the other. The interrogation causing a sweat to break out on his forehead which he quickly covers by shaking down his curtain bangs.

Ward takes a sudden breath, exhaling deeply as he shuts his eyes for a moment, biting his lip to stop himself from screaming; staying calm through the situation as best as he possibly can. “Because, Rafe!! She’s YOUR responsibility! Which means that it’s your responsibility to make sure she gets to work when she needs to. You’re supposed to pick her up from her house, drive her to work, make sure she gets in properly, then call me and tell me she’s there! But you didn’t do any of that Rafe did you?” His eyes shoot to his sons, a guilty look coating his face as he lists off the things he’s expected to do. “I don’t expect much from you son, you don’t even work for gods sakes. So enlighten me, how is this not your fault?”

Rafes mouth sat agape, eyes glued to Wards as he just sits a moment, before his brain comprehends what he asked. “She ain’t talking to me dad!” He pleas, looking for a little sympathy. “She told me to fuck off, I was just respecting her feelings!” His eyes bulge, his big blues now piercing into his father’s, knowing he’s in the wrong but also not exactly knowing why.

Wards brows furrow, eye twitching, “Why isn’t she talking to you?” You could hear the impatience growing the more he speaks, just wanting to know where his little girl is and Rafe playing around isn’t getting him any closer.

Rafe frowns, laughing unbelievably, “Why is that imp-“

“Because it is!!” Ward snaps, hand slamming against the table; both Sarah and Rafe jumping out their skin. Sarah peaks around the corner, having not seen what was going on and only hearing it. She watches Rafe’s eyes widen almost instantaneously, feeling a little bad as she’s never had it bad even if she’d done worse. Her brows frown as Rafe nods slowly, hand running over his eyes as his fingers meet the bridge of his nose. “What have you done?”

His eyes scrunch shut, shaking his head as his palm smacks himself; Sarah wincing and looking away, her occupying herself by biting her nails to distract herself from her brother’s guilt.

Rafe bites his cheek, looking up at Ward before reaching his limit; knowing he’d done wrong was punishment enough, but being asked to admit it was killing him. “This is bullshit..” He spits, teeth gritting together as he fidgets, hands rubbing against his bare thighs over and over; the guilt building up quicker the longer he sits on it.

“I’m not afraid to move you to the cut Rafe! Your behaviour recently has been unacceptable and now you’re taking it out on Bella too? She’s more worthy of being a Kook than you ever will be!! Now-“

Rafe rips himself from the couch, palms squeezing against his eyes before ripping them away too. He stares at Ward, wanting to let everything he’s thinking out, wanting to scream in his face and tell him how he’s really feeling, how bad he messed up. But nothing comes out and his thoughts were reasoned with, “Go. Find. Her. Now!!!” Ward shouts, his finger shooting to the door as he pushes past his son’s struggling composure.

Sarah’s body jolts once again, squeezing her eyes shut at the loud noise; hands covering her own ears.

Rafe merely nods, chewing on his nail as he turns inside, walking away with his head hung low and hands shoved into his pockets.

Sarah pulls her hands away as the view of her brother meant the conversation was done. As she noticed him, he noticed her. She prepared herself for another dig, but instead all she got was, “I’m not in the mood for your opinion, Sarah.” He gravels quietly, turning back to his previous path out the door.

She frowns once again, opening her mouth to call for him before getting blocked by the sound of her father getting up. Before she was seen she bolted for the door, shutting it quietly and sneaking off out the gate.

“So Sarah since we haven’t had much time to talk the last few days, can we now ask you a few things?”

“Uhm yeah sure!” She sits down on the kitchen stool, placing her bottle of water if front of her whilst she fiddles with the cap. Ryan’s cameraman sets up a better camera shot just opposite her.

“So what kind of things do you do when you’re not volunteering? Is it just seeing Topper or..?”

“Mm..” She frowns, looking up at him with a gentle smile as her head shakes ‘no’. “Toppers nearly always with Rafe, it’s why when he is here to see me I give him all my attention. But when I don’t have plans, I like to go for bike rides! Or take Wheezie out, things like that! I’m not much of a big people person, I don’t have many friends to go out with often.”

“Aren’t there many parties you can slide into or are they not your thing?” Ryan leans his elbows against the marble countertop, watching her eyes as he had every intention to listen to her.

“Well there’s this party at the end of the week we’re all going to!” Her face brightens as she lets a smile tug at her lips.

“Your family?”

“Ohh no no! Sorry.” She laughs, “Me, Rafe, Topper etcetera.” She counts on her fingers, dragging out the names as if it were even a hard thought to come up with.

“Ohhh okay! Do you and Rafe get along then? I never seemed to pick up that vibe from you two, that you were very close.”

She shakes her head, a genuine laugh falling from her mouth, “God no! Me and Rafe don’t talk, but if I want to see Topper more than once a week then I have to put up with him.” She breathes, still laughing quietly as her finger circles the rim of her bottle.

“Have you always been distant?”

“Yeah pretty much.. it’s a shame though, I feel like if we gave each other the chance when we were younger, maybe there would’ve been something more now! But there’s no point getting upset over it, what’s done is done.” She shrugs off her previous statement quicker than Ryan had hoped, wanting to ask about it more but felt as though it was probably the wrong place and time. Her smile plastered across her face making it harder to believe she’s lying.

“Mm..” He nods along agreeingly, not really knowing where to take the conversation from here. “Well.. what about Bella?” His eyebrows raise, hand lifting to her as more hope beamed from this conversation starter than the last. “What happened between you two?”

“Umm..” She laughs nervously, stuttering as her focus moves down to her water bottle. She shrugs along with her words, “It’s my fault if I’m being honest! I let everything get to my head! We were best friends, like she was my sister kind of best friend, you know.. I screwed it up when I believed something her brother told me and ever since then I just haven’t been able to keep friends for long!” She sounded almost disappointed with herself, her voice low and hard to make out yet it didn’t stop Ryan from keeping the conversation going.

“What did he say? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I do kind of mind. I don’t want to say. But like I know it’s not true, I just.. still walked away.”

“Why? If you knew it wasn’t true why didn’t you bring it up to her or even just stay?” He kept his voice calm, soft and a little needy as he wanted the details but also wanted to not upset her by asking too much.

She sighs, “Because! I was scared that maybe down the line it would become true. And it would hurt more if I believed it’d never happen. So I just let it be a thing and I blocked her.”

“Does she know why you stopped talking to her?”

Sarah shakes her head, eyes not lifting from her bottle as she takes a deep breath, “Sorry can I go?” She doesn’t even wait for his response as she lifts herself from the stool and excuses herself to the bathroom; rubbing her eyes and blinking away her thoughts on the way.

The sun had set, sitting peacefully against the lands edge, the water still and the air cool. The quiet was broken by a few laughs and giggles.

“Wait are you serious? Rafe actually thought you’d believe that shit?” A tanned, dark-ish haired boy questioned, spread out on a hammock as his large hand came up to flick his hair out of his eyes.

“Yep! So I told him to leave me alone. God John B I need to get away from everyone.” The brunettes eyes widen, a lightbulb flicking on above her head as she leans forward, grabbing ahold of the boys thigh tightly, “Can I live here? With you??” She squeals excitedly, the thought actually becoming a want.

“Your brother would KILL me Bells! But you’d know I’d say yes if I could..!” He speaks softly, poking her nose with a gentle smile.

“No because imagine all the shit we’d get up to! I could finally be a Pogue again, and not have to worry about being ‘Little Miss Perfect’ all the time.” She rolls her eyes, leaning back against her arms.

“Hang on what’s that supposed to mean?” His brows furrow, a slight playfulness to his voice as he raises a finger.

She giggles at his reaction, rocking his leg back and forth with her hand, “You know I didn’t mean it..”

He squints his eyes, unbelieving of her words causing another soft laugh to grace her tongue, “Yeah okay maybe I did mean it. But hey I meant it in a good way! You get to do whatever you want! I’m stuck working a 9 to 5 job and have to look after my older brother all day every day! It’s so unfair!!” She whines, crossing her arms against her chest as she slumps back in the hammock, causing it to sway slightly.

“Okay.. I don’t mean to burst your bubble or anything but.. did you do EITHER of those things today?”

Her eyes shoot to his, piercing through him. She looked as though she wanted to murder him, which in his mind was completely not surprising in the slightest if it were true.

He chuckled, a smirk tugging at his lips as his brow raised, “I meant it.” He stated proudly, owning up to his words unlike her in the moment just before.

“Right!” She spits playfully, jabbing her foot into the crook of his waist which made his body jolt and a throaty groan fell from his mouth.

He plays it off as best he could, smirking as he squints at her again, licking his lips as a small devilish laugh corrupts his mouth, “Do that.. one more time.” He lifts a finger to gesture the number.

Her cheeks redden, a soft but fearful smile taking her lips as she giggles, “‘Kay!” She bubbles, kicking him in the side again but this time he’d prepared; tensing against her foot before grabbing ahold of her ankle and dragging her along the hammock so her face was now by his waist; legs in the air, leant against the tree behind him.

“Jesus..” She chokes, hand meeting her back as she slowly rubbed it whilst trying her best not to flinch. “You gave me hammock burn dickhead!!” She flicks his temple earning her a jab in the stomach.

Their eyes lock onto one another’s, both with a look of hatred. A moment of deathening silence falls before it’s interrupted by their sudden snickers. Their laughs almost silent as they were gripping onto their stomachs, Bella sitting up and grabbing onto the boys shoulder for support.

They both take a deep breath before one look at each other caused another outburst. Whilst they had their little moment, a small blonde haired girl joined the frame, slowly walking closer to the two as she hesitated her movements. “Umm hi uh-“

Her words shocked Bella, causing her to jump and almost lose her balance on the hammock, John b’s hand quickly finding her waist to pull her back up, his eyes darting past her frame to be met with another girl around the same age.

“Sarah?” Bella finally calms down, hooking her legs over the edge of the hammock as her expression contorts, “What, what’re you doing here?” Her eyes find John B’s as Sarah hesitated to speak. John B smiled slightly, getting the point across that this was a planned thing. “Oh..” Bella hops off the hammock, brushing off her shorts as she turns back to see John B once more, “Sorry I didn’t realise you had plans. I.. I’ll go!” She stutters awkwardly.

“Bells I’m sorry I should’ve-“

“No no don’t apologise! I should’ve checked beforehand!” She stops a moment, giggling after realising the situation, leaning forward ever so slightly so Sarah wouldn’t hear, “Have fun lover boy..” She winks, skipping past Sarah. He laughs, shaking his head as he rakes his hand through his hair.

“Bella?” Sarah calls, twiddling her fingers anxiously as her gaze is met by the other girls.

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah of course I am! Dont worry about me, you two have fun!” She smiles, waving Sarah away but it not working as Sarah steps closer.

“No Bella! I mean the text. I didn’t answer because-“

“Hey don’t worry okay? I understand you had an episode to film it was stupid of me-“

“No! It wasn’t. It really wasn’t, I’m sorry for not answering! What’s going on? Is it Rafe?”

“Uh yeah how’d you-“

“He’s being an asshole.”

“Ah!” Bella nods, “Got it.” Her and Sarah share a moment of gentle laughter, before the air grew tense again.

“What did he do?” She questions softly.

“Um..” Bella scratches the back of her neck, brows dipping, “He just.. I don’t know how to explain it!”

“It’s okay take your time!”

Bella pauses a minute, smiling at her ex-best friend’s gentle nature despite everything that happened between them. “Thank you.. um.. he just. He seems to have changed. Like he acts as if being friends with me has suddenly become a chore. Callum told me last night that Rafe said he doesn’t care about me and that he’s just doing what Ward told him to, to look after me. And I don’t normally believe Callum but when it comes to me and Rafe he’s never lied. There’s no reason for him to lie now, is there?”

“Well I mean.. Ward did tell him today that your his responsibility, but I do genuinely think he cares Bells. I mean if he didn’t, would he be going around slamming cupboards and screaming at everything living or not?”

She snorts, knowing that’s exactly the type of thing Rafe would be doing when he’s pissed, “Okay maybe a little..”

“Yeah just a tiny bit.” Sarah laughs.

Bella smiles, eyes glassing over slowly, “Thank you Sar. It means a lot.” She nods.

Sarah breaks into a smile, stepping close enough to reach out her arms for a hug. Bella frowns, waiting a second before smiling again softly, pulling her in. Their heads resting against one another’s. “I’m sorry he’s being like this..” Sarah whispers against her ear, pulling away to look at her properly, “Even I was worried about you and that’s when you know he’s being a dick.”

Bella giggles, nodding along, “Yeah see someone gets it!” They watch each other a moment, swaying slowly before Bella cuts the awkwardness, “Well thank you again, it was nice to be able to get some sort of answer. And I’m glad I’m not just overreacting!”

“Of course bells! And no you’re not, he’s been weird for a while. I told topper that this morning so it’s definitely not just you!” She laughs, tapping her hand reassuringly.

“Okay.. good!” Bella reciprocates the motion, them both sharing one last smile before John B coughs, “Oh right! Yeah sorry.” She laughs, nodding to him and mouthing another ‘sorry’ before walking away. She turns back once more to grin a, “Have fun lovebirds!” before leaving for good.

Sarah looks over at John B, not hesitating to go over and help herself onto the empty spot in the hammock, with the help of the boys hand pulling her up. She sits there a moment, watching his eyes, “Hi.” She blushes.

He chuckles breathily, tapping her leg softly, “Hey.”

She leans forward, placing a hand on his cheek as she presses a gentle kiss to his other. “Hi..” Her cheeks redden, her face sitting mere cm’s from his.

He grins, his hand finding her neck as he pushes her head back against his, lips finding each others for a slow deep kiss. Once he pulls away he pecks her nose, “Hey..”

She bites her lip, grazing her thumb over it as she lays back, them both watching the others eyes in a moment of silence.

The brunette sighs, pushing open the front door to her home as her shoulders fall. Taking a deep breath, she shuts the door quietly, walking through the dark room; trying her hardest to avoid her brother’s sight that was focused on the loud tv which played the movie ‘Baywatch’. Him and his friends drooling over the poor girls’ bodies.

She reaches for her bedroom door, “Where did you go?” Her brother’s voice cuts the tension condescendingly his eyes not leaving the screen.

Bella bites her lip, stepping backwards as she turns slowly, gripping her keys to her palm tightly. “Out.”

“You weren’t at work today.”

“Uhm.. mhm.” She nods fearfully, not knowing how he got that information and not being brave enough to ask and find out.

“Why? What was more important?” He spreads his legs, resting his arms on the back of the couch as he finishes off his can of beer before chucking it to the floor for Bella to clean up later.

The boys all kept their eyes on the tv because any movement from them would make the situation worse. Except for Topper who took a glance at Bella. His brow dipping when he notices her lip wobbling; her knowing that even if she told the truth, Callum wouldn’t believe her. “Um.. I-”

“She was with me and Sarah!” Topper spills quickly, snatching everyone’s attention instantly. Bella shakes her head at him but it was too late.

“Is that right?” Callum’s attention finally shifts, turning back to face Bella as he raises his brows.

“Yeah she-“

“I didn’t ask you.” He spits at Topper, eyes not taking away from Bella.

“Bella tell me the truth. Im just making sure you weren’t putting yourself in danger or anything.” She smiles, relaxing slowly at his words. Feeling more comfortable now he’s being caring again. “Wanna make sure no Pogues were talking to you today.” He reassures, but little did he know it did the exact opposite.

Her heart rate picks up as her breathing deepens, her inhales becoming longer and harder to do. She takes the biggest breath she could, nodding to herself as a form of comfort. “I.. I was taking a walk around the island. Just wanted to clear my head. I’m sorry I didn’t go into work today I just felt that if I did I wouldn’t have gotten anything done.” It wasn’t a complete lie, she did go round the island for a few hours.

“Your anxiety playing up again?” The concern in his voice warming her slightly, making her feel less stressed in the current situation.

“Yeah..” She agrees embarrassedly, keeping her eyes anywhere but on the others as it’s not something she brings up to people.

He nods, his thumb running along his nose, “So how was your chat with John B?”

The boys look up at her, her eyes widen as her fists clasp together tightly, “W- what?” She laughs nervously, trying to push it off.

He scoffs standing up which earns him Rafes attention. His eyes shooting up to him as he grips tightly to the back of the couch, ready to jump in if necessary. “You think I wouldn’t find out?” Callum tilts his head, his eyes dark as he steps closer to Bella, sucking in a breath as she struggles to find her tongue.

“I.. I-“

“Cmon Bells, you can’t keep nothing from me princess.” He grazes her cheek, a sweet but venomous smile stuck on his face like a mask, “He causing trouble?” He frowns, his voice that sarcastic caring tone that she despises.

“No..” She grumbles, frowning as if his question was obvious.

“What you talk about?” Callum watches her eyes that were glued to his, her fear pulling a smile onto his disgusting angelic face.

“Nothing..” Her eyes glistened, lashes batting to push away the evident tears. Not realising her holding her own breath, she releases.

His brows raise, eyes lightening as he chuckles deeply, “So you sat together in silence? Sounds fun.” He gives her a smile, a smile she would never believe but anyone else would.

She ignores his snarky remarks, her eyes shutting as she fakes a yawn, “Can I go to bed?”

His hands find her shoulders, gripping her skin so hard his nails were leaving indents, “Why’d you not stay?”

She frowns, shrugging the best she could under his grip, “Because why would I?”

He lets go, shrugging, realising she meant the words she said, “Just wondering.” He smiles genuinely, “Glad you’re here.” He taps her hand, forgetting everything that just happened.

She rolls her eyes, pulling away as she turns back around to head off to her room. Callum sits himself back on the couch, helping himself to another can as the little release of air fills the silence.

“Bella?” Her name cuts through the room, the blonde boy innocently calling for her knowing he shouldn’t but couldn’t help himself.

“Mhm..” She sucks in a breath, her head facing the boy again as she rubs her eyes, not to push away her tiredness but to hide the tear that had formed in the corner.

He smiled guiltily, “Sarah find you?” Keeping his sentences short to push the conversation on quickly.

It took a minute for Bella to comprehend, not knowing exactly how much her brother and the others knew about her day, “Huh?”

He frowns, “Sarah! She said she was gonna call you or something.”

She bites her cheek, quickly nodding, “Oh! Um yeah. She uh.. she..” Bella struggled to find a way to word their conversation, taking far too long.

Toppers brows furrow, his worry for her only growing as she stopped mid-sentence. “You okay?”

Her eye’s quickly refocus, darting to his, “Mhm yeah sorry. She just spoke to me actually.”

Rafe’s eyebrows raise, a smirk tugging at his lip, “Did you not just come from John B’s?”

“Yeah so?” Bella spits, eyes glassing over again at her best friend’s need to bring her down all of a sudden as if she was the problem.

Toppers eyes widen at the realisation of Rafe’s words, standing up suddenly as he shoots Bella a glare, “Is Sarah with that freak again??”

She panics, “What?? No! I-” She cant lie to save her life meaning the boys all saw right through, realising exactly what’s going on. They all remove themselves from the couch.

“Oh that shitty little fucker!” Callum snapped, reaching for the door and leaving, letting it slam loudly behind him with a bang which caused Bella to shriek.

“Callum don’t!!” She cries, tears streaming down her face as she runs to the door, pulling it open and watching her brother pull on his helmet.

Topper shoves past her, followed by Kelce. Her cheeks soggy and eyes puffy; the realisation finally sinking in of what she’s just done to all her friendships in this one moment.

She takes a deep breath, her fingers coming up to her mouth as she started nibbling at her finger nails.

Rafe came up behind her, placing his hand against her shoulder, causing her to again, flinch before calming as she sees it was only him. “Please get off me..” she pushes his hand off herself, walking past him back to her room.

“Can we please just talk?” Rafe pleads, eyes welling as he reaches for her again.

She stops, looking back at him with a dip in her brow, “No, I don’t want to talk to you!” She forces, her tone matter-of-factly. Her words cause Rafe to choke, “Rafe you just sat there and watched him speak to me like that. You always do! It’s like you don’t care anymore Rafe. Like being friends with me is a chore that you’d rather never do!” She explains, brows furrowed as another tear falls from her hazel eyes, meeting his with no emotion but pure distrust as she inhales sharply, “I’m giving you space.. can you not just appreciate that?” She asks softer now, knowing shouting at Rafe is going to get her nowhere, and she’d never want to purposefully raise her voice at him anyways.

“Rafe!!! We’re going come on man!!!” One of the boys shouts through the door, the two of them both glancing back.

He doesn’t budge, looking down at Bella with his watery blues, waiting for maybe something more from her. Hoping she’d finally crack and come back to him. She sighs, stepping closer before running outside and joining Topper beside his bike.

“I’m so sorry..” She mutters, gripping onto his shirt, breathing deeply again to stop herself from falling apart.

“Hey don’t be okay..? Just glad you’re okay..” He smiles, reassuring her as he pats her hand that rest against his chest.

She stares at him a little longer, mouth agape as if she were going to speak, “You okay?”

She nods, closing her mouth before opening it again, patting down his shirt that she only just scrunched up, “Just.. please don’t mention me! I mean I can’t- I-“

“Hey sh shh..” He takes ahold of her hands, pulling them up to his chest to hold them tighter, “It’s fine alright. I’m just gonna speak to Sarah. I don’t need to bring you into it all yeah? But then you’re gonna tell me what’s going on with you okay..?” He whispers, leaning down to rest his forehead against hers, placing a gentle kiss to her fists.

She smiles at his soft touch, her cheeks blushing without noticing, as she nods, “Okay..” He pulls her head into him to place another kiss to her skin before pulling on his helmet.

She goes back inside before pausing at the entrance. Looking right into the camera she snarls, “You’ve put cameras here too??” She looks around, eyes meeting every lens in the room, “When..??” She scowls, her brows knitting together through frustration before turning back around on her heel and heading for the door.

She jogs down to Topper and quickly hooks her leg over his bike, hands sat ontop his shoulders.

“Bells you sure?” He shouts through his helmet and she signals a thumbs up as she wraps her arms under his shoulders tightly.

Rafe watched a moment, frowning and shoving his tongue to his cheek. She always rides on my bike.. refuses to ride on anyone else’s, I’m the only one she trusts to ride with. So this was a stab right in his heart. He shoves his helmet on, waiting for Callum’s signal before they all road off down to the Cut. It wasn’t the longest ride as Bella and Callum already live on the edge of Figure Eight.

“Wheres your boyfriend?” John B grumbles, crossing his arms as he watches her eyes dip.

“I don’t know.” She frowns, “Does it matter? I’m thinking of breaking up with him!”

John B smirks, forgetting to respond as his eyes widen, just focusing on her features with a slight a blush to his skin.

She giggles, “Is that.. is that okay?” She smiles, running her hands over her thighs nervously.

“Uh yeah yeah of course! I mean.. if you did, you know, break up. What would that.. what would that-“

“Mean for us?” She interrupts softly, her cheeks reddening.

“Yeah..” He nods slowly, watching her lips curl into a smile.

“Well-“ “Sarah!!!!” A deep gravelly voice pierces through the air, singing almost, her eyes widening immediately.

“My brother..” She jumps off the hammock whilst John B tries to ‘act cool’, resting his head against his hands and whistling softly.

Rafe, Callum, Kelce and Topper all rode in to the yard. Sarah’s eyes not shifting from her brother as he climbs off his bike. John B turns to watch before his eyes catch onto something. “Bella??” His brows furrow as he pulls himself off the hammock, “What the hell are you doing?”

“I..”

“This isn’t about her, asshole. This is about you and your little friend!” Callum spits, pointing at the two of them.

Topper steps forward, pushing Callum back gently, “Sarah you said-“

“I know what I said Topper! And I’m sorry but.. we’re over.” She states softly, going to reach for his hand but he pulls away.

“That Pogue’s corrupting your mind Sar! He ain’t good for you. Just come home and we can sleep it off yeah?”

“No Topper! I mean it-“

“Sarah this is not happening!” Rafe walks over his eyes shooting to the younger boy, “What the fuck did I say about her and Bella huh? You don’t get it do you?? You need to be shown I’m serious huh?? You need me to teach you a lesson yeah?”

“Rafe don’t..” Sarah spits.

He ignores her, stepping closer and John B chuckles, preparing his fists.

“Rafe!!”

The small voice froze him, hitting himself in the head as he turns around to be met with the shorter girl. “Don’t do it.. please.”

“Yeah well I told you not to leave me and, Oh! People don’t listen do they sweetheart.” He laughs, stroking her chin.

“Bella I trusted you.” John B whines, the words alone causing Bella to wince. Her eyes immediately begin to pool as she looks up at him. “John B I-“

“Wait this was you?” Sarah comes over, her eyes darkened at the girl, her voice full of frustration.

“No I- well-“

“I thought you knew not to speak about this. You promised!”

“I know!!!” She cries, struggling for air as her eyes dart between the two, “Look I’m sorry!! I.. I don’t understand what you want me to do!”

“How about don’t get involved?” John B suggests hatefully, his eyes looking down on her with pure betrayal causing her heart to ache.

“I didn’t! I’m the one who told you not to do it!”

“But didn’t you get all smitten like a minute later and tell me to go for it if I could?”

She moans, biting her lip as she struggles to find her breath, tears streaming down her cheeks yet again.

“What??” Topper grabs ahold of her arm, pulling her attention to him as his brows furrow.

She holds her chest, “No!! I.. I never said that! I- I was trying to do the right thing okay??” She pulls away from Toppers grip, stepping back slightly as her being surrounded by bodies was making this feeling worse.

“Yeah well you failed didn’t you!”

Sarah frowns, grabbing John B’s hand, “John B stop..??” She tries to calm the situation, somehow being the only one to notice Bella’s struggle. Or being the only one to care for that matter.

Everyone’s eyes lock onto Bella, all shouting and screaming at her as her mind becomes a fog. She raises her hands to her ears to block out the overwhelming noise as her eyes squeeze shut in pain. All the voices mixed into one pool of words in her head, unable to make out who was who in her current state.

“We can’t trust you!!”

“You promised!!!”

“Bella who even are you?”

“I thought we were friends??”

It only gets louder, her hands now useless to blocking the noise; she rips her hands from her ears, throwing a look to everyone around her, their eyes all watching her which causes a lump to form at the back of her throat. “Okay!!! Okay, I get it okay?? I fucked up!!!” She whines through a croaky wobbly mess of a voice, “But I don’t- I.. what am I supposed to do?? Your all my-“

“Pick a side.” Her brother interjects plainly, his brows raising at his suggestion.

Bella frowns, scoffing at his words as she clears her throat, “What??”

Rafe watches her a moment, watching the way her eyes sparkled in the moonlight as a tear let its way down to her chin. He huffed, going over to Callum and grabbing ahold of his shirt, trying his damn hardest to reason with him, knowing his best friend would never pick in a million years.

Callum shoves Rafe off him, stepping closer to his sister as he plasters on a smile, the same smile from earlier, “I said. Pick. A. Side. It’s either us.” He points at himself, in a condescending manner. “Or them!” His fingers follows to the couple beside the trees, his eyes not shifting from his sister’s puffy ones. “It’s one or the other I’m afraid, you’re not a little princess who gets to have everything she wants.” He spits, standing over her with his hands shoved into his pockets. A grin forming along his face, enjoying every moment of this situation he’s created.

“Wait Callum??” John B finally realised the severity of the situation, feeling his heart hurt for her now he knows what’s really happening. To Callum it was never about him and Sarah. It was about Bella. It’s always about Bella. At this point John B didn’t care for the argument, all he wanted was Sarah.

Bella’s eyes search the area for comfort, or someone to reason with him or anything. Everyone staring at her blankly gave her the answer she needed as she bats her lashes and sucks in a deep breath. “I don’t care..” She starts, her voice deep and stern, eyes piercing through Callum’s, actually causing a slight sweat on his forehead, “..what side I’m on, as long as. You’re not on it!!” She spits in his face, shoving past him and going down the path to go home. Her facade quickly slipping away as her lips tremble, eyes squinting through tears.

Callum’s face tenses, fists scrunching as he chuckles, “Oh you fucking-“ Rafe steps in the way quickly, shoving him back slightly with a push on his chest. Kelce grabs ahold of his waist, holding him back from being able to move. All the boys knowing exactly what could happen if they let go. “YOU BITCH!!!” He screams, “I’m trying to protect you why don’t you fucking understand!!!!” He screeches through the dark yard, trying his best to wriggle free from the boys’ grips. Rafe turns his head to see Bella, heart physically hurting for her as he watches her struggle to find her breath, wiping her tears and walking away without anyone to help. He shoves his fingers into his eyes to hold back the tears.

Topper doesn’t even hesitate to run after her, pulling her in to his chest even despite her fight to push him away. He holds her tightly, stroking her head as he places multiple kisses to her temple, hushing her as she let go against his chest.

Everyone stood back and watched the situation die down as Topper slides his hand into Bella’s, taking her home and leaving his bike unattended.

“Why don’t you go talk to her? You just stood there and watched her cry! You never do that!!” Kelce states, all the boys sat around the living room, drinking in the dark whilst they review what just happened.

Kelce sat on the couch beside Rafe who had his legs splayed out and head against the arm rest, beer in his hand that hung off the edge of the seat. “Shut up..” He mumbles, shutting his eyes as his free hand squeezes the bridge of his nose.

Topper frowns, sitting up as he crosses his legs on the cushion under him, “No Rafe he’s right! We left her be because we thought you’d go and comfort her. Has she done something to you?”

His words cause Rafe to curse under his breath, sighing as he leans his head further back, dropping his hand to his lap, “No course not, she’s an angel..”

Kelce and Topper exchange a look, “Then what’s the problem??” Kelce argues, neither of the boys understanding why he’s being like this when his best friend needs him most.

He contradicts their thought, “She don’t need me anymore..” He gravels, swallowing down his beer in one to cover the obvious thoughts that he’s lying; not wanting to own up to the multiple mistakes he’s piling up.

“The biggest pile of bullshit Rafe!!!” Topper exclaims, reading straight through his lies (as would anyone if they knew Bella and Rafe) “She needs you more than you’ll ever know!! You’re just being a dick to her right now..” He sighs, running a finger along the rim of his bottle.

Kelce nods along, his eyes on Rafe as he raises a brow, “For no reason, may we say.” Him and Topper laugh at Rafe’s groan of a response.

He winces at their reaction, lifting his head as he furrows his brows, “For fucks sakes look I know her better than either of you ever will okay?-”

“Bullshit but okay..” Kelce laughs to Topper, rolling his eyes as he finishes off his beer.

He looks back at Rafe to see his eyes glued on him, “What was that?” He squints through the darkness, biting his cheek.

“N- nothing!” He chokes, burying his face in a slice of pizza.

Rafe sighs, resting back on the arm of the couch, his hand finding the back of his head as he fiddles with a strand of his hair, “I know when she’s done with me..” He sulks, earning him a groan and an eye roll from both his friends.

“Jesus stop projecting!!!” Sarah steps into the room, swinging her arms about at his stupid words. “You fucked up Rafe! And you hate yourself for it!! It’s so obvious, it hurts!!” She whines, causing Rafe to grunt in response to her ‘accusations’. “Go talk to her!” She rests her hands on the back of the couch beside his body, walking into the shot of the camera.

His brows dip into his eyes, throwing an arm over them, “Fuck off Sarah.. you literally cheated on my best friend. Why should I-“

“He did it first??” She utters, offence gleaming off her face as she frowns.

Rafe’s eyes shoot from her to his friend, sitting up quickly and furrowing his eyebrows, “What??” He watches Topper, his eyes widening as he avoids eye contact with the both of them.

“Mhm..” Sarah crosses her arms, a proud smile coating her face, “My friend Layla told me yesterday they hooked up- well my ex-friend. She said it’s because I was ‘taking too long’. So..” She shrugs, “I thought we were done!” She didn’t seem too bothered for someone who just found out their partner cheated on them.

Rafe’s expression contorts, “What the fuck bro??” He expresses, “You cheating on my sister for??”

Sarah watches in shock, a small smile tugging at her lip. “Bro I’ve never spoken to Layla before?? She’s lying Sar!!”

She crosses her arms over her chest, brows raising as she tilts her head slightly, “Prove it.”

“I-“

“I wanna go back to this Bella thing! You two clearly don’t care enough about this, just break up and move on!” Kelce sighs, slumping into the couch cushions as he drinks his beer.

Rafe grumbles, lifting himself from the couch as he runs his fingers through his bangs, “Nah I’m going to bed!”

The remaining three giggle to one another; Sarah joining Topper on the one seater despite the previous tensions.

Kelce groans as he watches them snuggle into one another as if nothing ever happened, shaking his head before grabbing another bottle and a slice of pizza.

“Life doesn’t stop when the cameras are on. And I’m sorry for any inconvenience I’ve made but I’m not putting my problems on hold just because you’re filming. If anything you should be putting on hold for me. But it’s reality tv. So neither of that happens and you unfortunately get to see it all.” Bella shrugs, forcing a smile through her glassy eyes.

Thank you Bella for that little nugget to end the episode with. Sorry we didn’t get much of a chance to pull anyone aside this episode, it was a drama-packed day. But maybe on the next one!

Thank you for watching and we’ll see you again soon to join Rafe and the others, let’s see if he can resolve this before the end of the episode shall we.

Next Episode Here